I have had no success in finding information on the New Haven Edge 
Tool Co. so I have been tracking down the Winsted Edge Tool Works 
with the help of Ancestry.com, which is where most of the primary 
sources in the following discussion come from. 

I have also gotten a hold of a Witherby Price list from 1882-1905 and 
will scan and send it over to Wiktor when time permits.  For the $8 I 
paid, it made my Christmas. Some of my information comes directly 
from this pamphlet and fuzzy photos of second one posted on the 
internet (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21287).  If 
the photos ever go down, I captured them and can pass them along (the 
details are poor, no prices are discernible but the products are 
easily viewed). 

In summary, here is a list of facts I believe to be true, concerning 
the Winsted Edge Tool Works:

1.  Winsted Edge Tool Works existed from 1882 until 1955 (73 
illustrious years).
2.  T.H. Witherby was never in Winsted, neither was Witherby Tool Co. 
He had nothing to do with Winsted Edge Tool Works.
3.  George Jessup was the man most responsible for the Winsted Edge 
Tool Works early success. 
4.  The "T.H.WITHERBY" stamp dates from 1882 to at least 1915, 
although the 1882 date may be too early and there may have been a 
predating trademark.
4.  The most common stamp, "Witherby Warranteed" in a rectangle, was 
from about 1920 to  c.1940 (just a guess on the end date, it might be 
1930 or 1950). 

If you want to know where this comes from, keep reading.

This is long.  And boring, unless you care about Witherby tools.

---The Winsted Edge Tool Works---

The Winsted Edge Tool Works was incorporated in 1882 and ceased 
business in 1955, certainly as a result of the catastrophic flood of 
that year that destroyed most of the village's manufacturing 
district. The 1882 date comes from the 1914 and 1915 Price & Lee's 
Directory, which explicitly states the date. As for the company's 
termination date, the Price & Lee 1956 Directory indicated that 
hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage occurred to all of the 
factories in the town, along Highland Lake where the factory was 
situated.  When the company went out of business, it may well have 
sold its salvageable operation to Union Hardware in Torrington (just 
down the street), as there is an informal consensus that some of the 
Union chisels look much like Witherby's.

1953 is the last year that the Price & Lee Directory lists Winsted 
Edge Tool Works.  The 1954 directory is unavailable or unpublished 
and there is no mention of the company in 1955.  In the Price & Lee 
1956 Directory, a fire alarm box is listed at the Winsted Edge Tool 
Works (#411) but the occupant of 32 Lake Street (the address of the 
company office) is the "Winsted Company".  In 1958 and 1960, this box 
belongs to the Winsted Company and 32 Lake Street is still occupied 
by The Winsted Company (John F and Joseph Paolantonio) metal goods 
mfrs.

The "Winsted Company" was not a new business and presumably never 
manufactured edge tools.  It occupied 27 Gay Street in 1955 and at 
earlier dates.  I have not bothered to see how far this company goes 
back.

---Witherby Tool Dating---

An important issue in the history of old tools is dating their 
manufacture.  There has been very little published information 
regarding the dates of the Witherby/Winsted Edge Tool Works tools but 
two pamphlets I have located may provide some insight.

It is assumed that George Jessup was the original metallurgist for 
the Winsted Edge Tool Works.  According to the 1900 
Winchester/Winsted census, he was born in 1848 in Massachusetts and 
is listed as a "Manufacturer Edge Tools".   In the 1880 census, he is 
listed as the "Foreman for Hoe Co." living in Winchester/Winsted, 
providing additional information that he was at the Winsted Hoe 
Company when it became the Winsted Edge Tool Works in 1882.  In the 
1870 US Census he is listed as a "Bell-Maker" living in Winchester. 
He is not found in earlier years and remember, the 1890 census was 
mostly destroyed.

George Jessup last appears in the Price & Lee Winsted Directory in 
1903.  He is not present in the next available edition, 1906, so he 
either died or left Winsted in 1904-05.  A search on the 1910 US 
census does not locate him anywhere in the country.

The first pamphlet I have found mentions Jessup as the company 
foreman and speaks of his revolutionary tempering techniques, 
suggesting that it must have been printed while he was still at the 
company.   Based on this information, the pamphlet can be 
approximately dated to a 23 year period of between 1882 and 1905, 
indicating that the "T.H. WITHERBY" stamp is from that era as it is 
contained in the pamphlet. The prices listed in this pamphlet are 
very similar to those listed in the 1911 James Swan Co. Catalog, 
suggesting that the pamphlet is closer to 1905 than 1882.  Although 
perhaps Winsted Edge Tool just asked a higher price, it appears to 
have been a much smaller company.  The Davistown Museum dates this 
pamphlet to c. 1900. 

In the 1915 Price & Lee Directory, Winsted Edge Tool Works has an 
advertisement, utilizing a different trademark, "T.H. Witherby" (in 
lowercase).  This could be the trademark that is seen with "itherby" 
in small caps or the same trademark, just in lowercase?  The most 
common trademark, "T.H. WITHERBY, WARRANTEED" in a box, is probably 
from a later era based on the fact that 1.) it is the most commonly 
encountered mark possibly indicating newer tools 2. the rectangle 
mark is the trademark present in an undated price list produced by 
"John M. Graham & Co. Direct Representatives".   In this 2nd price 
list, the physical pages are full size (they are about 3x6" in the 
first pamphlet) and the product line is more expansive.  If one 
assumes that Winsted Edge Tool Works continued to grow from 1882 to 
at least 1929 (the Great Depression) then the second price list is 
newer than 1915.  A few months back eBay had a "19 page Witherby 
Price List, 1921" for sale, I am sure it is the same one as the link 
above, as it is 19 pages!  This means the "T.H. WITHERBY, WARRANTEED" 
in a box started after 1915 but before 1921.

Two other "Witherby" trademarks are commonly observed (although it 
appears that at least 5 others do exist).  The ">T.h. Witherby<" 
mark seems to be present on older tools and may have been produced by 
T.H. Witherby in Millbury, Massachusetts, see Brian Welch's research 
(http://www.geocities.com/sawnutz/index.htm).  But it may also be 
Winsted's earliest mark, from 1882.  The other common mark, 
"Witherby, Winsted, Conn." occurs on highly polished chisels that 
often appear in excellent condition and seem almost nickel plated. 
These were certainly produced in the last 10-20 years of Winsted Edge 
Tools Existence.   It is unknown when the "Diamond" logos were 
produced but my personal guess would be after the "Warranteed" period 
and before they put "Winsted" on their chisels (so about 1930?).

T.H. Witherby dies in 1880 (Brian even has his headstone online). 
Winsted Hoe Company becomes Winsted Edge Tool Works in 1882. This is 
supported by Jessup's move from the Hoe Company to the Tool Edge 
Works and the lack of a directory listing for the Hoe Company in 
1889.  The Annals of Winchester (John Boyd, 1873) indicates that the 
site of the Winsted Hoe Company was at the corner of Meadow and Lake 
streets, the 1889 directory location of Winsted Edge Tool Works.  And 
finally Brian has a note about it on his website regarding a 
newspaper clipping confirming this, so the connection to Winsted Hoe 
Company is pretty solid. 

DAT and the Davistown museum list Witherby Tool Co. as being in 
Winsted but it is clear that the Witherby Tool Co. did not become the 
Winsted Edge Tool Works.  So was T.H. Witherby or a Witherby Tool 
Company ever in Winsted?  So far I cannot find any indication of a 
Witherby Tool Company in Winsted.  If there was such a company, it 
had to have existed between 1873 and 1882 because the Annals of 
Winchester does not mention its existence, but does verify the Hoe 
Company's existence and the Winsted Auger Company's existence.  And 
as we know, a presumed Witherby Tool Company in Winsted was not the 
predecessor to Winsted Edge Tool Works. 

Personally, I do not think T.H. Witherby or Witherby Tool Co. was 
ever in Winsted. 

So why does Winsted Edge Tool use the Witherby trademark? 

Considering T.H.'s 1880 death and the 1882 WETW founding, it might be 
that T.H's son Calvin or some other Witherby sold the rights, a 
process or some equipment to Winsted Hoe Company and they started 
making chisels and drawknives.  Apparently chisels were more 
profitable than hoes.  I find this explanation unlikely, T.H. 
Witherby was making fences in 1860 (see Brian's site), he was making 
shears in 1870 (see the census) and in 1880 he wasn't doing anything 
and his son is a clerk. 

Or perhaps George Jessup was an apprentice of T.H. Witherby's at the 
Witherby Tool Company?  Perhaps someone with access to Worcester's 
vital records might track him down, I cannot find a birthplace for 
him other than Massachusetts.  I think that when we consider most 
tools stamped "Witherby" we are really dealing with tools produced by 
George Jessup (a bell-maker, hoe maker, edge tool maker) and his 
legacy. 

Or maybe, George Jessup and company knew that Witherby was a 
respected name, no longer being manufactured (and was in fact dead), 
and thought they could increase market share and visibility allowing 
them to compete with other makers (like Buck) by using the Witherby 
name. This is where I would place my bets. 

If you think of all the other chisel manufacturers of the time, they 
all use the company name as their trademark.  But not Winsted Edge 
Tool Works. Why is that?  It seems strange.  Witherby named his 
Millbury company after himself and he put his name on those chisels. 
If Witherby ever had anything to do with Winsted Edge Tool Works, why 
isn't his name a part of the company?  And why did Winsted not put 
their name on their chisels until the 1940-1950's?

---Some Primary Sources---

The following information is located in the Price & Lee Directories 
for Winsted, Connecticut, from the corresponding years (every 
available directory is listed, there is a big gap from 1938 to 1953):

1889:  Winsted Edge Tool Works, office Lake e Meadow, George Jessup 
Superintendent, Charles S. Jopp Treasurer and Agent
1890:  Winsted Edge Tool Works, office Lake e Meadow, George Jessup 
Superintendent, Charles S. Jopp Treasurer and Agent
1891:  Winsted Edge Tool Works, office Lake e Meadow, George Jessup 
Superintendent, Charles S. Jopp Treasurer and Agent
1893:  Winsted Edge Tool Works, office Lake e Meadow, George Jessup 
Superintendent, Charles S. Jopp Treasurer and Agent.
1900: WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p VI
1900-1901  Winsted Edge Tool Works The, office 32 Lake
1902-1903:  Winsted Edge Tool Works The, office 32 Lake
1906: WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p IX
1907: WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p IX
1908: WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p VIII
1914:  WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p VIII
1914:  [from business directory section]  WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE 
- 32 Lake Incorporated 1882 Capital $30,000 President Treasurer and 
General Manager Arthur L Clark Vice President H L Roberts Secretrary 
J A Norton - See front col'd p VIII
1915:  WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE edge tool mfrs office 32 Lake -See 
front col'd p IX
1915 : [from business directory section]  WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS THE 
- 32 Lake Incorporated 1882 Capital $30,000 President Treasurer and 
General Manager Arthur L Clark Vice President H L Roberts Secretrary 
J A Norton - See front col'd p IX
1916-1917: Winsted Edge Tool Works The Arthur L Clark pres treas and 
gen mgr H L Roberts v pres J A Norton sec edge tool mfrs office 32 
Lake
1919:  Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr edge tool mfrs 
office 32 Lake
1921:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr edge tool mfrs 
office 32 Lake
1922:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr edge tool mfrs 
office 32 Lake
1927:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
1931:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
1935:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
1937:	Winsted Edge Tool Works The office 32 Lake
1938:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton pres-tres-gen mgr 
office Robert E Maher sec office 32 Lake
1953: Winsted Edge Tool Works Alexander Gay v pres Robert E Maher 
treas gen mgr office 32 Lake

No record in 1955, 1956, 1958 or 1960 directory.
1900,1908-1915 include a font section ad, only present in available 1915 copy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nathaniel,

Thanks for doing this research!  As someone who has
half heartedly been looking for information about T.
H. Witherby chisels for several years, I have to say
that this is a great leap forward in knowledge.  It
would be great to see it published in one of the tool
club journels or Fine Tool Journel.

Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi.

--- "N.A. Mitkowski" 
wrote:

> I have had no success in finding information on the
> New Haven Edge 
> Tool Co. so I have been tracking down the Winsted
> Edge Tool Works 
> with the help of Ancestry.com, which is where most
> of the primary 
> sources in the following discussion come from. 
Big snip of much excellent information

		
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------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 09:56 PM 1/7/06, N.A. Mitkowski wrote:

>If you think of all the other chisel manufacturers of the time, they 
>all use the company name as their trademark.  But not Winsted Edge 
>Tool Works. Why is that?  It seems strange.  Witherby named his 
>Millbury company after himself and he put his name on those chisels. 
>If Witherby ever had anything to do with Winsted Edge Tool Works, 
>why isn't his name a part of the company?  And why did Winsted not 
>put their name on their chisels until the 1940-1950's?

That's not entirely true.  There are a fair number of Witherby 
chisels around with the box logo and Warranted on the front and 
stamped WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS --WINSTED, CONN. U.S.A.-- on the 
back.  These are generally considered to be of later vintage in the 
boxed logo line but when they started doing that is a mystery.

Good piece of research though.  Fills in some gaps...

Tony

                         Olde River Hard Goods
                             350 West Catawissa Street
                               Nesquehoning PA 18240
                                         570-669-9421
               The best old tool store in Pennsylvania!
                     http://www.oldetoolshop.com  

------------------------------------------------------------------------

>
>That's not entirely true.  There are a fair number of Witherby 
>chisels around with the box logo and Warranted on the front and 
>stamped WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS --WINSTED, CONN. U.S.A.-- on the 
>back.  These are generally considered to be of later vintage in the 
>boxed logo line but when they started doing that is a mystery.
>

Tony,

We know the "Witherby, Warranteed" in a box is from 1921 to 19?? and 
the "Witherby/Winsted, Conn" stamp is one of their last (1950's).  So 
you are probably right, the ones that have both  "Witherby, 
Warranteed"  and "WINSTED EDGE TOOL WORKS --WINSTED, CONN. U.S.A." 
are likely to be later and perhaps a transitional stamp, between the 
other two types.  Unfortunately, speculation is all I got until more 
price lists pop up.

Apparently there are at least 2 other books on Winsted history 
besides the 1873 tome (copyright 1972 and 1989) and I am going to try 
and locate copies and see if they mention Winsted Edge Tool Works. 
I'll keep you posted.

Nathaniel

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Nathaniel Mitkowski shares some great TH Witherby info
(most of it snipped).  I have a few commets/observations:

> Two other "Witherby" trademarks are commonly observed (although it 
> appears that at least 5 others do exist).  The ">T.h. Witherby<" 
> mark seems to be present on older tools and may have been produced by 
> T.H. Witherby in Millbury, Massachusetts, see Brian Welch's research 
> (http://www.geocities.com/sawnutz/index.htm).  But it may also be 
> Winsted's earliest mark, from 1882. 

I'm almost definitely sure that these are Millbury-era, especially 
since I keep finding them in the Millbury area!

> T.H. Witherby dies in 1880 (Brian even has his headstone online). 
> Winsted Hoe Company becomes Winsted Edge Tool Works in 1882. This is 
> supported by Jessup's move from the Hoe Company to the Tool Edge 
> Works and the lack of a directory listing for the Hoe Company in 
> 1889.  The Annals of Winchester (John Boyd, 1873) indicates that the 
> site of the Winsted Hoe Company was at the corner of Meadow and Lake 
> streets, the 1889 directory location of Winsted Edge Tool Works.  And 
> finally Brian has a note about it on his website regarding a 
> newspaper clipping confirming this, so the connection to Winsted Hoe 
> Company is pretty solid. 

Since I last updated my webpage, I have located a series of
fire insurance maps from the Sanborn Company, from as early as 
1887 and as late as 1931 (which was the last year available for 
these maps), all of which show their location at the corner of 
Lake and Meadow:

1892:
http://www.wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/details.php?image_id=3018
(note that they were also using the former Beardsley Scythe Co. factory at 
this time)

drawing of the factory in 1908:
http://www.wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/details.php?image_id=3019

layout of the factory in 1909:
http://www.wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/details.php?image_id=3020

1931:
http://www.wdynamic.com/galoots/4images/details.php?image_id=3021

> Personally, I do not think T.H. Witherby or Witherby Tool Co. was 
> ever in Winsted. 
> 
> So why does Winsted Edge Tool use the Witherby trademark? 
> 
> Considering T.H.'s 1880 death and the 1882 WETW founding, it might be 
> that T.H's son Calvin or some other Witherby sold the rights, a 
> process or some equipment to Winsted Hoe Company and they started 
> making chisels and drawknives.  Apparently chisels were more 
> profitable than hoes.  I find this explanation unlikely, T.H. 
> Witherby was making fences in 1860 (see Brian's site), he was making 
> shears in 1870 (see the census) and in 1880 he wasn't doing anything 
> and his son is a clerk. 

As I state on my TH Witherby page, Trevor Robinson mentions 
correspondence from a descendent of TH Witherby who claimed that 
he sold the business in 1861.
http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/get.phtml?message_id=45275

He stops appearing in directories in 1854, the same year his 
second wife dies, so I speculated that that had something to do with it.

> Or maybe, George Jessup and company knew that Witherby was a 
> respected name, no longer being manufactured (and was in fact dead), 
> and thought they could increase market share and visibility allowing 
> them to compete with other makers (like Buck) by using the Witherby 
> name. This is where I would place my bets. 

He won the Silver Medal for chisels and drawknives at the Fair of the 
American Institute of the City of New York in 1850.  The published 
transactions stated the following:

"Mr. T. H. Witherby, Milbury, Mass., exhibited some of the 
most highly finished chisels and drawing-knives we ever saw; 
and we understand their reputation for quality fully sustains 
their appearance."

The transactions also point out the fact that Witherby chisels 
were avaiable through a distributer in New York:

T. H. Witherby, Milbury, Mass., Clark & Wilson, agents, 13 Cliff-street

So I would agree that when they bought the name, they were buying his 
reputation more than anything else. 

Would you rather buy a chisel marked TH Witherby
or Winsted Edge Tool Works (formerly Winsted Hoe Co.)?  ;-)

> ---Some Primary Sources---
> 
> The following information is located in the Price & Lee Directories 
> for Winsted, Connecticut, from the corresponding years (every 
> available directory is listed, there is a big gap from 1938 to 1953):
> 
> 1889:  Winsted Edge Tool Works, office Lake e Meadow, George Jessup 
> Superintendent, Charles S. Jopp Treasurer and Agent
SNIP
> 1927:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
> 1931:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
> 1935:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton gen mgr office 32 Lake
> 1937:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The office 32 Lake
> 1938:   Winsted Edge Tool Works The J A Norton pres-tres-gen mgr 
> office Robert E Maher sec office 32 Lake
> 1953: Winsted Edge Tool Works Alexander Gay v pres Robert E Maher 
> treas gen mgr office 32 Lake
> 
> No record in 1955, 1956, 1958 or 1960 directory.
> 1900,1908-1915 include a font section ad, only present in available 1915 
copy.

Thanks for this later information.  I had mostly focused on the early 
years in my research.  I had no idea that they was still a Winsted Edge 
Tool 
Company as late as 1953.  It does make you wonder when they did stop 
making 
the chisels, though, especially with that long gap between 1938 and 1953.

I should also point out that it is pretty well established that companies
used old drawings from old catalogs, even when logos and products had 
changed,
so it may be difficult to date a chisel based on what a logo looks like in 
a 
drawing in a catalog.  I have a copy of a Buck Brothers catalog from 1865, 

and they were still using those same drawings as late as 1890, many years 
after the logo had changed in 1875!

Brian Welch
Worcester, MA

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