OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

181928 "Ray Gardiner" <ray@e...> 2008‑08‑06 Re: Old saw with blank medallion
Hi Don, Steve et al

Nicely detailed research Don,  I think it points to some interesting
possibilities.

Wiktor, in an earlier post asked if anyone had additional information about
Priest & Co.  Following that line a bit further, if the Priest & Co archives
were to be located then,  it should be possible to find out who they made
medallions for, what patterns, how many, when. And of course who was
buying the generic "warranted superior" medallions

The likely place to first look would be the Sheffied Archives, has any
research already been done along these lines?

As to Steve's question of  other makers of "warranted superior"
medallions.  I imagine there were others.  Perhaps that's why
Priest & Co. took the trouble to register the trademark.

For a long period, the US saw makers imported steel from the UK
(apart from those with their own steel making facilities)

So, I would not be surprised if some US makers were importing Medallions
from Britain as well as steel for blades.

Regards
Ray

On 8/5/2008, "Steve Reynolds"  wrote:

>
>On Aug 5, 2008, at 12:04 AM, Don McConnell wrote:
>
>> Steve Reynolds wrote:
>>
>>> =09Ray, I don't think I'm following.  Are you saying that one company
>>> (Priest & Co.) had a trademark for "Warranted Superior", and made all
>>> the sawnuts so marked?
>>>
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> As to the "Warranted Superior"/coat-of-arms medallion being registered
>> as a trade mark, the earliest indication I've found of that is in 1879,
>> in association with the William Henry Smith firm. These are links to
>> the trade mark listing and an advertisement in the 1879 directory:
>>
>> http://www.planemaker.com/photos/whsmith.jpg
>>
>> http://www.planemaker.com/photos/whsmith2.jpg
>>
>> At some point between 1879 and 1901, Priest and Co. seems to have
>> purchased rights to the trade mark, as Ray has already indicated.
>> Their 1901 trade mark listing can be found at this link:
>>
>> http://www.planemaker.com/photos/Priest.jpg
>>
>> So, it would appear that all such medallions, for quite some time,
>> would have been manufactured by one of these firms. At this point, I
>> don't know how early the W. H. Smith succession of firms registered
>> it as a trade mark, but they had been making saw screws for over 40
>> years by 1879, and may have registered it some years earlier.
>
>
>=09Thanks, Don, for your usual level of scholarly research.  I'm assuming
>that the trademark you discuss would be effective for Great Britain and
>whatever Commonwealth that was obeying British trademark laws at the
>time?  I'm further assuming the Warranted Superior sawnuts we usually
>see here in the US were made by whoever wanted to.   I have always
>thought that Disston, Atkins, and Simonds made their own Warranted
>Superior nuts and supplied other smaller firms.
>
>Regards,
>Steve
>
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Recent Bios FAQ