American Scissors and Shears

American Scissors and Shears
An Antique and Vintage Collectors’ Guide
Philip R. Pankiewicz
Universal-Publishers
Boca Raton
AMERICAN SCISSORS AND SHEARS:
AN ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE
COLLECTORS’ GUIDE
Copyright © 2013 Philip R. Pankiewicz
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the publisher
CIP Data Available from the Library of Congress.
Universal-Publishers
Boca Raton, Florida
USA • 2013
Cover design by Kit Oliynyk
ISBN-10: 1-61233-251-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-61233-251-2
www.universal-publishers.com
Pankiewicz, Philip R., 1943American scissors and shears : an antique and vintage collectors' guide / Philip R. Pankiewicz.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-61233-251-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 1-61233-251-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Scissors and shears--Collectors and collecting--United States--Catalogs. I. Title.
TS381.P36 2013
621.9'3--dc23
2013007453
INTRODUCTION
American Scissors
Shears
An Antique & Vintage
Collectors’ Guide
he manufacture of scissors and shears in
American was started primarily by English and German immigrants who had
worked in the cutlery shops of Solingen,
Germany and Sheffield, England. Upon
their arrival on the Eastern coast, they tended to gravitate
toward cities and areas where work was readily available.
For a number of reasons, the Naugatuck Valley in Connecticut and the cities of Newark, New Jersey and Fremont, Ohio became the major centers of scissor and shear
manufacturing in the United States.
The Naugatuck Valley was the site of a goodly supply of
water power to help run the cutlery and ‘shear shops’ that
would soon dot the countryside. Some of these cutleries
made knives and straight razors exclusively; others included scissors and shears in their repertoire. Those that were
tabbed ‘shear shops’, like the Lenox Shear Company of
Brookfield, Connecticut , limited their production exclusively to scissors and shears. The workers in these shops
were primarily immigrants from Sheffield, England.
In Newark, it was German immigrants who dominated
the burgeoning cutlery industry. They were attracted
to the city of Newark because it offered amenities such
as a good seaport, a sound rail system, and a well-developed infrastructure. Rochus Heinisch was among
the first German immigrants to establish a major shear
shop here. Established in the mid-1800’s, Heinisch scissors quickly gained an excellent reputation throughout the New World. His efforts were followed shortly
thereafter by Jacob Wiss who built a virtual scissors
empire and made Wiss scissors commonplace in homes
throughout America and beyond.
Fremont, Ohio, strangely enough, became the largest
center for scissor and shear manufacturing in the United
States. This was the result of the offer of free natural gas to
any businesses that would move there. This offer led to the
establishment and development of the Henkel Company
and the Clauss Shear Company, two independent firms,
they eventually merged to form the largest scissors and
shear manufactory in the world.
American Scissors and Shears, presents countless photographic examples of antique and vintage scissors and
shears made in the United States circa 1850-1930 together with information on more than the one hundred
companies and individuals who made them. The decisions to exclude surgical scissors, scissors produced by
silverware companies, and shears such as pruning, sheep
and grass shears were made to help limit the size of the
text. The many scissor patents granted to individuals were
also omitted for the same reason. Individuals seeking information on these products can find them via internet
researches and at: www.google.com/patents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I N T RO D U CT I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
TA B L E O F CON T E N TS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CONNECTICUT SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Atlas Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Acme Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Joseph Mallinson & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The American Engineering Company . . . . . . . 16
Butler And Sugden Shear Factory . . . . . . . . . . 17
Union Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Renz Shear Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
William Schollhorn Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Clayton Brothers Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Lenox Shear Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
John Ahlbin & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecticut Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
United States Steel Shear Company . . . . . . . . 40
Northfield Knife Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Florian Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . 44
James Frary & Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Doolittle Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . 51
Barnard, Son & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Niagara Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Empire Knife Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Holley Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Waterville Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
American Shear And Knife Company . . . . . . . 67
Tuttle & Whittemore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Concannon Shear Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Remington Arms Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Winchester Arms Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
John J. Conway Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Landers, Frary & Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
NEW JERSEY SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Transomatic Corporation Of America . . . . . .
William Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sayre Scissors And Shear Company . . . . . . . .
Charles Felder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rochus Heinisch & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
90
92
93
94
95
96
H. Boker & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Valley Forge Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schnefel Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacob Wiss & Sons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bontgen & Storsberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
W.H. Compton Shear Company . . . . . . . . . .
Anvil Cutlery Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Friedman & Lauterjung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C.S. Osborne Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Peter Bauer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
104
109
112
117
128
129
138
139
140
142
MICHIGAN SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Berridge Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E.E. Morris Manufacturing Company. . . . . .
Michigan Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hatch Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
144
146
150
151
152
NEW YORK SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company . . . . . . .
The Pinking Shear Corporation . . . . . . . . . . .
Hardened Copper Cutlery Incorporated . . .
Henry Seymour & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Robeson Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fabyan Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Herman Wendt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geneva Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Marx Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . .
Adolph Kastor & Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bmc Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . . .
Judson Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Breeden & Nelke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Graef & Schmidt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Klauberg & Bros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cling Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
John Rowe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
August Eickhoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cattaraugus Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . .
Davies Automatic Shear Company . . . . . . . .
Griffon Cutlery Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Twix Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . .
156
158
159
163
164
171
172
173
176
177
179
180
185
186
187
188
189
191
192
193
198
200
204
PENNSYLVANIA SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
National Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
C.Platts & Sons Cutlery Company . . . . . . . .
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company . . . . . .
Clarenbach & Herder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Queen Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disston Saw Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Frederick C. Leypoldt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OHIO SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maher & Grosh Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ohio Cooperative Shear Company . . . . . . . .
Philip Emrich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ridgeley Trimmer Company . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clauss Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Henkel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jackson Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thomas Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . .
Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Company . . . .
Rudolph Sevic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
W.C. Hocking & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sheer Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
209
210
213
217
218
220
MISSOURI SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Simmons-Keen Kutter-Shapleigh
Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Macon Shear Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
222
224
225
226
228
229
233
234
236
IOWA SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Davenport Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
ARKANSAS SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Solid Steel Scissors Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
INDIANA SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Haynes International Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Schimkat Cutlery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
WISCONSIN SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
American Metal Products
Company (Ampco) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
MASSACHUSETTS SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
I.P. Hyde Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . 244
Martin Bradford & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
NEBRASKA SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Paxton & Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
RHODE ISLAND SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Walcott Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
COLORADO SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Western States Cutlery
And Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
KENTUCKY SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
W.C. Heimerdinger Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing Company . . . 257
ILLINOIS SCISSORS
AND SHEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chicago Mail Order Company . . . . . . . . . . . .
Henry Sears & Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
W.L.W. Grinding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And Manufacturing Company . . . . . . . . . . . .
264
266
269
270
BALL BEARING /
F O L D I N G S CI S S O R S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
F O L D I N G S CI S S O R S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
PINKING SHE AR S/WICK CU TTING
S C I S S O R S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
MYSTERY SCISSORS (CANDIDATES
FOR FURTHER RESE ARCH) . . . . . . . . . 303
ACK N O W L E D G E M E N TS . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
258
260
261
262
263
3
CO
NE
CTI
C
UT
N
THE ATLAS SHEAR COMPANY
ittle is known about this company that
was located in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
One clue is the March 1906 advertisement in the Hardware Dealers’ Magazine that displayed one of the company’s
shears with the patent date of January 9, 1900. That patent design, (No. 32,084), was awarded to J.J. Alvord, of
Bridgeport. A later 1911 advertisement refers to another
Alvord patent, (No. 918,942).
Research revealed that John Jay Alvord, who was born
July 15, 1858 in Green Farms, Connecticut was both
owner and manager of the company.
The 1906 advertisement stated that Atlas brands ‘embody all the essential features required in a good running shear, with an exceptionally fine cutting edge’
and that a catalog was available for their cast shears,
scissors and tin snips. The
RT
1911 advertisement proO
P
GE
claimed Atlas shears to be
I
R
B
‘The Premium That Sells’.
Perhaps so, but at some
point the company was
bought out by Acme Shear
Company, a larger firm also
operating in Bridgeport. At
that time, John Alvord and
Frank Karsitz were creating
new designs and assigning
new patents to Acme. An
Acme report in 1936 showed that Acme was ‘operating under four different names’, including Atlas Shear
Company.
In 1911 the Iron Age Directory listed the Company as
producers of ‘shears and scissors, barbers’ shears, paperhangers’ and bankers’ shears.
6
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
T
OR
In a subsequent meeting on
EP
G
November 5, 1885, it was notBRID
ed that ' the corporation will
purchase of Mrs. May, … at a
sum not to exceed eight hundred dollars, the lot of ground
situated on the southeast
corner of Hicks and Knowlton Streets and that Dwight
Wheeler will be the agent of
this corporation to execute all
contracts in pursuant thereof '.
On December 10, 1885, the new plant was begun and the
first meeting held in the new location (Knowlton & Hicks
Streets, Bridgeport, Connecticut) was on April 5, 1886.
he Acme Shear Company traces its roots
back to 1867 when Leo Renz set up the
Renz Shear Shop in Naugatuck, Connecticut to produce cast iron scissors and
shears. After his death in 1878 Mitchell
Renz took control of the company and moved operations
to Fairfield, Connecticut. Two years later (c1880) the
company was incorporated as the Acme Shear Company.
The hand-written 'Articles of Association' contain the following excerpts.
'We the undersigned hereby associate ourselves in a joint
stock corporation under the statute laws of this state'... 'our
name will be the Acme Shear Company and its stated purpose is to manufacture, buy, sell, own and deal in shears,
scissors, cutlery, and hardware.'
What occurred in the following years (up to the year
1970) was made available from a 22 page file titled 'The
Acme History'. The following is a condensed version of
some significant events:
The amount of its capital was $5,000 divided into 200
shares valued at $25 each and the original stockholders
were Lizzie Renz (100 shares), C. Andrew Morehouse (50
shares) Stephen Maney (25 shares) and Adorno Whitman
(25 shares).
1888 The Company added to its factory by purchasing
'the spoon plant' from the estate of E.C. Maltby.
The first stockholders’ meeting was held September 10,
1883. Dwight Wheeler was elected President; David C.
Wheeler, Secretary and Treasurer, and it was voted to 'hire
the 2nd floor of a factory at 275 Barnum Street together
with engine, boiler, petroleum engine and steam pipes for
one year'.
1891 Plans were developed to explore the foreign export market and to add steel scissors and shears.
These were to be purchased initially from the
(Lenox?)Shear Co. with the possibility of manufacturing their own in the future
7
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
1902 The Company
considers the
purchase of Lenox
Shear Company
but without
results
1906 It was resolved to
'proceed at once
to construct an
addition to the
factory'
1907 In February the
company hit a new
high in monthly
sales
1908 Acme starts
acquiring
additional
property at a great
rate
1909 A new steel and
brick building was
completed and
more property
purchased
1910 Acme completes
an addition to the
foundry. Daily
production of
175 gross of
shears
1912 The introduction
of electricity to
power the
machinery
1913 The Company
purchases the
scissor and shear
division of the
Bridgeport
Hardware
Company
8
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
1917 Company
purchases
$100,000 worth
of Liberty Bonds
for the War
Effort
1918 Unfulfilled orders
amount to over
14,000 gross of
shears and scissors
and Victor shears
1928 The death of
President Dwight
Wheeler is noted.
He had served as
an officer since
1883. David
C. Wheeler is
elected President
1936 The Company
was now doing
business under
four different
names: Acme
Shear Co., Atlas
Shear Company,
The Bridgeport
Shear Co., and the
Eversharp Shear
Company
1942 Acme converts
to war work.
At least a dozen
employees enlist
or are drafted.
A nursery is
established
to attract
mothers into
employment
1943 'The Clipper', an
in-house monthly
publication is
initiated
9
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
1949 A slow year for
business, except
for heavy
demand for
the new
Pinking Shears
1950 Slow business,
but many
improvements
and refurbishing
done
1953 408 workers on the
payroll
1958 Continued
improvements
made to the plant
and office
1960 Acme acquires
interest in
Surmanco, Ltd.,
of Sheffield,
England, mfrs
of scissors,
clippers, etc.
1963 Acme purchases
the Seneca
Novelty Company
of Seneca Falls, NY.
Company now
in the wooden
ruler and yardstick
business
1966 The Company
has 416 employees. Purchases
Waterbury
plant & enters
'fastener'
business.
1968 Fastener business
sold due to lack of
sales
10
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
1967 Acme closes out
the year with 495
employees.
Second shift
added to the
foundry
1970 Acme acquires
Westcott Rule
Company of Seneca Falls, NY
1971 Acme Shear
Company renamed
Acme United
Corporation
1980 Loss of business
from American
Hospital Supply
1990 Acquisition of
Emil Schlemper
G.m.b.H.,
leading West
German maker
of scissors,
shears etc.
1991 Acquisition of
Peter Altenbach &
Sons, Germany’s
third largest
maker of knives
& scissors
1992 Problems with
Altenbach
acquisition
1993 Stock price
plummets
1995 Walter C. Johnson,
age 44, replaces
Dwight Wheeler
as CEO.
Westcott plant
closed
11
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
1997 Acquisition of
Rotex Division of
Esselte Canada.
Office products
business expands
2004 Acme acquires
Clauss Cutlery,
once the largest
scissors manufacturer in the world
• School scissors were always
in demand. Acme had their
‘Kleencut’ brand Acme
marketed this tool for lifting
and handling hot cans
• Acme’s ‘Lucky Grip’
trimmers that presumably
made cutting easier
12
THE ACME SHEAR COMPANY
• Acme’s fifty cent
‘Little Giant’ nutcracker
• A two-penny postcard with
Acme letterhead
• Early Acme ad for
‘Diamond’ and ‘Victor’
shears et al
• An early Acme advertisement (date unknown)
13
J. MALLINSON & CO.
oseph Mallinson, born on Dec. 7, 1831
in Yorkshire, England He emigrated from
West Melton, Yorkshire to Cornwall, Connecticut in 1856, leaving his wife (nee:
Sarah Jane Fieldsend) and child (Walter)
who came over two years. He first lived on Cream Hill
and began manufacturing shears in a small shop near
Stoddard's satinet factory. A few years later, with John
Wood, he bought a mill with water privilege at West
Cornwall, in a larger factory that he called J. Mallinson
& Company.
The Tenth U.S. Water-Power Census Report of June 1,
1880 (Vol.16) reported that there was: ‘no water power in
use above Cornwall Bridge until we reached West Cornwall,
where Mssrs. Mallinson and Wood own a 13 feet fall. The
privilege is improved by a log crib-work dam filled in with
stone; the dam averages about
8 feet in height and has a sloping face, with an apron-covered
L
W AL
3-inch planking. The race is
N
R
CO
several hundred feet long, from
T
S
WE
12 to 14 feet wide, and from
6-8 ft. deep. Joseph Mallinson
uses power for the manufacture of shears and scissors and
for a grist mill, and rents some
power for a foundry. He uses a
60 horsepower wheel but does
not use more than two-thirds
of the power.’
• Photograph of ‘Old Joe’
Mallinson (Courtesy of Mary
Ehrler)
Mr. Wood, from the vicinity of New York, eventually
retired and left town and Mallinson took on other partners. One such person was Adolph Kastor who arrived
in 1890 but left soon afterward to start the Camillus
Cutlery Company in Camillus, NY.
According to the Historical Records of the Town of
Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 'the firm
made all kinds of shears, some of the finest quality'.
The shears were nickel-plated and japanned steel.
‘The buildings were ample, water power permanent and
abundant and the business has always been successful’.
In 1900 his son Walter is listed in the Connecticut Register as being a member of Metal Polishers’ Union No.
96 in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
14
• Early Mallinson
advertisement (Courtesy of
Mary Ehrler)
J. MALLINSON & CO.
• Old newspaper clipping from the collection of Mary Ehrler
15
THE AMERICAN ENGINEERING COMPANY
ccording to advertisements in ‘The
American Cutler’, this company was
located at 200 East Main Street in
New Britain, Connecticut and sold
‘Solid Steel Hand Forged Scissors
and Shears’. The product line included ‘ladies’ scissors,
pocket scissors, embroidery scissors, bent and straight
trimmers, and barbers’shears. The company changed
its corporate title to the Wilsa Manufacturing Company in 1921. Little else could be found on the company.
NE W
IN
ITA
R
B
• This circa 1921 ad indicates
the company’s name change
16
BUTLER & SUGDEN SHEAR FACTORY
he Butler & Sugden Shear factory was begun by William Sage Butler and Robert
Sugden in 1854 in the Dividend Brook
area of Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The
company held a patent (No. 21,319) for
the process of hardening of iron that was used in the manufacture of their shears. Butler claimed that his process
of hardening had advantages over commonly used procedures since the shears could be ‘more easily manufactured into symmetrical proportions’ and that they could
be ‘manufactured at one-eighth the cost of steel plated
goods’. ‘
Butler & Sugden also manufactured a single-shot muzzleloading pistol that they had also patented (No. 16,571).
These pistols apparently bring premium prices when
found and brought to auction.
An 1860 census reported that
Butler & Sugden employed
30 men and four women. Assets were 50 tons of pig iron,
plus coal and molding sand.
The property was situated on
about 10 acres of land and included a house, sawmill, barn,
grist mill and factory buildings.
KY
ROC
LL
HI
Sugden bought out Butler in
1863 and less than two years
later, in October of 1865, the
foundry, finishing shop and outbuildings were destroyed
by fire. The damage was estimated at $15,000 and about
thirty employees were put out of work. Sugden & Butler
formed a new partnership after the fire and rebuilt, but by
June 1868, they sold the business for $20,000 to Elisha
Stevens and George Brown. Stevens & Brown used the
factory to finish and paint tin, mechanical toys and domestic utensils. The products of Stevens & Brown are avidly
sought after by collectors.
• William Butler patents for
tempering shears and
a muzzle-loading pistol
17
UNION SHEAR COMPANY
George C. Beck & George Volmiller
and their wives came from Germany
about fifty years ago, and to West
Cornwall in 1859. These families were
somehow related and hence interacted
together. The husbands worked for Mr. Gardiner, in his
shear shop in West Cornwall, but later purchased the
property and continued it under the name of the Union
Shear Company.’ (Historical Records of the Town of
Cornwall, 1902). An 1887 Company letter head lists
George Vollmiller (spelled with two L’s) and George C.
Beck, presumably the owners. The fact that Volmiller’s
name is crossed out could indicate that he was no longer with the company.
A photograph of the company building on Main Street
is housed in the Cornwall Historical Society Collection.
At some point ‘the factory
burned nearly destroying
the nearby Mansion House
L
W AL
and Ransom Smith’s store.’
N
R
CO
(Cornwall in Pictures, CornT
S
WE
wall Historical Society).
The company letterhead
stated that the Union Shear
Company was ‘manufacturers of all kinds of shears and
scissors, with nickel plated
and japanned handles’.
• This early map of Cornwall CT shows the Union Shear Shop
to the readers’ right, about halfway down the page
• An 1887 letterhead from the
Union Shear Company
18
RENZ SHEAR SHOP
he Renz
Shear shop
b e g a n
circa 1867
when Leo
Renz, who had emigrated
from Prussia c. 1853, bought
an old grist mill by the Beacon Hill Brook in Naugatuck,
Connecticut and set it up to
make cast iron scissors and
shears. The old grist mill had
been built by the Collins
family and previously used
by Edward Benham to manufacture plumbago (History
of New Haven County, Con-
N
K
UC
AT
G
AU
necticut). Renz, who had
four sons, grew the business
for many years. The building burned in 1875 and Leo
Renz died shortly thereafter
in 1878. After his death the
heirs moved operations to
Fairfield, Connecticut in
1880. Initially the company
may have been called the
Renz Hardware Company,
but two years later was incorporated as the Acme Shear
Company.
• Patents issued to Mitchell
and Robert Renz
19
RENZ SHEAR SHOP
‘the name will be the Acme
Shear Company and its
stated purpose is to manufacture, buy, sell, own and
deal in shears, scissors, cutlery, and hardware.’ (Acme
Corporation files)
‘The amount of its capital
was $5,000 divided into
200 shares valued at $200
each. The original stockholders were Lizzie Renz,
100 of the shares, C. Andrew Morehouse, 50, Stephen Maney 25 and Adorno Whitman 25. The first
elected directors (1882)
were Morehouse, Maney &
Whitman. The first stockholders meeting took place
on September 27, 1882 at
which time it was voted to
‘hire the 2nd floor of a factory at 275 Barnum Street
together with engine, boiler, a petroleum engine and
steam pipes for one year at
$400 per year to be paid in
twelve monthly payments.
At that same meeting the
following officers were
elected: Dwight Wheeler,
President, David C. Wheeler, Secretary and Treasurer.
Mitchell Renz was named a
Director.’
On November 2, 1885 the
corporation decided to purchase property on the corner of Hicks and Knowlton
Streets and on December
• Mitchell Renz left
Connecticut for Florida where
he established his own real
estate business. (Letter courtesy
of Acme United Archives)
20
RENZ SHEAR SHOP
10th, Dwight Wheeler was
empowered to begin plans
for building a manufacturing plant.
Robert Renz was a issued
patent No. 124,975 on
march 26, 1872 for shears.
He and his brother Andrew
received a previous patent (No. 116,868) on July
11,1871. Brother Mitchell was granted patent No.
10,101 on July 17, 1877.
Thomas M. Grilley held
patent No. 233,091 for a
pocket-knife that was assigned to Mitchell Renz of
Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• This patented shearing
machine by Robert Renz
probably never went into
production(?)
21