I’m BEYOND thrilled to say that…
After working with the incredible staff over at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Library…we’ve uncovered not one, not two, but FOUR never-before publicized vise catalogs: two for the Lewis Tool Company and two for the Prentiss Vise Company. Please see the bottom of this post for the listing of these catalogs as well a link to the scans on Internet Archive.
For me personally, as a shameless researcher of Prentiss and its affiliated businesses, these catalogues are nothing short of breathtaking. They shine a light on the complete Prentiss and Lewis product lines during several incredible eras of American history. They indicate which vises and features were either discontinued or newly introduced since the previous catalog, and they provide beautiful, accurate visuals and specs of every item. I’ll leave you all to make your own discoveries among the catalog pages of these two historic companies.
At the risk of being accused of windbaggery…While I would certainly consider myself a collector of vises and vise-adjacent memorabilia, the history is my highest priority. Publicly preserving the written and physical memory of these vises for everyone’s benefit is more important to me than hoarding history for myself. I’m not unique in this. SO MANY here on GJ are motivated by the same passion, and I can’t thank you enough! Given the historic value of these catalogues and the wealth of knowledge in this group, I make a practice of humbly encouraging folks to share their resources for everyone’s benefit and for the sake of preserving history. With that, I’ll step off my soap box.
A little history…Mortimer G. Lewis was the brother-in-law of John Mulford by way of marriage to his sister, Maria. Alongside Mulford and several other shareholders, Lewis became a shareholder in the Prentiss Vise Company on September 3rd, 1877. Thereafter, Lewis would be granted at least eight vise-related patents before the Lewis Tool Company was officially incorporated in February 1894 with a capital of $20,000 and along with co-owners John E. Mulford and son Edwin H. Mulford. Lewis would be granted at least eight more vise-related patents, the last of which was issued in August 1904. During the full existence of the Lewis Tool Company, the Prentiss Vise Company also advertised Lewis’ vises, eventually casting their own name on Lewis’ vises instead of that of the Lewis Tool Company (presumably after having purchased Lewis’ patents). Mortimer G. Lewis passed away in Allassio, Italy on May 6th, 1915.
• Lewis Tool Co – 1896 (31-pg. catalog, no #)
• Lewis Tool Co – 1901 (17-pg. catalog #6)
• Prentiss Vise Co – 1902 (74-pg. catalog X)
• Prentiss Vise Co – 1920 (50-pg. catalog #52)
Link to Scans:
https://archive.org/details/@micah_darwin
