I found a pair of Ritter-Carlton Company pliers. They are bent nose with a wire cutter. Handles are plain. They are marked "Ritter-CarltonCo Germany" and are 5.25-inches overall length.
Ritter-Carlton Company was a New York importer/distributor. The owners were Herbert F. Ritter and Elmer H. Carlton. There was also a related "manufacturing" company (discussed further down in this post).
There is one reference to Ritter-Carlton Co. tools on Garage Journal, it is from @Eric Brown regarding some of his German pliers in the Plier Thread. There are a few Ritter-Carlton Co. pliers on eBay. Otherwise, online mentions of the company are fairly sparse. They did sell items besides pliers.
While digging around, I found mentions of the H. F. Ritter Mfg. Co. and H.F. Ritter & Co. Besides having the name of one of the Ritter-Carlton co-owners, the "Mfg." company also advertised Integrity tools. There are online mentions of H. F. Ritter Mfg. Co. in 1946 and 1947 (see attached page) and mentions of H. F. Ritter & Co. in 1943 through 1948. Herbert F. Ritter was the owner. Also, there was an H. F. Ritter & Company, Inc. that was incorporated in 1921 in New Jersey “to deal in all kinds of gloves and mittens” with Herbert F. Ritter being a principle.
[@four.cyle noted that @Mark Stansbury uploaded an H.F. Ritter Mfg. Co. page to ITCL but that is the only reference I could find for the "Mfg." company on GJ. and there are no mentions of H. F. Ritter & Co.]
eBay currently has tools marked H. F. Ritter & Co. that say Made In U.S.A. (metal rule, outside caliper, dividers). These metrology tools look quality made. I'd be surprised if they were truly made by the H. F. Ritter company, but who knows
. I also found a catalog by them (No. 12) for sale online (thumbnail attached).
(Finding a random pair a pliers a garage sale sure ended up being a lot of work.)
Ritter-Carlton Company was a New York importer/distributor. The owners were Herbert F. Ritter and Elmer H. Carlton. There was also a related "manufacturing" company (discussed further down in this post).
There is one reference to Ritter-Carlton Co. tools on Garage Journal, it is from @Eric Brown regarding some of his German pliers in the Plier Thread. There are a few Ritter-Carlton Co. pliers on eBay. Otherwise, online mentions of the company are fairly sparse. They did sell items besides pliers.
- I found a 1936 mention of Ritter-Carton Co. talking about their imported coilable rules – their address was 527 5th Ave, New York City.
- A corkscrew collectors website said that Ritter-Carlton published a catalog in 1939.
- In a 1940 Hardware Age, the company was listed as selling carpenters dividers, measuring tapes, drill bits, tool handles, slip-joint pliers, wrenches, hacksaw frames, rules, saws, screwdrivers, squares, and tie racks. These were listed under “Integrity Tools”. - see attachment.
- There was a 1942 Ritter Carlton Co. lawsuit against the United States, brought to recover customs duties alleged to have been improperly exacted upon a particular importation of steel tape measures. They also had another lawsuit against the U.S. involving the definition of pliers versus wrenches.
While digging around, I found mentions of the H. F. Ritter Mfg. Co. and H.F. Ritter & Co. Besides having the name of one of the Ritter-Carlton co-owners, the "Mfg." company also advertised Integrity tools. There are online mentions of H. F. Ritter Mfg. Co. in 1946 and 1947 (see attached page) and mentions of H. F. Ritter & Co. in 1943 through 1948. Herbert F. Ritter was the owner. Also, there was an H. F. Ritter & Company, Inc. that was incorporated in 1921 in New Jersey “to deal in all kinds of gloves and mittens” with Herbert F. Ritter being a principle.
[@four.cyle noted that @Mark Stansbury uploaded an H.F. Ritter Mfg. Co. page to ITCL but that is the only reference I could find for the "Mfg." company on GJ. and there are no mentions of H. F. Ritter & Co.]
eBay currently has tools marked H. F. Ritter & Co. that say Made In U.S.A. (metal rule, outside caliper, dividers). These metrology tools look quality made. I'd be surprised if they were truly made by the H. F. Ritter company, but who knows
. I also found a catalog by them (No. 12) for sale online (thumbnail attached).(Finding a random pair a pliers a garage sale sure ended up being a lot of work.)
