I've just finished scanning and uploading Billing & Spencer's 33rd catalog.
First of all, welcome to GJ! Many thanks for doing that and for letting us know. Making digital versions of vintage catalogs available to all for their information value while still retaining the collectible value of the hard copy for yourself is the kind of esprit de corps greatly appreciated here on GJ and elsewhere. Kudos to you.
As for year of publication, 1914 was my best bet, but it could be wrong.
What rationale did you use to date it? That would be helpful to know.
If you have any info, let me know so I can try to correct it.
It looks like you uploaded it directly to IA. If you go to the Billings & Spencer section of the International Tool Catalog Library, part of IA, linked
HERE, and sorted in descending chronological order of publication, there are a number of other B&S catalogs that might help you (and all of us) refine the date on the "33rd Edition".
For example, note that there are several pages of a Gibson Company (hardware store) catalog dedicated to B&S tools dated to 1915. That would be a good comparator to see how the tools match up.
Secondly, note that the 36th Edition has been dated to 1926.
Alloy Artifacts (AA) has a copy of the 37th Edition (1929) and the 35th Edition (1923) in their library.
We can't use straight math to definitively deduce the date of the 33rd Edition, and they didn't start using a date-aligned publication numbering scheme until the 1940's, e.g., "No. W-48-2" for a 1948 wrenches only brochure, "No. 49" for a 1949 catalog), but if we follow the pattern shown by the 37th (1929), 36th (1926), and 35th (1923) of publishing an edition every three years, that would make the 34th Edition 1920 and the 33rd Edition 1917.
I have done some analysis based on the ratchets, which I offer for your consideration.
Page 33 shows a beautiful artistic rendering of the "Allen-Friction" ratchet, which was patented (1,000,878), by Mr. F.R. Allen, in 1910. So far so good.
Page 36, however, shows an "Allen-Universal" ratchet, which was Mr. Allen's second patent (1,261,092), not granted until 1918, and the accompanying text does not read as if the ratchet is making its debut. It reads like it's been in their catalog before. He applied for the patent in 1914, so it's technically not impossible that he may have been licensing the design to B&S that early, and they in turn may have already been making and offering it in catalogs that early, but I do find it implausible.
Going back to the B&S section in the 1915 Gibson Company hardware catalog, note that it includes the "Allen-Friction" ratchet (1910), but it
does not include the "Allen-Universal" ratchet (1918).
I would call all this 'vaguely homing in on' late teens (1917-1919) for the 33rd, but just food for thought. It's great to have it, regardless of the exact publication date.
open for a set up here in Ontariariarioooo, Canada. Just curious, if you don’t mind letting me know how much they set back.. thanks, Ayrhead
