Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
As first shown and discussed at some length in the '2018 Garage Sale' thread here, I was fortunate enough to run into a Crescent hardware store tool case at my flea market this morning. See Pic 1.
Measuring 48-1/2" H x 24-1'2" W x 2-3/4" D, it is made of QSWO with a thick glass door. It looks every bit as cool in person as it does on page 26 of the Crescent Catalog #24. See excerpt in Pic 2.
The fancy script on the plate on top reads, "They are your Fingers of Steel" and "Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., Irvington, N.J., U.S.A." See Pic 3.
The fancy script on the bottom reads, "Crescent Tool Co.", flanked by "Factories / Jamestown, N.Y. Irvington, N.J." on the left, and "Offices / Jamestown, N.Y." on the right. See Pic 4.
Ironically, almost achingly, the case was completely empty but for one pair of pliers - and a whole mess of stock tags bearing the catalog part number, size, and price for the missing tools hanging from empty clips. See Pics 5 & 6.
This case (I haven't figured out if it's WC1 or WC3, which were slightly different in contents) can be dated to no earlier than 1926 (when Crescent purchased Smith & Hemenway) to at least 1942, where it still appears in Crescent Catalog #24, as noted above.
You can see earlier cases that almost seem to serve as a model for this case in tin medic's "RED DEVIL" GJ thread, which is chock full of period ads supplied by four_cycle, linked here.
Alas, it did NOT come home with me. It was tagged at $800. I had the vendor - an antiques dealer - down to $550, which was still too steep for me. I was prepared to pay as high as $300...or so. It is stunning. It would take more than my remaining lifetime to fill it, but it would be a gorgeous addition to the Lugzsonian, or anyone's toolmancave, just as it is. But not at $550 for this humble collector.
Enjoy.
Measuring 48-1/2" H x 24-1'2" W x 2-3/4" D, it is made of QSWO with a thick glass door. It looks every bit as cool in person as it does on page 26 of the Crescent Catalog #24. See excerpt in Pic 2.
The fancy script on the plate on top reads, "They are your Fingers of Steel" and "Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., Irvington, N.J., U.S.A." See Pic 3.
The fancy script on the bottom reads, "Crescent Tool Co.", flanked by "Factories / Jamestown, N.Y. Irvington, N.J." on the left, and "Offices / Jamestown, N.Y." on the right. See Pic 4.
Ironically, almost achingly, the case was completely empty but for one pair of pliers - and a whole mess of stock tags bearing the catalog part number, size, and price for the missing tools hanging from empty clips. See Pics 5 & 6.
This case (I haven't figured out if it's WC1 or WC3, which were slightly different in contents) can be dated to no earlier than 1926 (when Crescent purchased Smith & Hemenway) to at least 1942, where it still appears in Crescent Catalog #24, as noted above.
You can see earlier cases that almost seem to serve as a model for this case in tin medic's "RED DEVIL" GJ thread, which is chock full of period ads supplied by four_cycle, linked here.
Alas, it did NOT come home with me. It was tagged at $800. I had the vendor - an antiques dealer - down to $550, which was still too steep for me. I was prepared to pay as high as $300...or so. It is stunning. It would take more than my remaining lifetime to fill it, but it would be a gorgeous addition to the Lugzsonian, or anyone's toolmancave, just as it is. But not at $550 for this humble collector.
Enjoy.
