Auto-Cle

[AntiqueBen]

Well, I hope I didn't set myself up to disappoint you. I don't have too much more to say, I just had no time to say it before.

Basically, I think it's interesting seeing how things like this reveal typical early growing pains and processes of a new and, at the time, innovative tools enterprise.

Your ratchet and set indicate that at some point after he established an import partner, some form of manufacturing and assembly, and a patent to back him up in England, Auto-Cle started stamping the British patent on surplus ratchets originally made and stamped with the French patent in France. We don't know exactly when that was in terms of time, except that it would have to be after the patent was granted in 1903. But, if we're right about the S/N's in the oval logos (and really, what else would they be?) we might could deduce that happened no later than the making of 1,992 ratchets!

Then they obviously get a little more sophisticated. Instead of re-stamping the ratchet bodies with the British patent number, it looks like they just sufficed themselves with affixing a nifty brass badge on the box, and stamping the British patent number on that, instead. As indicated by @Farmer J. 's and @Patrick Eubanks' Auto-Cle sets. What's interesting about those two are the ratchets (No. 20868 and No. 21173) only 305 unknown digits away from each!

This may seem like a crazy question given how much we have all talked about this, you'll have to remind me.... before manufacturing began in the US, did Auto Cle have a manufacturing setup in England? Or were the sets just sent from France & then stamped with the English patent once they arrived in England?

Edit:

Now that I think about it, the "Patented" stamping is completely different than the rest of the stampings on the ratchet. The Patented stamping is very lightly done, while all the other stampings are much deeper.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...did Auto Cle have a manufacturing setup in England? Or were the sets just sent from France & then stamped with the English patent once they arrived in England?

Not enough information to determine, but possible for the sockets at least. The April 4, 1903 edition of The Autocar, an early British trade mag, includes an ad for "L'Auto Cle spanners" being sold by United Motor Industries, 45 Great Marlborough St, London. That is just two months after they were exhibited by Contal and The Electromobile Company at the Crystal Palace show. Could've been imported, though. Everything happened very fast, though. From mid 1903 to early 1904, a matter of only 8 months, the French patent was issued, the article introducing L'Auto-Cle appeared in La Vie Automobile, the British patent was issued, and the US patent was issued. Auto-Cle ads started showing up in US trade journals a year later.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Not enough information to determine, but possible for the sockets at least. The April 4, 1903 edition of The Autocar, an early British trade mag, includes an ad for "L'Auto Cle spanners" being sold by United Motor Industries, 45 Great Marlborough St, London. That is just two months after they were exhibited by Contal and The Electromobile Company at the Crystal Palace show. Could've been imported, though. Everything happened very fast, though. From mid 1903 to early 1904, a matter of only 8 months, the French patent was issued, the article introducing L'Auto-Cle appeared in La Vie Automobile, the British patent was issued, and the US patent was issued. Auto-Cle ads started showing up in US trade journals a year later.

You're right. A lot happened from 1903-04. It's very possible that Auto Cle had the ability to manufacture the set in England too I suppose. It's almost like we need all of our examples laying on the same table to do a detailed comparison. That would be interesting.

 

[Farmer J.]

You're right. A lot happened from 1903-04. It's very possible that Auto Cle had the ability to manufacture the set in England too I suppose. It's almost like we need all of our examples laying on the same table to do a detailed comparison. That would be interesting.

It's a shame the Auto Cle information seems to have become scattered over 3 different threads, but:

See post #39 https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/my-favorite-ratchet-wrench-mossberg-auto-cle.320336/

'The plate with the British patent number indicates that the toolkit has probably been manufactured in Great Britain and therefore dates from 1904 onward.'

Also, check out the article here again. Google translate is useful if you don't happen to read French:

Les Tricars - Contal

Tricars et trivoiturettes, petits engins à trois roues, produits 1898-1914 environ. Constructeurs, entreprises et modèles. Histoire détaillé. Rubrique technique: moteurs, changements de vitesses, carburateurs. Participation aux courses automobiles.

lestricars.es.tl