Lets make an all vintage Snap-on tool picture thread!

[Jammer1329]

a ferret box. would date right about 1930. Nice . It is very hard to find.

Cool! Thanks for the info


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[humber2]

Top left in Ferret box, is that a 1/4 hex drive set? Duro or Indestro for radio technicians dating from mid 30's

 

[Jammer1329]

Top left in Ferret box, is that a 1/4 hex drive set? Duro or Indestro for radio technicians dating from mid 30's

Good eye!


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[ooba tooba]

Shot taken in Canada probably at least 60 years ago. Is that a K21 tool chest on the left?

 

[Farmer J.]

It does look like a K21 box on the left, the lid is propped open with the tote tray standing up on edge inside.
Why all the 'Union Jack' flags in the display? Probably a shop owner from England and maybe it was 2nd June 1953 coronation of our present Queen Elizabeth 2. Or perhaps on the occasion of a royal visit to Canada.

 

[ooba tooba]

It does look like a K21 box on the left, the lid is propped open with the tote tray standing up on edge inside.
Why all the 'Union Jack' flags in the display? Probably a shop owner from England and maybe it was 2nd June 1953 coronation of our present Queen Elizabeth 2. Or perhaps on the occasion of a royal visit to Canada.

Pic was posted on another forum with no info. Some commenters speculated a guess it was taken in Canada and at least 60 years ago because of one of the flags used. It would be great if a hi rez version existed to see all the goodies on display there. On the left still it appears to be a display with a service man (or Snap On puppet haha wouldn’t that be creepy) and some kind of sign or topper there in the foreground of the window scene. On the right it’s hard to tell but possibly a K5 chest and maybe one of those early master kit cases opened to the left of that?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Why all the 'Union Jack' flags in the display? Probably a shop owner from England and maybe it was 2nd June 1953 coronation of our present Queen Elizabeth 2. Or perhaps on the occasion of a royal visit to Canada.

The latter is suggested not only by the flags, but the banner. "Crowned King of Mechanics Tools" and "Reigned supreme" were not corporate marketing sloganeering. The shop owners had that made themselves, locally, cleverly tailored for the occasion.

EDIT: There is a heraldry shield with a smaller 'Union Jack' on a flag just over the entrance. If someone can identify it, that might provide a location, no?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I would bet my next paycheck that if it's Canada, it's May-June 1939, for the royal tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

 

[ooba tooba]

The latter is suggested not only by the flags, but the banner. "Crowned King of Mechanics Tools" and "Reigned supreme" were not corporate marketing sloganeering. The shop owners had that made themselves, locally, cleverly tailored for the occasion.

EDIT: There is a heraldry shield with a smaller 'Union Jack' on a flag just over the entrance. If someone can identify it, that might provide a location, no?

Shop address is 1211. Reflection in right window indicates grocery store across (a probably very narrow) street. Age might also be considered by the shape of the “S” in the large Snap On sign in left window above the tool chest. That style S was used in my badge on my K56. So probably mid/late 40s to early/mid 50s.

 

[ooba tooba]

I would bet my next paycheck that if it's Canada, it's May-June 1939, for the royal tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Hey cool!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was already convinced by the obvious royal double-entendres in the banner, and 1939 fits the K21 perfectly. It was a big deal. Wiki link here.

 

[ooba tooba]

I was already convinced by the obvious royal double-entendres in the banner, and 1939 fits the K21 perfectly. It was a big deal. Wiki link here.

Wow. Quite a tour hitting all provinces and major cities. Might be near impossible to pin down an exact locale. But knowing the age (more than likely) is a plus!

 

[Farmer J.]

Great detective work here, sparked off by that picture! The date 1920 on the sign of course is the start of Snap On Tools, but the link for that date to British monarchy is that King George VI (the one doing the tour in 1939) had been made Duke of York in 1920.

As so often, I now ramble on and stray off topic.. The tenuous link here is that in 1923 he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who was the previous owner of the Daimler hub spanner I have!! The story of how my Grandfather acquired it is quite amusing..

 

[Provincial]

Do tell!

 

[Old Radar]

Let's hear it!

 

[snapmom]

The clue. 1211 street number. Listed in the 37 cat. 1211 Granville st. Vancouver BC

 

[ooba tooba]

The clue. 1211 street number. Listed in the 37 cat. 1211 Granville st. Vancouver BC

Nice work SnapMom! Quick google turned this up. May 11, 1937 It is a K5. Click on pic for hi resolution image.
https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca...es-in-front-of-store-at-1211-granville-street

 

[ooba tooba]

The hi rez pic

 

[ooba tooba]

At least it’s not a puppet. I’ll sleep easy tonight.

 

[ooba tooba]

Looks like some sockets and wrenches laid out for display. Other pic shows the cool work duds with both Snap On and Blue Point on them. Thanks guys!

 

[MattVette89]

Other pic shows the cool work duds with both Snap On and Blue Point on them. Thanks guys!

Here you go:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-42L-1...-/303603262645?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

[Farmer J.]

The clue. 1211 street number. Listed in the 37 cat. 1211 Granville st. Vancouver BC

Wow, snapmom has 'nailed it'! well done

Ok guys, I will post the story of the Royal Daimler wrench some time within the next few days, need to dig out the bit of paper with the notes on it from Grandfather's old box.. Probably put it in the Lugz 'automemobilia' thread. Stand by.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

May 11, 1937

I'm not buying that date. I think it's highly probable they archived the photograph wrong. It happens. Not only was May 1939 the month and year of the royal tour, it was the first time the reigning king and queen had ever visited Canada. If it's May 1937, what was the reason for the hoopla? We're supposed to believe that Snap-on distributor (great idea to check the distributors' lists, snapmom, 1 of only 4 in Canada!) was displaying all those Union Jacks and the special banner with the clever royalty/Snap-on play-on-words in 1937?

EDIT: The only other explanation I could think of was a grand opening, possibly, but they - or someone else - had been in Vancouver since 1929.

Gotta hand it to them they didn't give up in the hard times, if it's the same guys. They were at 945 Pacific St in 1929, 945 Davie St in 1931, 1209 Burrard St in 1933, 1152 Howe St in 1934. Not sure when they occupied 1211 Granville, but they lasted there from 1937 to 1950, when they moved back to 1045 Davie St. They were there through 1967 when Snap-on Tools of Canada, Ltd., was formed and then they became a subsidiary of that at 1780 W. 3rd Ave.

 

[ooba tooba]

@ Lugz, the ‘39 date makes sense.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The box on the right looks like it may have an oval decal. Which would put it late 30s.

 

[1982fxr]

Here you go:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-42L-1...-/303603262645?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

I would so wear those.

 

[Hoorn]

I still cannot believe my luck on this one. this was one of those "who can get to their phone fast enough" type deals on OfferUp. I responded within 7 minutes and was on the road. A KR 300B, that although was in rough condition, is absolutely worth $20. In speaking to the owner, who was in his 70s, he mentioned that his father was a Snap-On salesman and that this was his roller.

 

[ooba tooba]

I still cannot believe my luck on this one. this was one of those "who can get to their phone fast enough" type deals on OfferUp. I responded within 7 minutes and was on the road. A KR 300B, that although was in rough condition, is absolutely worth $20. In speaking to the owner, who was in his 70s, he mentioned that his father was a Snap-On salesman and that this was his roller.

Hey that’s great! If you ever want to sell those 2 badges let me know. They are right for my K260.

 

[Adam Aragon]

Oldest vintage Snap-on. Found it in a 1923 catalog but could not find one for sale anywhere. Can’t even find a photograph.

 

[ooba tooba]

Old.

 

[gpw_42]

Late to the party with this, but that was the Canadian flag at the time. It was unofficially adopted from 1867 and officially from 1924-1965 when the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. Not unlike the US flag, there were several iterations of the Red Ensign until its final version. Interesting to me that the Union Jack is displayed to the flag's left, though I don't know if that has any particular significance.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ensign#Canada

 

[MR.X]

The May 11th date may have been for the May 12th Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth.

 

[Provincial]

Late to the party with this, but that was the Canadian flag at the time. It was unofficially adopted from 1867 and officially from 1924-1965 when the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. Not unlike the US flag, there were several iterations of the Red Ensign until its final version. Interesting to me that the Union Jack is displayed to the flag's left, though I don't know if that has any particular significance.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ensign#Canada

Most flags are mirror-image on the other side. Depending on which side you are looking at, the Union Jack could be on either side. I believe there would be a protocol for which side to display a single flag, but if it were part of a symmetrical display, it would be proper to show both sides.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Most flags are mirror-image on the other side. Depending on which side you are looking at, the Union Jack could be on either side. I believe there would be a protocol for which side to display a single flag, but if it were part of a symmetrical display, it would be proper to show both sides.

Hmm. That idea is strange to me. Not to get too far off topic here, and speaking for no other flag etiquette other than US, this is absolutely not the case with the US flag. When it is displayed on a wall or on any flat immovable surface other than a pole, the white stars on a field of blue is always in the upper left. It is never proper to show the US flag on a flat vertical immovable surface with the blue field of stars in any other position. Even when a US flag is hung vertically, with the red and white stripes going up and down instead of horizontal, the white stars in the blue field still belongs on the upper left. This is the most common mistake I see on people's homes, where they simply turn the flag 90* to the right, which puts the field of blue with stars in the upper right.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The May 11th date may have been for the May 12th Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth.

I am doing a complete about face on the 1939 royal tour conclusion based on this information. All the previously noted royalty allusions in the banner ("King of Tools" "long may they reign" etc) make even more sense for celebrating their coronation and it absolutely makes sense that they decked their shop out and snapped the photos the day before in 1937.

 

[LesserSon]

Note in the second image, the shield is NOT a mirror image. (I think because it is sewn, not printed.) This is a photo of a flag as seen from that side. In the b&w photo, the shield IS flipped, suggesting to me that the intention was that it be seen from within the store. What’s really interesting, is that they got the Union Jack portion right, which is not the case in the topmost image. It’s not merely fimbriated with the color (argent) of the St Andrew’s cross, but centered over it. Nor is it of correct 1:2 proportion for a canton. Not being Canadian nor a subject of the British Crown, I’m not sure if either is acceptable on a printed flag.

Lugz - I completely agree with your observations about displaying the Stars & Stripes on a flat vertical OPAQUE surface, but that Red Ensign is displayed in a window. If you walk around a US flag displayed from a boom or flying in a breeze (or placed in a window), you do see the other side.
Further, the right-shoulder patches on US uniforms were, in recent years (since 2005), reversed to give the impression soldiers were “advancing, not retreating.” Absurd logic, and demonstrating historical ignorance, because in the age of sail, the flag would always fly before the wind while under way. Only on a ship at anchor or taken aback (ergo, mishandled) would the flag correspond to the current images on the port and starboard shoulders. Mishandled ship of state? In 2009, the civilian wearing of either version of the right-shoulder patch was authorized, leading to further confusion.
I submit that, not because I believe you don’t know it, but to suggest a general trend of making exceptions to established protocol.
A local supermarket had a US flag displayed in their foyer, and it irked me that it was backwards, until I was exiting. Maybe those Snappy sales guys were deliberately prompting the public to come in to complain, just to increase foot traffic?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugz - I completely agree with your observations about displaying the Stars & Stripes on a flat vertical OPAQUE surface, but that Red Ensign is displayed in a window. If you walk around a US flag hung from a boom or flying in a breeze, you do see the other side.

I don't see a window. I see a flag hanging horizontally from a beam above an entrance. The vantage point is clearly meant to be from outside the store looking at the store. If that was the US flag, the blue field must be in the upper left. This is not subject to interpretation. It is code.

Further, the right-shoulder patches on US uniforms were, in recent years, reversed to give the impression soldiers were “advancing, not retreating.”

Note I said immovable objects above. I was not a fan of the change, but right shoulder patches were reversed because uniforms are worn by people, and people are not immovable, to match the code for vehicles, for the same reason.

 

[LesserSon]

You are correct about the storefront. I see it now. My mistake.
I absolutely mean no disrespect for the military, nor for those who serve or have served our nation, nor in fact for our northern neighbors’ nation.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

No problem, LS, and no disrespect taken.

 

[Provincial]

Does anyone know what the flag display code was for the British Empire at that time? They may have had a different take on display.