Trowel and Masonry Tool Collector Resource : 2018

Please note

Because of the lack of published trowel and masonry tool histories, the information here is based on other sources that may be less reliable and certainly are incomplete. These include eBay and tools that I purchase myself that are the starting points for my research. I will write what I know as I learn it. If what you read here interests you, please check back often and look for revisions and corrections. Scanned catalogs are on Archive.org as pdf files. A few are links to other websites. Your photos and information are welcome. Please click on any picture to enlarge it. Comments are welcome, but any with links will be deleted as possible spam.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

History of Martin Maurer of St. Louis

Martin Maurer operated a hardware store and machine shop in St. Louis, Missouri from 1875 to at least 1895. He invented and patented a stamped steel concrete edger and a groover in 1891, and St. Louis city directories in the early 1890s show that he specialized in masonry tools. Maurer developed and manufactured a line of concrete tools which were still being sold in the 1904 catalog of Walter A. Zelnicker Supply Co., a St. Louis hardware wholesaler.

I have been unable to find this Martin Maurer in US Census records to get his birth date, or to find a death record. There is a mention of him in the Cassville, MO newspaper 3 Oct. 1895, stating that he was to move to Louisiana. This could mean the state or Louisiana, MO.

Beginning in 1903, a Martin Maurer of Pueblo, Colorado received at least 8 patents for scales and improvements to scales. The first one used one of the same patent attorneys as the concrete tool patents. It may be the same person, but I have no verification of that.

US Patent 460,644 Device for blocking off artificial-stone pavements
US Patent 460,645 Device for rounding and smoothing the edges of artificial-stone gutters

Cassville, MO newspaper, 3 Oct. 1895

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Determining the Age of W. Rose Tools

1800s

W. Rose has always stamped their forged tools with variations of the business name, and sometimes an abbreviation of West Philadelphia. However, determining when W. Rose made a particular tool is difficult because of the rarity of catalogs and lack of early advertising with pictures. The only scanned catalog available is 1929. The earliest picture in advertising or a hardware catalog is 1897. Advertising of the period shows that between 1909 and 1916 the firm dropped West Philadelphia as the location from their stamp, so it read "W. ROSE".

Before 1916

1887 Advertisement

Before 1916

Another difference is that earlier tools use a serif style lettering, changing to a sans serif on or before 1916. On most trowels and leather tools, the lettering is right-side up when the tool is held in the right hand, but a few are reversed. These variations and their approximate dates are:

1902 advertisement (serif style lettering is not accurate)

W. ROSE
Serif style letters, read with handle on the right or the left
1800s

W. ROSE
PHILAD.
Serif style letters, read with handle on the right
1800s

W. ROSE
WEST PHILA.

1916 advertisement

Serif style letters, read with handle on the right
Before 1916

W. ROSE
WEST PHILA.
Serif style letters, read with handle on the right
Before 1916

W. ROSE=
WEST PHILA.
Serif style letters, read with handle on the right
Before 1916

1924 presentation trowel (engraved with date)

W. ROSE/
Sans serif letters
1924

W. ROSE-
Sans serif letters

W. ROSE U.S.A.
Sans serif letters

In recent decades Rose brick trowel handles were stamped:

U.S.A. version

W. ROSE
MADE IN U.S.A. SHARON HILL, PA.

The catalog number and length follow W. ROSE.

1959, stamped handle

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The Stone Jack

L.J. Kelly stone jacks

The stone jack was used to push and lift heavy loads in stone quarries, stone cutting sheds, construction sites, foundries, machine shops, and mills. They were designed to be used in a vertical, horizontal, or angled position, and to lift from the top or with a "foot lift" on the back.

The name suggests that they were originally used to lift and push blocks of stone. As industrialization progressed and the size of machinery and boilers increased, stone jacks were used to transfer these from rail car to wagon and into buildings. Stone jacks also found use in in textile mills.

Mechanically, some stone jacks are ratchets, and others use a similar design, a crank-operated rack and pinion with reduction gears. The rack and pinion are enclosed with a wood housing reinforced with iron bands. These are the only jacks made in the late 19th and 20th centuries that are part wood.

Stone jack pushing a crated boiler

E.R. Klemm of Chicago, Illinois was a leading U.S. manufacturer of stone jacks in the early 20th century. A native of Magdelburg, Germany, and a prolific inventor, Emil Richard Klemm (1859-1928) patented a steel stone jack housing that he manufactured. Klemm's business merged with Chicago hardware house J.H. Channon Corp. in 1936. Pages from 2 catalogs showing Klemm's stone jacks are on Archive.org. They are also in the 1937 Brunner & Lay catalog.

Another manufacturer of the day was L.J. Kelly of Albany, New York, who advertised his cast iron iron and steel jacks in "Granite" and other stone trade magazines.

Stone jacks made by E.R. Klemm of Chicago, IL, 1917

Monday, March 12, 2018

History of Wheelbarrows Used in Masonry Work

Chattanooga contractor's wheelbarrow 1922

Wheelbarrows, or barrows as they were once called, carts, buggies, sleds, and rollers have been used to carry brick, stone, mortar, and concrete for centuries. They were used to move material around construction sites, stone quarries, brickyards, and onto and off wagons, railroad cars, and ships.

While I am not aware of any wheelbarrow collectors, there is an active market for old wheelbarrow manufacturer's catalogs on US eBay. Some US manufacturers include these companies: