Sample Stand, 1899

A succession of small companies made vises from the George A. Colton patent of June 16, 1885. The first, in 1886, was Hayden & Barnes. That name disappeared by the end of 1886, and by late 1887 we see Moore & Barnes Manufacturing Co., which in 1890 became the Barnes Manufacturing Co. That firm went into receivership in 1894 and with new investors it re-emerged as the Phoenix Hardware Manufacturing Co.; we have also seen the name Phoenix Hardware & Manufacturing Co. a few times, which seems to be erroneous.

Many of the surviving vises are marked H & B in addition to the patent date which is believed to stand for "Hayden & Barnes". During 1886 that firm advertised their vises extensively—not only in trade journals such as The Iron Age, but also in wide-circulation periodicals such as Harper's Weekly.

Hayden & Barnes was in Syracuse, NY; Moore & Barnes started in Syracuse and then relocated their factory to Phoenix, Oswego County, NY in late 1887. The Phoenix Hardware Manufacturing Co began in Phoenix and then in 1902 moved to Homer, Cortland County, NY, and was sold to North Buffalo Hardware Foundry Co. after fire destroyed the Homer plant in 1912. The 1925 address was 49 Illinois St., Buffalo, NY.

Information Sources

• The Mechanical News, Vol. 17, No. 18, Dec. 1, 1887. Pg. 280.
• Democrat and Chronicle, Mar. 7, 1895.
• 1895 book Landmarks of Oswego County, page 751.
• Onondaga's Centennial, Vol. 2, Dwight Hall Bruce, 1896. Pg 459.
• The association of "H & B" with Hayden & Barnes came from a discussion on Garage Journal.