Prentiss Vise Co. was one of the leading U. S. vise manufacturers for almost a century, and its vises were a mainstay of railroad and industrial hardware suppliers. From its office in New York City, the company outsourced its production at times to other manufacturers, but also had its own factory in Watertown, NY. Also notable about Prentiss was the large number of its brand names. This list with the types of vises or attachments was complied by Todd Werts:

• 20th Century pipe
• Anchor or Anchor Line machinist, bench
• Bingham vise jaw caps
• Blake pipe, bench and pipe
• Bull Dog woodworker, bench, machinist
• Challenge pipe grip
• Eclipse wrench attachment
• Gipsy bench
• Lewis bench, machinist
• Magic pipe
• Malleable bench
• Monarch bench and pipe, machinist, pipe, woodworker
• Peerless swivel pipe grip, adapts to any vise
• Prentiss
• P. V. Co.
• Rapid Transit machinist, bench
• Rex bench and pipe
• Sampson
• Shepard and New Shepard woodworker, pipe, bench, drilling attachment
• Star bench
• Triple Ser-Vise
• Yankee bench

Some of these names were patent holders, including Shepard, Bingham, Blake, and Lewis.

The origins of this firm began in an 1868 vise patent granted to Mason Prentiss. The main feature of this patent is a swiveling jaw that can accommodate tapered work pieces. So far we have not been able to determine whether Prentiss, or perhaps someone else, manufactured it before 1878. In that year, the Hall Manufacturing Co. of New York City announced that they had arranged for the manufacture of the Prentiss' Patent Adjustable Jaw and Swivel Bottom Vises by venerable foundry and machine shop Bagley & Sewall of Watertown, NY. Ads from Hall soon appeared, touting their Prentiss vises as manufactured for them by Bagley & Sewall.

1879-08-16 American Machinist

The 1880 New York City Directory lists the Prentiss Patent Vise Co.; we have not found that company name anywhere else and it may have been a misprint. The name Prentiss Vise Co. appears soon after, and was used for several years in parallel with the name "Hall Manufacturing Co." before the Hall name disappeared.

Information Sources

• October 1878 American Machinist.

  The Hall Manufacturing Co., 23 Dey St., New York, have just completed arrangements for the manufacture of their Prentiss' Patent Adjustable Jaw and Swivel Bottom Vises, by the old and well-known firm of Bagley & Sewell, Genereal Machinists, of Watertown, N. Y., whose high reputation is sufficient guarantee of superior workmanship in that desirable implement.

• 1879-07-15 American Machinist, in an article listing the leading manufacturers of Watertown.

  Bagley & Sewall, who employ some 65 men. Their works and property cover between 2½ and 3 acres of land. They have the exclusive manufacture of the Prentiss Swivel-bottom and Adjustable Jaw Vise, for the Hall Manufacturing Co., of New York City, which vise has grown into well-deserved favor throughout this county... This firm, under the present stylee, has been in business for 26 years. The senior partner, Mr. Geo. A. Bagley...

• 1880-81 Trow's Newe York City Directory "Prentiss Patent Vise Co. 28 Dey".
• 1883 Cook & Co. Illustrated Catalogue of General Machinery and Supplies for Machinnists, Manufacturers, including Parker's Patent Vises.
• Archived article by Todd Werts (ToolArchives.com) Prentiss Vise Co.