H. W. Petrie & Co. was both a manufacturer and a dealer. We do not have good information on what products he actually manufactured. The business was established by H. W. Petrie in 1877. In 1882 Mr. A. Petrie joined the firm which sold new and used machinery, and apparently also manufactured some machines as well. In late 1891 the business officially relocated to Toronto in order to have improved transportion and market access; Petrie had already had a Toronto sales office for some time but we believe that a Toronto name marked on a Petrie machine implies that it is dated after 1891.

It appears that in the early 20th century H. W. Petrie exited the manufacturing business and operated strictly as a dealer. The timing is nearly impossible to ascertain because it appears that Petrie often put their name on products manufactured by others. There is still some lingering doubt as to whether they actually manufactured anything themselves but we suspect that they did.

Detail of ad from 1916-12-28 Canadian Machinery

Information Sources

• Report of a 30" bandsaw with this name.
• From Warner and Beers History of Brant County, 1883:

  H. W. Petrie & Co., Machinists and General Machine Dealers.—The senior member of this firm commenced business in Brantford, as a practical machinist, in 1877. Soon after this he began to buy and sell all classes of machinery, which the times and locality demanded. By thus combining the various features of a workshop with the commercial advantages of an exchange, he has succeeded in building up a flourishing addition to the many industries of the city. In 1882 Mr. A. Petrie became associated with the original owner; since then the business has been conducted under the name and style of H. W. Petrie & Co. The shops contain the usual number and kind of sub-shops and labour-saving machinery, the power for which is supplied by a steam engine of ample size. From six to ten hands are employed, and a respectable amount of material consumed in the regular operations of the establishment.

• The 1891-11-19 issue of American Machinist carried the following news item.

  H. W. Petrie makes the following announcement: I take pleasure In announcing the removal of my business from Brantford to Toronto, Can. This step became necessary owing to the fact of my business having attained such proportions as to require the best facilities for transportation, also buildings and appliances for handling heavy machinery, etc. My new salesrooms and offices being near the Union station, in fact adjoining the station premises, gives visitors by rail an easy means of access.

• An 1897 edition of Industries and Iron had the following item:

  Mr. H. W. Petrie, of Toronto, Ont., has recently completed a large order for machinery for the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, of Calgary, N.W.T.

• An ad in the December 15, 1915 issue of Canadian Machinist for H. W. Petrie, Ltd., of Toronto, lists various used machines for sale, none of them made by Petrie.