From 1885-07-11 The Mechanical Engineer

From about 1885 until the early 1900s, Edward Kirmss, of 338 East 23rd Street, New York City, was manufacturing "Snyder's Little Giant horizontal engine & boiler", a product that before that time had been manufactured by Snyder Bros. of Fulton Street in New York City.

Information Sources

• 1885-07-11 The Mechanical Engineer has an illustrated article on "Kirmss' automatic adjustable cut-off engine". He was at 338 E. 23rd St., N.Y. "The principal feature claimed as novel is the cut-off valves and the regulation of them by the governor direct. These valves are slides riding on the back of the main slide and are regulated by a worm of quick pitch cut on the valve steam..."
• 1888 issues of The Engineer has a small display ad from Edward Kirmss. The ad ran unchanged for most, if not all, of the year.
• 1890 The Railroad, Telegraph and Steamship Builders' Directory lists "Kirmss, R,. 162 Stanton st., N. Y." under "Tools—Mfrs."
• 1892 Annual Report of the Committee on Fire Patrol to the New York Board of Fire Underwriters lists an 1892-01-05 call to 90-96 Clinton Street. One of the tenants was Edward Kirmss, machinist. Another tenant was "S. Kroder / Curtain Poles", which is of interest because in 1905 Kirmss would be granted a patent for a curtain-pole tip.
• December 1980 Popular Science, in an article on carbide saw blades. "To see why these blades are better... I went to R. Kirmss' Sons in Bay Shore, N. Y., a manufacturer of industrial carbide saw blades..."