The principals of this partnership were Charles H. Mellor and Morris L. Orum. They specialized in molding machines (what we would now call spindle shapers) and their cutters. A Mellor-built molding machine was in factory use as early as 1851.

From January 1874 Manufacturer & Builder

Information Sources

• An 1863 cutter-head patent was assigned to Mr. Mellor, but it is not known whether he was manufacturing at that time. Mellor was granted an 1868 patent for a molding machine. Mellor and Orum were granted an 1873 patent for molding cutters, which was reissued in 1878.
• Ad and article in 1874 Manufacturer & Builder. This article provides a goodly portion of the history given above.
• The October 1874 issue of Manufacturer & Builder has an advertorial that reads, "Parties wishing a reliable molding machine will do well to buy of Messrs. Mellor & Orum, of 448 North Twelfth street, Philadelphia, as it is one of the best machines of the kind now in use. This concern also makes first-class molding-cutters.
• The February 1875 issue of Manufacturer & Builder has an article on Philadelphia manufacturers. One paragraph is dedicated to this firm: "Messrs. Mellor & Orum are working as long as daylight will let thm, and say they can not complain of the trade. On the whole, the wood-working interest here is doing well, and the spring business for them looks encouraging. Considering the dull fall and winter, it is rather astonishing to call around at these shops and find them all at work doing something, and makes one feel that we are getting things down to a solid basis despite the "Jay Cook panic." The article is signed, "C. D. O.", possibly woodworking machinery maker C. D. Olmstead of Williamsport, Pa.; the article is most definitely slanted heavily towards makers of woodworking machinery.