John A. Milliken and Edward D'Amour, as Milliken & D'Amour, were in business by 1891 manufacturing a benchtop sensitive drill of a style that a half-century later would be known as a bottle-capper style of small drill press. A sensitive drill is a small and precise drill press for drilling small holes, often with a friction feed or friction clutch that could be adjusted to slip if the bit jammed. The Milliken & D'Amour drill used a thin drive belt that presumably slipped on the pulleys to provide this friction clutch effect.

From the 1891-02-11 issue of "American Machinist"

In about October of 1892, the partnership of Milliken & D'Amour was succeeded by John A. Milliken, who continued selling the sensitive bench drill. In April 1893 an ad for Milliken & D'Amour appeared. This seems decidedly odd, but there is little doubt that D'Amour had re-joined the business.

In late 1893 or very early 1894 Milliken & D'Amour reorganized as D'Amour & Littledale, with partners Edward D'Amour and Hickson F. Littledale. They promptly began advertising their services as builders of special and experimental machinery, and before the end of 1894 they introduced a completely redesigned lineup of bench and floor sensitive drilling machines. In 1899 the business incorporated as D'Amour & Littledale Machine Co., with D'Amour as president, Charles P. Oudin as secretary and Arthur Terry as treasurer; Littledale joined the other men as company directors.

D'Amour and Littledale continued to specialize in The original model was a bench drill, and they added floor models and multi-spindle models. Employing about a dozen men, the firm developed a good reputation for the high quality and relatively low cost of their machines, which were widely used by manufacturers of small items.

Article illustration from May 1901 Machinery

In 1902 the business was sold to Chapin-Love Machine Co., a business formed by W. B. Chapin of New Jersey and S. D. Love and C. S. Loder of Brooklyn. That firm announced plans to expand the business, soon relocated to New Orange, New Jersey (across the Hudson River and on the far side of Newark), and by 1904 was bankrupt.

Edward D'Amour, meanwhile, opened the New York City branch of machinery distributor Hill, Clarke & Co. After that he worked for a time with a company making piano hardware. By 1910 he was out on his own again, running a machine shop on Cortlandt Street. And by 1911 he was again manufacturing small drill presses under the name E. D'Amour. By 1918 the business was called the D'Amour Machine Works and by 1921 it was the D'Amour Machine Co., Inc. The last data point we can find on them is from 1922, when they were still making sensitive drills.

Information Sources

• 1891-11-05 American Machinist, page 9. "Milliken, & D'Amour, No. 151 Cedar street, New York City, designers and builders of labor saving and automatic machinery and tools to order."
• 1891-12-10 American Machinist, page 16, ad: "Milliken & D'Amour, 151 & 153 Cedar St., New York City. Improved Sensitive Bench Drill Press No. 2. The most sensitive drill made; spindle runs in phosphor bronze bearings; no expense of fitting chuck to spindle; will drill holes from 0 to 5/16 diam in center of 10 inch circle; pull of belt does not come on spindle..."
• 1892-10-28 American Machinist page 16, text ad: "Special Tools / Milliken & D'Amour, Cor. John and Dutch Streets, New York City."
• 1892-11-17 American Machinist page 16, text ad: "Sensitive Bench Drill. John A. Milliken, successor to Milliken & D'Amour, Cor. John and Dutch Sts., New York City."
• December 1892 Engineering Mechanics page 330. "The co-partnership heretofore existing between John A. Milliken and Edward D'Amour, under the firm name of Milliken & D'Amour, has been dissolved and the business will be continued by John A. Milliken at 2 Dutch Street, New York City."
• 1893-04-15 The Mechanical News, ad on unnumbered page. "Bench drill presses, Milliken & D'Amour 151-153 Cedar Street, New York City. Fine machinery to order."
• 1894-01-06 Scientific American page 14, text ad: "Inventions Practically Developed. D'Amour & Litledale, 204-206 East 43rd Street, New York." In the January 20 issue the ad changed to read, "D'Amour & Littledale. Machinists and Tool Makers...". In the March 10 issue: "12-inch Drills. D'Amour & Littledale..." By May 19 the ad heading was "Fine Experimental Machine Work".
• 1894-07-05 The Iron Age, page 13, brief article on the new sensitive bench drill from D'Amour & Littledale, 204 East 43rd street.
• 1894-10-11 The Iron Age, text ad. "New Bench Drill, Flat Belt, Rack and Pinion Feed. (Write for circular.) / D'Amour & Littledale, 204 E. 43d St., New York".
• Ad in August 1898 issue of Machinery.

  Sensible Drills are not the cheapest possible things we can knock together, but are carefully designed and thoroughly well made tools. They will do more and better work than a simply 'cheap' machine. We would like to hear of anyone who has any of our drills in use and is not perfectly satisfied with them. Complete line—1 to 4 spindles—for the bench or mounted on columns. Write for prices, it will pay you.
  D'Amour & Littledale, 208 E. 43rd Street, NEW YORK, U. S. A.

• 1899-03-09 American Machinist has an ad from D'Amour & Littledale Machine Co., 133 Worth St., New York.
March 1901 Machinery. "We are informed that Hill, Clarke & Co., Boston, Mass., have opened an office at 253 Broadway, Room 205, New York, and that Mr. E. D'Amour, of the firm of D'Amour & Littledale, will be in charge. They add that they have several new machines which they are putting on the market"
• 1900-03-15 The Iron Age, page 66, ad. "Drill. 10 inch Bench. 13 inch Upright. 1, 2 or 3 Spindles. D'Amour & Littledale Mach. Co., 131 Worth Street, New York."
• October 1900 Machinery carries a listing of award winners at the Paris Exposition, including an Honorable Mention to "D'Amour & Littledale Machine Co., New York".
• May 1901 Machinery has an article on a 14" drill press from D'Amour & Littledale Machine Company, 129 Worth Street, New York.
• January 1902 Shop Talk, a publication of machinery distributor Hill, Clarke & Co.. "This business keeps on growing. We now have an office in New York City, at 253 Broadway, room 205, in charge of Mr. E. D’Amour. We look for this office to grow as rapidly as the Chicago office, which is now one of the largest machinery stores in city and the only one having a complete demonstration machine shop in actual operation."
• March 1902 Polk's (Trow's) New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory. "D'Amour & Littledale Machine Co. (N. Y.) (Edward D'Amour, Pres.; Charles P. Oudin, Sec.; Arthur Terry, Treas. Capital, $20,000. Directors: Edward D'Amour, Hickson F. Littledale, Arthur Terry, Charles P. Oudin) 129 Worth". Also listed is "Hill, Clarke & Co. (Boston, Mass.) (Edward D'Amour, N. Y. manager) 253 B'way".
• 1902-03-15 The Age of Steel, in a list of new companies chartered. "New York—Chapin-Love Machine Company; capital, $10,000. Directors: W. B. Chapin, Englewood; S. D. Love, C. S. Loder, Brooklyn."
• 1902-04-03 The Iron Trade Review. "D'Amour & Littledale Machine Co. has sold its business, good will, machinery, etc., to the Chapin-Love Machine Co., 129 Worth street, New York City, which was recently formed to take over this-business; The new firm is composed of young men and announces that its business will be conducted on progressive lines. This Company’s specialty is the manufacture of sensitive drills."
• 1902-05-19 The Age of Steel. "The Chapin-Love Machine Company, 129 to 133 Worth street, New York, come into the market, succeeding to the business of D'Amour & Littledale, well known manufacturers of the sensitive drills that have borne their names. The new concern carries on the business of the old one, only in a larger way. They have added new tools and are changing and improving the design of the drills, and will shortly bring out a six-spindle drill of new design and heavier pattern and having new and interesting points. The new concern contemplates also doing a large business in building and developing special tools and machinery. Their equipment is well adapted to that line of work."
• 1902-05-01 The Iron Trade Review. "The Chapin-Love Machine Co., of No. 129-31-33 Worth street, is busy in all branches of its work, particularly in the making of drills, the demand for which has grown considerably during the past fortnight. The company is building a large number of machines for the Tube Bending Machine Co., preparatory to putting them on the market..."
• 1902-07-03 The Iron Trade Review. "The Chapin-Love Machine Co., of No. 125 Worth St., reports that will business fell off recently, it is fully occupied filling orders on the books. During the present year the company has sold a large number of the sensitive drills of which it makes a specialty, and has received many flattering testimonials from customers."
• January 1903 New York Annual Report of the State Treasurer for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1902, in a list of taxes paid on Organization of Corporations, includes "Chapin-Love Machine Co., The ... 5.00".
• 1903-01-03 Electrical World has an ad from "The Chapin Love Machine Co. / 128 Worth Street / New York".
• August 1903 Machinery, text ad. "SENSITIVE DRILLS / Single or Multiple Spindle, Bench or Column. / If interested send us postal for further particulars. / The Chapin-Love Machine Company / Works: South 20th Street / New Orange, New Jersey."
• 1903-09-17 American Machinist "Wm. J. Donovan. for a number of years superintendent of the shops operated by the Chapin-Love Machine Company, Of New Orange, N. J., has resigned on account of ill health."
• 1903-12-31 The Iron Trade Review lists, under Drilling Machines (Bench) and also under Drilling Machines (Multiple Spindle), "Chapin-Love Machine Co., New Orange, N. J."
• 1904: Minutes of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of The City of New York From September 1, 1916 to October 13, 1916, lists "Uncollectible personal taxes on resident corporations assessments for the Year 1904 Submitted for Cancellation in Accordance with the Provisions of Chapter 601 of the Laws of 1915", including "Chapin-Love Machine Co. ... 33.29".
• 1907-09-12 The Iron Trade Review. "The business of Charles Ramsey Co., manufacturer of piano hardware, 884 East 134th street, New York, has been incorporated with a capital of $60,000 as the Charles Ramsey Co., to take in Edward D' Amour, formerly a partner of D'Amour & Littleville [sic]. The incorporators are: Charles Ramsey, 461 East 140th street; Charles H. Rush, 442 East 134th street, New York, and Edward D'Amour, 1577 Pacific street, Brooklyn."
• March 1909 Polk's (Trow's) New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory. "Ramsey Charles, Co. (N. Y.) (Edward D. Amour, Pres.; Charles H. Rush, Sec.; Charles Ramsey, Treas. Capital, $60,000. Directors: Charles Ramsey, Charles H. Ruth, Edward D. Amour) Willow av. c. E. 135th".
• 1910-01-22 Scientific American has a small text ad: "A MACHINE SHOP / Good Work—Fair Prices / E. D'AMOUR / 80 Cortlandt Street / New York".
• 1911 The Iron Age Directory carries a listing, under drilling machines, for "E. D'Amour, 78 Cortlandt St., New York".
• 1917-02-16 Minutes of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of The City of New York, in a section on "Establishment of Grade of Position of Machinist; and Wages of Machinists": "D’Amour Machine Works, Cortlandt street; 'We employ eight to ten Machinists on the average. We pay the men $3.50 to $5 a day. He must be a first-class Toolmaker to get $5.'"
• 1918-19 White-Orr's Reference Register lists "D'Amour Machine Works, 78 Cortlandt".
• 1921 R. L. Polk & Co.'s Trow New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx lists "D'Amour Machine Co. Inc. (no inf) 80 Cortlandt".
• 1922 Engineering Directory lists "D'Amour Machine Co. (Bench drills), 78-80 Cortlandt St., New York City".