In 1857 Eliphalet Williams Bliss and John Mays began manufacturing presses and dies under the name of Mays & Bliss. In 1871 Mays sold his interest in the partnership to James Harvey Williams, a cousin of Bliss; the partnership became Bliss & Williams (we have seen a couple of instances of the name Williams & Bliss). In 1882 Williams started a side business in Queens, Williams & Diamond, to make drop-forged tools; in 1887 that business, which had by that time moved to Brooklyn, became J. H. Williams & Co. Under that name Williams' business continued in operation for more than a century before being acquired by Snap-On. Meanwhile, in 1885 the E. W. Bliss Co. was incorporated by E. W. Bliss, Anna M. Bliss, both of New Utrecht; plus William A Porter, Frank M. Leavitt and Charles L. Hart, of Brooklyn. The new business had $100,000 of capital. An 1888 Brooklyn telephone directory lists Williams & Bliss at 100 Fifth avenue, E. W. Bliss Co. at 17 Adams street, and J. H. Williams & Co. at 560 Richard st. We do not yet know how Bliss's business was divided between Bliss & Williams and E. W. Bliss Co.; in any event, the former firm seems to have disappeared in 1888 or a little later.

In about 1890 E. W. Bliss Co., Ltd. was incorporated in England to succeed the New York corporation of E. W. Bliss Co. In 1892 a new E. W. Bliss Co. was incorporated under the laws of West Virginia to succeed the English corporation. In that same year they bought out the business of the Stiles & Parker Press Co. They later bought out the U. S. Projectile Co.

At some point E. W. Bliss Co. was acquired by Gulf + Western, and later it became Bliss Clearing Niagara.

Information Sources

• 1870 press patent granted to Albert Hamlin and assigned to Mays & Bliss.
• 1870 Annual Report of the American Institute of the City of New York, in a listing of Premiums awarded at their Thirty Eighth Annual Exhibition, 1869. "Mays & Bliss, Brooklyn, N. Y. for a double action power press. First medal and diploma. ... Mays & Bliss, Brooklyn, N. Y. for a lever press. First medal and diploma."
• 1871-11-29 American Artisan has an illustrated article on Bliss & Williams' Patent Double-Crank Press. This is the press covered by patent 110,455.
• 1871-12-27 American Artisan has an illustrated article on Bliss & Williams' Patent Press for Shaping Sheet-metal Articles./m
• 1888 Directory from the N. Y. & N. J. Telephone Company lists the following.
  • Bliss E W / South / 41 / Bay Ridge".
  • Bliss E W, Co / Brooklyn / 23 / 17 Adams street.
  • Williams J H & Co / Brooklyn / 560 Richard and Bowne sts.
  • Williams & Bliss / Brooklyn / 27f / 100 Fifth avenue.
• 1916 biography of E. W. Bliss.
• Moody's Manual of Investments: American and Foreign, 1922, page 1425.

  E. W. Bliss Company
  History—Incorporated under the laws of West Virginia, November 1, 1892, succeeding an English corporation, E. W. Bliss Co., Ltd., which itself succeeded E. W. Bliss Co., a New York corporation. Manufactures files, presses, machinery for the production of sheet metal goods, also the Bliss-Leavitt automobile torpedo, projectiles, shrapnel for the army and navy, gears, etc. Company has a large export trade. Plant is in Brooklyn, N. Y., and covers several city blocks.

  In February, 1902, practically the entire capital stock of the United States Projectile Co. was acquired, the price being $150 per share in 30-year 6% bonds. The Orr & Hess Machine Co., of Philadelphia, and the Stiles & Parker Press Company, of Middletown. Conn., were also acquired. In 1920 plants of the Cleveland Machine & Manufacturing Co., Cleveland, Ohio, and the Buckeye Engine Co., Salem, Ohio, were acquired.

  Management:
  Officers:J. W. Lane, Pres.; F. C. B. Page, Vice-Pres.; F. D. Mackay, 2d Vice-Pres.; James Skinner, Sec. and Treas., Brooklyn , N. Y.
  Directors: F. Hallett Lovell, Jr., Bertram G. Work, Jonathan Bulkley, J. J. Flynn, F. C. Johnson, J. WLane, F. M. Leavitt, W. H. Lyon, F. D. Mackay, James Skinner, J. H. Metcalf, F. C. B. Page, W. H. Truesdale.
  Annual Meeting: Third Monday in March.
  General Office: Adams and Plymouth Streets, Brooklyn, N. Y.

• American Planer, Shaper and Slotter Builders: 1830-1910 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2002 page 32
• American Steam Engine Builders: 1800-1900 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2006 page 39
• Wikipedia history of the E. W. Bliss Co.
• Wikipedia history of J. H. Williams Tool Group, formerly J. H. Williams & Co.
• Findagrave.com page on James Harvey Williams (1845-1904).
• Article on the history of J. H. Williams and his company, including interesting information on his business partners.
• Findagrave.com page on Eliphalet W. Bliss (1836-1903).
• Brooklyn Public Library article on E. W. Bliss Co.
• Official Bliss Co. history (PdF) from BlissPressUSA.com