This company was in business from the late 1800s or early 1900s. In the early years they were based in Chicago (and/or Evanston) and made woodworking vises and workbenches. In 1912 they moved to Muskegon, MI and specialized in school laboratory equipment while maintaining their lines of vises and benches. We also have a reports of woodturning lathes from this company, although it is likely that they did not make them, but were the reseller.

The company was purchased by American Seating of Grand Rapids, Michigan in the mid 1960s and operated as a separate subsidiary until at least 1976 before being absorbed into American Seating.

Information Sources

• Multiple correspondents report workbenches with vises, all from this maker. An 1900 vise patent was granted to Edgar H. Sheldon of Oak Park, IL. Examples are marked with this patent date plus a maker's name of "E. H. Sheldon & Co. / Chicago, Ill."
• The September 1903 issue of American Education lists some makers of manual traininq equipment, including "E. H. Sheldon & Co., Evanston, Ill."
• The June 1912 issue of Manual Training magazine has the following remark in their "Trade Notes" section: "We congratulate E. H. Sheldon & Co. on their removal to a much larger factory in Muskegon, Mich. This Company's success is almost wholly due to their foresight in developing their manual training school trade."
• A 1913 issue of the California Teachers Association Journal, available in Snippet View through Google Books, mentions "EH Sheldon & Co., Muskegon, ..."
• The 1916 book, Design and Contruction of Wood, from 1916, mentions some benches from "E. H. Sheldon & Co., 182 Nims St., Muskegon, Mich."
• A patent search has revealed 33 patents associated with this company: either granted to Edgar H. Sheldon, or explicitly assigned to E. H. Sheldon & Co. All but 1900 vise patent are for school lab furniture: fume hoods, lab tables, biology tables and cages, chemical cabinets, etc.