Below, a screwdriver from the old toolbox my dad kept at his cottage:
It was marked "Rosco" on the handle. Unfortunately, it was also covered with gray paint, which I stripped off, along with the name. Turns out that methylene chloride is not kind to acetate. Who knew?
Screwdrivers under this name were initially made by the Rosenberg Bros. & Co. out of Smithtown, Long Island:
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| Popular Mechanics, October 1953 |
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| Life, April 1954 |
If they really did sell one screwdriver every six seconds, they sold a lot of screwdrivers. (Do the math--over 5 million a year!) They also tried to keep innovating (although ratcheting screwdrivers weren't really anything new):
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| Popular Mechanics, July 1963 |
One claim to fame was that, in May 1967, the company's regional sales manager appeared on the CBS TV show, "What's My Line?" Her line was "sells screwdrivers." The show was cancelled the same year. Coincidence?
The company was bought by Vermont American in 1974, which continued to offer screwdrivers under the Rosco name, as the 1983 newspaper ad below attests:
Note that, under VA's ownership, they're now referred to as "the professional's screwdriver" compared to their original motto of "America's Greatest Screwdriver Value." Anyway, the name has now disappeared, which really doesn't matter given VA's race for ownership of the bottom of the tool quality market.
Still have my giant "Two Hand" Rosco screwdriver -- the last remaining piece from a set I purchased just our of high school in 1980. The shank looks as if it's pot metal -- but after 33 years of hard work, it still looks essentially the same as when I bought it when I was 18.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I purchased mine at the Tool Shack, a dump of a place in the San Fernando Valley (CA).
It was fun to find this article and see the Rosco name -- as well as the old ad.
I worked there in the early 80's. It was already Vermont American by then. We made screwdrivers for everybody including Stanley and Craftsman. There's a hardware store there now with the Rosco Tools name, started in 2010, according to the web.
ReplyDeleteI made my own screwdrivers from reject handles and blades and I still have some. They're indestructible.
I worked there 76 to 81 paint Department Worked both Day and 2nd shift
DeleteI was an QC Inspector there in the 80's on the 3rd shift. does any one know when they actually closed their doors.
ReplyDeletealso does any one know the VA phone # so i can find out about 401K and pen.
I worked there in Smithtown somewhere between 1979 and 1983. I was in charge of oiling all the machinery on second shift. My wife also worked the same shift. Still have some of the drivers. My favorite ones were the nut drivers. Learned a lot . Black handle screw drivers were the cheapest. They didn't hold up well. Cleat gander or see through were the best.
DeleteAre you George, did you know Bob serlerno?
DeleteI have three screwdrivers identical to the one shown in the picture. I think they were passed down to me from my grandfather. I have had them in my toolbox since the mid-1970s. They are amber in color. I know from experience that they also melt easily as one grip was damaged while i was working on a car.
ReplyDeleteI have a blue handle one I got a garage sale sometime back. A little rusty but my favorite screwdriver.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Keith Happ I worked mostly the 3rd shift but occasionally I worked the 2nd shift. Bob & George worked on the 2nd shift and one night we talked about how the building was a dairy farm and the lathe area is where they milked the cows. Georg and Bob mentioned a vision of a guy in overalls we referred to him as Jethro.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents worked at the Smithtown location, Tula and Theo along with some of my other relatives. I have a number of Rosco tools from them.
ReplyDeleteTula who worked on the acetone machine?
Deletepictures and stories always welcome, I'll add them to the post.
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know the year of these? https://www.ebay.com/itm/284535489427
ReplyDeleteDid Rosco Tool start in Smithtown? There was another large screwdriver company in Nesconset, which is just east of Smithtown. Just wondering if it was the same company.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was one of the owners. The company was started by his father and his father's three brothers. It began as an automotive parts business in the West Village of Manhattan. They moved the company to Smithtown at 100 Landing Avenue some years later: that building has been demolished and is now a Gold's Gym. Most of their sons, and my aunt, took over the business. Only a few in my generation signed on although most of us worked there in the summers at one time or another. By the time the company was sold to Vermont American, there was considerable counterfeiting. I believe we were in a class action suit with Louis Vuitton in the 70s to try to protect the trademark.
ReplyDeleteI worked there from 1976 to 1981. Your family was wonderful they took me under their wing. They were the most fantastic people to work for very very caring
DeleteThank you very much for this first hand family information. Let's gather as much info as we can on these old companies before it all disappears..
ReplyDeleteI worked there somewhere between 77 - 79 while still in high school. My second shift supervisor never told me that they kept count on each person's machine/production. So I worked on my machine and when my tool case was filled I spent time to move it away, and stacked it up on top of other cases. I knew there was a guy going around doing that but I was trying to help him out and always wondered why the ladies and girls around me never did that. I figured they didn't have the physic to lift those heavy cases. One day my shift supervisor came by and told me "you're fired, for low productivity". I was dumbfounded. But I swiped my card and walked out. Later in my brother (who also worked there) told me that I shouldn't have spent time to remove and stacked up those cases. That was the other guy's job.. Well supervisor was supposed to tell me that. Thay guy knew I helped him out so he should have spoke up. He just stood there looking at me swiping my clock card for the last time. Now I can tell my side of story. I remember there was an old lady who worked there (probably named Tex) who liked to collect antique cookoo's clocks. One day we visited her house and it was full of those clocks. I think she lived alone. I've always wondered what happened to those clocks when she passed away.
ReplyDeletethe clocks are in a museum in Port Jeff I worked with Tex and Ross
DeleteGood story. That seems harsh, doesn't it? Life lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteI loved Ross and Tex! My child's mind painted them like characters out of a Western. I'll have to take a day trip to Port Jeff to see the clocks.
ReplyDeleteThe company was sold to Vermont American around 1974; they were headquartered in Louisville, KY. As an aside, the remnants of the company are now owned by Bosch.
I purchased an old ROSCO postcard ad on Ebay a while back. I tried to buy a ROSCO display from Sid's Hardware in Brooklyn to store some of my old tools (I have a ton), but they acted like I was crazy. perhaps I am!
And thank you, Anonymous, for your kind words in your post of February 11, 2024.
ReplyDeleteThe Rosenberg brothers ran the company and sold it to Vermont American. Very smart business people who created “special” price lists for every customer. They figured out what they needed to do to keep the factory busy and make money. Vermont American moved it to South Carolina and made good drivers but never made money in hand tools
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