We used to make things in this country. #57: Boeckh Bros Co. Ltd., Toronto Ontario

A clothing brush advertising a clothing and hat store in Napanee, Ontario:

Lovely shape to the handle.  The manufacturer's name is stamped on the reverse side:

Charles Boeckh was born in Strasbourg in Alsace, France in 1817, eventually entering the family's broom, brush and woodenware business.  He emigrated to New York City when he was 32, starting a paint brush factory there.  He opened a factory in Toronto in 1856, and three years later moved his entire business to the new location.  He added brooms to his product line, which were shipped all over the country.  He died in 1899.  The company remained in business until 1965, when it was sold to the T.S. Simms Brush Company of St. John, New Brunswick, which dates back to 1866 and also has an interesting history.  The Simms company continues to produce paint brushes in that city.

Above from J. Timperlake.  Illustrated Toronto Past and Present.  Toronto:  Peter A. Gross, 1877.

1922 newspaper ad