Popular Stillson wrench

There are a lot of Stillson and Stillson pattern wrenches, I've seen Walworth Stillson and Genuine Stillson marked wrenches but this a very well-used Popular Stillson. More Stillson info at Alloy Artifacts.

 

Self-defrosting fridge, 1950

   A genuine innovation.  How many of these type of fridges were ruined by someone impatiently trying to pry the ice out of the freezer section, I wonder. 

   Just a timer that switched off the compressor and switched on a heating element in the heat exchanger 2 or 3 times a day but what an improvement.  

As an aside, the illustration is signed Lima, no info that I can find...

Simmons Pelican shears

 

Here is a nice shapely pair of shears made by E. C. Simmons. Buy them for the sculpture. 

E E Simmons has been making and sourcing scissors and shears since 1874, adopting the trademark Keen Kutter in the 1880's.  The company sold a full line of hardware including wood planes, more information here. It was acquired in 1940 by Shapleigh Hardware which closed up in 1960.

1953 Desoto

 Now with power steering, power brakes and well... power.

Villiers, 1960

 Below, Engine cutaway. Artist is signed Johnstone, I don't see that name in the Motoring Artist directory. I had to look twice to make sure the primary chain didn't disappear between the crank webs!

Speed Age, April 1948

Here's a magazine from before my time, not too much interesting content 7 decades later. I don't recognize any names in the editorial staff, but on the cover that's Rollie Free fully clothed on what looks like a Harley, and we know Bill France from his promotion on the back cover...

 

Monday Mystery, twisted thing. (Updated)

Looks like something a blacksmith might have made but for what purpose, I'm not sure. Guesses?

Dave says, "Its a caulking iron for lead plumbing joints, packing oakum fibres in the joint.  1973 Mephisto catalog here.

Olds 442

 

With those bunny badges in the grille, could it have been owned by Hugh Hefner?

Ok that's just silly.

Sidecar Sunday

 

The Motor Cycle Dec 29, 1938

 

International Auto Wagon, 1907

One from the transitional era of automobiles. When most of the country was farming, a wagon was the usual vehicle. This would feel very familiar. The powertrain was a horizontally opposed twin fit under the floor with fans to blow air across the cylinders.  Note the driver's newfangled duster and googles. Bottom, the same vehicle as a buggy.

 

Toys for boys, 1903

 Montgomery Ward, 1903

E C Atkins tool

 

This is an odd one, first that blade-type thing is wrong, it's actually a knife from a hay mower, so that's a distraction. E C Atkins of Indianapolis opened in 1855 and made mostly saws of all types as well as blade-related equipment, but I don't see this tool in any of the trade catalogs online. Previous post here. 

Atkins Catalog No 19 1923  Thanks, Dave!

Velocette 350 1936

 1936 OHC 350 single model KTS

yesterdays.nl

Remington Model 24

Manufactured from 1924-1935, it was based on the Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle which had been the first .22 caliber semi automatic. 

 

British Air Ministry camouflage patterns, WW2

 

57 Chevy

 

Motorcycles in the 'hood, 1981 650 Seca

 Looks just like the '80s, not bad for 44 years old.

Know your Triumph fork

 

Planes in formation, Fairchild M-62 trainers

 During WW2, Little Norway was located at Toronto Island airport and was part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. 

1947 Lincoln Continental cabriolet

That's a classy automobile... V-12 and an automatic transmission.

 

Fisk Tires

 

Sidecar Sunday

 1937 ISDT, held in Wales

113 years ago today....

 Don't miss this river cruise...

Motor Cycling December 27, 1933

 Late December in the middle of the Depression... hmmm, how shall we fill the pages of the magazine? Put the illustrator to work!

Craftsman BE ratchet

   This is a fairly early Craftsman 3/8" ratchet, the reversing lever design and the Craftsman logo are new to me. According to Alloy Artifacts, they are identical to New Britain ratchets of the same time period, around 1940, indicating they were a supplier to Sears.

 

Plane identification quiz

 Camouflage works! (at least in black and white...)

1 Lockheed Hudson.   2 Blenheim IV

Kawasaki H1

 

de Havilland Comet

De Havilland Comets under construction in 1952, they went into service later in the same year.

 Previous post here.

Budd Company, 1953

  Budd was a supplier of body components to the automotive industry, branching into stainless steel train and aircraft components in the 1950s. The company produced the first all steel car body in 1913. The company partnered up with Thyssen in 1978 and the chassis portion was bought by a Canadian company, Martinrea International in 2006. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

Electrical Power is driving the future.

 

   This striking poster was commissioned by the Underground Electric Railway Company in 1931. The modern design, by the prolific American artist Edward McKnight Kauffer, underlines the impact electric rail travel was having on urban life in the 1930s. The bold image unites man and electric machines as the powerful driving forces behind London's Underground. 

Victoria and Albert Museum

Mastercraft ratchet

 Mastercraft is the house brand of the tools at the Canadian Tire chain of stores, not sure what vintage this one is but its not often a company logo is incorporated into the forward/reverse dial. 

Logo history here. Oddly, the company website states that the company started in 1922, this 1954 catalog says 1913.