Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.
with apologies to Ogden Nash...
Friday, August 14, 2026
Union Tool Co. tap handle
Union seemed to be a popular name to use for a company, this one was originally the Union Caliper company, located in Fitchburg, Mass. but somewhere along the way moved to Orange, Mass. and changed their name to Union Tool. Previous post and history here.
Not to be confused with the Union Twist Drill Co. of Athol, Mass, who made drills, taps, dies etc., they were known mostly for precision machinist's measuring tools, clamps, protractors, gauges, calipers; etc. though possibly also taps and dies based on the discovery of this tap handle.
Thursday, August 13, 2026
1922 Kissel 6-45 Speedster
The Kissel Motor Car company was founded in 1906 and produced quality cars and trucks out of its Hartford, Wisconsin factory. This Speedster, introduced after WW1, is probably the most memorable. It was nicknamed the Gold Bug and became a favorite of celebrities, among others, Amelia Earhart owned one.
It was powered by a 338 cu in 6 and was capable of 70 mph. Probably a thousand or so were built before production ceased in 1931. The company later made outboard motors, it was sold to West Bend Aluminum in 1942.
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| Owls Head Museum |
Boston-Maine Airways
This is the showy side of a luggage label for Boston-Maine Airways. Boston-Maine Airways was established in 1931 by the Boston and Maine Railroad in partnership with National Airways, eventually evolving into Northeast Airlines. Northeast merged with Delta in 1972.
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Vintage wood plane, convex
This unidentified, possibly homemade, wood plane has a profile I've not seen before, with multiple passes it would plane out a tapered concave slot such as might be found on an eavestrough. Interesting piece for someone's collection.
















