Stainless steel emasculator

Involuntary winces all round...

 

G-man gun

  Made by the Louis Marx toy company, this was a wind-up toy that made machine gun noises. Just the thing for a depression era boy.

Hat stretcher

 

  The handle turns on a double ended thread, moving the two ends further apart- to stretch that hat you rashly bought without trying on first. 

Savage Drama!

United Sports Mfg.

 

More do-it-yourself lead sinkers. Apparently everyone was making fishing equipment at home in their spare time.

Hinsdale wrench

 

Here’s a 5/8- 19/32” wrench made in the USA  by Hinsdale Mfg. Markings are all on one side. 

 The company was started in -919 by Fred W. Miller in Hinsdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  Lacking a better idea he named it after the town but within a couple of years had moved to a new factory on Fulton St in Chicago. They made wrenches, socket sets and other mechanics hand tools. These tools were available through WesternAuto, Montgomery Ward, Sears and others.

The company seems to have lasted into the 1950s.

Complete history at Alloy Artifacts.

Tarzon Guided bomb

 

The Tarzon was a development of the 6 ton British Tallboy bomb, enhanced with the Guidance system from the earlier Razon guided bomb. It saw limited use in Korea.

Good names…

Schildt Cutter

 

 

  This was a tool designed as an aid to assist first responders in extricating victims of a car accident. The blade was intended to puncture and slice sheet metal, the hammer was for glass. Probably not terribly effective, it was replaced by the “Jaws of life” type tools.

Recycle, reuse…1874 architectural edition

  This is the Florence Sturdivant Public Library in East Machias, Maine, named for the benefactor who donated thousands of books and money to house them. It’s just a nice little brick building with 5 foot diameter flour grinding wheels incorporated in the front facade. Unfortunately the library was closed, so I couldn’t ask how that came about. Presumably someone had some extras hanging around and why not do something creative with them?

Cuban Aviation Luggage tag 1929