Millers Falls Publications — 1872-1899

• Millers Falls Manufacturing Company.
• Millers Falls M'f'g Co., Millers Falls, Mass./Backus Vise Co., Millers Falls, Mass.
• 24 pages : illustrated ; 10 x 14 cm.
• New York : Millers Falls Mfg. Company, 1872.

Title from cover. Item not seen. A combined catalog of the Millers Falls Mfg. Company and the Backus Vise Company. When read from one end, it features Millers Falls tools, from the other, those of Backus vise. The image at left is a black & white copy of the cover on the Millers Falls side of the catalog. A description and several images from the catalog can be located in Elton W. Hall's article "The Development of the Illustrated Tool Catalog." Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association. v. 61, no. 1 (March 2008), p. 1-15.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Millers Falls Co., Millers Falls, Mass.
• 24 pages : illustrated ; 11 x 18 cm.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, ca. 1874.

Title from cover. Date is an estimate. (The New York office address is 78 Beekman St. and fret saws—added to the line during 1874—have yet to appear in the catalog. Catalog includes braces, vises, a breast drill, Stevens' patent hand vise, Wood's patent hollow adjustable auger, the Langdon miter box and Stratton Brothers levels. Scan of extremely worn, low-contrast cover courtesy of Edward Clarke.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Millers Falls Co., Millers Falls, Mass.
• S.l. : Philip J. Whitby, 1992.
• 48 pages : illustrated ; 11 x 18 cm.
• Originally published: New York : Millers Falls Company, 1878.

Reprint. Title from cover. Catalog includes braces, vises, hand and breast drills, Stevens' patent hand vise, Wood's patent hollow adjustable auger, Langdon miter boxes, Alexander adjustable jointer gauge, Stratton's levels, Johnson's automatic push drill, the Lester scroll saw and more.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Manual of fret sawing: with illustrations.
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Published by Millers Falls Co., [1878].
• 12 pages : illustrated ; 12 x 19 cm.

Title from cover. Date from testimonial letters published on last page. A small pamphlet with basic instructions for sawing intricate patterns with a hand-held bracket saw. Contains an advertisement for the foot-powered Lester scroll saw. This pamphlet was included in inexpensive kits equipped with a saw, blades, an awl and paper patterns. Deluxe kits included additional tools and were packed in wooden boxes rather than pasteboard. Published by the Millers Falls Co., the pamphlet's copyright was held by Perry Mason & Company of Boston, the publishers of the popular magazine the Youth's companion.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Lester Improved Saw.
• Millers Falls, Mass. ; Boston, Mass. : Millers Falls Company, [ca. 1879].
• 1 folded sheet : illustrated ; 16 x 25 cm. (unfolded)

Folded accordion style to create a document with two covers—one side contains an illustration and information for the Lester Improved Saw; the other side does the same for the New Rogers Saw. Unusual in that the cover lists the address for the short-lived Boston office, this pamphlet was published between the time of the introduction of New Rogers Saw in 1879 and the demise of the Boston office in about 1880. Royal C. Graves, the manager of the Boston office, wrote to the office at the Millers Falls plant about having some scroll saw circulars printed during the summer of 1879. This example may have been one of them. The illustration is scanned from a photocopy sent by Roger K. Smith.

• Langdon Mitre Box Company
• The Langdon Mitre Box Company. Miller Falls, Mass., sole owners and manufacturers of the Langdon and the New Langdon adjustable mitre box...
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Langdon Mitre box Co., January, 1881.
• 1 folded sheet : illustrated ; 12 panels each of which is 3 x 6 inches.

Contents include directions for use, illustrations, part and price list, freight charges, etc. Includes descriptions and illustrations for the Langdon, the New Langdon, the Langdon Improved and the New Langdon Improved miter boxes. Also features the Alexander jointer gauge. The Langdon Mitre Box Company was affiliated with Millers Falls via the interlocking directorships of George E. Rogers.

• Langdon Mitre Box Company
• Price list.
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Langdon Mitre Box Co., January, 1884.
• 1 folded sheet with 2 inserts : illustrated ; 15 x 34 cm. (unfolded)

Folds in four parts to form a small booklet. The booklet was originally shipped with a miter box, in an envelope marked "Preserve This". One of the inserts, on light-weight card stock, is a parts list. The other is a bi-fold sheet with directions for the use of the miter box. Includes descriptions and illustrations for the Langdon, the New Langdon, the Langdon Improved and the New Langdon Improved miter boxes. Also included are the Rogers miter planer and the Alexander jointer gauge. The Langdon Mitre Box Company was affiliated with Millers Falls via the interlocking directorships of George E. Rogers. The illustration seen here is a scanned photocopy.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, 1885.
• 56 pages : illustrated ; 23 cm.

Title from cover. Printed by R. McBride, New York. Issued during a period when the company derived a significant part of its income from the sale of tools for the home hobbyist. In addition to the tools seen in the catalog, the customer could send away for lists of over 850 patterns for scroll saw projects. A photocopy of cover is shown here. The original cover is a low contrast combination of gold on green. Issue examined has an 1885 trade discount sheet inserted.

• Millers Falls Company.
• 1886 Catalogue.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, 1886.
• 32 pages : illustrated ; 23 cm.

Item not seen. The content of the catalog can be pretty much determined by studying the marginalia and notations in Ken Roberts' reprint of the 1887 catalog as he documented the differences between it and the 1886 edition. A black and white copy of what Ken Roberts considered to be the cover is seen here.

• Millers Falls Company.
• A complete list in miniature of Wild's latest scroll saw designs.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, ca. 1886.
• 8 pages [including front & back covers] : illustrated ; 24 X 30 cm.

Title from cover. A tabloid containing illustrations of scroll saw patterns that could be ordered from the company. The back part of the list includes Russell's new designs for 1884-1885. Lists hundreds of patterns that range from inkstands and whisk broom holders to clocsk and model churches in three dimensions.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue 1887.
• Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire : Ken Roberts Pub. Co., 1981.
• 62 [i.e., 72] pages : illustrated ; 22 cm.
• Originally published: New York : Millers Falls Company, 1887.

Reprint. Title from cover. In addition to reproducing the content of the original, eight pages of supplementary material have been added. Among the inclusions are a one page company history, a corporate genealogy, a photograph of the factory in 1891, a reproduction of two pages in the 1886 catalog not appearing in the 1887 catalog and reproductions of the 1886 catalog covers. A copy of the title page of the 1910 catalog is included.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue 1887.
• Mendham, New Jersey : Astragal Press, 1991.
• 62 [i.e., 72] pages : illustrated ; 22 cm.
• Originally published: New York : Millers Falls Company, 1887.

Reprint. Title from cover. This item is actually a reprint of the reprint published by Kenneth Roberts in 1981. Some of the supplementary material found in the first reprint has been cut. Among the omissions are the 1891 photograph of the factory, reproductions of the 1886 catalog covers and the title page from the 1910 catalog.

• Millers Falls Company.
• A complete list in miniature of Bowman's famous scroll saw designs.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, ca. 1887.
• 28 pages [including front & back covers] : illustrated ; 24 X 30 cm.

Title from cover. A tabloid containing illustrations of scroll saw patterns that could be ordered from the company. Includes a number of Eastlake designs that had been copyrighted by Adams & Bishop in 1880. The back part of the list includes Bowman's new designs for 1887. Intended for a hobbyist audience, many of the patterns are elaborate beyond belief. Published on newsprint.

• Langdon Mitre Box Company
• Price list.
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Langdon Mitre Box Co., May, 1887.
• 1 folded sheet with 2 inserts : illustrated ; 15 x 34 cm. (unfolded)

Folds in four parts to form a small booklet. One of the inserts, on light-weight card stock, is a parts list. The other is a bi-fold sheet with directions for the use of the miter box. Includes descriptions and illustrations for the Langdon, the New Langdon, the Langdon Improved and the New Langdon Improved miter boxes. Also included are the Rogers miter planer and the Alexander jointer gauge. The Langdon Mitre Box Company was affiliated with Millers Falls via the interlocking directorships of George E. Rogers.

• Millers Falls Company.
• A complete list in miniature of Wild's latest scroll saw designs.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, ca. 1890.
• 8 pages [including front & back covers] : illustrated ; 24 X 30 cm.

Title from cover. A tabloid containing illustrations of scroll saw patterns that could be ordered from the company. No date appears on item and the date assigned here is more of a guess than an estimate. One of the more unusual patterns that could be ordered from the catalog is for a 26-inch long clock patterned after a steam locomotive. Published on newsprint.

• Langdon Mitre Box Company
• Price list.
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Langdon Mitre Box Co., August, 1890.
• 1 folded sheet with 2 inserts : illustrated ; 15 x 34 cm. (unfolded)

Folds in four parts to form a small booklet. The booklet was originally shipped with a miter box, in an envelope marked "Preserve This". One of the inserts, on light-weight card stock, is a parts list. The other is a bi-fold sheet with directions for the use of the miter box. Includes descriptions and illustrations for the Langdon, the New Langdon, the Langdon Improved and the New Langdon Improved miter boxes. Also included are the Rogers miter planer and the Alexander jointer gauge. The Langdon Mitre Box Company was affiliated with Millers Falls via the interlocking directorships of George E. Rogers.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue no. 23.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, 1892.
• pages : illustrated ; 24 cm.

The image of the cover seen here is courtesy of the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It is atypical of a nineteenth century catalog in that it is hardbound. The bit braces, hand drills and breast drills depicted in this issue often bear little resemblance to the actual products. The situation improved with the next catalog as this was the last issue to include illustrations of the firm's bit braces printed from blocks that were cut in the early 1870s.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue no. 24.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, [no date, ca. 1895].
• 70 pages : illustrated ; 23 cm.

The introduction to the catalog makes much of "Star" brand saws and saw blades. This is the last catalog to depict the No. 2 hand drill without a side handle and the last to depict the No. 5 hand drill with a type one frame. It is the first to list the four-faced No. 2 spokeshave.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue no. 24.
• [S.l.]: Mid-West Tool Collectors Association, 2008
• Originally published: New York : Millers Falls Company, [no date, ca. 1895].
• 70 pages : illustrated ; 23 cm.

Reprint. Published by the Special Publications Committee of the M-WTCA, this nicely done reprint features a black and gold cover rather than the dark green and gold of the original. Information inside the back cover indicates that the Committee considers the original to have been published ca. 1894 rather than ca. 1895.

• Millers Falls Company.
• Catalogue no. 25.
• New York : Millers Falls Company, [no date, ca. 1897].
• 74 pages : illustrated ; 23 cm.

The introduction to the catalog makes much of "Star" brand saws and saw blades. The company served as the sole sales agent for the Star brand blades, a relationship which lasted for decades. The introduction also stresses improvements to the Millers Falls Company's hand and breast drills (three-jaw chucks for the eggbeaters, new alligator jaws for the breast drills). The cover the original was extremely worn and low contrast.

• Langdon Mitre Box Company
• Price list.
• Millers Falls, Mass. : Langdon Mitre Box Co., January, 1898.
• 1 folded sheet : illustrated ; 15 x 34 cm. (unfolded)

Folds in four parts to form a small booklet. Includes descriptions and illustrations for the Langdon, the New Langdon, the Langdon Improved and the New Langdon Improved miter boxes. Also included are the Rogers miter planer and the Alexander jointer gauge. The Langdon Mitre Box Company was affiliated with Millers Falls via the interlocking directorships of George E. Rogers.