Tool Types

Augers, Dividers, Hammers, Leather Tools, Levels, other

Directory of American Toolmakers Information

Osborne succeeded William Dodd after marrying his daughter. the "Est. 1826" date refers to the maker prior to Dodd. In 1906, the company moved from Newark to Harrison, NJ, where it's still run by the Osborne family. Charles had a brother, Henry Frank Osborne, who worked with the company prior to setting up his own in 1876. Patents include a washer cutter attributed to Kirkland 11 October, 1875 (invalid date) and a leather cutting gauge, patented 1 August 1876, repatented 17 July 1877. In 1960, they acquired Mound Tool Co.

Identifying Marks

C.S. OSBORNE &CO./NEWARK, N.J. (sometimes without city line, sometimes with "EST. 1826" or a patent date); C.S.O. & CO.

General Information
 
This company is one of many mass-producers of the area at the time and America’s most prolific manufacturer of leather-working and leather-cutting hand tools. The photograph below is of a leather slitting cutter (ID# 63001T10),  marked "Osborne Co Newark NJ Est 1826 Pat Aug 13, 76 Reissued July 7, 1877". It is one of many Osborne tools in the Davistown Museum collection.

Photographs
 

References

Nelson, Robert E., Ed. (1999). Directory of American Toolmakers: A listing of identified makers of tools who worked in Canada and the United States before 1900. Early American Industries Association.

Osborne, C. S. & Co. (1911). Catalog: Established 1826: C. S. Osborne & Co., Inc.: Standard tools. C. S. Osborne & Co., Inc., Newark, NJ. Reprinted in 1976 as a joint project by the Early American Industries Association, the Early Trades and Crafts Society and the Mid West Tool Collectors. IS(2).

Links

/PDFsforInventory/WebVcIRother_PDF.pdf -- Entry for leather slitting cutters