Feb 27 2025 93 mins 1
Tom Cosgrove joins us for a second episode and this time we dive into New Britain.
If you are a knife history nerd, you are going to love the cross talk on this one!
Thank you to Tom for the below notes:
To talk about Landers, Frary & Clark you must talk about New Britain Connecticut history first.
At the turn of the century, New Britain CT factories produced one-sixth of the nation’s hardware, earning its title of the “Hardware Capitol of the World” with familiar names like:
- New Britain Machine
- Stanley Rule & Level/Stanley Tool
- Fafnir Bearing
- P.F. Corbin Lock
- Russell & Erwin Locks
- North & Judd
- Landers, Frary & Clark
1829 George Marcellus Landers (1813–1895), left his familial home in Lenox MA at the age of 16 for the small town of New Britain CT where he took employment as a carpenter’s apprentice. Landers meets Josiah Dewey, a manufacturer of furniture casters and cupboard catches.
1842 Dewey & Landers is formed to produce cupboard catches. They operated on East Main Street in New Britain CT until the company’s dissolution in 1847 due to Dewey’s death. This led Landers to form his own foundry to produce brass hooks and eyes, and wardrobe hooks.
1853 Landers partnered with Levi O. Smith to form Landers & Smith Manufacturing Company with working capital of $30,000.
1862 Landers partners with Colonel James Darius Frary (1833–1890) of Frary, Carey & Company of Meriden CT join forces. Frary & Carey produced various metal and hardware products including the Turnbull Patent Dial Scale, which was a scale for home/kitchen use.
1865 Incorporated as Landers, Frary & Clark, the name that they maintained for about 100 years. At the time of incorporation, the company had $250,000 in working capital and employed 300 people.
1866 Purchased the Meriden Cutlery Company and with it the “right to be called the first manufacturer of cutlery in the United States” and immediately began manufacturing kitchen cutlery and opened a factory called the Aetna Works, on Center Street to make a variety of cutlery, including carving sets and the Anvil Brand line of putty knives with tropical hardwood handles.
The Aetna Works stone and brick buildings with slate roofs were located on a 4 ½ acre parcel and included a main shop, a grinding and finishing shop, a forging shop, and buildings wings for sawing and tempering.
1869 Began manufacturing housewares: products that were meant to ease household tasks, which were most often performed by women. Their products included: meat choppers, coffee mills, apple parers, hooks for various purposes, window pulleys, door handles, and tools.
1909 Purchased the trademark “Universal” from Levi T. Snow of New Haven CT
1912 Purchased the Humason & Beckley Manufacturing Company of New Britain CT and began manufacturing pocket knives and razors. The deal was brokered by Martha A. Parsons who was the secretary of LF&C. So uncommon was it for a woman to hold such a high position that Martha would sign her name as M. A. Parsons to hide that fact.
1916 Ceased using the H&B name on all pocket cutlery.
1918 Purchased all Meriden Cutlery Company and continued to make Meriden Cutlery pocket knives until 1924.
1925 The last year that LF&C used the Meriden Cutlery Company “Anvil” brand as a second line on all cutlery
If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to give us some of those stars in your podcast app!
Mike Moran: @moranknives and on the web: moranknives.com
Check out Neal's latest latest book on J.A. Henckels Knives
