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1928 WINCHESTER SIMMONS HARDWARE CO. KEEN KUTTER BILLHEAD ST. LOUIS MISSOURI. WINCHESTER SIMMONS WAS THE MERGER OF WINCHESTER ARMS AND SIMMONS HARDWARE.WINCHESTER ITEMS DURING THIS PERIOD WITH SIMMONS ARE VERY COLLECTIBLE DUE TO THE SHORT PERIOD OF THE MERGER 1922-1929.
- 900 SPRUCE ST.
- FAMOUS SAYING: \"THE RECOLLECTION OF QUALITY REMAINS LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN
- E C SIMMONS HARDWARE WAS IN BUSINESS FROM 1874 TO 1940, WHEN THEY WERE BOUGHT OUT BY SHAPLEIGH HARDWARE
- SOLD TO RUSH, GARDNER AND BARTLETT, MARLIN TEXAS
SEEMY STORE: VINTAGE HARDWARE STORE COLLECTIBLES
The Winchester-Simmons Company; New Haven, Connecticut and St. Louis Missouri Around 1919, the company expanded into other areas of manufacture and product distribution, even going so far as to come close to having \"retail\" stores, putting the famous Winchester brand on nearly everything from tools, sporting goods to housewares and hardware items, with its slogan being ....\"As Good As The Gun\".
In 1922 Winchester Repeating Arms Company merged with Simmons Hardware Company. This new company was known as The Winchester Simmons Company.
This merger was a financial disaster for both companies. In March of 1929, the Simmons Hardware Company announced that they were reverting to their original status and the name Winchester would no longer appear in conjunction with Simmons Hardware
A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT SIMMONS HARDWARE
Edward Campbell Simmons wasborn in Maryland in 1839 and moved with his merchant father to St. Louis,Missouri in 1846 At the age of seventeen he began his career in the wholesalehardware business on the bottom rung of the ladder as a cleaner/stocker forChild Pratt and Company.
1859 he entered the firmWilson Levering and Waters as a clerk. This hardware business eventuallyevolved into E.C. Simmons and Co.
Hesuccessfully developed the Simmons Hardware Company into one of the mostextensive corporations of its kind with divisions in Wichita, Sioux City,Ogden, Toledo, New York, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. By the turn of the centurywarehouse space occupied over 1,500,000 sq feet. The company\'s tool plants werein New Hampshire, and its pocket knife plant in New York was the largest in theU. S. They had their own saddlery factories as well. Mr. Simmons retired fromactive participation in 1898, but he still took a great interest in thebusiness.
Simmons capitalized on theoverwhelming customer demand for his Keen Kutter items by using the KK formaton many different types of products. The Simmons line included King Koasterchildren\'s wagons; Klipper Klub ice skates; Korn and Koffee Krushers; KarpetKing sweepers; Kool King ice boxes; Klear Krystal lamp chimneys; Kar Kingaccessories; King Kord tires, Keen Klipper lawn mowers; even Klicher mousetrapsand locks.
Items stamped or labeledKeen Kutter or those from the KK line rank most popular with collectors,followed by those marked Simmons Hardware or S.H.Co. Many collectors includeitems from the company\'s registered lines such as Polly Prim, Run Easy, BlueBrand, Oak Leaf, Delmar, Sterling, American, Delft, Van Dyke, or Wonder.
It was noaccident that customers were impressed by the Keen Kutter line and asked for itby name. The company had a well-organized marketing strategy, unparalleled inits day. Simmons put its stamp on everything the retailer could possiblyrequire or use in his LETTERHEADS, BILLHEAD, BILLHEADS, HARDWARE.
