Description
Rufus Bliss founded the Bliss Mfg. Co. in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in the early 1830s as a manufacturer of wooden screws. Experiencing steady growth, the company added tool handles and wooden clamps to its product line about 1870; but by the turn of the 20th century doll houses, croquet sets and other wooden toys had become its big moneymakers. The Boys Union Tool Chest was first added to the toy line in 1911, providing young boys with child-sized replicas of their father’s tools. Depending on the set, these working tools included saws, levels, augers, a miter box, a hammer and a hatchet. Although rugged and plain on the outside, the inside lid of the No. 900B weathered oak box offered a very colorful lithograph of boys sawing and hammering away on either side of a patriotic center image, featuring an open-winged American eagle and flags. Image is 1600px wide.
