Fayette R. Plumb
Yerkes & Plumb → Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. — Bridesburg, Philadelphia
Plumb is the maker that printed its prices. Where most axe makers kept net prices in separate dealer lists, Plumb published them right inside its catalog — so the digitized 1906 Illustrated Catalogue and Price List hands us the combination that’s otherwise so rare: real per-model axe prices, with specs, at a firm date, from a named maker — verified against the page images.P1 It carries the stamp-dating key too.
A short history
Fayette R. Plumb’s business began as a partnership. In 1869 Plumb went in with the Philadelphia hammer-maker Jonathan Yerkes, and the works at Bridesburg ran as Yerkes & Plumb — among the first American firms to forge edge tools from cast steel.P3 The house reached back further in its own telling: a 1920 bond notice described a maker of “hammers, hatchets, axes, sledges, wedges and mauls” whose business had been “founded in 1856.”P14 Yerkes retired in 1886 and Plumb bought out his share, so that by 1888 the firm was solely Fayette R. Plumb.P3
The mark collectors know came next. About 1890 Plumb adopted its Anchor Brand — the word “Plumb” in script laid across an anchor.P4 The anchor was not new to the firm: Yerkes & Plumb heads had long carried an anchor medallion (shown below), and it was that device which passed into the sole-Plumb “Anchor Brand.”P4 A generation on, Plumb added its premium “Autograf” line — an etch reproducing Fayette R. Plumb’s own signature.P4
Plumb’s catalogs are unusually useful to a collector because they carry the prices on the page. The 1906 Illustrated Catalogue and Price List sets out per-model axe prices, weights, and pattern names, each head stamped with the Anchor Brand.P1 It is a rare thing — an axe that can be pinned to a model, a weight, a price, and a year all at once.
A boys’ axe, priced to the dozen — 1906
Plumb’s Anchor Brand Boys’ Handled Axe, 1906 — $11.00 to $15.00 per dozen (≈ 92¢–$1.25 each), Nos. 660–664, 1½–2¾ lb: an axe you can pin to a model, a weight, a price, and a year all at once. From Plumb’s own Illustrated Catalogue and Price List (1906), p. 35 (P1) — the anchor mark stamped right on the head, shown below.
Corporate genealogy
- 1869Fayette R. Plumb partners with hammer-maker Jonathan Yerkes; the Bridesburg works run as “Yerkes & Plumb” — among the first U.S. firms to use cast steel for tools. ~ P3
- 1886–88Yerkes retires (1886), Plumb buys him out (1887); by 1888 it is solely Fayette R. Plumb. ~ P3
- c.1890Anchor Brand introduced — “Plumb” in script across an anchor. ~ P4
- 1906Illustrated Catalogue and Price List — the priced axe range documented here. ✓ P1
- 1926–46“Plumb v. Plomb” — Plumb objects (1926) then sues (1946); the Plomb Tool Co. becomes “Proto.” ~ P3
- 1942“Victory” finish introduced for the duration of WWII. ~ P4
- 1971→Acquired by Ames (1971), then Cooper Industries (1981); into Apex Tool Group (2010). ~ P3
Documented model line & prices — 1906, per dozen
Per-model prices as Plumb printed them — weights exclude handles; prices are per dozen. The Boys’, Hunters’ and Broad rows are confirmed against the page scans (P1, pp. 35–36).
| Axe line (Anchor Brand) | Cat. Nos. | Weights | Price / doz. | ≈ each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys’ Handled Axes ◆ | 660–664 | 1 lb 8 oz – 2 lb 12 oz | $11.00–15.00 | 92¢–$1.25 |
| Hunters’ Handled Axes | 670–675 | 12 oz – 2 lb | $9.00–11.00 | 75–92¢ |
| Broad Axes — Ohio pattern | 680–689 | 5 – 8 lb | $32.00–38.00 | $2.67–3.17 |
| Broad Axes — Pennsylvania / Pittsburg | 690–699 | 5 – 8 lb | $32.00–38.00 | $2.67–3.17 |
| Broad Axes — Western pattern | 700–709 | 5 – 8 lb | $32.00–38.00 | $2.67–3.17 |
| Broad Axes — New Orleans pattern | 710–719 | 5 – 8 lb | $32.00–38.00 | $2.67–3.17 |
| Broad Axes — Canada pattern | 720–729 | 5 – 10 lb | $42.00–54.00 | $3.50–4.50 |
| Broad Axes — Ship pattern | 730 | 5 – 5½ lb | $20.00 | $1.67 |
✓ primary 1906 catalogue & price list, image-verified. Also priced in the same catalog: Explorers’, Butchers’, Killing, Firemen’s (painted red), Ice and Stone axes.
Read the full 1906 catalogue →
Plumb over the decades — the offering, and the price, change
Six digitized Plumb catalogs across 74 years let us watch a single maker’s line move — from a hatchet-and-broad-axe house to a standardized chopping line to a tiered, feature-driven retail range. (The 1940 catalog is image-only, so it’s skipped.)
| Year | What Plumb offered | Src |
|---|---|---|
| 1896 | Hatchet-heavy: shingling, half, claw ($9/doz), lathing ($7.50/doz) hatchets + broad axes | P7 |
| 1906 | Specialty axes: Boys’, Hunters’, Explorers’, Broad (6 patterns), Butchers’, Killing, Firemen’s, Ice, Stone | P1 |
| 1927 | Standardized line: single-bit (Delaware / Michigan / New England), double-bit (Michigan), Boy’s, House, Boy Scout | P2 |
| 1965 | Tiered modern line (National / All-American / Plumb) with Permabond chemical-weld handles — “a Patented Plumb Exclusive” | P8 |
| 1970 | Same tiered line; “Twin-Pak” two-axe retail packaging | P9 |
The arc: hatchets & broad axes → a standardized chopping line → a tiered, feature-driven retail range. ✓ primary (all dated catalogs).
Same product, one maker, a clean dealer-price basis (per-dozen ÷ 12 for the early years): ~$1.00 → $1.50 → $4.00. The cheaper “All-American” tier ran $3.33 each in 1965; the 1927 Boy Scout axe was ~$1.80 each. ✓ primary
Dating a head by its stamp — mark era + datable features
| Era | What the head is stamped | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 1869–1888 | Yerkes & Plumb / Y & P (often + anchor) | The partnership years, before sole Plumb (1888). |
| 1888–c.1890 | Genuine Plumb / Guaranteed Plumb (rounded-corner stamps) | Sole-Plumb, before the Anchor Brand mark. |
| c.1890–1940s | Anchor Brand: “Plumb” script across an anchor · Philadelphia, U.S.A. | The classic mark — as on the 1906 heads above. |
| c.1920s+ | Autograf — Fayette R. Plumb’s signature etch | Premium line; PLUMB trademark filed 1920. |
| 1942–c.45 | Victory finish | WWII-duration — a tight bracket. |
| c.1950s+ | Permabond chemical-weld handle (patented) | A Permabond head is post-~1950s (in catalogs by 1965). |
| 1971 / 1981+ | Ames, then Cooper Industries branding | Post-acquisition, later ownership. |
| Mark / line | Introduced | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor Brand | c.1890 | “Plumb” script across an anchor (P4) |
| PLUMB (U.S. trademark) | 1920 | Registration filed May 27 1920 (P6) |
| Autograf | c.1920s | Fayette R. Plumb signature-etch line (P4) |
| Victory finish | 1942 | WWII-duration finish (P4) |
| Permabond handles | by 1965 | “A Patented Plumb Exclusive” — chemical weld; a Permabond head is post-~1950s (P8) |
| Boys’-axe tiers · Twin-Pak | 1965 / 70 | National / All-American / Plumb tiers (P8); Twin-Pak pack (P9) |
Put it together
- Yerkes & Plumb / Y & P + anchor → 1869–1888.
- Anchor-Brand Plumb · Philadelphia, U.S.A., no Autograf → c.1890–1910s.
- An Autograf etched head → c.1920s–1940s.
- A Victory-finish head → 1942–c.1945.
In period print
How Plumb and its predecessor were sold and described in their own day — from the Yerkes & Plumb partnership through the Anchor Brand and the “Autograf” line. Each item was read on the original page; all are public-domain newspapers.
“Yerkes & Plumb, hammers and axes.”
The predecessor partnership named in a Delaware paper — eight years before Plumb bought Yerkes out.
Daily Republican, Del. (P10)
“We’ve Plumb ‘Anchor Brand’ Hatchets and Axes too.”
A Michigan hardware dealer calls the mark by name — the Anchor Brand, in the trade, in period.
The Calumet News, Mich. (P11)
“the world’s most finished tool”
A national display ad for the hatchet line — “Made by Fayette R. Plumb, Inc.”
The Gordon Journal, Neb. (P12)
“Plumb ‘Au-to-graf’ Hammers, Hatchets, Axes and Sledges.”
The premium Autograf line named in a dealer’s ad, independent of any catalog.
The Alaska Daily Empire, Alaska (P13)
“…the business having been founded in 1856.”
A bond notice quoting the company’s own account of itself — hammers, hatchets, axes, sledges, wedges and mauls — and its own founding date.
Evening Public Ledger, Phila. (P14)
“the balance of the Plumb Axe makes it ‘fall’ true and hard”
The Peter McLaren champion-chopper pitch — balance and bite — carried in a Texas paper.
The Brownsville Herald, Tex. (P15)
What a Plumb is worth today — recent eBay sales
Philadelphia’s Plumb (the Anchor Brand, the “Autograf” signature etch) is one of the most common vintage American axes — and the brand still exists, so the vintage marks are what carry the value.
Sources
- primary · catalogue & PRICE LISTpublic domain
Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. Illustrated Catalogue and Price List, 1906. 100 pp. — per-model axe prices; pp. 35–36 verified against the page images. source → - primary · manufacturer catalogpublic domain
Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. Plumb Axes, Hatchets, Hammers, 1927. source → - secondary · lead
“Plumb (tools).” Wikipedia — corporate genealogy (1869 / 1888 / 1971 / 1981 / 2010) and the Plumb v. Plomb saga. source → - secondary · lead
“History of Fayette R. Plumb Inc.” Trowel & Masonry Tool Collector Resource — marks & brand chronology. source → - secondary · lead
“Plumb” (Bridesburg). Workshop of the World — Philadelphia industrial history. source → - primary · U.S. trademark record
PLUMB trademark, Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. — registration filed May 27 1920 (serial 71133019), via USPTO / Justia. source → - primary · catalogpublic domain
Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. Hatchets, Broad Axes, Adzes, 1896. source → - primary · catalog + price list
Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. Plumb Tools: Hammers, Hatchets, Axes, Sledges, Files, 1965 — per-dozen & each prices; Permabond. (PD via non-renewal not verified; cited for fact.) source → - primary · catalog
Fayette R. Plumb, Inc. Plumb Tools, 1970 — “Twin-Pak.” (Cited for fact.) source → - secondary · period newspaper reportpublic domain
“Yerkes & Plumb, hammers and axes” (notice of the predecessor firm). Daily Republican (Wilmington, Del.), May 15, 1880, p. 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America → - primary · period newspaper advertisementpublic domain
“We’ve Plumb ‘Anchor Brand’ Hatchets and Axes too” (dealer advertisement). The Calumet News (Calumet, Mich.), Feb. 17, 1911, p. 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America → - primary · period newspaper advertisementpublic domain
“A Plumb Hatchet is not only the world’s most finished tool … Made by Fayette R. Plumb, Inc.” (national display advertisement). The Gordon Journal (Gordon, Neb.), Dec. 5, 1913, p. 3. Library of Congress, Chronicling America → - primary · period newspaper advertisementpublic domain
“Plumb ‘Au-to-graf’ Hammers, Hatchets, Axes and Sledges” (dealer advertisement). The Alaska Daily Empire (Juneau, Alaska), Mar. 26, 1918, p. 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America → - secondary · period newspaper (bond notice)public domain
Bond notice quoting the company as a maker of “hammers, hatchets, axes, sledges, wedges and mauls, the business having been founded in 1856.” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, Pa.), Feb. 19, 1920, p. 19. Library of Congress, Chronicling America → - primary · period newspaper advertisementpublic domain
“the balance of the Plumb Axe makes it ‘fall’ true and hard” (the Peter McLaren champion-chopper advertisement). The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Tex.), July 18, 1928, p. 10. Library of Congress, Chronicling America →
← Other makers: Collins & Co. · True Temper / Kelly · American Axe & Tool · Mann Edge Tool · Warren / Sager · Douglas Axe · Underhill Edge Tool · Emerson & Stevens · Snow & Nealley · Historic Axe Prices
↑ Home — all makers · Axe head patterns · About the author · How we source · Terms · Privacy · Disclaimer
Fayette R. Plumb: corporate genealogy, an image-verified 1906 priced model line, and a stamp-dating key. Every figure carries a source and a confidence flag. Not affiliated with Plumb, Apex Tool Group, or any current rights-holder; sources are digitized public-domain catalogs and clearly-marked secondary references.