Both
handles were made from unidentified hardwood:
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Amidon's Pat. July
20, 1880
Saxton & Amidon:
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B&D-173
Price: $65.00
plus shipping
There
is an excellent description of the genesis of the Saxton & Amidon
firm in Randy
Roeder's history of the Millers Falls Company: Charles Amidon's
carriage-making business had gone bust in an economic downturn,
followed by a fire that destroyed much of the carriage-making portion
of his factory. Elijah Root Saxton bought the brace-making tooling from
the bankrupt factory and eventually formed this partnership with Amidon
in order to secure the rights to several brace patents.
Note
that this brace's wrist handle ferrules have the swaged profile that is
a characteristic of nearly all Amidon-related braces.
According to another page in Randy
Roeder's history of the Millers Falls Company, the July 20, 1880
date appeared on the chuck of another Amidon firm, Amidon & White.
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The chuck shell
is marked with the wrong patent date: July 20, 1880, instead of the
correct April 20, 1880; the maker's marks are double-struck as well.
Other than that, there are no other issues at all. The jaws are even
secured in the body of the chuck, which is not often the case with this
design.
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