Bristol Brass and Clock Company stock certificate 1902 (Connecticut)

Classic vignette of a period steam train with smoke stack  Issued and cancelled. Red pen marks and holes through signature block. Dated 1902.  Measures approximately 9.25 x 5.5 inches.  

The Bristol Brass & Clock Company was organized on April 3, 1850, at Foster's Tavern, in Bristol, Connecticut. Israel Holmes served as the first president of Bristol Brass. He was no stranger to the brass business, having started many related companies prior to forming Bristol Brass; and he would be involved in numerous ventures thereafter. Holmes started in the brass business at Scoville in the 1820's. He gained a strong reputation after bringing both brass rolling equipment and skilled brass workers from England during a time when exports of materials and workmen was prohibited.

In 1868, The Bristol Brass & Clock Company diversified into the burner and lamp business. On April 28, 1868, they purchased the burner shop of George W. Brown & Company. Brown was an inventor and manufacturer of mechanical toys. Three years after Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil, Brown started making lamp burners. The burner business was so successful, that he quit making toys, and attracted the attention of Bristol Brass management.

At the same time, Bartlett P. Luce, a holder of several burner patents, came on board as a salesman. He traveled the southern states, proclaiming the attributes of the Safety Burner which he had invented. Luce and his burner was very successful, selling significant numbers to the railways, miners, and lumber camps. This paved the way for a successful lamp business. On July 3, 1902, the company changed its name to Bristol Brass Co. Its successor, Bristol Brass Corporation, closed in the 1980's.

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