Hello from new member and advice sought

[Ozark Ridge runner]

Greetings folks,
My name is Robert Stone.
I ran onto your site while doing some reseach on enamel ware and tinware.
Ya'll have a NICE site!
Some background do..I have been playing TINSMITH for about 20 years now.
(Granted 20 years seems like a long time, but when you only get to do it a couple of months out of the year the skill process takes some time!)
I also live about 5 miles away from Pea Ridge National Battle field. It's an exceptionally nice place! However my knowledge of the Civil War is quite lacking,.. so I thought " if you're gonna learn , learn from the BEST."
You folks seem to be the place for that!
First question is ..Is there a site that list Civil War era manufacturers?
I'm tring to do some research on J.W. Wiss & Son(s) Co.
They manufactured Wiss tinsnips years ago ( and I have several pairs).
Any info will always be appreciated.
Many thanks
Robert Stone..Pea Ridge,Arkansas

[Hank Trent]

Re: Hello from new member and advice sought

From http://books.google.com/books?id=aXB1_7wENusC&pg=PA8:

Wiss is an operating entity of the Cooper Group... The predecessor of the Cooper entity known as Wiss was the New Jersey company J. W. Wiss & Sons, a company originally founded in 1848 which manufactured shears, scissors and snips. Wiss was acquried by Cooper Industries in 1976 as part of the Cooper Group and in 1978 opened new facilities in Statesboro, Georgia.

Don't know if that's helpful or if it duplicates what you already know.

Looks like the way to find the motherlode of information on J.W. Wiss & Sons is to google for J. Wiss & Sons, without the "W". For example:

http://siris-archives.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!140088!0#focus

J. Wiss & Sons Company was founded in 1848 by Jacob Wiss, a thirty-one-year-old immigrant from Switzerland who was an experienced cutler and gunsmith. The company, headed by Wiss and his descendants in Newark, N.J., emphasized high quality in its products which became known world-wide and sold to the U.S. Government in the Civil War and the two World Wars. In 1914, Wiss acquired the manufacturing facilities of a competitor and became the largest producer of fine scissors and shears in the world. Following World War I, Wiss weathered a severe depression in scissors markets, partly caused by dumping of European products. Increased U.S. help remedied this situation. Recently, the Wiss Company became a subsidiary of Cooper Industries.

Lots more hits also.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Ozark Ridge runner]

Re: Hello from new member and advice sought

Hank,
Thanks a HEAP!! I've got the feeling this is going to be a fun forum to be in.
Best Regaurds,
Robert Stone

[PVTJethro]

Re: Hello from new member and advice sought

HELLO AND WELCOME ROBERT. This is probably THE definitive website for Civil War Re-enacting! There is here a plethora,a cornicopia,a wealth of information. Remember they here leave no "stone" unturned and a rolling "stone" gathers no moss. Sorry,could"nt resist:D. So Welcome to the Website. Clifford Earl Hyde