Just took some new pics after a Nevr-Dull treatment, here's the back story.
I love advertising knives, there's always so much variety in patterns and quality to make it interesting to collect. Above is a knife for the Good Roads Machinery Company they were in business with that name from 1892-1907.
Good Roads Machinery Company patented the "American Champion," the first four-wheeled pull grader, in 1877. It was reorganized under the American Road Machine Company name in 1889 after opening plants in Delphos, Ohio, as well as Groton and Marathon, New York.
The Good Roads Machinery Company was organized as the firm's sales branch, and Good Roads became the brand name under which the equipment, which included graders, rollers and rock crushers, was manufactured, although the American Champion name was continued for graders. The Good Roads name was a direct allusion to the Good Roads movement, under which dirt farm roads throughout the United States were being improved for automobile traffic.
The firm expanded into Canada in 1888, and the Copp Brothers firm of Hamilton, Ontario, gained sole licensing rights for American Champion graders in Canada in 1892. John Challen, the manager of Copp Brothers, bought the company out in 1896 and renamed it Good Roads Machinery Company, not to be confused with the sales agents of the same name for American Road Machinery. Challen's firm failed in 1907, and he became a salesman for American Road Machinery, which apparently acquired the firm's assets.
A new group of investors bought the former Challen firm in 1908 and reorganized it as Canadian Road Machine Company Ltd., and this firm also failed and was reacquired by American Road Machinery in 1909 as American Road Machinery of Canada.
New & Used Heavy Equipment
http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Good_Roads_Machinery_Company#ixzz3JxLCPOTs
There was no tang stamp but on the corner of the stamped handles were the name Bastian Bros Co. Rochester NY. Here's a little history on them, seems like they started their company around the same time. Robeson was contacted to make the knives while they stamped the handles.
history on the stamp Bastian Bros Co Rochester NY...
Bastian Company Profile
Bastian Company was founded in 1895 and was incorporated as Bastian Brothers Company initially operating as a jewelry store. Shortly after its founding, Bastian Brothers became one of the first firms in Rochester, New York to become a Union Shop and continues today to be a totally unionized firm. Within a short period of time, the firm became known for its custom recognition and award products and underwent a rapid expansion. Soon after moving into a larger facility, Bastian expanded its sales and marketing efforts to eventually cover the entire United States and today has numerous customers located outside the United States.
Since 1895, Bastian Company has been recognized internationally for its quality, craftsmanship, and integrity in the production of emblematic jewelry, lapel pins, medallions, belt buckles, paperweights, key tags, convention badges, police-security-firemen badges and insignia, and automotive decorative emblems.
Bastian Companys die cutters (tool makers) can reproduce a concept into an embossing die that will provide the clarity, sharpness and definition of detail you expect in the finished product. In each and every step of the very labor intensive die striking, enameling, polishing, finishing and plating procedures our employees build integrity and quality into every Bastian Company product.
In December of 2003, Bastian Company acquired the assets of CRDL Inc. and moved all equipment and operations from the CRDL plant in California to the Bastian plant. CRDL invented and patented magnetic sculptures and today offers more than 300 designs to select from. With the move to the Bastian plant, CRDL magnetic sculptures are now union made along with all Bastian products.
Not bad for a $10 flea market find.
