Rubber - Novelty Rubber Co. 1872-86

Novelty Rubber Co. - Rubber Shuttle From 1839, the time of the discovery of vulcanizing, numerous companies sprang up that produced rubber products; from tires and rainwear(soft rubber) to buttons and pipestems (hard rubber/Vulcanite®). This shuttle, from the collection of Joan Thomas (gift of Catherine Ochs), Newtown, Connecticut, is one of those hard rubber household items. A shuttle illustrated in the Montgomery Wards catalogue of 1894 has the same relative dimensions, exposed rivets and rectangular post as this one.

Novelty Rubber Co. LogoUnusual is the surviving company logo stamp shown here enhanced. The Novelty Rubber Company (N.R. C°) was an American manufacturing firm founded by Nicholas Williamson in 1853 in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, moving to New Brunswick, New Jersey where it incorporated in 1855 and finally closed in the 1886. The 5/16" long logo is stamped on one side only and is positioned between the rivets. The Novelty Rubber Company manufactured hard rubber items under a Goodyear patent license which expired May 6, 1872. Since this shuttle has no Goodyear patent information stamped in it, it can be dated with confidence to between 1872-1886. Noteworthy is that on p. 199 of India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha In the Civil War Era, ©1999 by Mike Woshner and Mike O'Donnell, one of these shuttles is pictured stating that it was found in a Civil War campsite near Clear Spring, Maryland; an interesting anachronism that could lead to the mistaken assumption that this was a 'Civil War' artifact. A telephone conversation with Mike Woshner on 23 Feb 2000, confirmed his agreement with the above dating for this shuttle.

3.142" L x .856" W x .354" H