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UPDATE #2 – Canada – Great War (1914-1919) Mk IV Oil bottle makers

We next turned our attention to the oilers marked “HB-15”.

We now know that “HB-15” is almost certainly the Hamilton Brass Manufacturing Company Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. (See picture 01.) Our example is C-Broad Arrow marked. Mk IV brass oiler. "15" presumed to be "1915". No other marks.

We followed the same pattern outlined in our previous post (above).

The list of approved suppliers (see picture 02) whose name began with “H” yielded two candidates, Hahn Brass Company Ltd. (Galt, Ontario) and Hamilton Brass Manufacturing Company Ltd. (Hamilton, Ontario). Happily, both names turned up in the Sessional Papers).

Our search for “Hahn Brass” turned up one result (Page ZZ-60) for (identity) “discs, 95,000 @ $1.40 per 100; 138,653 @ $15.50 per 1000; express $9.64; 3488.66”. We found no other listings. It is quite possible that Hahn Brass produced oil bottles at some time during the Great War; but at the moment the documentation we have supports Hamilton Brass as our candidate for “HB-15”.

We moved on to search for “Hamilton Brass” and on Page ZZ-60, not far below “Hahn” found “Hamiliton Brass Mfg. Co., Hamilton: oil bottles, 14,468 at 9c. 1302.12”. (See picture 03).

As with our previous research, we point out that although the report is dated 1917, there may have been purchases prior to that disbursement. Additionally, the document is silent as to when those 14,468 oil bottles were actually manufactured. The available record is simply a payment ledger for that fiscal year.

The Hamilton Brass Manufacturing Company, founded in 1885, was a prominent manufacturer located near the heart of downtown Hamilton, Ontario, and known as the manufacturer of “cash register, office, bank and church fittings”, employing 140 people circa 1900. Although the Company is listed in the 1915 City Directory, we did not find the company listed in the 1920 Edition of Vernon’s City of Hamilton (Forty-Seventh Annual Street, Alphabetical, Business and Miscellaneous) Directory. The Company may have moved outside of the city – or simply gone out of business.

Stay tuned for additional updates on Canadian Great War oilers.