Burr Damascus Tools Works

Over a century ago, Burr was a major US manufacturer of molder’s tools, along with Dobson and Monk. They began as Goodwin and Burr, and later traded under the name Burr’s Damascus Tool Works. Burr was located in Detroit, Michigan.

The proprietors were Doctor Theodore Burr (1816-1897) and his son Celenus Lorraine Burr (1852-1940). The elder Burr, who went by Doctor T and D.T., was a machinist who received US Patent 544,477 for a steam engine. Both men were listed in an 1880 Detroit city directory as proprietors of Burr’s Damascus Steel Works. In January 1902 Burr’s Damascus Tool Works won a court case against a Michigan competitor who was using Burr’s brand names.

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