The Quackenbush Nutcracker, 1913+

How does this piece of local history tell a larger story?

Have you heard of Henry Marcus Quackenbush? (1847-1933) My guess is probably not. He was an American inventor who founded the H.M. Quackenbush Company in 1871, a metal working and gun shop. He also invented and patented a specific type of nutcracker, which I found buried in the soil of the Westshore.

This object, which became a popular ‘must have’ kitchen utility was recently discovered by my trusty metal detector. A spring-jointed a nickel-plated, solid steel nutcracker with the embossed manufacturer of HMQ.

Henry Marcus Quackenbush was born in Herkimer, New York on April 27, 1847. He began an apprenticeship with the gun maker Remington Arms at age 14 where he acquired the skills of an expert metalworker and gunmaker. By 1867, he had begun inventing and marketing devices on his own, including his first successful creation, the extension ladder. He sold the patent for this invention for $500.

But this article is about his other invention. In 1909 Quackenbush filed a patent and then in 1…