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Author Topic: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines  (Read 149 times)

krypto31337

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Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« on: April 15, 2021, 08:16:07 pm »
I seen on Ebay that someone is selling a Cooper Bros branded Jensen engine which reminded me that I have a similar model up in the attic.  It's kind of a basket case, really, as I didn't realize when I bid on it that the boiler has pretty extensive damage.

Anyway, my question is who were the Cooper Bros and why did Jensen sell their engines under their name tag?  I can't recall seeing any other Jensen engines being marked with another name.
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St Paul Steam

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2021, 08:46:31 pm »
They sold under the Montgomery Ward name also I believe.
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txlabman

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2021, 09:09:23 am »
Throughout its 90+ year history, Jensen has been asked to make batches and job lots for other retailers, and sometimes these engines were Re-Badged or Re-Tagged to the seller's own label, with little or no indication that they were actually made by Jensen.

Cooper Bros for many years purchased lots of Jensen model 70's from the plywood base era with plain black firebox, clear until the tin based units with the round porthole sight glass, identified by Coopers Bros. as the model 2508, like these:

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Stoker

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2021, 09:24:35 am »
Nice images Charlie .... where'd ya get those anyway?  ;c)

Fact is I have yet to see any definitive information as to just who or what the Cooper Bros. are/were, but certainly they did get job lots of #70's from Jensen several times over a span of many years. An Educational materials supply house for the East Coast region perhaps, or ?

Whatever the actual history behind these engines, I would rate them as rather "Rare", but not exceedingly so, as they do show up from time to time, typically a few a year, on ebay. It is not uncommon to see them in well used and even rather abused condition, though nearly pristine examples also show up occasionally, but less often.

Another rebranded Jensen engine that has surfaced in a very small lot of #85G's out of Israel, that were tagged in Hebrew, though they also had the Jensen tag unconventionally mounted on the firebox. I think there were only 15 or so that were found, though there may well have been quite a few more made in that batch.
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txlabman

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2021, 09:28:16 am »
Daniel:

I had the images in my saved pictures Jensen database.

Not sure where I got them.

I am sure Gil can provide more history.

I don't own any Cooper Bros. examples and I have only seen two or three on eBay over the last five years.

Charlie

Stoker

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2021, 09:48:47 am »
They sold under the Montgomery Ward name also I believe.

Quite correct Bruce!

Though the only model that I am aware of is the metal base #65 which had a tape/decal type label that read: M/W Signature Junior, but even so, came in a regular Jensen box.

These seem quite rare and are not often seen at all, so probably Montgomery Ward didn't contract very many, nor for very long. With the title "Signature Junior", one must wonder if there was ever offered a "M/W Signature Senior", and if so, what it may have been? Perhaps a Jensen #25, or even a 20 or 10 mayhaps, but if so, I've never seen one. As a caveat to the "rarity" of any possible Montgomery Ward re-branded engines I would note that the tape style label that they used to mark these engines was not difficult to peal off, so there may have been many more than there is currently any evidence for still extant!
"Information is not knowledge, Knowledge is not wisdom, Wisdom is not truth, Truth is not beauty, Beauty is not love, Love is not music: Music is THE BEST...   
Wisdom is the domain of the Wis (which is extinct). Beauty is a French phonetic corruption of a short cloth neck ornament currently in resurgence..."
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krypto31337

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Re: Cooper Bros Jensen Engines
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2021, 08:54:12 pm »
Any pictures of a Monkey Ward branded Jensen?  I'm surprised Sears didn't sell their own special Jensen engine like they did for Coleman, Crosman and many other items.

Tried doing some searching on Cooper Bros but struck out.  Since Port Washington is a fancy part of Long Island, perhaps it was just a local toy store.
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