Vintage Brass Advertising Watch Fob, Bruno Supply Co, Contractor Supplies

Picture a contractor's supply counter sometime in the 1950s or 60s, the kind of place with a wood floor worn shiny by work boots and a bell over the door that jingled every time a regular walked in. Behind the counter stands a salesman, maybe the owner himself, and clipped to his watch chain or looped through his belt is a small brass fob stamped with his own company's name and, in this case, his own name too: Vic Piazza. Handing that fob to a good customer, or a promising new one, was a small, personal gesture, a bit of advertising, sure, but also a bit of a handshake made physical, something a man could carry in his pocket that said this is who to call.

That is exactly the piece in front of you: a solid brass advertising watch fob, stamped on the front with "BRUNO SUPPLY CO." and the salesman's name, "Vic Piazza," and on the reverse with "CONTRACTOR'S SUPPLIES / Call Us For Service" followed by a seven-digit local phone number, 454-3546, with no area code and no letter-exchange prefix, the kind of dialing format that places this fob comfortably in the mid-twentieth century, roughly the 1950s through 1970s, based purely on that dialing convention rather than any printed date. It's a rectangular plate with gently rounded corners and a small rectangular loop cut into one edge, exactly the right size and shape to hang from a pocket watch chain or a key ring, the two most common ways a fob like this actually got carried and used, day in and day out, for years.

This is solid brass throughout, not a plated base metal with brass showing through at the edges; you can see the same uniform metallic color on both faces and inside the cross-section of the loop cutout itself, which is a good, honest sign of genuine solid construction rather than a thin coating over something cheaper underneath. We looked closely, more than once, for a separate manufacturer's mark, the kind of small stamp some fob-makers of the era included alongside the advertiser's own text, and we did not find one here. Only Bruno Supply Co.'s own embossed lettering appears on either face. That is common enough with advertising fobs of this kind, where the local business ordering the fobs was the only name that mattered to whoever was paying for them, and we are telling you plainly rather than guessing at a fob-maker's name we can't actually confirm.

We were not able to find documentation on Bruno Supply Co. or Vic Piazza specifically in our research, which tells us honestly that this was very likely a small, local, or regional company rather than a widely known national brand, the kind of business that served its own town or county and never needed to advertise beyond it. That is not a strike against the piece; if anything, it is part of what makes advertising fobs like this genuinely interesting to collect, because each one is a small, specific fragment of somebody's actual local business history, the kind of detail that rarely survives anywhere else once the shop itself has closed and the phone number has been reassigned three times over.

On condition, we want to be completely straightforward. This fob shows a uniform, aged brass patina, darkened in the recessed background areas around the lettering while the raised text itself stays brighter from decades of handling, which is exactly the pattern you'd expect on a piece that lived in someone's pocket rather than a display case. We did not find any dents, cracks, splits, or chips anywhere on the piece, including close inspection of the corners and the loop cutout, and the loop itself is fully intact and open, not bent or torn. There is no plating to flake off here since it's solid brass front to back. We noticed a few very fine surface scuff marks near the lettering on the reverse, purely cosmetic. We are presenting this fob uncleaned and unpolished, with its natural aged patina fully intact rather than buffed away, because we think that patina is part of an honestly old piece's real character, and we would rather let you decide whether to polish it yourself than strip that history off before it ever reaches you.

Advertising fobs like this one have a real, dedicated following among collectors, but the appeal splits into two different directions. Big national machinery and equipment brands command real premiums because collectors chase specific well-known names. Small local and regional company fobs like this one occupy a quieter, more personal corner of the hobby, appreciated by Americana and local-history collectors, by people researching the history of their own town's businesses, and by fob collectors who simply enjoy the variety and specificity of pieces that will never turn up in a price guide because they were never made in large enough numbers to become famous.

We priced this fob by comparing it honestly against similar-scale local and regional advertising fobs that have recently sold, rather than against the much higher prices commanded by famous national machinery brands, since that would not be an honest comparison. Within that fair, comparable range, we leaned toward the higher end, because this fob is legible, solid, undamaged, and carries the added personal touch of an individual salesman's name alongside the company's, a detail that gives it a bit more character than a purely generic company fob would have.

Please look closely at every photograph before bidding, since they show exactly what you will receive, natural patina and all. If you have questions, or simply want to know more about what we were and weren't able to confirm in our research, please ask before you commit; an honest answer is always better than an assumption. The fob will be shipped promptly, packaged securely. Thank you for taking a moment to consider this small, specific piece of somebody's working life, and we hope it finds a home with someone who will appreciate exactly what it is.

 _gsrx_vers_1736 (GS 9.9.5 (1736))

Condition: Pre-owned

Item specifics

From The Spiderpunk Web collection of authentic antiques and collectibles. Ships from the United States with tracking.