"Hendryx" Brass Cages and Associated Feeders

I consider myself to be a "purist" when it comes to bird cage collecting.   I collect only cages from The Andrew B. Hendryx Co.  I have Hendryx stands for my cages.  I have only Hendryx feeders (or feeders believed to be Hendryx) on my cages.  I research my Hendryx Co. trade catalogs which date from 1891 to 1930.  I study the Hendryx ads which I have purchased and the ones for sale on ebay.  I am diligent in referencing the age of a cage and the age of the feeder that is on it.  This is what I'd like to talk with you about in my next two entries.  Today I will discuss the brass Hendryx cages and next I will discuss the japanned and enameled cages.  We will also discuss cage dating by use of the feeder openings.  I will be using my Hendryx trade catalogs as well as the Hendryx ads as the authorities in these discussions.

I hope this will be an interesting journey.  Grab some tea or coffee and we'll begin.


It is fairly easy to determine the feeders necessary for the brass Hendryx cages.  The "R" Opal cup, according to the Hendryx catalogs, (which we refer to as the "T" feeder), is listed as one of three feeders for the brass cages in the 1891 and 1895 catalogs.  

 The others are the open or closed opal (milk) glass cups.  This is the closed opal glass cup.

The bars of the cage are very specific for these types of feeders.  The round cages, with and without the seed guards, have the inward leaning squared-off wires for these feeders.  The open or closed opal cups are more delicate than the "R" Opal cups and tend to be on most of the brass cages in the 1891 and 1895 catalogs.  

  

Small globe cage with "R" Opal cups

Large globe cage with "R" Opal cups

As a footnote, this plate glass, at the base of the hoop, is 1/4" thick and 8" in diameter.  The fun thing about this stand is that the screw top that holds the glass plate on, and the screw in front of the hoop that makes the stand adjustable both are inscribed with the Hendryx name!

The square or rectangle-shaped cages used upright bars with notches in them to hold the feeders. 

As time progressed, seed guards were introduced and the feeder openings changed, but the "R" Opal cup was still the feeder being used.

All three feeders were patented on Oct. 27, 1874. In the 1891 catalog there is a notation under the "R" Opal cup:  "This cup will fit any Brass, Bronze or Bright Metal Canary Cage manufactured by us to this date and will be sent with all those cages unless customers request either Covered Opal or Open Opal Cups be sent with Cages ordered."



The 1910 catalog is the first evidence of the oval opal (milk) glass cup that is familiar to us.  The 7000 series of "New Style Special Brass Cages", with and without seed guard, had the opal glass oval cups (No. 1907 cup in the catalog).  [I am unable to determine if this cup appeared earlier than this as I have a 6-yr gap in my trade catalogs. It is not offered in the 1904 catalog.]

To secure this feeder, the attachment nub is inserted in the round feeder opening and drawn downward until it rests on the cross bars below.  The mouth opening on the feeder aligns with the brass wire round mouth opening.

 





[I have a 16-yr gap in trade catalogs-1910-1926.  I am unable to determine when the oval opal cup became more prolific after being introduced in 1910.  It is quite popular in the 1926 catalog.  The "R" opal cup is renamed the "Single Point Cup" and is used frequently also.]

The discussion about Hendryx brass cages is not complete without including the Mission and the Cottage Cages.  I will be talking more in-depth about them in a later post.  I believe these are the "under-appreciated" cages made by The Andrew B. Hendryx Co.  These were patented on September 29, 1908.

In the 1910 catalog, the Mission cages utilized the porcelain cup as the feeders. 

The No. 600 Brass Cup Guard is for the cages that use the No. 1913 open opal cup.

This cage is one of the few that I don't have feeders for.  This cage has the heart brass cup guard, but instead of the 1913 open opal cup, this one needs opal hooded, winged feeders.  I've only seen one and lost it in a bidding war.  The support wires are too far apart to hold the 1913 feeder.

There is a subtle difference between the 600 Brass cup guard and this one. 

Don't you just love the crimped wires on this cage?

The 1926 catalog advertises the DuPont Duco finishes for cages, stands and feeders.  Cages and stands were painted the same colors, offering monochrome or multicolored.  Some examples are Meadow green, green and black, black and red, 2-tone green or blue.  Feeders were the same or complimentary colors.

Here are several pages from the 1926 Hendryx catalog to show you some of the colors available.  This program does not accept scans, only photos.  I photographed the scan that Lauri at Winterthur Library sent me.  It's not as good as the scans, but it'll show you what I am talking about.

Courtesy, The Winterthur Library, Printed Books & Periodical Collection

Courtesy, The Winterthur Library, Printed Books & Periodical Collection

The 1930 catalog showed a variety of changes in the bird cage community. I will have a future blog entry on primarily the 1926 and 1930 cages and the changes they reflected.

 The bird cage maker, George R. Osborn appears to be working for The Andrew B. Hendryx Co. as reflected in the 1930 catalog.  There are several cages named after Osborn, and his influence can be seen in some of the feeders advertised. 

 This is the Osborn feeder.  Hendryx sold one similar as the No. B opal cup.  This feeder was used on the larger cages: Brass Cardinal Cage, the Aviary Cage, the Brass Breeding Cage, and the Osborn Parrot Cage.  It is significantly larger than other feeders as it stands over 3" tall at the front and 2 1/2" at the cup edges.  .

 Patent # 171,309 was awarded to George R. Osborn and B. A. Drayton on Dec. 21, 1875.  This was for the double pointed feeder that slips between the brass bars and can fit anywhere on the cage.  The patent states that this is an "economical and effective feeding apparatus for the cheaper grades of cages."
The A. B. Hendryx Co. sold these with its own label as Opal Double Point Cups.
This one is unlabeled so it's unknown who the manufacturer is.

 This is the Hendryx No. N, Opal Shield Cup.  I recently purchased several Osborn feeders that have the same shape. 

The Hendryx inventors/designers saw the appeal and usefulness of using Pyralin for feeders: unbreakable, lightweight, washable.  

The DuPont Heritage online site has the following information:  The DuPont Co. was a major producer of nitrocellulose as a byproduct of explosive manufacturing.  In the 1870s researchers discovered that "nitrocellulose, when combined with certain solvents, yielded a solid solution that could be molded and hardened for commercial use...In 1915 DuPont purchased the Arlington Company, a manufacturer of Pyralin, a nitrocellulose pyrxylin plastic..."

More on this in a later blog entry. 

 Look at the way the feeders set off the color accents of the cage.  This cage was designed by Andrew B. Hendryx's son, Nathan.  In the 1930 catalog,it's patent is pending as is the patent on the feeders. 

 

There are other feeders that were used by The Andrew B. Hendryx Co. for the brass cages.

These have an interesting soft "plastic" feel which 'gives' when squeezed.  It feels like the Pillsbury Dough Boy dolls when they came out.  I don't know what year these were developed but it would have been after 1930.

These are large flint glass feeders that are used in the larger breeding cages.

 These are the Art Deco Hendryx feeders.  They have reinforced mouth openings.  These were made after 1930 as they are not in the 1930 catalog.



This is the innovative Crystal Fountain patented on Sept. 4, 1917.  It is a glass globe that rests in a nickel trough.  It is advertised that the "water is always fresh" and attaches to any regular-spaced cage from the outside.

 These are flint glass and cobalt glass feed cups.  They can be seen on the cages that have the rotary feeders. They are embossed with the Hendryx name.

This is the Otto Lindemann & Co. Tulip Cup.  The 1930 Hendryx catalog offers a feeder like this labeled as No. O Opal Glass Cup.

I started this entry with the intention of talking about the brass cages by The Andrew B. Hendryx Co. and their associated feeders.  I did not realize that it would be such a long and exhaustive study.  I included quite a few photographs.  I believe that a picture is more effective than many of my words and can further enlighten you in this study.  

As always, I want to thank you for your attention and interest in this entry.  I would appreciate your comments and thoughts regarding anything I have touched on here.  If you find places I am in error, please enter a comment and let me learn also.  If you have photos of other Hendryx feeders that you have, I would be interested in seeing them.  Please send the photos to tweetthings53@gmail.com.  I will post them as a guest contribution.  Also, if you have other Hendryx feeders that I have not pictured or talked about here, and they are for sale...contact me!!!

Have a blessed day, and 'happy hunting'.

Barbara