original c. 1930-40 american industrial red enameled folded and pressed sheet steel drill and cutter open-ended hardware store counter display cabinet. the multi-tiered compartmentalized angled front cabinet contains lithographed graphics pertaining to the company's products. the backside of the cabinet contains added storage space for product inventory. stephen a. morse, an enterprising mechanic, developed a new and better way to drill a hole when he invented the twist drill. with a new patent and a stockholder investment of $30,000, he opened the morse twist drill and machine company in new bedford massachusetts in 1864. recognizing the need for a way to drive his twist drill, morse created the taper shank series. two sets of master gages were made up; one, sent to the bureau of standards in washington, d.c., was accepted as a national standard. the other remains with the morse company. differences with his board caused morse to resign in 1868. philadelphia's 1877 centennial exhibition showcased the first exhibition of morse tools. morse took over the manhattan fire arms company of newark, new jersey and the american standard tool company of danbury, connecticut. morse also acquired the beach chuck patent of the meridan tool company, meridan, connecticut, and the schofield patent grinding line, helping to insure accuracy in drill grinding. in 1874, morse purchased the machinery, patents and stock of the new york tap and die company of bridgeport, connecticut. in 1897, morse purchased the t & b tool company. t & b's machines, used in the manufacture of constant angle twist drills, were designed by a former morse employee who had gone into business for himself and were built by pratt and whitney. entering the twentieth century, morse developed a grinding machine used in the manufacture of drills. until the beginning of world war i, the company marketed a line of plain and universal grinders. business continued to grow between the wars, and during world war ii, morse output increased four to five times normal production to contribute to the war effort. in the years since world war ii, morse has operated under the ownership of a number of companies. measures 20 x 13 x 14 inches.