Thorsen Tool catalog 1008-8
listed on the International Tool Catalog Library site as 1988:
https://archive.org/details/ThorsenToolCatalogNo10088Thorsen Tool catalog 3-75
listed on the International Tool Catalog Library site as 1975:
https://archive.org/details/ThorsenCatalog3751975Undated Thorsen Tool catalog
listed on International Tool Catalog Library site as "early":
https://archive.org/details/ThorsenToolsCatalogEarlyThe patent on the Thorsen model 89J ratchet was issued June 11, 1974 (patent 3815451) and applied for March 7, 1973, making it reasonable to assume the unit was in production at the earliest in late 1972.
I am baffled as to why it would take them five years to put the unit into production, which if we are to take at face value the notation in the 1008-8 catalog that d42jeep cites above (see attachment below) is exactly what seems to be the case.
More puzzling is that notwithstanding the patent for the unit having been issued in 1974, it does not appear on either the June 15 1977 User Price List (see below) or the May 1 1978 Hardware Dealer Price List (see below), further adding to the confusion about the dates on the 1008-8 catalog.
We didn't switch over from Indestro to Thorsen until the early-to-mid-1980s, and my memory of catalogs from that era is somewhat vague now, but the graphics on the front cover scream "1980s".
There is another discussion somewhere about the "early" Thorsen catalog, which from comments made in that discussion thread it seems reasonable to assign it a date of 1929 or 1930 - the "Techni-Heat" sales pitch is definitely a clincher.
My 1933 Thorsen catalog does show the "Techni-Heat" slogan throughout the catalog and offers a different product mix than the aforementioned "early" catalog.
I am still working on updating my list of brands and manufacturers, after which I'll figure out a way to get all these catalogs scanned and see that they're made available for download at the International Tool Catalog Library.
