Marking on underside of upper rib.

[B. Dudley]

I just took apart a set of very early barrels. 1876 Vintage. I found something very interesting on the bottom of the upper rib.
It is a stamping of sort with a company name. The marking is at an angle and runs off the rib.
It is pretty clear that it reads BROWN & CO. U.S.CO The B is a little hard to make out at the start, but the rest is clear. And The end is a little iffy.
Below is a photo of it. I put some inletting black in it so it would show up better.

Any ideas??? I would think it may have been the manufacturer of the steel for the rib. A quick google search did not turn up much on this possible long defunct company.

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