I was searching for Rodale switches on eBay and I came across a few that looked almost exactly like Eagle combination devices with the proprietary mechanism, except that they were sold in Rodale boxes and said Rodale instead of Eagle on them. Does anyone know more about this?

It's pretty common with other companies too. It's probably nothing more than they don't have the equipment to make it themselves, they split the profits, or they came into agreement about certain products.

It's pretty common with other companies too. It's probably nothing more than they don't have the equipment to make it themselves, they split the profits, or they came into agreement about certain products.

Were Eagle proprietary mechanism switches actually made before 1975?

By Eagle proprietary do you mean the ball and spring?  If so, the switches and combination devices using this arrangement were listed in 1966 Eagle catalog.

By Eagle proprietary do you mean the ball and spring?  If so, the switches and combination devices using this arrangement were listed in 1966 Eagle catalog.

Yes, I mean the switches using a wedge that pushes a ball bearing which snaps and actuates the contacts. They were patented in the 1950s. Look at https://patents.google.com/patent/US2743330A/en