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PEN AND PENCIL MANUFACTURERS - ADVERTISEMENTS AND INFORMATION
The subject of researching the pen and pencil trade is a difficult one, and it is somewhat of an overlap to to the normal research of marks and makers of gold and silverwares. Not all pen and pencil manufacturers made their products in precious metals, those that did, some made them for a short period only, for others, they were regular stock lines. It is thought that some made the overlays, etc. themselves, whilst others used the traditional silversmithing companies to make the parts for them.
All in all, the topic will have to include all pen and pencil makers, regardless of whether it is known that they made any of their wares in precious metals or not, as it will only become apparent (hopefully) in the long term, exactly who was involved in the use of these metals.
If silver and gold writing implements are your interest, then here's the topic to share your knowledge.
Arthur A. Waterman started in the pen manufacturing business in 1895. After a couple of failed attempts and legal battles with the better known L. E. Waterman Company, he started the Arthur A. Waterman & Company in 1901, and was soon joined by William G. Frazer and Hobart W. Geyer. In 1905 Waterman left and Frazer and Geyer continued the business retaining the Arthur A. Waterman & Company name. Further legal battles ensured that the company were required to indicate in their advertisements that they had no connection with the L. E. Waterman Company.
Noted as making 14k Gold Filled and gold mounted examples.
Established in 1883 by Lewis Edson Waterman. The US side of the business closed in c.1957, but the company continues today under the French operation of Jif-Waterman.
Noted as making examples in all forms of gold and silver. Watermans were registered with the London Assay Office.
LETTER WRITTEN BY ROBERT FULTON
The L.E. Waterman Company has had for some time in one of the windows of its store at 173 Broadway the original of a letter written by Robert Fulton, the builder of the Clermont, on October 15th, 1814. It is addressed to a Mr. Cooke. and contains directions concerning the building of a number of vessels then in course of construction under Fulton‘s direction. It has attracted the attention of thousands of those passing the store, being particularly interesting at the present time, when the preparations for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration are to be seen everywhere.
Source: Geyer's Stationer - 23rd September 1909
WATERMAN WINDOW DISPLAY
Elaborate and Attractive Lithographer Set for Use of Dealers Carrying "Ideal" Fountain Pens “An Example of Effective Cooperation Between Advertiser and Dealer
Shown herewith is a reproduction, in greatly reduced size, of the new Waterman‘s Ideal fountain pen window cut-out, which will shortly be ready for delivery to dealers carrying the Waterman line. They will be forwarded to such of these dealers as can use them to good advantage for window display purposes.
This is an excellent example of the best that can be produced by the most modern methods of making window display material. The centre portion, showing a bird's-eye view of the city of Washington, D. C., and plainly picturing the various styles of airships that have proved successful to date, is 40 inches long. In the foreground of the centre there is pictured a government office. with its busy occupants overlooking the scene. The two side wings, each 16 inches in width, picture familiar scenes, excellently reproduced. The Washington scene in back is on a detachable board, the concave adjustment of which gives the proper perspective to the setting. The entire display, when set up, is 6 feet long and 30 inches high. Instructions for the arrangement of each cut-out are printed in full on the back.
There seems to be little doubt that Waterman dealers will be enthusiastic over "this display, as it is sure to attract much attention in making a beautiful and simple window. The cut-out is made of heavy cardboard stock. and lithographed in ten colors. the work being splendidly executed. With very few additions it is sufficient to make a complete and fine display of Waterman’s "Ideals," among the most widely advertised and most popular of all products sold by Stationers.
This large and expensive cut-out is sent entirely without expense to Waterman dealers, with the single exception that they are asked to pay the transportation charges, an extremely liberal arrangement, considering the size, quality and attractiveness of the set.
Source: Geyer's Stationer - 30th September 1909
Lawrence G. Sloan, European director for the L. E. Waterman Co., fountain pens, arrived in this country last week on the 'Adriatic'. He was accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Eric B. Sloan, and F. W. Sim and T. W. Hicks of the European organization. Mr. Sloan is paying his annual visit to headquarters. Other foreign representatives of the Waterman concern to arrive in this city during the past week were Mr. and Mrs. G. Lunn and daughter of Auckland, New Zealand, and H. B. Dixon of Sydney, Australia. C. A. Pope, the South American representative of L. E. Waterman Co., is expected to arrive in this country in the near future.
Aiken, Lambert & Co., New-York (N 43), exhibit their line of gold pens in a case of ebony handsomely ornamented in gold. The base of the case is octagonal in shape, from which, held by golden hands, rise four mammoth gold barrel pens, some seven feet high. These pens support a canopy, upon which stands a globe. The showcases, which are of ebony and plate glass, rest upon a projecting counter, and between the four mammoth gold pens. Each of these four cases is arranged differently. The first case, which fronts on the widest aisle, contains a large collection of 18-karat gold pens and pencil-cases, some of which are richly engraved. There are also others in brilliant enamels, plain red gold highly polished, which make a splendid show. The mode of operating the pencil-cases is new and improved, and covered by letters patent. They have also a large variety of goods in 14-karat gold, among which are some pencil-cases of barley corn finish, seven squares to the inch; others are trimmed in platinum. Case No. 2 contains a large variety of 18-karat gold pens, rubber goods in magic and double-magic returns, toothpicks, etc. Case No. 3 contains a lot of gold barrel-pens, carved and elegantly enamelled. Behind these barrel-pens and king upon a bed of green satin, are gold pens held in telescopic, slide-reverse, screw, and other holders in numerous shapes and designs. Case No. 4 is lined with cherry-red satin, upon which lie a large assortment of gold pens in ebony, ivory, and pearl holders. Their pens are shown in long, short, broad, and other nibs which they manufacture. The whole presents a very elegant and creditable display.
Leroy W. Fairchild & Co., New-York (N 43), have a very handsome square upright case, about 5x4 feet, which is made of black and gold, with fancy-colored wood panelling. On each of the corners are imitation pens and holders crossed. The inside base upon which ihe goods are exhibited is arranged in pyramidal form. On one side are displayed penholders, pencil-cases of all varieties, and patlerns of solid and plated gold. On the other side they show their solid gold pencil and pen cases,some of which are set with diamonds and are very elegant. One of the novelties is a pencil and pen holding case with a representation of the Liberty Bell. On one end of the case are samples of each size and shape of gold pens, and on the other the different medals awarded in New-York, Paris, and Vienna.
John Foley, New-York (N 43), displays his goods in a handsome black and gold case, on each of whose four corners is the great American eagle, holding in its bill a large gold pen. Hanging down from the roof of the case is a mammoth gold pen in an ebony holder, about 2½ feet in length. He displays rubber, goldplated, and solid gold pencil-cases, ebony, ivory, and pearl pen-holders, together with gold pens in all shapes and sizes.
Geo. F. Hawkes, 64 Nassau street, New York (N 43), shows gold pens, penholders in rubber, and other varieties, a small line of pencil-cases; also his patent fountain pen, pennolder, and inkstand combined, a very neat and compact article.
John Holland, Cincinnati (P 43), exhibits his gold pens, pencil-cases, etc., in a very handsome walnut panelled case, with oval glass front. His exhibit is tastefully arranged in various designs, which show to good advance,
E. S Johnson, 44 Nassau street, New York (N 43), exhibits in a round-front counter-case, a very handsome line of gold and pearl pen and pencil cases ; also some in pearl set with small diamonds. His display of pens, penholders, and pencil-cases is not so large as someothers, but it is very creditable.
Mabie, Todd & Bard, 180 Broadway, New York (N 43). George W. Mabie is representing their line. The case displayed is plain and neat and of the ordinary square shape. Their display is the most complete in the exhibit. They display samples of every size and style of goods in gold pens, penholders, pencil-cases, charm-pencils, toothpicks, shoe-buttoners, etc. Among their charm-pencils were some with diamonds set in the barrel, and richly engraved and enamelled. Noticeable among their goods are beautiful enamelled and carved barrel-pens, stone barrel-pencils of onyx and agate, and pearl and ivory desk-holders with solid 14-carat gold mountings. They have two 18-carat pen and pencil cases, each with a large diamond in its head, which are valued at over $200 each, and which are rare specimens of workmanship in engraving, mounting, etc. They have over six hundred sizes and styles of their own manufacture displayed in their showcase.
James Morton, 25 Maiden Lane, New York (N 43), exhibits a small line of penholders and pencil-cases in a square case, in the centre of which is a raised platform handsomely covered with red puffed silk. Upon this is the Great American Eagle standing on a pile of gold pens, with pen and holder standing around the outside. The eagle is made of gold pens to the number of 3000; in front, 1876 is arranged with gold pens. He makes a special display of celluloid penholders.
D. M. Somers, New York (P 72), makes a very fine display of penholders in ebony, rosewood, ivory, and pearl handles and gold and silver plated tips. They are very tastefully arranged in a square upright case.
French Regulations Do Not Permit the Importation or Sale in France of Gold Pens of Less Than 18 Karats –On Arrival in France, Gold Pens Must Be Removed from Holders and Stamped at the French Mint–Modifications of This Rule Are Being Made to Encourage the American Pen Manufacturers.
A.M. THACKARA, consul general at Paris, writes as follows regarding fountain pens in France:
According to a decision recently reached by the Ministries of Commerce and Finance, gold pens for use in fountain pens have been transferred from the classification of ''goldsmith's wares" to that of "jewelry," and may now be admitted into France.
Gold Pens Must Be 18 Karat.
The French regulations do not permit the importation or sale in France of gold pens (or of any other gold article) of less than 18 karats. Makers of 14-karat pens must, therefore, replace the lower grade gold pen by one of not less than 18 karats before shipping to this country. Furthermore, on arrival in France the gold pens must be removed from the holders and stamped at the French mint. In order to avoid the trouble and delay thus entailed and the risk of having the gold pens replaced by inexperienced workmen, the French mint has informed this consulate general that it sees no objection to sending the pens in bond to the mint by the American manufacturers, to be stamped and returned to the factory in the United States, where they can be fitted to the fountain pens by the makers. For information as to the necessary formalities required in this respect application should be made to any French consulate in America. Due notification of the fact that the pens have already been submitted to the mint should be made on invoices of shipments to this country; and it would be preferable that such declaration be made before and attested by a French consular officer in the United States.
Opportunity for French Agencies.
Fountain pens of foreign manufacture are usually sold in this country through a local agent, who holds the exclusive sales rights. This consulate general would be pleased to receive letters from American manufacturers of fountain pens desirous of opening agencies in this country. Such communications should indicate the terms which manufacturers are prepared to grant to their representatives, discounts, terms of delivery, etc.
Such offers will be published in the trade bulletin of the consul general's office, which is issued to all the commercial organizations of Paris, including a number of agents' syndicates, with a membership of many thousands, distributed all over France. The bulletin contains an offer to its readers to explain and demonstrate samples. Prospective exporters of fountain pens or of other articles should, if possible, send samples and catalogues.
Established in c.1915. The business was acquired by the Parker Pen Company in 1957 and the brand name Wahl-Eversharp fell into disuse. The brand name has recently been revived.
Examples noted in silver, silver-filled, silver-plated, gold, and gold-filled.
Thr modern implement for writing with a fluid is a very different thing to the pen of former times–the stylus and the calamus of the ancients, for example, which were used chiefly on the prepared bark of trees, palm leaves, or the papyrus of the Egyptians. Quill pens, still affected by a few old-fashioned penmen, only came into general use after the introduction of modern writing paper, and were made in immense quantities from goose feathers, now utilized for other purposes in connection with the industrial arts. The English name "pen" is from the Latin penna, a feather.
During the last century many experiments were made to improve the quill pen, the great defect of which was found to be its constant liability to injury from mere ordinary use, and the trouble of frequent mending; moreover, even the most skilful maker could not ensure uniformity of quality, and any variation in this respect affected the writer's work. These efforts were chiefly directed to fitting small metal, or even ruby points, to the nib of the quill pen, but the fineness and delicacy of the operation were so great, that but very little success attended the experiments. The quill, however, is not altogether discarded. A pen formed of the goose quill, in the shape of a steel-pen nib, is at the present time extensively made in Paris, and commonly used in England and the Colonies. The outer wing quills make the best pens of this kind, and some writers prefer them as a medium between the old style of quill pen and the steel pen. Ingenious machinery is used to manipulate the material to advantage: a machine with guides and a small circular saw, having very fine teeth, slits the quill, the concave halves of which are afterwards pressed, pointed, and slit under dies, in the same mode as steel pens. No waste is permitted, the plume or feather portion of the quill being utilized in the manufacture of children's shuttlecocks, or dyed and used by the makers of artificial flowers, &c.
The steel pen is of comparatively modern invention. At the beginning of this century pens began to be made wholly of metal; they consisted of a barrel of very thin steel, and the nibs were cut and slit so as to resemble the quill pen as closely as possible. The real inventor of the " knitting needle of civilization," as the steel pen has been not inaptly designated, has yet to be discovered. One of the earliest attempts to make a steel pen is attributed to William Gadbury, a mathematical instrument maker, who, for his own personal use, constructed a somewhat clumsy article from the mainspring of a watch, out of which the two separate halves or nibs were formed, and these being brought together were secured by a small ring or band of metal. Another amateur, Daniel Fellows, of Sedgley, Staffordshire, is said to have been one of the early metal pen makers, and a similar honour is likewise claimed for a Sheffield artisan, whose name, either from jealousy or forgetfulness, has not been recorded. The early history of steel pens is involved in obscurity, but reasoning from probabilities, I should say that Birmingham may fairly claim that the steel pen was first perfected by one of her manufacturers.
A great scientist and theologian, Dr. Joseph Priestley, was long resident in Birmingham, for whose personal use a split-ring maker named Harrison made a steel pen, with which the doctor wrote some of his famous polemical essays. It was rather rudely fashioned out of a piece of steel formed into a tube, the lower part being filed away into the shape of a pen, and the parts where the tube joined being left as the "split." Years afterwards one of the men associated with Harrison in his split-ring business–Mason by name– successfully embarked in the trade of pen making, and the same manufacturer (now Sir Josiah Mason), after realizing an immense fortune, which he has set apart to the founding of special educational and charitable institutions in the Midland metropolis, has just (January, 1876) retired from one of the largest pen factories in the world, which will henceforth be carried on under a limited liability company.
The name of Gillott deserves to occupy a foremost place in connection with steel pens, for by his own individual skill and enterprise was the first great impulse given to the trade. The early metallic pens were of very indifferent quality, and exceedingly dear. Pens which sold at from 6s. to 8s. per gross, forty years ago, are now procurable for about half the number of pence, while wages have improved, owing to the mechanical facilities of production. The chief fault of the first pens of metal was their hardness, which produced a disagreeable scratching of the paper. As early as 1820, Mr. Joseph Gillott, who dealt in the metal pens then made, hit upon an improvement, which, by removing this great defect, gave a stimulus to the manufacture, and caused it to be developed to an extent truly marvellous. This improvement consisted in making three slits instead of the single one formerly used, and by this means much greater softness and flexibility were acquired.
At the time when Mr. Gillott commenced operations, much of the beautiful machinery now in use had yet to be invented, and was subsequently invented, and for the most part perfected by himself. There were no such things as the "slip" pen, which now constitutes the staple of the trade–the thin piece of metal "raised" from the flat. Gillott adapted the press to the making of pens; he saw that this would enable him to dispense with most of the slow and laborious operations of pen making; that it would be possible to cut out the blanks, slit them, bend the metal, stamp the maker's name, and thus, by mechanical means, render production at once rapid and certain. The metal had to be prepared by annealing, pickling, and rolling for the action of the press; special dies had to be made for each size of pen, and for each operation of stamping to which the " blanks" had to be submitted; presses of improved construction–quick, light, easily worked, and yet strong enough to strike a sharp, firm blow–had to be made. And when these difficulties were overcome, there remained others not less formidable–such as hardening and tempering the metal after quitting the press, rendering the newly-made pens flexible, so as to write easily, cleaning and polishing them without injuring their fineness, and coating them with some kind of varnish, so as to render them more presentable to the eye.
This was the work which our great modern pen maker set himself to do; and with much ingenuity and unflagging perseverance he accomplished it. By degrees the press was adapted to the cutting, slitting, bending, and marking processes; machinery was devised for cleaning and polishing the pens; and experiments were made with the different qualities of steel, and the various ways of preparing it for use. At last Mr. Gillott attained the degree of excellence which has become inseparably associated with his name; and the trade ultimately reached the importance, perfection, and extent which characterize it at the present day.
Next to Mr. Gillott, perhaps, no one has done more to popularize the metallic pen than the well-known promoter of the "Perryian System of Education," Mr. James Perry. The characteristic of the "Perryian" pens was to give to the steel pen the elasticity which so closely approximates to the quill pen. Mr. Perry, with characteristic energy, almost forced the steel pen into use, when there were strong and deep-rooted prejudices against it. Commencing the manufacture himself in London, about 1824, Perry patented several varieties known as "Perryian Pens." It is stated on competent authority, that he used the best Sheffield "ribbon" steel, rolled out of wire, for which he paid 1s. per lb.; that he paid as much as 5s. per pen to the first person whom he employed to make his pens, and for years afterwards the price given to his workmen was 36s. per gross. Since the year 1828 Perry was supplied with pens of first-class quality by a Birmingham maker (Josiah Mason) who was content for many years to obscure his own name under the mark of "Perry and Co."
There are from twelve to twenty manufacturers of steel pens in Birmingham, which is now the headquarters of the trade, some of them comparatively small firms; indeed the larger houses, whose products are in repute in nearly every market at home and abroad, may be counted on the fingers of one hand. These are Joseph Gillott and Sons; Perry and Co., Limited (embracing the late firms of Sir Josiah Mason, and A. Somerville and Co.); John Mitchell; William Mitchell; and M. Turner and Co. The varieties of pens made by these manufacturers may be numbered by thousands, being of every size, shape, and finish. In some instances a single manufacturer has two or three thousand distinctive "marks" made for different buyers, who require their own names or devices impressed on the pens.
The steel of which the pens are made is of Sheffield manufacture, a large proportion of it being supplied by Messrs. Jessop. It is cast steel of the best quality, made from Swedish iron, so as to secure in its granular structure peculiar density and compactness. These sheets are rolled in Birmingham, and, as a rule, on the same premises where they are to be worked up; they measure originally about 4 feet 6 inches long by 18 inches wide, and are afterwards clipped across into short lengths from 1¾ to 4½ inches wide.
These strips are first of all packed in cast metal boxes, and placed in a muflle or furnace, where the mass is heated to a white heat. This is called annealing, a process which fits the metal for further treatment on its way to the pen maker. After twelve hours of this roasting, the strips are cooled and then placed in revolving barrels, where, by the friction of metallic particles, the scales caused by the annealing, and the rough edges are removed. The strips are next immersed for some hours in a " pickle" composed of dilute sulphuric acid, which clears away the scale and imparts an even surface to the metal.
The steel is now ready for the rolling mill. The rollers consist of metal cylinders revolving upon each other. A man and boy attend at each pair of rolls, the first introducing the strip of steel between the opposing surfaces, and the boy pulling it out considerably attenuated. From the first pair of rolls it passes through several others, until, having been reduced in thickness to about the 1/160th part of an inch, it assumes the requisite tenuity. Such is the degree of pressure employed, that the steel in passing through becomes hotter than it is sometimes convenient for unpractised hands to touch. At this stage the strip of steel is precisely the thickness of a pen, is quite flexible, and has increased in length from 18 inches to 4 feet 6 inches.
The first process of manufacture now begins, and before the series of operations have been gone through, some fifteen or sixteen distinct processes have to be completed. The strip is carried to the cutting-out room, where the pen first assumes form and shape. Here a number of women and girls are seated at benches, cutting out, by the aid of fly-presses, the future pen from the ribbon of steel before them. This is done with groat rapidity, the average product of an expert hand being 200 gross, or 28,800 pens per day. Two pens are cut out of the width of the steel, the broad part to form the tube, if it is to be a barrel pen, and the points so cutting into each other, as to leave the least possible amount of waste.
The "blanks" are next taken to be pierced. The flat blanks are placed separately on a steel die, and, by a half circular action of a lever turning an upright screw, a fine tool is pressed upon the steel, and forms the delicate centre perforation and the side slits which give flexibility to the pen. All this time the metal is in its natural state of elasticity. It is necessary, however, that it should be rendered softer, and for this purpose the pens are again placed in the muffle to be further annealed.
Then comes the marking. On each side and down the middle of the room, a number of young women are seated at work, each of whom, while using her hands to properly adjust the pen and hold it in its place, moves by the action of the foot a lever actuated by treadle and wheel, and this marks the pen. When it leaves the hand of the operator, the back of the pen is stamped with the name of a retail dealer at home or abroad, a national emblem, an heraldic device, or the representation of some notability, foreign or domestic, according to the fashion of the day. The rapidity of this process is nearly equal to that of cutting out the blanks, each workwoman marking many thousands of pens in a day.
Up to this time the pen is flat. It has next to be "raised " into the half-cylindrical form in which we see the finished pen. The flat pen is placed in a groove, and a convex tool made to descend upon it, forcing it into the groove, by means of which it is bent into the required shape.
As a rule, the value of the pen depends very much upon the perfection of the slit. Those who can remember the difficulty experienced in getting a perfect slit in a quill pen, can understand how much less easy it is to prevent the gaping of a metallic substance. The first preparatory process, after the pens leave the raising room, is to return them once more to the muffle, into which they are introduced in small iron boxes with lids, and heated to a white heat. They are then drawn out and suddenly plunged into a large tank of oil, where, by the chemical action of the liquid on the steel, the pens attain a degree of brittleness that makes them crumble to pieces when pressed between the fingers. The oil adhering to the metal is subsequently removed by agitation in circular barrels made of tin. The brittleness has next to be corrected by a process of tempering. This is done by placing the pens in a cylindrical vessel, open at one end, and turned over a fire, somewhat like a domestic coffee roaster. The action of the heat gradually changes the colour of the pens, first from a dull grey to a pale straw colour, next to a brown or bronze, and then to blue–the latter betokening the highest degree of elasticity.
The pens are still rough, being covered more or less with small metallic particles. To remove this roughness they are placed in large tin cans, with sand, pounded crucible, or some similar substance. These cans are made to revolve by steam power, until, by rubbing against each other, the pens are cleared from roughness, and are brightened to the colour of polished steel.
Another set of processes now begins–those of grinding and slitting, also performed by young women. The nib is ground by picking up each pen with a pair of pliers, and applying it with a single touch to a rapidly-revolving wheel coated with emery, first lengthwise and then across the nib. This does for the pen the same service that the scraping of a quill with the penknife would do in the case of a quill pen, i. e. weakening certain parts to ensure uniform elasticity.
Next comes the slitting, which is done with the press. In these presses the descending screw has an exactly corresponding chisel cutter, which passes down with precise accuracy, by which movement the slit is made and the pen is completed.
There is yet something more to be done before the manufactured goods are ready for the warehouse–viz., the colouring the pens brown or blue. This is effected by placing them in a metal cylinder, which is revolved over a charcoal stove at a proper heat, and removing them the instant the desired tint is imparted. Brilliancy of surface is then given by immersing the pens in a solution of shell-lac dissolved in naphtha, and after drying, they are ready to go to the hands of the workwomen, whose duty it is to examine the work, throw out the pens which are defective, and count the remainder ready for the packers. The presses, tools, and other appliances required in the pen trade are numerous and varied. In all well regulated establishments, all these tools are made and repaired by special workmen on the premises.
On reaching the warehouse, the pens are packed in neat little boxes, each containing one gross. These boxes are usually made in another part of the manufactory, by a very simple but ingenious process. Successive layers of paper are pasted on to an oblong block of wood, and when the proper thickness is obtained, the outside ornamental layer having been added, the block is pressed on each of its sides with a sliding movement against a cutter of exactly the depth of the paper material, which is thus divided into box and lid, and the imprisoned mould set free. A glazed paper lining for the sides, made in a similar way, and exactly fitting the interior, is slipped into the box, forming a shoulder for the lid, and it is then finished.
Pen-sticks or pen-holders are made by steam power, actuating a number of machines constructed for the purpose. Most of the large manufacturers of steel pens make their own pen-holders; others, in a smaller way, buy them ready made. The trees or logs of cedar, or other suitable wood, having been sawn into boards, and again slit into thin square lengths, the rounding is managed by a machine in which a tube receives the end of each length, which, as it is drawn through to the other side, is subject to the paring of a couple of revolving blades. After this the material falls out at the other end perfectly cylindrical, although rather rough. The roughness is obviated by another similar machine, and a bundle of the long rods is then carried to a large mahogany slab, through a slit in which is seen about a third part of the disc of a circular saw. The rods are laid flat upon the table, and brought against a gauge which regulates the length; they are then pushed towards the saw and cut into sticks, a dozen or so at a time. These plain sticks have yet to receive the spiral pattern so much in vogue, to have the end which receives the holder reduced in size, and the other end rounded. These operations, when applied to the commoner descriptions of pen-holders, are not effected by cutting, but by pressing; and one machine suffices for the purpose. They are placed, about fifty at a time, in a receiver, and disappear one by one into a lower chamber, where the work is completed by dies, after which the sticks make their appearance in rapid succession through a tube, and fall into a box beneath. They are afterwards polished and varnished. The metal ends for the reception of the pen nibs are put on by hand.
Gold pens are extensively made in Birmingham, and as they resist the corrosive action of the ink, they are exceedingly durable ; their durability is also greatly increased by the ingenious process of soldering on to the points of the nib minute particles of iridium, which, from their extreme hardness, resist wear for many years. Pens are also made in silver, zinc, amalgamated alloys, incorrodible platina, &c. Mr. W. E. Wiley, of the Albert Works, is the largest maker of gold pens in Birmingham. When the business of gold pen making was introduced as a local industry by Mr. Wiley thirty years ago, the retail price of such pens was a guinea each. The first of Wiley's gold pens were retailed at 5s. each, and now enormous quantities of gold pens are sold as low as a shilling each. This is owing to the adoption of improved machinery and appliances in the manufacture. At the time when gold pens were first produced by Messrs. Mordan, of London, and for many years afterwards, the usual method of slitting the pens was with the aid of diamond dust–a very costly process, since its uncertainty, by occasionally cutting wide gaps in the pens, caused no little waste of material. To remedy this, Wiley introduced a system of cutting the slit by means of emery on revolving copper cutters, which has been practised ever since. This so cheapened the production, as to enable a good quality gold pen to be sold retail at 5s., for which a guinea was formerly demanded.
The same firm afterwards introduced a German silver, or white metal pen, known as the "Perryian Bed Ink Pen," which still has an enormous sale. At these works Messrs. Wiley make pen and pencil cases in gold, silver, aluminium, gold, ivory, and vulcanite, in all patterns, shapes, and sizes, and varying in price, from half-a-crown a gross for common articles, up to the most ornate and costly that can be imagined. Some ten or dozen years ago the proprietor commenced the employment of female labour in his works, and with so much success that he has now upwards of three hundred girls trained to the work of making pencil-cases. The machinery has been specially adapted to this new order of things, and as the'pencil-cases are all produced here on the interchangeable principle, the facilities of production are enormously increased. That these means to an end have solved a difficult problem, may be gleaned from the fact, that the weekly output of finished work at this establishment exceeds the possible production of all the pencil-case makers in the kingdom under the former system. Messrs. Wiley's works are now carried, on by Messrs. Perry and Co., Limited, with Mr. Wiley as managing director.
Source: British Manufacturing Industries - Volume 3 - G. Phillips Bevan - 1876
THE AMERICAN FOUNTAIN PEN COMPANY, later, MOORE PEN COMPANY
110, Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts
W.J. Gage & Co. Limited - Toronto - 1906
The American Fountain Pen Company was established in 1899. In 1917 they changed their name to the Moore Pen Company. They were in production until 1956.
Examples noted with gold bands.
W. F. Cushman, of the American Fountain Pen Company, will sail June 3rd for Europe, and will establish a factory in London for the manufacture of Moore’s non-leakable fountain pens in connection with their London branch at 91 Aldersgate street, E. C.
Source: The Keystone - June 1908
The Moore Pen Co, 110 Federal St, has found it advisable to establish its own advertising department, and Dec. 1 Tracy L. Sanborn will join the forces of this concern as advertising manager. His experience covers over six years as copy writer, layout man and agency office manager, his last position being copy writer for one of the largest newspapers in Boston. Also, for four years he was with a Boston advertising agency.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 1st December 1920
The Moore Pen Co., Boston, Mass., has put on sale a line of “Ebon-jet” indestructible fountain pens of the same material as their famous Tuscan and Royal Blue numbers. As the name “Ebon-jet” implies, these new pens are black in color with highly polished ebony finish holders which produces a very pleasing effect in combination with gold-filled clips, levers and bands.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 16th February 1927
John Foley, Manufacturer of Gold Pens, No. 2 Astor House, Broadway.–It was in 1848 that Mr. Foley laid the foundations of what has grown to be the leading business of its kind in the United States, and justly so in view of the talent, energy and perseverance of the subject of this sketch. The first practical experimenter with gold as a substance adapted to the manufacture of pens was a Mr. Hawkins in England, the first gold pen with an iridium point being made by him in 1834. The third pen of the kind which he made he sold in April, 1834, to Mr. Vine, an eminent London merchant engaged in the Russian trade, and who soon procured several orders for the pens from St. Petersburg for the use of the czar and others. Thus began the manufacture and sale of these invaluable articles, though they were then crudely made and bore but a faint resemblance to the beautiful and reliable "Diamond-Pointed Gold Pens" now manufactured by Mr. Foley. In August, 1835, Mr. Hawkins transferred all his right and title to his process of gold pen manufacturing to Aaron Porter Cleveland, of New York, for the sum of three hundred pounds sterling, and a percentage arising from the sale of the pens. Mr. Hawkins intended retiring from the business and to settle at Bordentown, N. J., and pursue his profession of a civil engineer, but Mr. Cleveland induced him to continue making the pens in London, while he (Cleveland) proceeded to New York and founded the business in America, and in which Mr. Simeon Hyde took part. In October, 1838, Mr. Cleveland taught Mr. Levi Brown how to make the pen. In Mr. Brown's employ were Mr. George Barney and other ingenious workmen, who thoroughly learned the art and contrived several labor-saving tools, much improving all the processes of manufacture. Mr. Barney and other workmen from time to time left Mr. Brown, and began working upon their own account, and in 1848 Mr. John Foley, possessed of ample practical experience, founded his present universally known establishment. Out of fifteen houses engaged in manufacturing gold pens in New York in 1849, Mr. Foley's is the only one still in existence that confines itself to the original branch of trade. Mr. Foley from the start spared no pains or expense to secure the utmost perfection of workmanship. He employed none but the most skilful and progressive work men, constantly exercised the closest personal supervision, and with the most satisfactory and enduring of results he has invented, or brought into his factory, all the improved and perfected labor-saving machinery in existence in this trade, and it is the best equipped of any to produce the finest and most reliable pens. His enterprise has found numerous collateral channels for its manifestation, and he has published a magnificent quarto volume, profusely illustrated, and which gives a complete and accurate history of gold pens, who invented them, when and where, and to which we are indebted for all the facts embodied in the first portion of this sketch. The book likewise contains a complete and detailed description of "Foley's Diamond-Pointed Gold Pens," telling how they are made, about the machinery used, what the diamond (iridium) points are, their great value, and how applied. The whole being profusely illustrated, containing nearly five hundred splendidly executed engravings, and the whole work printed as it is on wide margin plate paper cost the enterprising publisher several thousands of dollars. Mr. Foley's factory is conveniently situated in Ann Street, a few steps only from his eligible office and store, which are located at No. 2 Astor House, Broadway, and directly central to the most important business section of New York. He here makes the finest and most magnificent display of gold pens in the world, and which are the best ever manufactured, their superior value having been tested by all the leading business and professional men in the United States during the past thirty-six years. Our leading bankers, brokers, merchants and insurance men all join in expressing their high opinion as to the merits and permanent usefulness of the Foley pen. The judges at the American Institute Fair awarded Mr. Foley their prize medal for the best gold pens and pencils. Mr. Foley manufactures a full line of goods, including his famous " Bank " gold pens, his patent diamond pointed stylographic pen, his new patent indium-pointed fountain pen, and a full line of novelty pencils in solid gold, plated, ivory, pearl, silver, rubber, and celluloid mountings. Mr. Foley's trade has developed to proportions of magnitude worthy alike of his energy, enterprise and integrity. Mr. Foley was the first tax-payer who had the moral courage and the force of character to beard the notorious Tweed ring in its stronghold, commencing his ever memorable fight against the corruptionists when he was elected to the board of supervisors in 1869, and which he never ceased till he had secured the downfall of Tweed, and rescued the civic treasury from further plundering. Mr. Foley was the first and only man to discover and expose the great frauds of Tweed and his ring, which he did in a letter published in August 1871. and his facts and figures, as sworn to in his famous injunction suit, were the foundation of all the subsequent legal proceedings, both civil and criminal, against the late W. M. Tweed and his thieving supporters. Mr. Foley pressed the good fight with great pluck and perseverance. He presided at public meetings, fearless of the hosts of Tammany and Tweed's backing, and sound public opinion supported him. The supreme court granted the injunction, and Comptroller Comolly was forced to resign, being followed soon after by Tweed and other leading officials. It is but just to remark that Mr. Foley was the only citizen of New York fearless enough to incur the great risk and grave responsibility of instituting proceedings at law declaring that Tweed and his gang were thieves, and winning the most magnificent victory for justice and honor ever on record, saving millions of dollars to the struggling rate-payers and earning the everlasting thanks of all right-minded, honest Americans. He has never failed to speak out fearlessly, as becomes the honest and intelligent private citizen, and advocated not only purity in municipal politics, but such great measures as rapid transit, increased water-supply, etc. The first man to kick against the Tweed Ring, he is possessed of intuitive common sense, and his remark to the Herald interviewer in 1876 is as forcible and appropriate now as then. He was speaking of Mr. S. J. Tilden's splendid qualifications for the presidency and remarked: "The cry of reform is heard on all sides, and it cannot be repressed either." These words are as true and applicable to-day as in '76, and Mr. Foley is still the true and tried reformer of that class which is, alas! far too small in our midst. His integrity is unsullied, his talents undimmed, and his mentality as keen as ever, and he well deserves the meed of praise and honor silently and universally accorded him by his fellow-citizens as a faithful manufacturer and a public spirited American, and an honest man.
Source: New York's Great Industries: Exchange and Commercial Review, Embracing Also Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the City, Its Leading Merchants and Manufacturers - 1884
Litigation Over the Sale of the Gold Pen Business of John Foley
Judge Keogh, in Part IV., Special Term of the New York Supreme Court, Wednesday, reserved decision in the action by Joseph R. Jackson, Jr., against John Foley, gold pen manufacturer, which had occupied the Court's time for nearly three days. This action was over an agreement between Foley and Jackson, relating to a purchase of the former's business, and was brought for the purpose of having the agreement declared void and to have canceled as fraudulent a certain chattel mortgage to Elma Foley. A judgment for $4.000 and interest was also asked.
According to the complaint, Jackson, on Aug. 15 and 24, entered into an agreement with Mr. Foley to purchase his business, including the stock, fixtures, machinery, good will, name and trade-mark, the lease of the store at 187 Broadway and the factory at 5 and 7 Dey St. The consideration was $15,000, of which the plaintiff paid $4,000 in cash, and the balance of $11,000 was to be paid, with interest, at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, out of
one-half of the net profits of the business, on Aug. 15, Feb. 15 and May 15 of each year, respectively. Mr. Foley agreed not for 10 years to engage in the same line of business in the United States east of the Mississippi River, and guaranteed to sell $10,000 worth of goods within one year from the date of the agreement, without expense to Mr. Jackson, except an allowance not exceeding $6 per diem for traveling expenses; but it was provided that if Mr. Foley did not sell goods to that value, 20 per cent, of the balance of the $10,000 worth of goods remaining unsold was to be deducted from the mortgage of $11,000. Mr. Foley guaranteed that none of the goods he sold Mr. Jackson infringed any United States patent, and stipulated that if Mr. Jackson did not, because of illness, make the quarterly payments or pay the interest when due, he should have 30 days' grace, but after the expiration of the 30 days the chattel mortgage could be foreclosed at once.
In his complaint, Mr. Jackson charges that Mr. Foley, in order to induce him to enter into the agreement, made fraudulent representations concerning his business, credit, standing and other matters; that because he relied upon Mr. Foley's statements he made the purchase; that when he discovered that the statements were false he considered the agreement null and void; that he offered to restore the property to Mr. Foley, and demanded the return of the $4,000 and the cancellation of the mortgage, but that Foley refused to comply. The answer of the defendant was a specific denial of each allegation of the plaintiff.
About 15 witnesses were introduced by the plaintiff to prove the allegations set forth, while the defendant called to the stand, among other witnesses, a number of prominent pen manufacturers to testify as to the value and good will of Foley's business. Briefs were submitted and decision reserved.
Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 26th April 1899
The De Witt-La France Co. was established c.1920 by William P. De Witt and David J. La France. They manufactured the 'SUPERITE' pencil up until around 1929.
Examples noted in gold-filled.
An extensive trade paper advertising campaign as well as a campaign in the Saturday Evening Post has been announced by The DeWitt LaFrance Co., Cambridge, Mass., manufacturer of Superite pencils. The concern maintains branch offices in the Bush Terminal Sales building, New York city, 36 South State St., Chicago, and a Canadian selling agency, A. P. Barrett & Co., Winnipeg, Can. The Superite pencil is a recent addition to the Superite family and is the tiniest metal pencil manufactured. It embodies all the advantages of the larger Superites and may now be obtained in all variety of designs and finish. The Superite pencils are distributed through the jobbing trade.
Established c. 1904 by William W. Sanford (d.1919) and Frederick D. Bennett. Following the death of William W.Bennett, the company was reorganized and restyled the Sanford Pen Company Inc.
Sanford Pen Company - New York - 1919
As can be seen from the 1908 advertisement, Sanford & Bennett did manufacture gold pens.
Pen. The history of the manufacture of steel pens in the United States covers a period of about thirty-five years. In June, 1853, William Gilchrist started his factory, which was located about 2 miles from Suffern's Depot, N. J., on the Erie Railroad, the power being furnished by water from the Rainapo Creek. This business was conducted successfully until November of the same year, when the factory was , totally destroyed by fire. James Bishop, of Newark, N. J., purchased the salvage, and continued the business for a short period, when it was sold to a stock company known as the Newark Steel Pen Co. This concern did not prosper, but labor troubles arose, and owing to disagreements between the company and its employes, the company failed and the business passed into the hands of the Franklin Pen Co. of New York, a newly organized house. In 1855 the American Steel Pen Co. began business in New York. Afterwards under the title of Washington Medallion Pen Co. this organization conducted the business until 1861, when Harrison & Bradford, of New York, purchased the plant. This firm continued the business for twenty years, and was really the first house to put the American manufacture of steel pens on a solid foundation. In 1881 this firm went out of business, Mr. Harrison becoming a member of the firm of Turner & Harrison, of Philadelphia, while Mr. Bradford became connected with the Miller Bros. Cutlery Co., of Meriden. Conn. This house at that time began to make steel pens, Mr. Bradford being placed in control of the new department. In 1860 the Esterbrook Steel Pen Co. entered the field as manufacturers of steel pens, with an extensive factory at Camden, N. J., and this house is to-day the largest American maker.
These three houses, the Esterbrook Steel Pen Co., the Miller Bros. Cutlery Co., and Turner & Harrison, are now the only manufacturers of steel pens in the United States, and their combined annual output is about 1,500,000 gross, while of foreign pens the annual importation is about 600,000 gross.
The raw material used by these manufacturers is a fine crucible steel, produced in Birmingham, England, which is imported here both rolled and in the rough. When rolled it is in strips about 4 foot long and 3 to 3½ in. wide.
The process of manufacture has changed but little all these years. The work is mainly hand labor, and whatever improvements have been made have been in the way of "raising" the pen and changing the side slits so as to secure greater flexibility. Each pen, in its progress from the blank to the finished article, is handled from 22 to 24 times, and in the case of some special pens the operations exceed these numbers. First, the pen blank is struck out of the rolled steel, after which it is "pierced" or has cut in it the little hole which is in the body of the pen, just above the slit in the point. It is then annealed and stamped either with the maker's or an "imprint" name. It is next "raised ;" that is, it is rounded up and given its proper shape. It is then hardened and tempered, in which are included a number of operations. After this it is ground lengthwise to allow the ink to run to the point, and then cross-ground to hold the ink at the point and prevent it from dropping off. After the pen is scoured, the slits are cut in the point and sides, and the former of these is perhaps the most delicate of all the manipulations through which the pen passes. The finished pens are then assorted, each pen being examined, weighed into boxes, each containing a gross, and packed into cartons, each carton containing 25 gross.
In the early days of steel pens the demand was almost wholly for those with fine points, but with the necessity for rapid and easy writing came the call for the various grades of blunt, turned-up, round-pointed, and stub pens, until now some houses show a variety of 250 different styles. "Imprint" pens are those which have stamped upon them the name of the jobbing or retail stationer instead of the name of the maker. Formerly a large variety of " imprints'' were made, and, while now the quantity has increased, the stamps are mostly confined to jobbers and retailers doing an extensive business.
Gold Pens.–The manufacture of gold pens in the United States dates from the spring of 1836, when Simeon Hyde, an enterprising American, purchased the business of John Isaac Hawkins, an Englishman, who after years of patient study and experiment had succeeded in making a gold pen. Hyde bought the business for £300, and a royalty on all pens sold. Hawkins had taken out no patent, and for several years the process of manufacture was kept a profound secret by Hyde and his assistants. It finally leaked out and by 1849 there were fifteen firms engaged in the business, and from that time on rapid progress was made, the trade reaching its zenith about 1861, since which time it has remained at about the same level. The gold pen to-day is practically the same as when Hawkins completed it, except that the goods are now made in a neater and more finely finished manner.
Fountain Pens.–In 1848 N. A. Prince, of New York, brought out the first fountain pen. This consisted of a metal barrel tapering to a point at the upper end; the lower end was round, the under side of the barrel being cut away, exposing to view and for use a small curved bit of rubber which was the writing point. A valve located just above the pen controlled the ink, and was opened or closed at pleasure. As soon as Goodyear produced his vulcanized rubber, Mr. Prince and his partner, John S. Purdy, secured the exclusive right to use that rubber for pen barrels. Since that time inventors innumerable have taken out patents on fountain pens, the result being that the market is now supplied with a great variety of styles. The general characteristics of all the pens are about the same, the variations being mainly in the methods employed to feed the ink to the pen.
The origin of the stylographic pen is obscure. It seems to have been developed by some one who was working to produce a fountain pen, and it is hard to distinguish between early specimens of the two instruments. The earliest record of a stylographic pen is the granting of a patent for one to Charles W. Krebes, of Baltimore, Md., in 1850. The pen was a crude affair. Six years later Nelson B. Slayton of Madison, Ind., invented and patented a stylographic pen, but in 1869 one Kenyon invented a pen which was about the first bearing a resemblance in mechanical construction to those which followed and became popular. Inventors in this branch appear to be as numerous as in fountain pens, but the pens brought out of late years have a general similarity.
Source: Stoddart's Encyclopaedia Americana: a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature - J.M. Stoddart - 1889
The well-known stylographic reservoir pen and the caligraph have been the forerunners of numerous pocket pens of the kind. Amongst the recent forms are three which may be mentioned. One of these is made by Messrs. Sautier et Cie., Sallanches, Haute-Savoie. This is a metallic holder and reservoir, the latter being fitted with a piston on a screw stem actuated by an exterior bead. By means of this piston, which is withdrawn to the bottom end of the reservoir handle of the pen when it is full or to be filled, the ink is occasionally caused to flow to the pen by giving the head of the screw a slight turn. The feed is thus certain and definite. The pen works very well; but as it is only fitted with a steel pen, the latter requires frequent renewal. It is also an objection that to keep the ink flowing the head must be occasionally twisted to cause it to flow from the reservoir down the small tube to the pen and a piece which touches the pen. A fresh lot of ink may thus, it may happen, be forced to the pen just when it becomes necessary to put the pen down or into the pocket. This does not return to the reservoir and is liable to corrode there. The pen is one which might be useful if very carefully used and fitted with a gold pen, and its construction is suggestive.
Another form is that made by the Jewell Pen Company, Fenchurch-street, under a patent of Mr. J. Holland. This pen is called the " Perfection," and is made of the more usual vulcanite, made from Para rubber. The pen is gold tipped with iridium, and the ink is conveyed to the pen by a simple vulcanite tube, which may be set according to the rate at which any user consumes the ink. This is in contact with the under or hollow side of the pen. On the outside of the pen, or on the top surface, a piece of the vulcanite, a finger, presses, and also forms an ink regulator. The reservoir handle is solid ended. There is no place at which ink can escape except at the pen. Some months' trial of this pen has proved it to be very satisfactory.
The third pen which we would mention is the Wirt fountain pen. This is one of the vulcanite form made by the Wirt Fountain Pen Company, 1, Gresham-buildings, Guildhall. It is exceedingly simple. It is fitted with a gold pen with iridium point, and is fed by only one little conveyor, and that is a small finger on the top of the pen. The under or concave side of the pen remains always clean and free from ink. About four months' test of the pen has proved it to be satisfactory in every respect ever ready, even when carried in the pocket and not used for a week at a time. It is five years since this pen was first brought out in the United States, and experience proves it to be all that could be desired.
