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January 6, 1714
- English engineer Henry Mill received patent from Queen Anne
for a "Machine for Transcribing Letters" ("An artificial machine
or method for the impressing or transcribing of letters singly
or progressively one after another, as in writing, whereby all
writing whatever may be engrossed in paper or parchment so neat
and exact as not to be distinguished from print"); typewriter
(never succeeded in perfecting invention, died with him).
1761-1784
- Cabinet-maker Kaspar Faber produced his first pencils, the
"Bleyweißsteffte", in Stein near Nuremberg; 1784-1810
- 2nd generation business named "A.W. Faber" (named after
Kaspar´s son Anton Wilhelm); 1839-1846 - Lothar
von Faber (22) took over Stein pencil factory; produced
hexagonal pencil, developed first German quality pencils. marked
them with "A. W. Faber" name - first brand-name pencil in world;
1843 - "A.W. Faber" pencils sold for first time in
America through New York agency; 1849 - first
foreign branch founded in New York; 1898 - Wilhelm
von Faber´s eldest daughter and eventual heiress, Baroness
Ottilie von Faber married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen
(descended from one of Germany´s oldest noble families); new
company named "FABER-CASTELL"; 1978 - 8th
generation, Anton Wolfgang Count von Faber-Castell, took over
helm at company; 2001 - opened 15th Faber-Castell
production facility in Canton, China.
1774 - Francesco
Pineider sold stationary in Florence, Italy; first man in Italy
to introduce printed letters drawn from Anglo-Saxon, Germanic
tradition (pioneer in bringing moveable type to Italy);
avant-garde equipment made it possible to produce perfect,
spotless lithographic, copper-plate prints".
1796
- John Letts established stationery business in arcades of
London's Royal Exchange; 1812 - created world's
first Commercial Diary; 2007 - manufactures over
22 million diaries, market leader supplying more than 40 per
cent of all branded diaries in UK, exporting to over 75
countries;.
November 16, 1796
- Marc Isambard Brunel, English inventor and engineer, received
a patent for "Ruling Books and Paper";
January 17, 1799
- received a patent for a "Machine for Writing with Two Pens".
October 7, 1806
- Englishman Ralph Wedgwood received first patent for carbon
paper, "Stylographic Writer" (an "apparatus for producing
duplicates of writings"); used carbonated paper; process of
saturating thin paper with printer's ink, drying it between
sheets of blotting paper; fitted in writing frame between two
sheets of plain paper; metal stylus used to transfer ink onto
plain paper; designed to help blind people write.
April 30, 1808
- Italian Pellegrini Turri built first practical typewriter for
a blind friend.
November 22, 1809
- Peregrin Williamson, shoemaker from Baltimore, MD, received
patent for a "Metallic Writing Pen"; first American patent for a
pen.
1819 -
John Scheffer received a
British patent for a "Penographic or Writing Instrument" (half
quill, half metal pen).
April 2, 1827
- Joseph Dixon, Salem, MA, first manufactured
graphite-based
lubricants, pencils, stove polish, crucibles;
1829 -
introduced first graphite pencil;
first to develop pencil automation; 1847 - built
factory in Jersey City, NJ;
1870 - The Joseph Dixon
Crucible Company world's largest dealer, consumer of graphite;
1872 - company made 86,000 pencils a day; 1983
- merged with the Bryn Mawr Corporation, renamed Dixon
Ticonderoga Company.
Joseph Dixon
(http://www.scripophily.com/ webcart/vigs/josephdixonvig.jpg)
July 23, 1829
- William Austin Burt, a surveyor from Mount Vernon, MI,
received a patent for a "Typographer"
("type are arranged on the under side of a segment carried by a
lever pivoted to swing vertically and horizontally...desired
character is brought to the printing point by moving this lever
horizontally to a position over the same character in the index,
and the impression is made by then depressing the lever");
forerunner of the typewriter.
July
26, 1832 - John
Jacob Parker, of Birmingham, UK, received a British patent for
"Certian Improvements in Fountain Pens" ("...certain
arrangements of parts, thus producing pens containing a supply
of ink which may be made to flow to the nibs at the time of
using the pens, and afterwards to cause any ink remaining in the
pen to flow back into the handles or upper parts of the
pens..."); first self-filling fountain
pen.
November 15, 1837
- Isaac Pitman published system of shorthand, under title
"Stenographic Sound-Hand."
September 30, 1841
- Samuel Slocum, of Poughkeepsie, NY, received a patent for a
"Machine for Sticking Pins into Papers"; early stapler.
February 15, 1842
- Adhesive postage stamps were used for first time, in New York
City.
August 26, 1843
- Charles Thurber, of Norwich, CT, received a patent for a
"Machine for Printing" ("intended as a substitute for writing
where writing with a pen is inconvenient by reason of
incompetency in the performer"); typewriter; successfully
typed as a roller provided inking; called a Chirographer, known
as "Thurber's Patent Printer" - proposed as an aid for the blind
but was slow to use, had little success; November 18, 1845
- received a patent for a "Mechanical Chirographer"
("Improvement in Writing-Machines"); typewriter precursor.
March 17, 1845
- Stephen Perry, of Messers Perry and Co. Rubber Co.
Manufacturers in London, received a British patent for the
rubber band.
1846 - Alonzo T.
Cross founded A. T. Cross Co., in
Providence, RI, to manufacture
elegantly tooled gold, silver casings for wooden pencils;
1916 - acquired by employee
Walter R. Boss; June 27,
1950 - A. T. Cross Pencil Company registered "Cross"
trademark first used in 1868 (mechanical pencils); 1971
- went public; America's oldest manufacturer of fine writing
instruments.
January 23, 1849
- Jesse K. Park and Cornelius S. Watson, of New York, NY,
received a U.S. patent for an "Machine for Making Envelops" ("a
new and useful machine for embossing, folding, and gumming paper
for envelops for letters, papers, cards, packages or any other
like use").
February 5, 1850
- Du Bois D. Parmelee, of New Platz, NY, received a patent for a
"Calculating-Machine" ("apparatus for making accurate additions
of long columns of figures by means of a movable index or
register acted upon by the keys of a finger board"); first
key-operated adding machine.
June 21, 1853
- Dr. Russell L. Hawes, of Worcester, MA, received a patent for
a "Machine for Folding and Making Envelops" ("one self-feeding
machine the ability, when motion is given to it, to take one
sheet of paper at one time, and carry it forward to impress or
form a base, and thus to retain it until it is carried onward to
the finisher, whence it is discharged, a finished or folded and
pasted envelop"); three workers could produce over 2,000
envelopes in an hour.
March 9, 1858
- Albert Potts, of Philadelphia, PA, received a patent for a
"Letter Box" ("Mode of Attaching Metallic Letter-Boxes to
Lamp-Posts).
March 30, 1858
- Hymen L. Lipman, of Philadelphia, received patent for a
"Pencil & Eraser" (a "new and useful Lead-Pencil and Eraser");
pencil with eraser attached on one end.
1859 - Charles
Diebold founded Diebold Safe & Lock Company, manufactures safes
and vaults in Cincinnati, Ohio; 1875 - produces
world's largest bank vault for Wells Fargo; 1915 -
changes name to Diebold, Incorporated to better reflect the
company's gradual diversification into office products.
Carl (Charles) Diebold
- founder Diebold Inc. (http://www.diebold.com/150/images/01_1859_CharlesDiebold_small.png)
May 31, 1859
- Edson P. Clark, of Holyoke, MA, received a patent for
"Improvement in Compositions for Pencils" ("new Composition for
Pencils for Indelible Marking on Linen and Other Clothing and
Other Articles...component parts of the composition are nitrate
of silver, nitric acid, glue, lamp-black, and sugar").
April 21, 1863
- Samuel Ward Francis, of New York, NY, received a patent
for a "Machine for Canceling Postage and Other Stamps"
("Improvements in Adhesive Stamp Canceling Instruments...to
prevent postage or other adhesive stamps from being used more
than once, by permanently defacing them").
July 10, 1866
- Edson P. Clark, of Northampton, MA, received a patent for an
"Improved Indelible Pencil" ("Improvement in Pencils for
Producing Indelible Writing on Linen and Other
Fabrics...consists in the employment of gypsum and black lead
incorporated together...in connection with nitrate of silver to
be made into pencil-leads which are inclosed in wood or other
material").
July 24, 1866
- George W. McGill, of Washington, DC, received a patent for an
"Improvement in Metallic Paper Fasteners"; small, bendable brass
paper fastener, precursor to modern staple; August 13,
1867 - received patent for a "Press for Attaching Paper
Fasteners"; press to insert fastener into paper; February
12, 1879 - received patent for a "Device for Inserting
Metallic-Staples in Paper, etc."; McGill Single-Stroke Staple
Press (2 1/2 pounds, able to load single 1/2 inch wide wire
staple at a time, drive it through several sheets of paper).
September 3, 1867
- M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne, of Keokuk, IA, received a patent
for a "Fountain-Pen"; ink chamber and delivery system in the
handle of the fountain pen.
March 5, 1868
- Charles H. Gould, of Birmingham, England, received a British
patent for a stapler; invented wire stitcher for use in binding
magazines; uncut wire, then cut, inserted in folds of magazine
as well as folding wire ends over; considered the predecessor of
modern stapler.
June 23, 1868
- Christopher Latham Sholes (former editor of the Milwaukee
Sentinel), Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule, all of Milwaukee,
WI, received a patent for a "Type Writing Machine"; had only
capital letters, fit in a box about 2 feet square and 6" high,
paper inside the machine (typist couldn't tell if making
mistakes); 1873 - sold rights for $12,000 to
investor James Densmore (invented a tank car during Pennsylvania
oil boom); 1874-1878 - manufactured by E.
Remington & Sons in Ilion, NY; 1886 - five
thousand Remington typewriters sold.
July 14, 1868
- Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, Connecticut received a patent
for an "Improvement in Tape Measures" (a "new and useful
Improvement in Spring Measuring Tapes").
1871 - Louis
Faber, Adolf Schleicher founded "Association for Production of
Automatic Lithographic Presses";
1875 - exported first Albatros press to St.
Petersburg, Russia; 1900
- name changed to Faber & Schleicher AG;
1911 - introduced first offset press
with name 'Roland'; 1922
- new single-colour offset press Klein-Roland 00 produced of up
to 5,000 sheets per hour; 1967 - sales exceeded 200 million
Deutschmarks, 3,000 emp;oyees;
1972 - ROLAND 800, integrated with first ink
control system in sheet-fed offset, boosted printing capacity to
10,000 sheets per hour; June 5,
1973 - ROLAND Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber &
Schleicher AG registered "Roland matic" trademark (printing
presses); 1977 -
launched Roland-CCI - world's first computer-controlled ink
control system; 1979
- Roland Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber & Schleicher, Offenbach,
printing press division of Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg
merged; formed MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG, Offenbach/Main;
1985 - introduced
ROLAND 200; small-format press series with maximum speed of
12,000 sheets per hour; 1990
- medium-size ROLAND 700 printed 15,000 sheets per hour;
2000 - ROLAND 500
printed 18,000 sheets per hour;
2006 - MAN Roland beame independent;
2008 - renamed
manroland AG; entered Pico format class with ROLAND 50.
1874 - R. G. Dun
of Dun & Bradstreet was first to recognize the potential
of the typewriter for business use - ordered 100 machines, at
$55 apiece.
July 13, 1875
- David Brown, of Lebanon, NJ, received a patent for an
"Apparatus for Transmission of Goods, Packages, etc." ("to
provide for a simple, effective and cheap apparatus for
transmission of goods, packages, money, etc. in general, but
more particularly, as an expedient and cheap method of
transmitting packages, bills and money in stores and salesrooms
from the salesmen to the cashier, and vice versa, without the
aid of now-employed cash-boys").
April 11, 1876
- John C. Zachos of New York City received a patent for "Type
Writers and Phonotypic Notation"; stenotype (first patent for
device for printing legible text in English alphabet at high
reporting speed0; called new system of shorthand
"stenophonotypy.
August 8, 1876
- Thomas A. Edison received a patent for "Autographic Printing"
("method of preparing autographic stencils for printing");
mimeograph.
1878
- John Dempsey, accomplished engraver, George D. Carroll,
businessman, opened Dempsey & Carroll at 46 East 14th Street in
New York City; became social tastemaker, provided best in
engraved product to city’s Gilded Age elite; hand-engraved steel
dies, copper plates made to specification, finest inks, most
luxurious cotton-fiber papers;
spring 2004 - closed retail stores in New York
City, Washington, DC, printing facility in Baltimore, MD; banks
foreclosed on company; September
2004 - assets of company acquired by Lauren
Marrus (President and CEO of The Chelsea Paper Company), head of
1878 Stationery Company (founded to maintain, improve quality of
personalized correspondence with elegant papers, inks, expert
craftsmanship); September 15, 2008
- moved to first brick-and-mortar storefront (1049 Lexington
Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets).
March 28, 1880
- Alonzo T. Cross, of Providence, RI, received a patent for a
"Stylographic Fountain-Pen" ("supporting the writing-spindle,
with its holder or guide, upon a slender spring-rod secured to
the upper end of the ink reservoir...thus presenting a larger
opening for the insertion of the point of the tiller, and also
serving to prevent the accidental forcing of ink into the
air-duct made in the wall of the ink-reservoir"); May 11,
1880 - received a patent for a "Stylographic
Fountain-Pen" (in which a tubular point and central spindle are
used...consists, essentially, of the combination of a needle
tipped with some hard substance, such as iridium, and a tubular
point of ordinary soft metal, when the needle is so adjusted in
relation to the point that it shall, in writing, always project
sufficiently through the tubular point to bear upon the paper");
June 29, 1880 - received a patent for "Improvement
in Fountain-Pens" ("provides convenient means for clearing the
fine-tube at the lower end of the ink-chamber, or at the point
of the pen, from interfering sediment or ink deposit, without
the necessity, as heretofore, of either opening or partially
opening the ink-chamber, with consequent liability of of soiling
the fingers with ink"); October 5, 1880 - received
a patent for a "Improvements in Stylographic Fountain-Pens"
("point-tube is simply held by slight friction so that it may be
readily withdrawn and a new one inserted when necessary, thus
avoiding the waste of the hard-rubber point-section");
earliest 'ball
pen' which carried its own ink supply and had a retractable tip.
September
11, 1883 - James G. Cutler, of Rochester, NY, received a
patent for a "Letter-Box Connection" ("to enable persons upon
the different floors of a building to deliver letters and other
matter to be mailed into a letter-box other receptacle on the
lower floor without the necessity of descending thereto"); mail
chute.
February 12, 1884
- Lewis E. Waterman, an insurance salesman from Brooklyn, NY,
received patent for a "Fountain-Pen" ("in which the nib of the
ordinary writing-pen is supplied with fluid ink from a barrel or
reservoir, which may conveniently form the handle or holder of
the pen"); relatively leak-proof fountain pen;
revolutionized writing; previously, pen tips had to be tipped
into ink after every few words; put an ink reservoir in the pen
above the pen's metal nib (point); used capillary action to
replace the ink in the rubber sac with air so that the ink
flowed smoothly but did not flow all at once.
1886
- Lyman, Wilbert, Monroe, Hurlburt Smith founded Smith-Premier Typewriter Company
in Syracuse, NY; created first typewriter that
wrote upper, lower case letters;
1893 - merged with six manufacturers, formed
Union Typewriter Company of America; produced most popular of
"blind" writing machines (had to lift carriage to see what had
been typed); January 27, 1903 - Smith brothers
formed L.C.
(Lyman) Smith & Bros. Typewriter Company in Syracuse, NY to
manufacture "visible" typewriters (see what was typed without
lifting carriage);
1906 - Frank Rose's Rose Typewriter Company introduced world´s
first successful portable typewriter; 1909 - Rose
acquired, name changed to Standard Typewriter Company; 1912 -
introduced Corona model; 1914
- Standard renamed Corona; January 1926 - L.C. Smith & Bros.
merged with Corona
Typewriter; formed L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriter Company (Smith
produced office typewriters, Corona manufactured portables);
November 8, 1949 -
L. C. Smith & Corona Typewriters, Inc. registered "Smith-Corona"
trademark first used February 6, 1931 (typewriting machines and
parts therof).
September 14, 1886
- George Kerr Anderson, of Memphis, TN, received first U.S.
patent for an "Inking-Ribbon for a Type-Writing Machine";
typewriter ribbon; provided portions near the ends of a ribbon
with a color contrasting from that of the body of the ribbon to
notify the operator of the machine to manually change the
direction of the ribbon feed.
January 20, 1886
- William Seward Burroughs incorporated business as American
Arithmometer Corporation of St. Louis with three partners; sold
adding and listing machine for $475.00;
August 21, 1888
- received four patents for a "Calculating-Machine" ("new and
useful Improvements in Mechanical Accountants"; adding machine;
first practical adding and listing machine, incorporated an
oil-filled 'dashpot,' a hydraulic governor; enabled machine to
operate properly regardless of manner with which handle might be
pulled; September 12, 1893 - received a patent for
"Recording Device for Calculators"' assigned to American
Arithmometer Corporation; January 1905 - company
renamed Burroughs Adding Machine Co.; 1953 - name
changed to Burroughs Corporation; 1986 - merged
with Sperry Corporation to form Unisys Corporation.
William Seward
Burroughs - Burroughs Corp.
(http://www.todayinsci.com/B/Burroughs_William/BurroughsWilliamThm.jpg)
October 30,1888
-
John J. Loud, of
Weymouth, MA, received first U.S. patent for a "Pen" ("an
improved reservoir or fountain pen, especially useful...for
marking on rough surfaces-wooden coarse wrapping paper, or other
surfaces-where an ordinary pen could not be used"); nib of a
fountain pen could not be used because it would split, splatter
or catch.
November
20, 1888 - Willard LeGrand Bundy, a jeweler from Auburn,
NY, received a patent for a "Time-Recorder" ("to compel
employees of factories and shops to record at their place of
business the time of their entering the said place"); 1989
- formed Bundy Manufacturing Company with his brother;
1902 - consolidated into one of IBM's forerunners.
December
10, 1889 - George S. Parker, teacher of telegraphy in
Janesville, WI, received his first patent for a "Fountain-Pen"
("of prompt action entitling a steady, reliable, and constant
flow of ink"); March 8, 1892 - Parker and
partner William E. Palmer, an insurance broker (initially
invested $1,000), incorporated Parker Pen Company;
December 12, 1893 - Parker received another patent for a
"Fountain-Pen" ("the novel construction in the nozzle and feed
bar of the fountain pen; and in the adaptation of the pen nib
for use therein"); January 9, 1894 - received
third patent for a "Fountain-Pen" ("a novel construction
of the feed piece and contiguous parts which secures and
maintains an equipoise between the columns of ink and air in
their several passages and compels them to harmony of action");
intended to obviate defects: starting flow of ink, irregular
flow of ink, dripping of ink, overflowing of ink; self-feeding"
fountain pen design (mechanically filled "lever" filler), Lucky
Curve Ink Feed System; used capillary attraction to completely
drain ink from feed tube; became the Parker Pen Company's first
major success (phased out in 1928);
March 20, 1923 - Parker Pen Co.
registered "Parker" trademark first used in 1891 (Fountain Pens
and Mechanical Pencils);
1974 - sales
topped $100
million;
1993
- acquired by the Gillette Company.
George Safford Parker
- Parker Pen
(http://www.todayinsci.com/P/Parker_George/ParkerGeorgeThm.jpg)
July 14,
1891 - John T. Smith of Brooklyn, NY; received first US
patent for a "Process of Treating Cork" ("subjecting cork in a
more or less fine state in a closed vessel to heat, so as to
melt and volatilize the resinous matter contained in it,
permitting some of the vapor to escape from the vessel and
cementing the cork particles together by the condensation of the
remaining vaporized resinous matter"); pure corkboard.
October
27, 1891 -
Philip B. Downing, of Boston, MA,
received a patent for a "Letter-Box" ("to improve the
construction of the lid or that portion through which
mail-matter is introduced into the box"); covering, opening of
outdoor street letter (mail) boxes; protected mail from
intruders, weather.
April 12, 1892
- George C. Blickensderfer, of Stamford, CT, received
first U.S. patent for a "Type Writing Machine"; portable
typewriter, the Blickensderfer.
September 11, 1893
- James G. Cutler,. of Rochester, NY, received a patent for a
"Letter Box Connection" ("to enable persons upon the different
floors of a building to deliver letters and other matter to be
mailed into a letter-box or other receptacle on the lower floor
without the necessity of descending thereto"); mail chute.
October 9, 1894
- Edward G. Watkins, of Gardner, MA, employee in engineering
department of Heywood Brothers & Co., received a patent for a
"Workman's Time-Recorder" for use in furniture manufacturer's
plants ("...such as are used to record the time of employees in
factories, shops, stores, offices, etc....machine of the
greatest simplicity, which may be cheaply made and is extremely
durable, which is operated by the individual employees when they
begin and leave off work, which keeps an accurate record of time
during which the individuals are at work, and which has a time
sheet adapted to be detached after being passed through the
machine and which shows a complete record of the time of the
several employees, and may therefore be filed away for future
reference"); one-half of patent assigned to Heywood Bros. & Co.;
featured bell which rang when button pushed, clock face so
workers could check time, clock's movement relied on 100-beat
Seth-Thomas marine movement clock (vs. traditional 60-beat
clock); Heywood Brothers & Co. established Time Recorder
Division, began manufacturing devices under Simplex name;
January 15, 1902 -
Watkins incorporated Simplex Time Recorder Co. to manufacture
time recorders; acquired old patents, machinery;
1912 - introduced
card-model time recorder (individual "time-cards" inserted into
recorders, stored in adjacent card rack);
1916 - acquired WH. Bundy Time Recorder
Company (Binghamton, NY0, Syracuse Time Card (Syracuse, NY);
produced complete line of time clocks and cards (card recorders,
watchman's clocks, payroll recorders); December
1942 - Curtis
Watkins (son) took over; 1958
- acquired IBM Time Recorder Division;
1963 - wholly owned subsidiaries opened
in Canada, Australia; 1967
- E.G. Watkins II (grandson) took over;
January 2001 - acquired by Tyco
International Ltd.; April 2001
- merged with Grinnell Fire Protection division, largest fire
protection company in world; name changed to SimplexGrinnell.
October
30, 1894 - Daniel M. Cooper, of Rochester, NY received a
patent for a "Workman's Time-Recorder" ("has as its object to
produce a form of apparatus by means of which a workman
personally records upon his individual card or time check the
time when he enters or leaves the factory"); manufactured by
Willard and Frick Manufacturing Company; timecards were inserted
into the machine, lever was pressed, time was recorded on
specially printed cards divided by horizontal lines into seven
equal spaces for days of the week.
November
19, 1895 - Fredrick E. Blaisdell, of Philadelphia, PA,
received first U.S. patent for a "Pencil"; paper pencil
("non-lubric-covered crayons or marking leads");
received
second patent for a "Machine for Manufacturing Pencils, etc."
April 28, 1896
- Joseph S. Duncan, of Sioux City, IA, received a patent for an
"Addressing-Machine"; the Addressograph; patent assigned to
Addressograph Company (Chicago, IL).
November 3, 1896
- John W. Hunter, of Tabor, IA, received patent for a "Portable
Weighing-Scale" ('for retail dealers").
November
23, 1897 - Black American inventor, John Lee Love, of
Fall River, MA, received a U.S. patent for a "Pencil Sharpener";
pencil is put into the opening of the sharpener and rotated by
hand, shavings stay inside the sharpener; by rotating the outer
case, internal gears turn a pencil sharpener blade around the
inserted pencil.
February
8, 1898 - John A. Sherman, of Worcester, MA, received a
patent for a "Mechanism for Folding and Sealing Envelops"; first
envelope folding and gumming machine; reduced manufacturing cost
per thousand enveloped from 60 cents to 8 cents.
1899
- Johann Vaaler, of Christiania, Norway, received a German
patent for the paper clip; June 4, 1901 - received
U. S. patent for a "Paper Clip or Holder" ("forming same of a
spring material, such a piece of wire, that is bent to a
rectangular, triangular of otherwise shaped hoop, the end parts
of which wire piece form members of tongues lying side by side
in contrary directions"); November 7, 1899 -
William D. Middlebrook, of Waterbury, CT, received a patent for
a "Machine for Making Wire Paper-Clips") for ("binding or
securing papers in lieu of pins"); paper clips of the Gem design
(double oval shape) designed by GEM Manufacturing Ltd.
(England).
March 14, 1899
- Allen De Vilbiss, Jr., of Toledo, OH, received a patent for a
"Scale" ("a scale of this character [employing pendulums] whose
hand or index swings i n irregular steps as weight is added to
the pan or platform over a straight-line table whose graduations
or marks are equidistant");
May 22, 1900
- received a patent for a "Scale" ("relates to...price scales,
which employ a pendulum and are adapted to compute the total
selling price"); first automatic computing scale; assigned to De
Vibliss Computing Scale Company (predecessor of the Toledo Scale
Co.).
March 21, 1899 -
George C. Blickensderfer, of Stamford, CT, recdeived a patent
for a "Type-Writing Machine" (had invented new kind of
typewriter 1892 in small workshop at rear of home; founded The
Blickensderfer Manufacturing Company in 1889); revolving type,
became world's best seller, company became one of world's
largest typewriter manufacturers; Blick Typewriter - one of
first, said to be best portable typewriter invented; could be
outfitted with different type styles, for foreign languages;
August 14, 1900
- received a patent for a "Type-Writer" ("...simple, compact,
and efficient power mechanism by which the type-bars may be
operated, the impression thus effected by the power-actuated
mechanism and not by the force of blow given by operator");
electric typewriter; 1920
- company acquired by L.R. Roberts Typewriter Company.
October 14, 1902
- Arthur H. Pitney received a patent for a "Postage Stamp
Device"; 1908 - Walter H. Bowes incorporated
Universal Stamping Machine Company, provided canceling machines
to Post Office; 1910 - Pitney incorporated
American Postage Meter Company; April 23, 1920 -
merged, formed Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company;
December 10, 1920 - posted first meter mail; 1940
- over 1,200 employees, net income of $4 million; 1950
- listed on NYSE; 1957 - introduced first mail
sorting machine; 1962 - listed on Fortune 500;
1968 - acquired Monarch Marking System Company
(produced first bar code equipment for retail trade use);
1970 - introduced new logo (intersection of paper-based,
electronic communication); 1979 - sales exceeded
$1 billion; 2004 - sales exceeded $5
billion.
Arthur H. Pitney - Pitney
Bowes (http://www.pitneybowes.com.au/PB.Upload/PB-AUSTRALIA-EN-AU/CMS/corporatehistory-pic1.jpg)
Walter H. Bowes
- Pitnet Bowes
(http://www.pitneybowessmallbusiness.com/images/pitney-bowes/walter-h-bowes.jpg)
June 10, 1902
- Americus F. Callahan, of Chicago, IL, received a patent for an
"Envelop" ("whereby labor and expense in addressing envelopes
and placing other insignia thereupon may be avoided"); first
U.S. patent for a window envelope, called the outlook envelope;
leased patent to Envelope Company of Springfield, MA;
July 1902 - began manufacturing; saved expense of
printing, labor of addressing, time of preparing the message for
dispatch when the customary addresses were already on the letter
paper itself.
1903
- Fred J. Kline established Clipper Manufacturing Company in
Long Island, New York, for manufacture of paper clips;
1910 - name changed to American Clip Company ("ACCO");
1912 - ACCO Fastener introduced; 1922
- incorporated as ACCO, Inc.; 1956 - acquired by
Gary Industries; 1971 - acquired by team of key ACCO executives
in leveraged buy-out; 1987 - acquired by American
Brands (now Fortune Brands); December 31, 1997 -
ACCO USA, Inc. changed name to ACCO Brands, Inc.
March 10, 1903
- Harry C. Gammeter, a typewriter salesman of Cleveland, Ohio,
received patent for a "Duplicating-Machine"; multigraph
duplicating machine; first successful machine in the U.S. to
simplify the printing processes, layman could print from type;
enabled businesses to reproduce circular letters in large
quantities, yet have the appearance of having been written on a
typewriter;
December 12, 1903 - American Multigraph Sales Company of
Cleveland, OH began commercial manufacture.
1905
- Monroe George West established business to provide quality
contract office furniture throughout Northern California.
1905
- Star Furniture Company opened in Zeeland, MI; 1909
- renamed Michigan Star Furniture Company; D.J. De Pree hired as
clerk (named President in 1919); 1923 - De Pree
convinced his father-in-law, Herman Miller, to purchase majority
ownership; renamed Herman Miller Furniture Company.
1906
- Alfred Nehemias
(Hamburg, Germany banker), August Eberstein (Berlin engineer)
began making simplicissimus pens; Wilhelm Dziambor, Christian
Lausen took over business; Claus Johannes Voss joined company;
1908 -
incorporated in Hamburg, Germany as Simplo Filler Pen Co.
('manufacturers of high-class gold and fountasin pens');
1910 - introduced
Montblanc fountain pen; 1913
- introduced 'star emblem' logo;
1934 - renamed Montblanc Simplo GmbH;
September 1, 1964
- Montblanc-Simplo G.m.b.H. LTD registered "Montblanc" trademark
first used 1913 (fountain pens, cases for fountain pens, ball
point pens, ball point cartridges, ball point paste, mechanical
pencils, lead for mechanical pencils);
1977 - majority interest of Montblanc
acquired by Dunhill Holdings (51%
of Alfred Dunhill Limited had been acquired in 1967 by Carreras
Rothmans Limited, formed in 1958 in acquisition by Rembrandt
Tobacco Corporation S.A. Limited);
1985 - Dunhill acquired full control;
1990 - opened
first Montblanc boutique store in Hong Kong;
October 1993 -
Dunhill Holdings PLC absorbed into Vendome Luxury Group S.A.
(luxury brands group formed in restructuring by Compagnie
Financier Richemont, holding company formed by Rembrandt Group
restructuring in 1988); 1998
- Vendôme minority shareholders bought out by Compagnie
Financiere Richemont S. A.; 2010 -
more than 350 Montblanc boutiques in 70 countries.
Claus Johannes Voss, Alfred Nehemias,
August Eberstein
- Montblanc
(http://i2.sinaimg.cn/lx/news/2008-11-08/U1745P622T1D23492F15DT20081108034754.jpg)
April 18, 1906 - Haloid Company, maker of
photographic paper, founded in Rochester, NY; January 1,
1947 - Joe Wilson, son of Haloid founder, bought license
to develop Chester Carlson's xerographic machine from
Battelle Memorial Institute (had bought rights to create an
electrostatic image on photoconductive surface); May 30,
1950 - Haloid Corporation registered "Xerox" trademark
first used September 3, 1948 (copies of typewritten or printed
matter, drawings, maps, or any other records, sold as such, made
by an electrophtographic process); April 16, 1958
- name changed to Haloid Xerox Inc.; 1959 -
introduced Xerox 914, first automatic, plain-paper office
copier; April 18, 1961 - name changed to Xerox
Corporation.
September 4, 1906
- Robert E. Turner, of Norfolk, VA, received a patent for a
"Type-Writing Machine" ("one of the primary objects is to
increase the mechanical control of the paper-carriage with a
resultant increase in speed"); automatic typewriter return
carriage.
February 17, 1907
- Donald J. Bell, projectionist, Albert Summers Howell,
inventor, incorporated Bell and Howell Company in Chicago to
manufacture, job, lease, repair motion picture equipment;
August 6, 1907 - Howell received a patent for a
"Picture-Exhibiting Machine"; 35-millimetre film projector;
assigned to Donald J. Bell; September 17, 1912 -
received a patent for a "Motion-Picture Machine" ("simple, and
effective mechanism for feeding the film intermittently or step
by step which shall have a high degree of accuracy so that the
film will be moved exactly at the required distance each time");
assigned to Bell & Howell Co.; 1916 - Bell's
interest in company acquired by Howell, Joseph McNabb (general
manager) for $183,895; 1919 - manufactured nearly
all equipment used to make movies in Hollywood; 1945
- sales of $21.9 million, 2,500 employees; March 10, 1959
- registered "Bell & Howell" trademark first used November 27,
1935 (photographic cameras and carrying cases, motion and
still picture projectors and carrying cases, slide changers for
still picture projectors and slide trays, camera and projection
lenses); 1988 - acquired in leveraged buyout by
management and Texas financier Robert M. Bass (assumed control),
for $678.4 million; 1989 - sold textbook
publishing division for $260 million; transformed into
information management business; May 1995 - went
public; three business segments: Mail and Messaging Technologies
(45% of sales), Information Access (36% of sales - Bell and
Howell Information and Learning, Bell and Howell Publishing
Services), Imaging; 2001 - imaging business
acquired by Kodak for $135 million; June 5, 2001 -
international mail, messaging technologies acquired by Pitney
Bowes for $51 million; June 6, 2001 - Information
Access renamed ProQuest Company; September 28, 2001
- Mail and Messaging Technologies, Scanners, and Financial
Services businesses acquired from ProQuest by Glencoe Capital
for $145 million (operated under Bell & Howell name);
January 9, 2003 – merged with Böwe Systec AG; combined
BÖWE's North American operations with Bell & Howell Company;
formed BÖWE Bell & Howell.
Albert Summers
Howell - Bell & Howell
(http://www.movie-camera.it/AbertHowell.jpg)
January 7, 1908
- Columbia Phonograph Company registered "Dictaphone" trademark
first used September 3, 1907 (graphophones);
1923 - spun off,
became an independent under C.K. Woodridge, president of the
International Advertisers Agency and co-founder of National
Secretary’s Day; 1947
- replaced wax cylinders plastic carving Dictabelt (replaced by
magnetic tape, later by hard drive dictation machines);
1970s - acquired
by Pitney-Bowes; 2000
- acquired by Lernout & Hauspie for $1 billion, incorporated
voice recognition software into Dictaphone hardware for first
time; 2001 -
Lernout & Hauspie entered Chapter 11, re-emerged;
2006 - acquired by Nuance (entry into healthcare
market).
February 18, 1908
- U.S. postage stamps in rolls issued.
October 29, 1908
- Camillo Olivetti founded Ing. C. Olivetti & C., S.p.A., "first
Italian typewriter factory", in Ivrea, Italy; 20 employees,
weekly output of 20 machines; 1911 - presented
first typewriter, M1, at Universal Fair in Turin; 1933
- Adriano Olivetti (son) , appointed to post of director
general; 1950s - undisputed leader in mechanical
office product technology; 1967 - millionth
Divisumma 24 calculator producted; 1959 - acquired
Underwood, leading US typewriter manufacturer; 1959
- introduced Elea 9003, Italy's first electronic computer;
1978 - acquired by Carlo De Benedetti; 1983
- formed strategic alliance with AT&T; moved into information
technology, introduced succession of systems lines, expanded
into IT services business; 1995 - established
Omnitel, mobile communications provider; obtained operating
license, began commercial service; formed Infostrada, fixed-line
provider; September 1996 - strengthened focus on
telecommunications, rationalized operations in information
technology; 1998 - 8% of company acquired by Bell
SA (Luxembourg) for $608 million (subsequently raised to 12%
controlling stake);February 1999 - launched tender
offer for Telecom Italia; June 1999 -acquired more
than 52% for 31.5 billion euros; Omnitel, Infostrada acquired by
Mannesmann (to comply with antitrust regulation); Italy's
largest telecommunications group, revenues of approximately
148,000 billion lire, 132,000 employees; July 2001
- 23% interest acquired by consortium, including Pirelli SpA,
Benetton groups, for $6.5 billion; 2003 - absorbed
into Telecom Italia as Olivetti Tecnost.
1910
- Philadelphia engineer J. C. Parker invented Lefax, loose-leaf
personal organizer; October 5, 1926 - registered
"Lefax" trademark first used October 29, 1910 (loose-leaf
binders, loose-leaf blank books and parts thereof, sheets ruled
for data, blank sheets, filing boxes, guide cards, indexes,
paper punches, filing and mailing envelopes, celluloid leaves
tracing cloth, rubber stamps, picture mounts, and re-enforcing
tabs); 1992 - acquired by Filofax.
May 11, 1912 -
John Q. Sherman, four others obtained charter for The Standard
Register Company in Dayton, OH (Theodore Schirmer as President,
Sherman as member of Board of Directors); based business on
pinfeed autographic register (paper-feeding invention) of
Theodore F. Schirmer (had received first of four patents on
February 16, 1897 for an "Autographic Register"; fed continuous
forms through autographic register vs. friction rollers; wooden
cylinder built in head with roll of small studs or pins
encircling cylinder near each end arranged to engage holes
punched in paper); simplified business transactions, became the
"standard" business forms production method - one moving part,
no rollers, springs, gears, ratchets necessary as with operation
of ordinary registers; made as many as eight copies at one
writing (vs. two or three copies), all copies positively fed
through register; all copies could be printed with lines, check
blocks, imprinted items, other things; applied to sales slips,
bills of lading, express receipts, purchase orders, thousands of
other applications for which friction-feed registers were
impractical; 1913
- Dayton flood threatened company's existence; majority interest
acquired by John Q. and Willam C. Sherman; reorganized company;
receivership removed in seven months; developed REGISTRATOR
Platen, made it possible to feed marginally punched forms
through typing machines with precision, minimum handling costs;
1920 - sales of
about $1 million; 1940
- sales of about $5 million; 1944
- Milferd A. Spayd named president (had joined company in 1933);
original invention of pinwheel, origination of marginally
punched forms, process improvement - most important
contributions company has made to American business.
John Q. Sherman
- The Standard Register Company
(http://cdn.agilitycms.com/standard-register/Images/company/john-q-sherman.jpg)
December 24, 1912
- Irving Fisher, of New Haven, CT, received a patent for an
"Index or File", archiving system with index cards; July
1, 1925 - Fisher's firm, the Index Visible Company,
merged with principal competitor to form Kardex Rand Co. (later
Remington Rand, later Sperry Rand).
May 18, 1920
- Underwood Typewriter Company (New York, NY) registered
"Underwood" trademark first used in 1897 (Typewriting-Machines);
March 1, 1921 - Burnham C. Stickney, of
Elizabeth, NJ, received a patent for a "Typewriting-Machine";
assigned to Underwood Typewriter Company.
November 16, 1920
- First Pitney-Bowes postage meter introduced metered mail in
Stamford, CT.
June 6, 1921
- William Rounce, printer, and Posseen Hill, stationer, founded
Norman & Hill, Ltd. (Norman was Rounce's son) in London; began
importing organizers, called LeFaxes; 1925 -
created Filofax (shortened version of 'file of facts', by Grace
Scurr, secretary) time planner ring book; November 27,
1930 - registered "Filofax" trademark in Britain;
1980 - majority control acquired by David and Lesley
Collischon, husband-and-wife entrepreneurial team; renamed
company, Filofax; introduced the new company logo (lower case
‘f’), expanded into stationery, department stores; 1987
- went public; 1990 - acquired by investment
group; new management team brought in, headed by Robin Field,
former management consultant with LEK Partnership; 1996
- Filofax Group plc went public; 1998 - acquired
by Day Runner, Inc. for $85.8 million.
March 28, 1922
- Bradley A. Fiske, of Washington, DC, received a patent for a
"Reading Machine" ("machine employing reading matter, the words
and the character of which are microscopic, adapted to be
brought successively the eye or eyes of the observer so as to be
read"); microfilm reading device.
February
10, 1923 - Standard Ink Company manufactured ink paste
for first time.
January
1, 1924 - Frank Buckley Cooney of Minneapolis, MN,
received first U. S. patent for "Ink Paste" ("the compounding of
an ink which may be vended in paste form and rendered fluid for
use by the addition of water so that "a very satisfactory
writing fluid is provided free of suspended matter and other
imperfections"); could be packaged in collapsible lead vending
tube in highly concentrated form (reduced shipping costs); four
fluid ounces of paste would produce one gallon of ink after
dilution.
1925
- Jack Linsky established Parrot Speed Fastener Company;
July, 19, 1938 - registered "Swingline" trademark
(stapling machines, tackers, and pliers); 1939 -
changed name to Speed Products; 1956 - name
changed to Swingline; 1987 - acquired by ACCO
Brands (division of Fortune Brands).
October 20, 1925
- Inventor Clifton Chisholm, of Cleveland, OH, received patent
for an "Embossing Machine" ("method of and apparatus for
producing embossed printing strips"); compotype; patent was
assigned to the American Multigraph Company Co.
May 27,
1930 - Richard G. Drew, of St. Paul, MN, a 3M
Company engineer, received a patent for "Adhesive Tape"
("pressure energizable adhesives adhesive sheets or coatings,
preferably water insoluble and normally non-drying"); cellulose
adhesive tape, originally designed to be an attractive,
moisture-proof way to seal cellophane wrap for grocers and
bakers);
September 8, 1930 - 3M
Company marketed the
tape
under the trademark "Scotch"; July 14, 1931 - Drew
received a patent for a "Process for Preparing Adhesive Tape" (a
division of 1930 patent); assigned to Minnesota Mining &
Manufacturing Co., St. Paul, MN;
1932
- 3M introduced first heavy duty, countertop tape dispenser (7
pounds);
November 9, 1948
- registered "Scotch"
trademark first used in May 1931 (tape dispenser).
Richard
G. Drew - scotch tape
(http://www.msthalloffame.org/images/2009_images/Richard_Drew.jpg)
June 1935
- Ray Stanton Avery invented machine to make self-adhesive
labels in loft above flower shop in downtown Los Angeles;
Dorothy Durfee, schoolteacher and his future wife, invested
$100; used motor from washing machine, parts from sewing
machine, saber saw; world's first self-adhesive label,
label-making machine; established Kum-Kleen
Adhesive Products Company; first six months sales
(removable price stickers sold to gift shops, other retailers)
of $1,391; 1936 -
renamed Avery Adhesives; November
5, 1940 - received a patent (18 total) for "A
Method and Apparatus for Making Label Units" ("...to provide
labels which can readily be affixed to all kinds of surfaces,
and yet be easily removed without leaving marks or otherwise
damaging said surfaces...pressure sensitive adhesive surface on
the labels...do not require moistening prior to their
application, but are affixed to a surface by slight application
of pressure, and are readily removable by peeling from
engagement with the surface to which they are adhesively
affixed"); 1976 -
renamed Avery International; 1990
- merged with Dennison Manufacturing, office-products company;
renamed Avery Dennison; developed synthetic adhesives,
quick-release coating for label backing sheet (easier to peel
off individual labels); developed production process for
printing entire label run in one production line (vs. two or
three stages); 2010
- $6 billion global leader in labeling and packaging solutions,
retail branding and information solutions, organization and
identification solutions for work and
home.
Ray
Stanton Avery - Avery
Dennison ( http://www.averydennison.com/vgnfiles/AvyDen/Static%20Files/images/About%20Us/Values/values-integ.jpg)
March 3, 1936
- William G. Pankonin, of Chicago, IL, received a patent
for a "Tool for Removing Staples"; December 28, 1971
- Joseph A. Foitle, of Overland Park, KS, received a patent for
a "Broken Staple Remover" ("device for removing broken portions
of wire staples").
May 12, 1936
- August Dvorak and William Dealey, of Seattle, WA, received a
patent for a "Typewriter Keyboard" ("special arrangement of the
keys in a typewrite keyboard ...1) which will decrease the
possibility of typewriting errors; 2) facilitating the increase
of operating speed by eliminating awkward sequences; 3) assisting
increase in speed because of fewer errors; 4) lessening the
fatigue of the typist"); designed keyboard to maximize
efficiency, placed common letters on home row, made stronger
fingers of hands do most of work; original QWERTY layout
designed for earlier, less efficient typewriters.
July 7, 1936
- Ethel Scholfield and Cecil H. Scholfield, of Yonkers, NY,
received a patent for a "Filing Apparatus" ("in which cards or
the like are mounted for convenient access upon the periphery of
a rotatable drum"); assigned to Scholfield Service, Inc.;
February 11, 1941 - Richard P. Scholfield, of Waterford,
CT, received a patent for a "Filing Apparatus" ("rortatable
filing apparatus...specific improvements in drum structures
[rotatable filing drums] which can be used in such apparatus");
assigned to Scholfield Service, Inc.
1938
- Arnold Neustadter founded Zephyr American Corporation;
June 18, 1940
- Zephyr American Corporation (Arnold Neustadter) registered
"Rolodex" trademark first used January 2, 1940 (paper dispensing
device for desks).
1938
- Hungarian journalist, Lajos Biro, produced first practical
ball-point pen.
June 28, 1938
- Reuben H. Chambers, of Washington, DC, received a design
patent for a "Sorting Device"; address book with a triggering
device.
October 22, 1938
- Chester F. Carlson demonstrates xerography; used sulphur
coating on zinc plate, vigorously rubbed with handkerchief to
apply electrostatic charge; glass slide used India ink to write
"10-22-38 ASTORIA," laid on sulphur surface in darkened room;
illuminated with bright incandescent lamp for few seconds;
lycopodium powder sprinkled on sulphur surface, blown off -
near-perfect image of writing remained; permanent copies made by
transferring powder images to wax paper, heating sheets to melt
wax.
January 17, 1939
- László
Jozsef Bíró, of Budapest, Hungary, received a British patent for an
"Improved Fountain Pen" ("employing a rotatably-mounted ball as
the marking element and a soft pulpy dye as a marking-material,
the dye being pressed against the ball by a piston").
1941
- IBM introduced Electromatic Model 04 electric typewriter;
featured revolutionary concept of proportional spacing; assigned
varied, rather than uniform, spacing to different sized
characters; recreated appearance of a printed page; produced
clearer, sharper words on page; became staple of IBM Executive
series typewriters.
July 28, 1942
- Linden A. Thatcher of Stamford, CT received patent for a "Coin
Operated Mailing Machine" (a "coin operated value stamp printing
machine"); money inserted, meter stamped envelope; patent
assigned to Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company.
October 6, 1942
- Chester F. Carlson, of Jackson Heights, NY, received a patent
for "Electrophotography"; xerography, electric recording and
transmission of pictures.
September
15, 1944 - László Jozsef Bíró, of Budapest, Hungary,
received a British patent for a "Writing Instrument" ("fountain
pen of the kind having a marking-element in the form of a free
ball, the ink conduit"); first practical ball-point pen;
1938 - invented a ball-point pen with a pressurized ink
cartridge; 1945 - Eversharp Co. and Eberhard-Faber
acquired the exclusive rights to Biro Pens of Argentina;
November 22, 1946 - Biro ball point pens went on sale.
1945
- Marcel Bich, Edouard Buffard, raised $1,000, bought empty
factory shell in rundown Paris suburb of Clichy; produced parts
for fountain pens,, mechanical lead pencils; began manufacturing
ink refills for ball-point pens (vs. traditional "inkwell"
models); became convinced that new pen could claim bigger share
of market if price reduced, quality improved; December
1950 - introduced Bic® Cristal® ballpoint pen; simple
stick-shaped writing instrument, rugged, dependable, consisted
only of thin plastic ink tube, tiny metal ball-point, rigid
plastic outer tube; made, sold very inexpensively; April
14, 1953 - Marcel Louis Michel Antoine Bich registered
"Bic" trademark (writing instruments, namely fountain pens,
ball-point fountain pens, and parts thereof); 1958
- entered the U.S. market, acquired Waterman Pen Company;
November 26, 1968 -
Waterman-Bic Pen Corporation registered "Bic" trademark first
used in August 1963 (ball point pens, both retractable and
non-retractable, special ink cartridges and all replaceable
parts for such pens); 1973 - introduced disposable
lighter to America with "Flick My Bic" advertising slogan;
January 30, 1973 -
Bic Pen Corporation registered
"Bic" trademark first used October 5, 1971 (cigarette lighters
and refills therefor); 1976 - introduced Bic razor
(disposable); 1977 - lighter passed Gillette's
Cricket lighter in sales.
October 29, 1945
- First ball point pen in U.S. went on sale at Gimbels
Department Stores for $12.95; June, 1945 - Chicago
businessman Milton Reynolds, in Buenos Aires on unrelated
business, saw the Biro pen in a store, recognized pen’s sales
potential, bought a few as samples, returned to America, copied
the product in four months ( ignored
patent rights of the Argentine manufacturer, Eversharp Company),
started manufacturing the Reynolds Ball Point Pen; first day
sales = $100,000; became a fad but leaked, skipped and was
unreliable; 1948 - price dropped to less than 50
cents; 1951 - Reynolds' company failed.
1947
- Borden introduced
"Cascorez Glue",
first consumer white glue (packaged in glass bottles with "ice cream pop"
type wooden sticks attached with rubber band); repositioned under
name "Elmer's Glue-All" (Elmer the Bull, spouse of
Borden's corporate symbol, Elsie the cow); November 18,
1952 - registered "Elmer's" trademark first used April
3, 1951 (glue).
1949
- Patrick J. Frawley acquired ballpoint pen parts manufacturer
that defaulted on its loan; renamed Frawley Pen Company,
developed new ink, dried instantly; pen that delivered ink
called Paper Mate; August 7, 1951 - Frawley
Corporation (San Francisco, CA) registered 'Paper Mate'
trademark first used July 6. 1949 (ball point pen inks [and
fountain pen inks]).
September 27, 1949 - Hywel Murrell, head of
Naval Motion Study Unit of Admiralty Research Laboratory, small
group of like-minded human factors researchers, met at Queen
Anne Mansions, Admiralty, London, established Ergonomics
Research Society to study human capabilities in relationship to
work demands (later known as Ergonomics Society, today Institute
of Ergonomics and Human Factors, today Institute of Ergonomics
and Human Factors; Wojciech Jastrzebowski, Polish biologist,
created word 'ergonomics' in 1857 in philosophical narrative,
"based upon the truths drawn from the Science of Nature";
derived from Greek words: "ergon", meaning work and "nomoi",
meaning natural laws).
1951
- Bessie Nesmith invented 'Mistake Out', quick-drying,
paper-colored (white) liquid painted onto paper to correct
printed material; based on white tempera paint; founded Liquid
Paper company to sell product; June 10, 1969 -
Mistake Out Company registered "Liquid Paper" trademark first
used May 18, 1967 (liquid correction fluid);
1979
- acquired by Gillette Corporation for $47.5 million plus
royalties.
November 17, 1951
- J. Lyons & Company, chain of British tea shops, introduced
world's first computer for business purposes; Lyons Electronic
Office (LEO) performed first calculation - ran program to
evaluate costs, prices, margins on that week's baked goods;
first business machine in world to operate on 'stored program
principle' (new programs permitted machine to perform different
tasks); computer code, based on flow chart of how company's
different job requirements related, developed by Maurice V.
Wilkes, Director of the Mathematical Laboratory (Cambridge
University); systems-oriented approach to programming devised by
David Caminer; less than 100,000th power of modern PC;
January 9, 1965 - LEO turned off.
David Caminer
- LEO (http://is2.lse.ac.uk/leo/images/CaminerChinese.jpg)
1952
- Arnold Neustadter introduced "Rolomatic" ('rolling index'),
alphabetized rotating card file with ball-bearing clutch;
invented in 1940s with help of Hildaur Neilson, engineer who
developed cylindrical housing; Neustadter also invented
Swivodex, spill-proof inkwell, Clipodex, knee-top dictation
tool..
1952
- Sidney N. Rosenthal, of Speedry Chemical Products of Richmond
Hill, NY, began manufacturing Magic Marker felt-tip pens;
February 19, 1957 - Speedry Products, Inc. registered
"Magic Marker" trademark first used March 1, 1953 (felt nib
marking pens comprising small containers for such ink, equipped
with caps and having felt nibs at their ends for marking);
1966 - Speedry name changed to Magic Marker
Corporation; 1980 - filed for bankruptcy;
1989 - rights to Magic Marker name acquired by Binney &
Smith (subsidiary of the Hallmark Corporation).
Sidney N.
Rosenthal - Magic Marker
(http://cdn.dipity.com/uploads/events/0f416de7f9d0ba4cd5a2775bba5d7a7a_1M.png)
October 14,1952
- Lin Yutang received a patent for the Chinese typewriter.
November 18, 1952
- Borden Company, New York, NY, registered "Elmer's" (glue)
trademark.
January 24, 1956
- Hiwaur L. Neilsen, of Metuchen, NJ, received a patent for a
"Rotary Card-Filing Device" ("an improved card-carrying rotor
and improved means in supporting said rotor in a card-filing
device"); rolodex; assigned to Zephyr American Corporation;
1958- began selling 'Rolodex'' 1961 -
acquired by Insilco Corporation.
February 4, 1957
- Smith-Corona began selling portable electric typewriters.
July 24, 1962
- Tensor Electric Development Company, Inc. registered "Tensor"
trademark first used in March 1950 (lamps);
February 12, 1963
- Jay Monroe, of Flushing, NY, received a design patent for a
"Portable Lamp"; March 12, 1963 - received a
design patent for a "Portable Work Lamp"; May 19, 1964 -
received a patent for a Desk Lamp Structure" ("telephone jack
and telephone mating plug connector structure adapted to serve
as an electrical conductor swivel connection and structural
support"); tensor lamp; all patents assigned to Tensor Electric
Development Co., Inc.
1968 - Dr.
Spencer Silver, employee of 3M Company, discovered adhesive
which formed itself into tiny spheres, did not melt or
dissolve, sticky but not strongly adhesive when coated onto tape
backing; discovery forgotten; 1974
- resurrected by Art Fry, 3M
new product development researcher;
August 17, 1976
- 3M registered "Post-It" trademark first used September 25,
1974 (paper and cardboard sheet material having adhesive coating
on both sides therof for attachment to walls or other vertical
surfaces to hold displays or other messages in place);
April 6, 1980
- Post It Notes introduced.
Art Fry
- Post-It Notes (http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/iap/images/fry_main_1_190.gif)
June 27, 1978
- Frank Andrew Muller and Henry Peper, Jr. received a patent for
"Ball-point instruments writing with improved transitorially
erasable trace and ink compositions therefor" (erasable ink);
assigned patent to Gillette Company which introduced "Eraser
Mate".
August 16, 1978
- Federal Trade Commission imposed
$25.6 million fine on Xerox for using its patents to lock-up its
technical knowledge to block Smith-Corona's entry into lucrative photocopier market; ordered Xerox to share
its technology with competitors - broke Xerox's
trust; 1989 - had lost half market share, still held top spot in high-end and mid-range machines
(annual revenue of $10 billion in U.S., $16 million
worldwide).
September 21, 1994
- Museum of Modern Art chose Aeron economic office chair, created for Herman Miller by
designer by Bill Stumpf, for permanent design collection
of Museum of Modern Art, month before its introduction;
December 26, 1995
- Herman Miller, Inc. registered "Aeron" trademark first used in
October 1994 (office furniture, namely chairs).
December 16, 2007
- Dec. 17 is heaviest mailing day of year:
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/12/15/business/190-count-graph.jpg)
April 6, 2008
- Price of first-class postage: $.42 (1971 - postal service
office became quasi-governmental; 1983 - stopped public
subsidization).
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/04/05/business/06stamp.190v.jpg)
(Art Metal-USA), Mildred L. Yahn (1982).
The Rise and Fall of a Corporation: The Story of Art Metal,
Inc., 1888-1971. (Busti, NY: M. L. Yahn, 169 p.). Art
Metal--U.S.A., inc.--History; Office furniture industry--United
States--History.
(Avery International), David L. Clark (1988).
Avery International Corporation 50-year history, 1935-1985.
(Pasadena, CA: Avery International Corp., 195 p.). Avery
International--History; Label industry--History.
(Bic Pen Corp.), Laurence Bich (2001).
Le Baron Bich: Un Homme de Pointe. (Paris, FR: Perrin,
206 p.). Bich, Marcel, 1914-1994; Société Bic; Bic Pen Corp;
Ball-point pens; Businessmen--France--Biography;
France--Biography.
Baron Marcel Bich
(http://www.todayinsci.com/B/
Bich_Marcel/BichMarcelThm.jpg)
(Dixon Ticonderoga Company), Brenda J. Elliott
(1996).
Best of Its Kind: Since 1795: The Incredible American Heritage
of the Dixon Ticonderoga Company. (Heathrow, FL: Dixon
Ticonderoga, 370 p.). Dixon Ticonderoga Company; Dixon, Joseph;
Joseph Dixon Crucible Co.
(Fuji Xerox), edited by Japan Business History
Institute; translated by Dynaword, Inc. (1983).
Fuji Xerox, the First 20 Years, 1962-1982. (Tokyo,
Japan: Fuji Xerox, 307 p.). Fuji Zerokkusu Kabushiki
Kaisha--History.
(HON Industries), C. Maxwell Stanley, James H.
Soltow (1991).
The HON Story: A History of HON Industries, 1944-1985.
(Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 197 p.). HON
Industries--History; Office furniture industry--United
States--History; Conglomerate corporations--United
States--History; New business enterprises--United States--Case
studies; Entrepreneurship--United States--Case studies; Success
in business--United States--Case studies.
(Interface), Ray C. Anderson with Robin White (2009).
Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People,
Purpose--Doing Business by Respecting the Earth. (New
York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 320 p.). Industrial management
--Environmental aspects; Social responsibility of business;
Entrepreneurship. Sustainability as competitive edge;
1973 -
started company, world leader in carpet tiles (modular carpet)
for commercial and institutional interiors, annual sales of more
than $ billion; August 1994 - transformed company, from oil-intensive
to first enterprise in
history to become truly sustainable; 1996-2008 - cut
net green house gas emission by 71% (in absolute tons),
increased sales by two-thirds, doubled earnings, expanded profit
margins, GHG intensity, relative to sales, declined some 82%;
make more carpets from recycled materials; since 2003 -
manufactured, sold over 83 million square yards of carpet with
no net global-warming effect (zero)
to the earth.
(LaserMonks), Sarah Caniglia and Cindy
Griffith (2008).
LaserMonks. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 224 p). Run
MonkHelper Marketing, Inc., manages LaserMonks.com on monks'
behalf. LaserMonks (Firm); Printing ink industry--United States;
Toners (Xerography) industry--United States; Office equipment
and supplies industry--United States. 5 Cistercian monks created $10
million Internet business: 1) create market space, reshape
reasons why consumers purchase, 2) provide excellent customer
care, 3) find, capitalize on unique strengths, 4) streamline
operations, 5) manage success: balance profits and giving, keep
customers happy, stay true to mission.
(Office Depot), Jeffrey Rodengen (2006).
Office Depot: Taking Care of Business: The First 20 Years.
(Fort Lauderdale, FL: Write Stuff Enterprises, 176 p.). Office
Depot (Firm)--History; Office equipment and supplies
industry--United States--History. More office products,
services to more customers in more countries than any other
company; annual sales of nearly $15 billion; leader in every
distribution channel (retail stores, contract delivery,
catalogs, e-commerce).
(Oliver Typewriter Company), Jett Morton
(2011).
The Oliver Typewriter Company: Machines and History.
(Raleigh, NC: lulu.com, 126 p.). Typewriter Collector. Oliver
Typewriter Company. April 7, 1891 - Thomas
Oliver, Methodist minister, of Monticello, IA, received a patent
for a "Type-Writing Machine" (had begun to develop typewriter,
made from strips of tin cans, to produce more legible sermons);
1895 - established Oliver Typewriter Company in Chicago
(headquarters on ninth floor of a building on corner of Clark
and Randolph Street); 1928 - acquired by investors who formed
British Oliver Typewriter Company in Croydon, England; May 1959
- last Oliver typewriter produced.
Thomas Oliver
- Oliver Typewriter Company (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Thomas_Oliver.jpg/111px-Thomas_Oliver.jpg)
(Olivetti Ing. C. & c.), Donatella Ronci;
prefazione di Franco Ferrarotti (1980). Olivetti, Anni '50:
Patronalsocialismo, Lotte Operaie e Movimento Comunità.
(Milano, Italy: F. Angeli, 168 p.). Ing. C. Olivetti & C.;
Office equipment and supplies industry--Italy--Ivrea--Employees;
Industrial relations--Italy--Ivrea.
Camillo
Olivetti - ng. C. Olivetti &
C., S.p.A.
(http://www.storiaolivetti.it/upload/OMO-32-Camillo%20Olivetti_6562.jpg)
Adriano
Olivetti
(http://www.italica.rai.it/galleria/
numero6/istituzioni/istituzioni/ adriano.gif)
(Olivetti Ing. C. & c.), Valerio Ochetto
(1985). Adriano Olivetti. (Milano, Italy: A. Mondadori,
331 p.). Olivetti, Adriano; Ing. C. Olivetti & c.--History;
Electronic office machine industry--Italy--History;
Businesspeople--Italy--Biography. First portable typewriter,
which was launched in 1932 as the MP1.
(Olivetti Ing. C. & c.), Chiara Ricciardelli;
presentazione di Laura Olivetti; introduzione di Michele La Rosa
(2001). Olivetti: Una Storia, un Sogno Ancora da Scrivere: la
Sociologia del Lavoro Italiana Nell'esperienza di Ivrea.
(Milano, Italy: FrancoAngeli, 140 p.). Olivetti, Adriano; Ing.
C. Olivetti & c.--History; Movimento comunitá (Italy);
Businessmen--Italy--Biography;
Philanthropists--Italy--Biography; Industrial
sociology--Italy--Ivrea; Electronic office machine
industry--Italy--History; Architecture--Italy--Ivrea--History;
Education--Social aspects--Italy--History; Ivrea
(Italy)--History; Ivrea (Italy)--Economic conditions.
(Olivetti Ing. C. & c.), Franco Ferrarotti; a
cura di Giuliana Gemelli (2001). Un Imprenditore di Idee: Una
Testimonianza su Adriano Olivetti. (Milano, Italy: Edizioni
di Comunità, 146 p.). Olivetti, Adriano;
Businessmen--Italy--Biography.
(Pencil), Brenda J. Elliott (1996).
Best of Its Kind: "Since 1795" the Incredible American Heritage
of the Dixon Ticonderoga Company. (Heathrow, FL: Dixon
Ticonderoga, 370 p.).
(Pencil), Henry Petroski (1990).
The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance.
(New York, NY: Knopf, 434 p.). Academic (Professor of Civil
Engineering/History at Duke). Pencil. History of a prolific
writing instrument.
(Pitney-Bowes), William Cahn (1961).
The Story of Pitney-Bowes. (New York, NY: Harper, 262
p.). Pitney-Bowes, inc.; Postal service --Metered mail.
(Rank Xerox), Phillip Judkins, David West,
John Drew (1985).
Networking in Organisations: The Rank Xerox Experiment.
(Brookfield, V: Gower, 141 p.). Rank Xerox (Firm); Local area
networks (Computer networks).
(Typewriter), Michael H. Adler (1973).
The Writing Machine. (London, UK: George Allen & Unwin
Ltd. Typewriter. History of the typewriter.
(Typewriter), Wilfred A. Beeching (1974).
Century of the Typewriter. (New York, NY: St. Martin’s
Press, 276 p.). Typewriters--History.
(Typewriter), Richard N. Current (1954).
The Typewriter and the Men who Made It. (Urbana, IL:
University of Illinois Press, 149 p.). Typewriters--History.
(Typewriter), Arthur Toye Foulke (1961).
Mr. Typewriter; A Biography of Christopher Latham Sholes.
(Boston, MA: Christopher Pub. House, 134 p.). Sholes,
Christopher Latham, 1819-1890; Typewriters--History. Received
June 23, 1868 patent for a "Type Writing Machine".
(Typewriter), Darren Wershler-Henry (2007).
The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting.
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 331 p.). Assistant
Professor in the Communication Studies Department (Wilfrid
Laurier University). Typewriting--History; Typewriters--History.
History of writing
culture, technology; various attempts over years to change
keyboard configuration; role played in writer's life.
(Windows NT), G. Pascal Zachary (1994).
Show-Stopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the
Next Generation at Microsoft. (New York, NY: Free Press,
312 p.). Microsoft Corporation; Microsoft Windows NT; Operating
systems (Computers); Computer software--Development--History.
(Woodbury and Company), Edited by Kent P.
Ljungquist, James P. Hanlan, and Rodney G. Obien (2007).
The History of Woodbury and Company. (New York, NY:
Peter Lang, 240 p.). Professor of English (Worcester Polytechnic
Institute); Professor of History (WPI); Curator of Special
Collections and Archives at Gordon Library (WPI). Woodbury and
Company--History. Founded
1879; largest commercial engraver in central New England in
1890s; 2002 - closed after 123 years.
(Xerox), John H. Dessauer (1971).
My Years with Xerox; The Billions Nobody Wanted. (Garden
City, NY: Doubleday, 239 p.). Director of Research at Xerox for
3 Decades (retired 1970); Dessauer, John H.; Xerox Corporation.
Chester Carlson
(http://www.contentmanagement.de/
NT/ Xerox_ccarlson3.jpg)
Joe Wilson
- Xerox
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ theymadeamerica/ whomade/
images/who_wilson_image.jpg)
(Xerox), Gary Jacobson, John Hillkirk (1986).
Xerox: American Samurai. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 338
p.). Xerox Corporation; Copying machine industry--United States;
Competition, International.
(Xerox), Douglas K. Smith and Robert C.
Alexander (1988).
Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First
Personal Computer. (New York, NY: Morrow, 274 p.). Xerox
Corporation; Microcomputers.
(Xerox), David T. Kearns, David A. Nadler
(1992).
Prophets in the Dark: How Xerox Reinvented Itself and Beat Back
the Japanese. (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 334 p.).
Xerox Corporation--Management; Corporate turnarounds--United
States--Case studies; Copying machine industry--United
States--Management; Copying machine industry--Japan--Management.
(Xerox), David Dorsey (1994).
The Force. (New York, NY: Random House, 315 p.). Xerox
Corporation, Sales Executives, Office Equipment Industry.
(Xerox), David Owen (2004).
Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company
Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg:
Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine. (New
York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 320 p.). Writer (New Yorker
magazine). Carlson, Chester Floyd, 1906-1968; Inventors;
Xerography--History.
(Xerox), Charles D. Ellis (2006).
Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox. (Hoboken, NJ:
Wiley, 396 p.). Former Managing Partner of Greenwich Associates,
Leading Worldwide Strategy Consultant to the Financial Services
Industry. Wilson, Joseph C. (Joseph Chamberlain), 1909-1971;
Xerox Corporation--History; Copying machine industry--United
States--History.
Took incredible risk backing completely untested technology;
paid off only after decades of tireless work; how honest,
compassionate leadership can create profits, benefit the
community.
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/02/21/business/
21xerox_graphic/21xerox_graphic-popup.jpg
Thomas A. Russo (2000).
Office Collectibles: 100 Years of Business Technology (Atglen,
PA: Schiffer Pub., 224 p.). Atglen, PA. Office equipment and
supplies; Office equipment and supplies--Pictorial works.
Carol Willlis (1995).
Form Follows Finance: Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and
Chicago. (New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press,
217 p.). Founding Director of the Skyscraper Museum in New York
City. Office buildings--New York (State)--New York; Office
buildings--New York (State)--New York--Economic aspects; Office
buildings--Illinois--Chicago; Office
buildings--Illinois--Chicago--Economic aspects.
_______________________________________________________
Business History Links
British
Postal Museum & Archive
http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/
British postal services helped to shape the modern world. The
British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) works to make this human
story of communication, industry, and innovation accessible to
everyone. We care for the visual, written and physical records
of over 400 years of postal development.
Cumberland Pencil Museum
http://www.pencilmuseum.co.uk/
History of pencils and pencil making.
Early Office Museum
http://www.officemuseum.com
Engages in research on the history and
evolution of offices, antique office machines and equipment, and
business technology based on original documents, artifacts, and
photographs The Museum is a web site and does not have a
collection of office machines, other artifacts, or a building.
George S.
Parker Exhibit
http://www.rchs.us/parker.htm
George S. Parker was a teacher of telegraphy who sold and
repaired pens in 1888. In that year, he discovered a way to make
a better product. "With my scroll saw, file and other tools, I
made up a feeder, eventually fitted it into a holder, and lo and
behold, it worked. What's more, it worked well." Parker wrote.
The "simple fish hook shaped device" was patented the following
year. In 1892 Parker and William F. Palmer incorporated the
Parker Pen Company in Janesville, Wisconsin. Their successful
products - the Lucky Curve pen that ended ink blobs, the first
jointless pen, the Trench pen for WWI soldiers, the mechanical
pencil, the Duofold pen, the Vacumatic pen and Quink, the quick
drying ink that eliminated the need for blotters - can be viewed
in the newly designed exhibit. An oversized Parker pen replica
names the women, known as "Penettes", who provided company
tours. Also featured are an artist's rendering of a headquarter
building, advertising items and awards. Almost everyone has a
Parker Pen memory or connection. Come and share yours!
Lyons Electronic Office
(LEO)
http://is2.lse.ac.uk/leo/About_LEO.htm
November 17 1951 - J. Lyons company began weekly operation of a
bakery valuations job on a computer called LEO (Lyons Electronic
Office); first business application to go live on a stored
program computer anywhere in the world.
The Virtual Typewriter Museum
www.typewritermuseum.org/
The typewriter is one of the great inventions of 19th Century
communications technology. Between the 1860s and 1920s
engineers, inventors and even carpenters invested all their
creativity in the development of the ultimate writing machine.
This virtual museum, that is based on private collections of
antique typewriters from around the world, is a tribute to their
ingenuity.
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