A Fascinating Discovery About Waterman's Beginnings

[kirchh]

George Rimakis and I have written a monograph that reveals some astonishing information about the formative days of the Waterman company. We invite readers here to have a look and to discuss the paper.

Blotting Out the Truth (http://danielkirchheimer.com/articles/blotting-out-the-truth/)

Edited to add: I encourage members to read the article prior to scanning the responses in the thread so as to avoid spoilers!

--Daniel

[kia]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

[Jeph]

Wow, that was quite a read. Somewhere I remember reading specifically that Waterman's feed design was the key to (and beginning of) the moden fountain pen. The (possible) journey to that point is quite an interesting read. I suspect if that story is not correct, it is closer than anything else has been.

Thanks!

[kirchh]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

From the happenstance of encountering the first bit of information to completion, the project took four weeks.

--Daniel

[writingrav]

Terrific work, fascinating read. Thank you both

[kia]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

From the happenstance of encountering the first bit of information to completion, the project took four weeks.

--Daniel


Just 4 weeks. Wow.

Why, I don't know, but I think I've seen a Holland pen somewhere about some pen forum or listing, or maybe I saw it once elsewhere. Problem is, I've no idea where, and now I've got that little, isolated, irritating piece of gray matter in the back of my mind jumping up and down for attention. Then again, it would certainly be a very rare find, and it's very much more likely my mind is just wanting to think I'd seen something. It's going to drive me crazy for a few days trying to figure it out before I give up on it. I hadn't even heard most of the LE Waterman ink blot story, but now you've got Holland ghosting me just on thought alone.

Four weeks. Sheesh. The one and only research paper I wrote some 30 years ago took me 9 weeks to research, was almost 1/3 shorter, but not anywhere near as interesting. It did only take me 48 hours to write up after the research and aced my university class (probably because I'd snagged a rare interview), but thankfully it is sitting in the dark hidden away. I never considered it my best. Thank you for your writing.

[KrazyIvan]

I am still in the middle of reading the whole thing but I posted a link to your article and this thread on my blog.

[Annie]

A really engaging and enlightening read. Thanks for sharing.

[kaisnowbird]

Excellent paper and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

When I first read the Twain connection, I was like "Com'on! Really?", but I must admit, you supposition was based on facts and completely plausible, probable even. Thank you!

[cwent2]

I echo the above comments - very interesting read -looks be be thoroughly researched - interesting twists and turns..... Nice work Gentlemen.

Sifting though text of that era is challenging - though my perspective is by doing Family Tree research the media is the same.

[kirchh]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

From the happenstance of encountering the first bit of information to completion, the project took four weeks.

--Daniel

I must correct myself; I just checked the dates, and George showed me the first key scrap of information on December 23 (during what is retrospectively known as the First Frank Holland Memorial Invitational Pen Club Meeting), so the project actually took three weeks, not four.

--Daniel

[kia]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

From the happenstance of encountering the first bit of information to completion, the project took four weeks.

--Daniel

I must correct myself; I just checked the dates, and George showed me the first key scrap of information on December 23 (during what is retrospectively known as the First Frank Holland Memorial Invitational Pen Club Meeting), so the project actually took three weeks, not four.

--Daniel

omg, you're breaking my fingers! What excellent work in such a short time!

[DanDeM]

Quite a research journey, and a fascinating read. How long did this take to research?

From the happenstance of encountering the first bit of information to completion, the project took four weeks.

--Daniel


Just 4 weeks. Wow.

Why, I don't know, but I think I've seen a Holland pen somewhere about some pen forum or listing, or maybe I saw it once elsewhere. Problem is, I've no idea where, and now I've got that little, isolated, irritating piece of gray matter in the back of my mind jumping up and down for attention. Then again, it would certainly be a very rare find, and it's very much more likely my mind is just wanting to think I'd seen something. It's going to drive me crazy for a few days trying to figure it out before I give up on it. I hadn't even heard most of the LE Waterman ink blot story, but now you've got Holland ghosting me just on thought alone.

Four weeks. Sheesh. The one and only research paper I wrote some 30 years ago took me 9 weeks to research, was almost 1/3 shorter, but not anywhere near as interesting. It did only take me 48 hours to write up after the research and aced my university class (probably because I'd snagged a rare interview), but thankfully it is sitting in the dark hidden away. I never considered it my best. Thank you for your writing.

You may be thinking of something like this...

http://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2095&d=1366845913

except it was made by John Holland, not Frank Holland.

[Scrawler]

This is an excellent piece of research and is a fascinating read. I had heard rumours that Waterman was a self promoter and not exactly as he claimed. This does put those rumours into perspective.

[Hawk]

I read this thread seven days ago and was totally amazed at the amount of research that was done and the relatively short amount of time it took from inception to completion. Job well done.
Both of you didnt leave a stone unturned in order to validate your work. Often, fabricated stories createca life of their own and adapt to the growing interest of readers. I hope your piece continues to remain in the public eye in perpetuity. Thanks again.

[kirchh]

I read this thread seven days ago and was totally amazed at the amount of research that was done and the relatively short amount of time it took from inception to completion. Job well done.
Both of you didnt leave a stone unturned in order to validate your work. Often, fabricated stories createca life of their own and adapt to the growing interest of readers. I hope your piece continues to remain in the public eye in perpetuity. Thanks again.

Thank you very much for your compliments! We really enjoyed every minute of the labor that went into the article, and we have continued to research the events and related matters since we first posted the piece. An expanded version is being serialized in the Pennant (the magazine of the Pen Collectors of America (https://www.pencollectorsofamerica.com/)), with even more information and additional citations; the first part (of three) appeared in the most recent issue, and the middle part will appear in the next issue.

You are absolutely right about the phenomenon of attractive myths entering the lore of a field; after 130 years, this one still plays a major role in the image of the Waterman company, and it is given prominent mention on Waterman's web page. Though the real story might be less romantic, it is incomparably more fascinating.

--Daniel