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October 23rd, 2024, 04:01 PM
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American Pencil Co. Never Existed
Conflicting information on the Web prodded my looking into this.
Maybe the American Pencil Company existed for a couple of years in the early 1860s if it existed at all. All those wood-case pencils, mechanical pencils, and fountain pens stamped “American Pencil Co.” were manufactured by the American Lead Pencil Company, which dropped “Lead” from its products no later than 1890 based on illustrations in its newspaper advertising. Earlier products were stamped “American Lead Pencil Co.” or “American Ld Pencil Co.”
Some have claimed the American Pencil Company became the General Pencil Company. Today's General Pencil is owned by the Weissenborn family. According to General Pencil's website, Edward Weissenborn started the “American Pencil Company” in 1860, and it was sold to the Reckford family in 1885. Oscar Weissenborn, Edward's son, started General Pencil in 1889, so the two couldn't be the same company.
According to Henry Petroski in "The Pencil, A History of Design and Circumstance", a pencil company was started by a druggist and a restaurant owner in 1861. The company was sued and, after losing, was sold to “some Hoboken, New Jersey, importers.” Edward Weissenborn was brought in to run the new company and is credited with founding the American Lead Pencil Company. Petroski fails to mention Weissenborn's partners when the new company was founded in 1865. According to newspaper and trade journal reports, the partners were the restaurant owner from the original company, A.L. Siegortner, and a third gentleman, Joseph Schedler. Petroski doesn't say what the original company name may have been.
So, there's a connection between the original company, Edward Weissenborn, and the later American Lead Pencil Company. Except for the Weissenborn family history, there is no connection to the American Pencil Company.
The American Lead Pencil Company was incorporated in New York in 1885. Newspaper reports state Louis J. Reckendorfer became president in 1886. Reckford is the Americanized version of Reckendorfer. Some family members kept the original while others changed. Louis J. was referred to as “Reckendorfer” in trade journals before his death but was “Reckford” in his obituary.
Maybe the American Pencil Company existed in those few years before 1865, but there is no definitive proof. There is definitely no evidence for the American Pencil Company after 1865 except as a trade name for the American Lead Pencil Company. Speaking of trade names, the word “American” was trademarked by the American Lead Pencil Company for use with fountain pens, pencils, penholders, etc. It's first use is listed as 1 January 1864.
Add it all up, and I don't think the American Pencil Company ever existed. It was always the American Lead Pencil Company.
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to PPPR For This Useful Post:
Lithium466 (October 23rd, 2024), Robert (October 23rd, 2024)
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