Only three years after the end of World War II, 1948 proved to be full of energy, change, and forward-thinking. Nations were eager to work together to prevent further conflicts. The Treaty of Brussels was signed, and the World Health Organization was established.
Fashions were changing as materials became more available after war rationing, and Parisienne designs began to emerge after the occupation. Young people were reading the stories of Pippi Longstocking, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, while the literary voices of Alan Paton, Graham Greene, and Pearl S. Buck spoke to adults.
It was also a good year for inventions. The Polaroid camera was introduced. Velcro started making connections in our lives. Long-play vinyl records increased one's time on the couch listening to the likes of Bing Crosby, Patty Lee, and Ella Fitzgerald.
It was into this milieu that Fisher Pen Company emerged. Paul C. Fisher, founder, was just 35 when he started the company to manufacture pens and pen parts. At the time, Paul owned Fisher Armour Manufacturing Company, a machine shop in Chicago, Illinois. He was approached by Milton Reynolds of Reynolds Pen Company about setting up a production line to manufacture a new pen. After studying the samples Reynolds provided, Paul returned them, saying, "They aren't any good, the concept is faulty, and I'm not interested in the job."
But the universe often plays its hand in things. One of Paul's best friends, Seth McGrath, was given a job at Reynolds Pen Company, and Paul ended up helping design and set up the company's production line anyway. He was not paid for his work, but he did get Reynolds's parts business.
Shortly thereafter, Reynolds Pen Company went bankrupt. By then, Paul's interest in the ballpoint pen industry had grown, and with Reynolds's permission, he started Fisher Pen Company as a division of Fisher Armour Manufacturing.
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Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av PEN WORLD.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Show Your Summer Style
The newest Visconti Homo Sapiens, Iris Garden, is a tribute to the beautiful irises that bloom each spring in Florence, Italy's Iris Garden.
Good Made Better Keeps Getting Better
SUZANNE C. LEE tests Dan Keller's wood and metal reading and writing accessories and finds her childhood dream desk come to fruition.
Layers of Talent: River City Pen Company
With his skills in design and eye for details, Rich Paul crafts pens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
The new Kanilea Pen Co. Blue Moana fountain pen and Mau Loa cap band are inspired by the ocean's depths and universal interconnectivity.
Truphae: Flexibility Is Key
This young pen shop is writing a new chapter in retail pen sales by finding unique ways to foster community.
"Winter Counts:" Transforming Non-fiction into Fiction
Creative writing typically blends what we know and experience with what we invent and imagine.
Swivodex, Sailors, and the Plastic Revolution: An Overview of Dip-less Desk Sets, Part V
The end of World War II ushered in a new era, with plastics technology opening the way to better and less costly products of all sorts.
The Mystery of the Purloined Parkers
What do G-men, mobsters, and tampons have in common? The two most epic fountain pen heists in history.
The Other Articles of Impeachment
\"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment...\"
The Road to Recovery
A recent trip to Wajima, Japan, by TACCIA's Shu-Jen Lin shows tragedy in the present but hope for the future.
