Washington Medallion Pen Co - How They Made Steel Dip Pens

[AAAndrew]

This article describing a visit to the Washington Medallion Pen Company in 1857 describes the pen making operation in greater detail than other contemporary descriptions I've read. It seems to correspond in the same steps used by the British makers of the time to make their pens.

 

Washington Medallion Pen Company was the first successful steel pen maker in the US. This article was written a few years before Esterbrook even made their first nib.

 

I found this article when find out more information about the company because I recently acquired two Washington Medallion nibs. I've included a photograph or two of the nibs at the end of the post.

 

 

United States Magazine, April, 1857, Vol. IV, No. 4, page 348-

https://books.google.com/books?id=x6HPAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA352&dq=Washington%20Medallion%20Pen%20company%20patent&pg=PA348#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

How Steel Pens are Made: A visit to the manufactory of the Washington Medallion Steel Pen Company

 

The Pen and the Press have together recorded the events and experiences of many centuries, and to their joint agency we are mainly indebted for the blessings of civilization. However, it is not our present intention to discuss the effects produced by these great moral engines, but briefly to trace the history of one of the – the Pen – and, by comparison, show the superiority of the materials used, as well as the rapidity and perfection of their construction, at the present time, in contrast with previous ages.

 

As long as people wrote upon tables covered with wax, they were obliged to use a style or bodkin made of bone, metal or some other hard substance; but when they began to write with colored liquids, they employed a reed; after which quills and feathers came in fashion, these finally giving way to metals – steel, not only from its adaptability, but from its cheapness, being the great specialty for this purpose.

 

The earliest pens, such as were used for writing on papyrus with a fluid ink, appear to have been made of reeds. In our translations of the Old and New Testaments, the word pen refers either to an iron style, used with waxed tablets, or to a reed – quills not having been introduced earlier than the fifth century. It is uncertain what particular kind of reed was used for making pens, but it is described as a small, hard, round cane, about the size of a large swan's quill. The supply of these reeds was obtained from Egypt, Cairo, in Asia Minor, and Armenia. Chardin and Tournefort describe a kind of reeds used for pens in Persia. These reeds are collected near the shores of the Persian Gulf, whence they are sent to various parts of the east. After being cut, they are deposited for some months under a dunghill, when they assume a mixed black and yellow color, acquire a fine polish and a considerable degree of hardness, and the internal pith dries up into a membrane which is easily detached. Reed pens are still in use, and they will suit the Arabic character better than quill or metal pens. The Arab, in writing, places the paper upon his kneed, or upon the palm of his left hand, or upon a dozen or more pieces of paper attached together at the four corners, and resembling a thin book, which he rests on his knee. The ink used is very thick and gummy.

 

Although the quills used for pens are chiefly from the goose, those from the swan and crow are much esteemed; and, besides these, the ostrich, turkey and other birds occasionally contribute to the supply. Most of the goose-quills manufactured are from the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Poland. Before the general introduction of metallic pens, as many as twenty-seven million quills had been received in Great Britain, from St. Petersburgh, in a single year. Some idea of the number of geese required to keep up such a supply may be judged of from the fact that each wing produces about five good quills, and that by careful management a goose may afford twenty quills during a year. As they come from the bird, quills are covered with a membrane, and are touch and soft, so that they will not make a clean slit; they are also opaque, and the vascular membrane adheres strongly to the interior surface of the barrel. These defects are got rid of and the quills prepared for market by the operations of the quill-dressing, or quill-dutching. They are first assorted, according to the length and thickness of the barrel, into primes, seconds and pinions. They are then clarified by the removal of the membranous skins, for which purpose they are plunged for a short time into hot sand, the heat causing the outer skin to crack and peel off – its removal being facilitated by scraping with a sharp instrument. At the same time the internal membrane becomes shriveled up, and falls down toward the point of the quill. The effect of the heat is also to consume or dry up the oily matter of the quill, and thus to render the barrel transparent. This process, which is often repeated many times, is called dutching, probably from the circumstance of its first having been adopted in Holland. The heat requires regulation or the barrel would be injured; but the effect of the process is to give to the barrels the color of fine, think horn, or an impure white. In some cases a uniform yellow hue is produced by dipping them in diluted nitric acid; this process also hardens them. Quills may also be hardened by steeping for a few minutes in alum-water, at a boiling temperature. The quills having been dressed and finished, a portion of the barb is stripped off, so as to occupy less room in packing, when they are counted in bundles, packed, and are ready for the merchant. Besides the above, there are several other methods of manufacturing or dressing quills.

 

While quills were in vogue, the occupation of a pen-cutter, or maker, was one of considerable importance; not one in five of those who used pens, could make one; and scarcely a quarter of a century has elapsed since a certain house in Shoe-lane, London, disposed of over 6,000,000 quill pens per annum. It was also quite common at that time to cut the barrels of quills into several pens, each being affixed to handles when used, as is now done with metallic pens.

 

From the softening of the quill pen by the ink, and the wear of the points by friction, frequent mending was required, or very bad writing was the result. The first attempts to render pens more durable consisted in arming the nibs with metallic points. Pens were also constructed of horn, tortoise and other shells, and also of glass – the nibs in some cases being formed of precious stones. Probably this last operation was first practiced some forty years since. The horn and shell pens, after being cut in shape, were softened in warm water, when small pieces of diamond, ruby, etc., were imbedded into the points by pressure. Thin pieces of gold or other metal have also been attached to the tortoise shell. The modern gold pen has its points tipped with rhodium, iridium or osmium – although in some cases rubies and other jewels are employed. Pens have also been made of palladium, gold and silver allow, silver, and other precious metals; being pointed as above, and as the ink cannot act upon them, they are almost indestructible by ordinary usage. They, however, are very costly, easily liable to injury from accident, and in many cases are entirely deficient of the elasticity and freedom required to give ease in writing. All these difficulties are readily overcome by the use of a well-constructed steel pen. From the nature of the metal, when properly tempered, the tensibility is regulated by the will of the operator; it discharges the liquid promptly, and in every respect is undoubtedly the most desirable material adapted to the purpose. In an economical point of view, the effect is also most striking. A jewel-pointed gold pen costs more than five hundred steel pens. Allowing each of the latter to continue in use for one week – we often use one a whole month – it will take about ten years to consume them. It is, undoubtedly, utterly impossible to find the individual that ever used a single pen, of any kind, one-third of that time.

 

The first notice that we find of steel pens for writing is in 1803, when a Mr. Wise, of London, constructed barrel- pens of that metal, mounted in a bone case for carrying in the pocket. These pens were expensive, and not very successful; they however served a good purpose, by opening the way for a better article. About the year 1822, Mr. Gillott, of Birmingham, England, who had long experimented the manufacture of steel pens, became so successful in their production, that he at once determined on making them an article of commerce. The time was most propitious; a demand was readily created, and from that moment the manufacture became an important accessory to the useful arts. Birmingham is the great workshop for steel pens; many firms are now engaged in the business, and from the adaptation of machinery the products have not only been greatly perfected, but their cost has been reduced in the ration of a gross now to a single pen former. It is stated that during the year 1855 over 500,000,000 steel pens were made in Birmingham, and that 300 tuns of metal was required for their construction.

 

About the year 1840, steel pens having become in considerable demand in this country, and the fact of their almost universal adoption being already apparent, the cupidity of certain parties was excited, and they resolved to present steel pens of home manufacture for the public favor. The first effort was by a company in Massachusetts, who perfected some fair specimens for that early day; but, owning to inexperience and the absence of proper tools, tool makers, and a knowledge of slitting, tempering and finishing, their products lacked uniformity of quality; thus the enterprise failed. Soon after, two or three of the principle dealers in stationery in this city experimented in steel pen manufacture. We remember one of them who commenced operations in Brooklyn, and who, after expending some $15,000, followed in the wake of the Eastern Company. Another erected his works in New Jersey, and for some months battled manfully for success; finally he "felt" he must follow his illustrious predecessors. The late C.C. Wright, long known as a prominent engraver and die-sinker, made a most strenuous effort to permanently establish this manufacture. Through his influence, aided by J. C. Barnett, since well known as the treasurer of Burton's Theater, a company was formed and a capital amounting to $200,000 expended. A large factory was erected on Fifth street, in this city, the most approved machinery and fixtures procured, operations commenced, and ten or twelve varieties of pens produced, many of them of excellent quality; yet, notwithstanding the impetus with which the affair was started, it met with no better success than those before mentioned. We learn of no attempts to resuscitate the business until 1852, when some Birmingham men, who claimed to be experts, induced certain capitalists in New Jersey to "try their money" in the operation. One after the other, two or three companies expended large amounts, each with no better pecuniary results than had been before arrived at.

 

Probably these latter failures were caused more by the mode of business management than imperfections in the manufacture. Instead of giving their products originality, the parties aimed only to duplicate the shapes and trade marks of the English pens. As in railroad iron and many other products, the foreign capitalists were bound to undersell and drive the others out of the trade. Having a great advantage in the price of labor, this end was readily accomplished; and when the market was again clear of impediments, they would bring forward an inferior article as a much increased price, and thus make good their losses. This mode of operating has finally been "played out." During the last two years not only has the acme of excellence been produced in the manufacture of American steel pens, but their decided superiority is rapidly checking importations, thus distributing among our own people over one million dollars per annum that formerly went abroad.

 

This national triumph has been accomplished by a number of able and spirited individuals, who associated themselves together, according to the General Manufacturing Law of New York, under the title of "The Washington Medallion Pen Company." They commenced operations by erecting a substantial factory on Thirty-seventh street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, in this city. After securing "competent artisans," they, at an early day, discovered the rock on which all their predecessors were wrecked – adherence to English styles and trade-marks – which necessitated a competition in the market at the prices at which English pens were offered; presenting no new feature to the consumers, they could not attract the notice of the people or engage the interests of the merchants. To sail clear of this rock the efforts of this Company were directed. Adopting the principle that variety is not a necessity with the consumer – but, on the contrary, uniformity in excellence and designation would more certainly meet the great public desire – it instituted thorough experiments with all known styles of steel pens, and made several entirely new shapes, with the view to ascertain what shape would produce the most natural and generally agreeable action. With this view, and after fully six months devoted to experiments, they perfected a pen of unrivaled shape and excellence – to protect which from infringement they adopted as a trademark a medallion head of Washington; this is secured by letters patent, and is stamped on every pen. Thus fully comprehending the underlying principles of this important branch of manufactures, and boldly striking out a new path in accordance with them, this Company has firmly planted this new interest on American soil.

 

In our perambulations a short time since we visited this establishment. Finding the manufacture much more extensive and intricate than we had supposed, while at the same time it was exceedingly interesting, we determined to present our readers with a pictorial description.

 

There are about twenty separate operations, several of which are distinct trades, in the manufacture of a steel pen; each of these departments require a master workman at its head. We will endeavor to follow the process as pursued at the establishment of the Washington Medallion Pen Company. The pens progress through the factory in "lots" of about one hundred gross. Each "lot" is accompanied by a ticket, on which is recorded all the operations and other remarks during their progress. Thus when a lot is finished, although it has been from twenty to thirty days in the course of manufacture, the date each process was performed, the names of the operatives in each trade, together with the weight of the lot, are recorded. As we proceed the great value of this system will be made apparent.

 

The steel is received at the factory in sheets; after being cut in strips of the desired dimensions, it is immersed in "pickle," a weak solution of acid, to remove scales and dirt. It is now subject to the rolling process, which is accomplished, as shown in the illustration, by being passed between chilled rollers until it acquires the requisite thinness. Thus an ugly black plate of steel is transformed into delicate metallic ribbons, beautifully bright and supple, so as to move about on the hands like nothing we can think of but twining snakes.

 

 

These ribbons of steel are taken to one of the long rooms in the upper story. These rooms are filled with drops and presses; before each machine a female operative is seated. As in all steel pen factories, there is an abundance of light; and warmth, ventilation and cleanliness are fully attended to. The work is admirably fitted for females, as it is light and wholesome, and requires that delicate manipulation and attention for which the sex is remarkable.

 

The machines for cutting out, piercing, raising and slitting are small presses in which the power is derived from the screw and lever; the manner of operating them will be understood by observing the illustrations. In cutting out, the punch is affixed to the end of the screw; the die, with an opening in which the punch fits with the greatest nicety, is on the bed immediately beneath the punch. A ribbon of steel is adjusted on the die, the punch brought down by a smart pull at the lever, and the blank or bit of steel suitable for a pen, falls into a receptacle underneath. This manipulation requires care to avoid waste, as also attention in observing that the die and punch remain in perfect order. Notwithstanding these precautions, a skillful operator has been known to cut out 300 gross – that is, 43,200 blanks – in a single day.

 

 

After being weighed in lots of about one hundred gross, the blanks are taken to the piercing presses. This operation is performed in precisely the same manner as the cutting out; only, instead of a band of steel, the operative has to place into the tools the small "blank," of the dimensions of a pen. This process perforates the pen at the top of the slit.

 

Until this last mentioned process the steel has retained some portion of its elasticity, which it now becomes necessary to remove, as in several of the following operations it must be entirely devoid of temper, and as pliable as lead. To accomplish this the blanks are taken to the muffle room. The muffles are large circular ovens, as depicted by the engraving. The blanks, mingled with carbon, are placed in iron boxes, which are put into the muffle and subjected to a uniform red heat for twenty-four hours, when they are taken out and allowed to cool – thus the annealing is perfectly accomplished.

 

 

The next operation is stamping; this is done by drop-presses. The device or stamp is affixed to the bottom of the hammer; the blank is placed on a bed of soft steel. The hammer is worked by the foot, thus leaving the hands free to place and remove the blanks. There are two stampings – the first the portrait of Washington; the second, the trade-mark, "Washington Medallion Pen; patented 1856."

 

 

The raising or shaping process comes next in order. This is done on presses similar to those used in cutting out. The die has the shape of the pen sunk into it, and the punch is a facsimile in relievo. [sic] This operation shapes the pen as seen when in use. When it is completed they are again taken to the muffle for hardening. This is effected by plunging them in bulk, after having been subjected to a proper degree of heat, into an oil bath. After draining they are immersed in a chemical solution to remove the oil, scales and dirt, and then put in revolving cans filled with saw-dust, for the purpose of cleaning the steel perfectly – which done, they are ready for tempering.

 

 

The tempering is a process requiring great skill and experience, as it is a nice point to determine, by the color, the exact moment the desired elasticity is attained. The apparatus used for this purpose is an iron cylinder or barrel, which is revolved over an open furnace, with a coke fire, and reminds one of a coffee-roasting machine. One end of the barrel is open. While it is rotated the master-workman pours in a batch of pens, which he regulates during the operation, occasionally withdrawing a few on a spoon to examine them; at the proper moment they are turned out on metallic trays and cooled as speedily as possible.

 

 

The scouring is done in a series of cans of the capacity of about half a bushel each; these are affixed to a shaft with pulleys; the pens, with a mixture of sand, are inclosed [sic] in the cans; the shaft is then rotated at a velocity of about thirty revolutions per minute. In a few hours they become perfectly white and clear, when they are ready for grinding.

 

 

In grinding, each pen is held in a pair of pinchers, specially constructed, for a few seconds, against a rotating emery wheel. Here another rapid and most dexterous process is observable. A tray of pens being placed most conveniently to the grinder, one of them is caught in the left hand; it is then fixed in the pinchers; a momentary hiss is heard as it is held against the revolving wheel, and with a twit the pen is jerked out among those which have gone through the operation. Each pen requires two grindings, one longitudinal and the other crosswise, that the nibs may not lose their due elasticity.

 

 

Slitting is the next operation; it is done with presses, the same as those used for raising, etc. The slit is made by means of a chisel or wedge, with a flat side fixed to the bed of the press, the descending screw of which has also a chisel or cutter, which very accurately corresponds with the former. The proper slitting of the pen will be found, on due consideration, no easy task. Let those who regard it otherwise take a pair of scissors and try the experiment with a piece of tin or lead, and look what a gaping, wedge-like aperture there will be. Compare this, for a moment, with a steel pen, which requires to be pressed on the thumb nail to show that it is slit, and the contrast will be fully apparent. And yet so sharp and nicely tempered is the slitting tool, and so accurately is the place of the pen determined by means of a guard, that a girl can hardly put it in a wrong position; and a pen slit aside of the center is of rare occurrence. So perfect is the slit that it admits of no improvement.

 

 

Although now complete in shape, several other processes have to be gone through before they are ready for market. Slitting leaves a burr on the point – therefore polishing is necessary, which is done in the revolving cans, the accompaniment being the saw-dust of boxwood. When removed from this dust they are as bright as silver. In this condition they are again put in the tempering barrel, but this time to color or bronze them; they are allowed to remain but a few moments, during which time their former tempering is not affected. After bronzing, the pens are varnished. The solution used for this purpose is peculiar to the establishment and therefore secret. In this solution the pens are immersed, and subsequently exposed to the action of the open air to dry the varnish. AS the pens have a tendency to stick together, the workmen exhibit no little dexterity while tossing and moving them about at this stage of the process; for, not only are the pens effectually separated and scattered, but not one is allowed to fall to the floor.

 

On the completion of the varnishing, the pens are taken to the warerooms for inspection and assorting. In this process it is intended to reject every pen that has been damaged in the numerous manipulations it has gone through, and in either of which it is liable to fatal injury. The inspection is an extensive operation, for, besides the superficial examination, each pen must have its temper tested, and the slit proven by springing on the thumb nail. At this establishment there are no "seconds;" the least inaccuracy rejects a pen, and this rejection is final. It is thrown aside for scrap steel. Other manufacturers sell their second at about twenty-five per cent less than the usual prices, but this company have determined to sell none but perfect pens. After the best pens are selected out they are counted, laid in piles with great regularity, put in boxes holding one gross each, labeled and sealed, and are then ready for the market.

 

 

 

We were shown a necessary appendage to the steel pen, at the works of the Washington Medallion Pen Company, which, although not a steel pen, is so closely allied to it that we make a passing note of it. It is a newly invented penholder, which we are informed has been patented under the title of the Washington Medallion Pen-holder. It is briefly described by stating that it differs from all other metallic pen-holders, in this respect – it receives and holds the pen firmly, and in a perfectly proper position – straight with the handle, on the outside of the barrel or tube; whereas, all other metallic penholders are so constructed as to make it necessary for the heel of the pen to be stuck into the tube, whereby pens are usually improperly held, and with difficulty removed. When a pen is adjusted in this new holder, pen and holder present the appearance of being one piece of steel, so perfectly are they adapted to each other.

 

The peculiarity of this art, as compared with almost all others, is this: the quality of the product does not in any degree depend upon the regular machinery of the establishment. In nearly all other mechanic arts, the product is characterized by the quality of the machinery used, whereas, in this peculiar art, the machinery, although the most perfect of its kind, plays only a secondary part, being used simply to operate the tools with which the various processes are performed – the tools being put in or attached to the presses and removed at pleasure. Upon the make and prefect truthfulness of the tools depend the quality of the pens. The tools are manufactured on the premises by artists who are known as pen-tool makers. These tool makers rank in Birmingham as the best machanics [sic] in England, and command higher wages than any other mechanics in that country. They are the chiefs of their shops – all the work being performed under their charge and responsibility. They are necessarily constantly on the watch lest the tools get dull, or break, or in some way become imperfect, and require repairing or making anew – for it must be remembered that it is steel tools cutting steel, not steel tools cutting wood, cloth, or leather. Hence it is that the art is a difficult one. And without that which we pay for liberty – eternal vigilance – the steel pen cannot be made perfect, as a set of tools perfect in the morning may be doing imperfect work before noon. Another necessity of this peculiar business is that it requires for its successful prosecution a constant supervising throughout the various trades, that work may pass regularly through all the numerous processes, from the "cutting out' of the "blank" to the inspection, assorting and boxing. The least neglect on the part of a general superintendent and the wheels get clogged, and the system deranged, and ruin soon ensues.

 

In nine of the numerous operations pursued in this manufacture, each pen has to be singly handled by the operative. All of these operations are performed by females, who, by practice, acquire great celerity in their movements; for in this, as in various other mechanical manipulations, the finger is quicker than the eye. The education of the hand in some trades is a more important matter than would appear at first sight. If the reader ever watched the type-founder as he pours the melted metal into the little steel matrix with one hand, with the other touches a spring, closes the orifice, swings the mold upward in a way of his own, touches the spring and releases the newly made metal letter, he would understand the peculiar readiness which the fingers acquire by constant practice. The twisting and straightening the cottons for candles, the rolling up of a cigar, the pasting of labels on pen or match-boxes, are all operations which, simple as they appear, are not easily acquired, and only by application.

 

This Company employs about one hundred operatives, about three-fourths of whom are females; their business is rapidly increasing, and, from present appearances, ere another year their operations will be quite as extensive as the largest Birmingham manufactories.

 

Our first experience with the Washington Medallion Pen was from a few samples procured at the exhibition of the American Institute in October last. We found them very superior, and since that time they have been universally adopted throughout the establishment. Many friends who have tried them coincide in opinion with us. They are really a most excellent writing pen, and as they are of American manufacture, it is to be hoped they will supersede all others for home consumption.

 

 

Here is the nib I recently purchased in a lot of other pens that all seem to come from about 1860 to early 1870's.

 

 

 

[TXKat]

Interesting read and a cool looking point. Thanks for sharing!