The only embossing on this four-ounce spool shaped ink bottle is a monogram consisting of three interconnected W’s ornamented with diamonds. While in search of the company behind this monogram I came upon a story featuring the Livermore Pen and its manufacturer, the Stylographic Pen Company of Providence, Rhode Island. Published in the October 8, 1885 edition of the “American Stationer” the story read in part:
Livermore’s stylographic ink, specially prepared for his own trade, is claimed to be unexcelled for general counting-room use, though manufactured more especially for use in stylographic pens. It is neatly put up and can be had in black, violet, green, blue and crimson. As a protection to the trade the letters “W.W.W.” are blown in the bottles.
Popular during the early to mid 1880’s, an advertisement touting both the Livermore Pen and their stylographic ink appeared in an 1881 document entitled “Minutes and Register of the 41st Session of the New England Southern Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.” The ad specifically referenced the “W-W-W” monogram.
OUR INKS ARE THE ONLY GENUINE STYLOGRAPHIC INKS IN THE WORLD…SEE THAT W-W-W IS BLOWN IN THE BOTTLE.
Another advertisement, this one published in the December 21, 1882 edition of the “American Stationer”pictured what looks like a labeled version of our spool shaped ink bottle.
While this may not serve as absolute confirmation, it certainly makes a case that the subject bottle once conatined stylographic ink manufactured by Charles W. Livermore’s Stylographic Pen Company.
The Livermore Pen’s namesake, Charles W. Livermore, according to 1880 census records, was born in Massachusetts about 1830. By 1872 he was living in Providence, Rhode Island and was working in a jewelry store run by partners William W. Rathbun and Henry Leonard that was located at 107 Friendship Street. A year later, in 1873, the Providence city directory listed Livermore as a principal in the firm of Rathbun, Leonard & Co.
Livermore remained at Rathbun, Leonard & Co. (1874 and 1875), later called simply William Rathbun & Co. (1876), until 1877 when he apparently went into business for himself. Initially listed in the directories as a jewelry manufacturer with an address of 94 Orange Street, a year later Livermore moved the business to 102 Orange Street, where he was listed in both the 1878 and 1879 directories.
It was here, according to U.S. patent records, that on October 4, 1879 he submitted an application for his Stylographic Fountain Pen. The design was ultimately patented on March 9, 1880. (On a side note, his design was actually presented as an improvement to the original Stylographic Pen design of Duncan McKinnon, patented on July 15. 1879)
That same year, 1880, the Stylographic Pen Company was listed for the first time at Livermore’s jewelry store address of 102 Orange Street.
Early advertisements for the Livermore pen concisely described it like this:
The Livermore Stylographic Pen is a pencil that writes ink, never needs sharpening and never wears out…
This advertisement published in the September, 1882 edition of a magazine entitled the”U. S. Monthly” provided a little more detail.
Another early advertisement, this one found in the December 20, 1880 edition of the “Hartford Courant,”went on to enumerate the pen’s advantages to what was certainly their primary market, professionals.
The new Stylographic Pen is eagerly sought after by the writing fraternity, and has during the past year, become the cherished companion of over 86,000 of the most intelligent people of the world. Its special convenience for the lawyer in taking testimony at court, at his office, or in fact anywhere and in any branch of his profession where speed, cleanliness and legibility are desired; the physician in his office or in the sick-room, where pens are so difficult to find, and when found in most cases unfit for use; for clergymen sermon and manuscript writing, as well as for the editor, the author, or in fact to all writers to whom it is important that the train of thought should be uninterrupted by dipping, splattering or blotting; for the student in taking notes of lectures when the loss of time in dipping with the ordinary pen might prove a serious matter. For the bookkeeper, the correspondent, and the businessman, its advantages are many and varied. For ladies it has peculiar advantages over the ordinary pen, in the fact that they never need have any inkstands liable to breaking or spilling about the house, never have inky fingers, never have a corroded or broken pen, or their letters unanswered because their ink is dried up or their pens are bad.
This advertisement specifically targeting the medical field appeared in the January 1, 1881 edition of the “Homeopathic Courier.”
Sometime in 1881 or 1882 the company moved from Orange Street to 44 Arnold Street where it remained up through the late 1880’s. The October 8,1885 “American Stationer” feature described the Arnold Street facility as a four-story brick factory building located at the corner of Arnold and Brook Streets.
In addition to their Providence factory, company advertisements in the early 1880’s also listed branch locations in Boston, New York and Chicago. Likely sales offices, they were certainly active during the early 1880’s but all seem to have disappeared by the latter half of the decade.
This advertisement, published in several 1882 editions of the “Pathfinder Railway Guide,”named Louis E. Dunlap head of the Boston branch, located at 290 Washington Street.
Sometime in the mid-1880’s Dunlap left the Livermore company and established his own company, the Dunlap Stylographic Co., located right down the street from Livermore’s at 296 Washington Street. Now in competition, by 1886 advertisements for both companies were appearing in the same edition of The “American Stationer.” In fact, in their March,18,1886 edition the “American Stationer” positioned an advertisement for Livermore’s “Challenge” Stylographic Pen directly above one for Dunlap’s “Champion” Stylographic Pen.
The Livermore advertisement pictured above no longer included the Boston address and in fact, as early as 1885 the company was no longer listed in the Boston directory, all suggesting that the company had abandoned the Boston branch by that time.
In New York, the early 1880’s found the company branch in Room 13 of 169-171 Broadway, putting it at the corner of Broadway and Cortlandt Street in what was then called the “Giles Building.” The building is pictured years later in this 1906 photograph, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
According to an 1881 advertisement published in the “American Almanac and Treasury of Facts,” the company’s New York agent at the time was a man named William Winthrop.
Winthrop was listed with the occupation “agent”at the 169 Broadway address, in New York City’s 1882 directory after which I lose track.
In Chicago, while I haven’t been able to associate the branch with a specific manager or agent, advertisements like this one, exhibiting a 38 Madison Street address, pretty much disappear by 1883.
That said, the company’s factory was still listed in the Providence directories up until 1887. Shortly afterwards, in 1889, Livermore passed away at which point, another Providence firm, F. T. Pearce & Co. took up manufacture of the Livermore brand. According to a May 3, 1893 feature on F. T. Pearce & Co., published in the “Manufacturing Jeweler,”
The line of goods produced by this house have been noted for beauty of design and finish as well as for originality in construction. Their gold pens, penholders, pencils and toothpicks, for which many patents have been granted, are to be found in all the leading American jewelry stores , and a profitable export trade has been established…. Since the death of the inventor and manufacturer, Mr. Livermore, Messrs. Pearce & Co. have been sole manufacturers of the Livermore fountain and stylographic pens.
This Pearce advertisement, picturing the Livermore Fountain Pen was published in several 1892 and early 1893 editions of the “Manufacturing Jeweler”
Located at 94 Point Street since 1888, sometime in 1893 F. T. Pearce & Co. moved to 85 Sprague Street at which time they continued to include the Livermore name in their advertising, as evidenced by this May 3, 1893 ad in the “Manufacturing Jeweler.”
As late as 19oo, F. T. Pearce & Co. still included
Livermore’s Fountain and Stylographic Pens and Pencils and Stylographic Inks
in this business card advertisement found in the “Directory of Jewelry Manufacturers” published in the State of Rhode Island’s “Thirteenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Industrial Statistics.”
That said by the early 1900’s a feature on fountain pens published in the “Scientific American” on May 5, 1906, certainly suggested that by then the days of the Livermore Pen were long over.
It was in its day a very excellent pen, but is now seldom seen. One of these pens, which I carried regularly for some years away back in the early eighties, only failed as the result of falling on a railway platform some twenty years ago. The pen has now been repaired and is in perfect working order.
The subject bottle is a four-ounce spool ink that was blown in a mold. I suspect it dates to the early to mid – 1880’s when the Livermore pen was at the height of its popularity. In fact, according to many early 1880’s advertisements, when ordering a pen by mail, it would arrive “together with a package of superior ink.”
On a final note, it’s unclear (at least to me) as to why Livermore would utilize a trademark consisting of three W’s as a way to distinguish their brand of stylographic ink. I suspect that it could have something to do with Livermore’s middle name, Walter. In 1880, the first year the Stylographic Pen Company appeared in the Providence directory, and only that year, the company was listed as a partnership of Livermore & Son (Charles W. and Walter A. Livermore).
Recognizing that the name Walter was common to both father and son could have led to the establishment of the trademark. Taking it a step further, the larger “W” positioned in the center of the trademark could serve a second purpose, that of connecting the two smaller W’s together, sending the message of W & W.
Please note this is total conjecture on my part and not based on any documentation whatsoever. That said, I thought I’d throw it out there. If anyone has information about the trade marks origin or meaning I’d love to hear from you.