...... it reminded me of an old ad that I have had sitting around for a while, waiting for some research. It dates to 1898, and Milton Junction, WI, just NE of Janesville. It (as seen below from McLure's Magazine) dates to 1898 and touts Hulls A1 Fountain Pen. What notes I do have show that several Hull names were in Milton in the late 1800s, though I have found no mention of Pen Production (Hull Mfg. Co).
Adding to the intrigue is the Hull connection at Parker Pen in nearby Janesville later on. In Philip Hull's memoir of his time at Parker, I see no connection and in searching back through his online genealogy, it appears that he was from the Milton area, but his parents were listed as farmers.
My question is if anyone has information on this pen and Company. Was there really a pen made for a short time in Milton Junction, or was this a Parker Pen, sold by Hull? Thanks to anyone that has information on this.
"That's a great find, Phil. Around 2007-8, Len Provisor wrote to me that he was particularly interested in the history of Parker ink, and according to him, Hull Mfg. Co. in Milton Junction was the company that, early on, was supplying Parker with their bottled inks, although the ink itself was probably made by Sanford, or Carter. And then George S. Parker apparently bought Hull around 1910. But your ad proves that they were also marketing, perhaps also manufacturing, their own fountain pens. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they made their own pens. Mike Kirk wrote on Zoss on Sept 23, 2007 that he found "an extremely fine specimen" of an eyedropper pen imprinted simply "Milton, WI", but no company name, so it's a mystery.
Michael Fultz once told me that there were quite a few fountain pen companies in Janesville and area. These include Burdick, Corona, Deadlock, Green, Held, Hull, Klymax, Love, Perry, Safford, H. B. Smith, Valentine, and Williamson. Some of these were in Janesville, while others were in Milton, Wis., or Milton Junction, Wis., and Zion, Ill., and some later moved to Chicago. He also mentioned Ryter, but he may have meant Ruyter in Chicago.
Back in August 2003, I found a complete list of all the Parker Pen Co. employees in Janesville from the year 1931, a list of 637 names! I was quite surprised to find out that they employed that many people in Janesville alone. The list includes the Parker sons Kenneth and Russell, but George S. Parker is curiously missing from the list. After doing some more searching, I found his name listed, but not in connection with the Parker Pen Co. Instead, he is listed as vice-president of the Merchants & Savings Bank. All the Parker job descriptions and occupations are listed, including such designations as "pen grinder", "machine operator", "tool maker", "repairman", and "patent attorney". About 13-14 employees are listed as living in Milton Junction, and a few more in Milton as well. There are also many listed as living on Milton Ave. within Janesville. It's a fascinating snapshot of the company for that year." (George Kovaleno's response at Lion and Pen)
Edited by philm, 15 August 2012 - 04:23 PM.
