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"General Manufacturing" - finally a toehold


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#1 djohannsen

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Posted 21 August 2015 - 08:40 PM

Well, it's not much, but I've finally located a bit of information about "General Manufacturing" of Sioux City, IA (makers of Snap-fil pens and Kaligraf pencils).  In "Who's Who in Finance and Banking" (1922) I found an entry for Fred L. Eaton (formerly of Vermont) who is listed (among other, presumably more prestigious positions) as the President of General Manufacturing Co.  Additionally, and in contrast, "Northwestern Iowa, Its History and Tradition, vol. III, 1804-1926" lists Eaton as the Vice-President of General Manufacturing.  So, things are maybe still not perfectly clear, but this is the most I've yet had to go on in finding information about General Manufacturing.



#2 John Danza

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Posted 23 August 2015 - 11:53 PM

So how weird is this David. I wandered into a used book store in downtown Springfield, Illinois and one of the pieces of ephemera they had was this cool brochure for Snap-Fil. While I know nothing about the brand, for $20 I felt it was necessary to salvage the document for the benefit of the hobby. It's 12x18, so too large to scan. I photographed it in some detail, which I'll ship off to the PCA for inclusion in their reference library. These photos I copyrighted due to all the stuff discussed in the "is it or isn't it in the public domain" thread a while back.



John Danza


"Positive attitude makes for good decisions, but bad decisions make for great stories."

 

 

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#3 djohannsen

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Posted 24 August 2015 - 12:49 AM

Very exciting!  I've got some Snapfil ephemera, but not near as interesting as that.  It goes without saying that if you should ever want to part with it...  ;)



#4 John Danza

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Posted 24 August 2015 - 06:59 AM

Very exciting!  I've got some Snapfil ephemera, but not near as interesting as that.  It goes without saying that if you should ever want to part with it...  ;)

 

I'll send you some copies David via email. I'm removing these photos, based on some commentary on Facebook about documents being in the public domain. If some folks think these documents are "public domain", they can go find their own copies.



John Danza


"Positive attitude makes for good decisions, but bad decisions make for great stories."

 

 

6080b6b0-840c-4c9c-aea6-5fb1f5d30e96_zps

 


#5 djohannsen

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Posted 24 August 2015 - 02:09 PM

John:

 

Thank you for your offer to share an electronic copy of the Snapfil ephemera - there seems to be a lot of very useful information on that page.  I certainly don't want to cause any inconvenience, but am more interested in Houston anymore than in Century, so would love to be able to make out all the text.

 

Since I've got you attention, I'll also take this opportunity to say "Chapeau!" on your V-Mail article in vol. 1, no. 2 of "The Fountain Pen Journal."  I've got a pretty keen and continuing interest in some somewhat arcane aspects of military history, so it was with great pleasure that I read your article.  I hope that we will see more from you in future issues.

 

Finally, I understand your frustration with these issues of copyright.  I once purchased an original print of a photograph of the USS Saratoga as she was fitted out.  I posted the photograph in the context of asking some questions on-line, and was lambasted.  The company that took the image and sold the prints was long out of business, but I was informed that Getty had purchased all the rights.  So, though I had in my possession a photograph that I purchased and that was more than 75 years old, people were telling me that it was illegal to post the image in a history focused discussion forum.  In my world, I cannot conceive how I was transgressing, and have since given-up on the idea of ever understanding copyright issues.

 

I hope that the three or four or five or whatever years that I've been (largely) absent have been good to you, and that you are continuing to do well.

 

 

Dave



#6 philm

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Posted 16 October 2015 - 03:45 PM

I just read this today and am intrigued, Dave.  Have you learned anything more about Mr. Eaton?  We do know, that W. A. Houston eventually left Sioux City, IA and headed to California to continue in the pen business for a while.  I wonder if Eaton was a contemporary of his, or if he was a successor.  So many holes in Houston research, but the Eaton name is a nice addition.

 

Phil



#7 david i

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Posted 17 October 2015 - 03:49 AM

John's fears perhaps are unwarranted, but bear exploration. I already downloaded the image since removed, though I would of course appreciate having one in higher resolution. I could offer this image around, but I wouldn't.   Downloading images from the web for personal archives is common. A copyright notice on simple copy or photo of public domain material does not mean it is copyrighted.  However, using my own example of this sort of interaction, the only reason I ever uploaded public domain material gathered at some point by others was because of the hate speech launched by the involved organization. John and others have nothing to worry about in that setting.

 

regards

 

david


David R. Isaacson MD. Website: VACUMANIA.com for quality old pens with full warranty.
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