Lewis Edson Waterman
Lewis Edson Waterman (born November 20, 1837 in Decatur (New York) , † May 1, 1901 ) applied for a patent for the fountain pen in 1883 and founded the Ideal Pen Company . On February 12, 1884, he received US patent number 293545 for his invention.
He was an insurance broker in New York. According to the anecdote, when he signed it, he caused a huge ink stain on a contract and lost his business. According to another version, the pen spilled and when he went to get a second one, a thief stole the contract and lost the business. He then built a writing instrument with fine channels between the nib and the ink chamber in his brother's workshop, sold the first handmade copies in a cigar shop in New York and gave a 5-year guarantee. After initially narrow successes, he intensified his business through extensive magazine advertising , carried out a successful patent litigation for hard rubber writing implements and founded a factory in Montreal in 1899 , in which various designs were developed and produced. His product won a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. After the founder's death, his nephew Frank D. Waterman took over the company.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed with a golden waterman.
Individual evidence
- ↑ U.S. Patent No. 293545 to Lewis E. Waterman , accessed February 11, 2009
Web links
- Lewis Edson Waterman (English)
- Mary Bellis: Lewis Waterman. (English)
- Product history (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Waterman, Lewis Edson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American inventor of the fountain pen |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 20, 1837 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Decatur (New York) |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 1, 1901 |