43, The Word " Pensmith", Publisher's Devices, & Dingbats,

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The Word "Pensmith", Publisher's Devices, & Dingbats.

 

Here are the trademarks and designs that I used as the basis for my printer's devices and dingbats. First take the Kurta Corp.'s trademark no. 1,431,849 for the word "Pensmith", used since 1986 for a "Computer Program In The Form Of Magnetic Discs", a totally different type of "softwear" used to run the "Penmouse" graphic tablet in trademark no. 1,387,314, used since 1985 for a computer tablet that utilized a pen stylus instead of a mouse. And then take Ormiston & Glass's trademark no. 41,380 for "Steel Pens", used since 1901, an image of a nib with double wings like those of a dragonfly, or firefly, and trademark no. 41,381 for the word "Firefly" to be used in conjunction with the previous trademark. The O&GL image in trademark no. 41,380 looks almost like an illustration of the "flying pen" in US patent no. 2,972X, Lewis M. De Spraugh, "Tachygraphy, Or The Flying Pen", June 29, 1818, a system of shorthand, but it sounds more like an illustration of the phrase "Pensmith Fugit". Now, put all of these together, with those words printed beneath it, and you have my publisher's emblem for the first volume of the patent book. The second volume makes use of the "hammer and pen" device with the words "Pensmith Fecit" printed beneath it.

 

And last but not least, here's trademark no. 51,186 for "Pencils", issued in 1906, but used since 1879, an image of an open hand, palm down, but it's not as nice as the hand in US design no. 8,382 for a notepad. The image of the hand has been removed from the online version of the design, as explained in the penultimate_thread in the favorite-patents series. All that's left of the hand are the buttons on the cuff of the shirt sleeve and the notepad rivet, that tiny constellation of three circles just to the right of the middle of the page. It's a shame because it's the image I use as my finial dingbat. And that's what this thread is, too. It's a finial to this series. ;~)

 

George Kovalenko.

 

 

P.S. This brings to a conclusion this series of some of my favorite pen trademarks. This series is meant to illustrate the kinds of things that can be found in the pen trademarks, and the type of research that is made possible by a chronological list of all the US pen patents, designs, and trademarks. But before I go, here's a parting shot. There are about 11,500 patents, designs, and trademarks from the years 1799 to 1957, and I have looked at all of them. Well, almost all of them, because a few are not online. So who will be next in line to look at all of them? And who will be next in line to look for some more of them? There is still a lot out there to be found in the period after 1957. So perhaps someone else might be persuaded to take over and do another volume of patents from, say, 1958 to 1975, and another volume from 1976 to the present. Mind you, you'll have to read every single one of them in order to discover all the interesting connections, patterns, and structures, and to come to some conclusions and make your own interpretations. ;~)