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Walter Sheaffer In Fort Madison


Lazard 20

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1. 1906. First location of Sheaffer Jewelry and Music Co. in Fort Madison. Second St. (today 732 Avenue G) in the street level floor of James Block.

 

Top photo. 1906. Jewelry in right center at sign of large pocket watch.

Bottom photo. A little later colored postcard of the same zone.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/pa0tn9hl1/Sheaffer_Jewelry_Lazard_Fort_Madison.jpg

 

An image from Google maps.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/4hhmlzv5x/Sheaffer_Jewelry_Lazard_Fort_Madison_James_Block.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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2. In this postcard from my collection we can see 726, 2nd Street (today Avenue G) Sheaffer´s jewelry store building from 1906 to 1913. In the back room of this store they made the first Sheaffer´S fountain pens.This building was rebuilt during the ´70 and actually nowadays contains no visual elements of the original structure.

 

In 1913 Walter sold this store to Mr. Lerche, his watchmaker, and W.L. Saunders, his brother-in-law to surrender completely to the manufacture of fountain pens.

In 1924 Dana Bushong purchased Lerche/Saunders outright and opened under their name, and in another location in the same Avenue, with many of the WA Sheaffer assets including the famous wall cases that we´ll see with unpublished details in my next entry.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/cp6ju41j9/Sheaffer_Jewelry_Lazard_Fort_Madison_final_locat.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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... Ah, wait! the "inspirator" wants to come out to say you hello.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/tj4w3cvb9/Sheaffer_jewelry_Lazard_jules_axt_drug_fort_madi.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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In 1924 Dana Bushong purchased Lerche/Saunders outright and opened under their name, and in another location in the same Avenue, with many of the WA Sheaffer assets including the famous wall cases that we´ll see with unpublished details in my next entry.

 

Here you have it.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/5a3jcjjyt/Sheaffer_wall_counter_case_Dana_Bushong_Lazard.jpg

 

http://s32.postimg.org/e873c8mvp/Sheaffer_wall_counter_case_Dana_Bushong_Lazard.jpg

 

The elaborated drawer handle bracket with The Star of David(*) and, probably, Annuit Cœptis.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/cbe1innpx/Sheaffer_wall_counter_case_Dana_Bushong_Lazard.jpg

 

(*) Taking advantage that this thread has something touristic and traveller, I attach photos, here and here, of two beautiful Stars of David examples in Valencia (Spain), the city where I live.
Edited by Lazard 20
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726, 2nd Street, today Avenue G, jewelry store (next to the Ice-Cream store) with more detail.

http://s32.postimg.org/fb2zs0pqd/Sheaffer_jewelry_Lazard_Avenue_G_Fort_Madison_2n.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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Number 5 in map posted 05 May 2016.

Walter Sheaffer and family, as rental guests, c. 1909 to c. 1913 lived in 718, 3rd Street, today Avenue F, in one of the two houses of the Albright House´s building, also known as Betsy Ross House for having lived there, before Sheaffer´s, her granddaughter whom wove the first United States flag with the 5-pointed stars in a circle as we know it.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/h0g7ugdvp/Sheaffer_Home_Lazard_Fort_Madison_Avenue_F.jpg

http://s32.postimg.org/oyovkpc91/Sheaffer_Home_Lazard_Fort_Madison_Avenue_F_desig.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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Wow this is really cool! How did you find all of this?

 

Thanks. Really this topic is linked to these other:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/307154-the-sheaffers-in-bloomfield/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/306209-aged-sheaffer-pocket-watches/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/306792-sheaffers-autograph-dana-m-bushong/

 

And for them I consulted, among others, this sources:

 

History of Davis County. Iowa. Desmoines State Historical Co. 1882.

The Sanborn Map Company. 1883 to 1907. Plans and maps from Bloomfield and Fort Madison.

Story Of Lee County. 2 volumes. The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1914.

Life Story Of Walter Sheaffer. Cattermole Library, Ft. Madison. c.1939.

The Palimpsest. Walter A. Sheaffer. The State Society of Iowa. September 1952,

The Library of Congress-Chronicling America-U.S. Newspaper directory.

U.S. Department of the Interior. Park Service National. National Register of Historic Places Inventory of:

-Bloomfield Square.

-Albright, "Betsy Ross", House.

-Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District.

-Walter Sheaffer´s High Point House.

-Craig Sheaffer´s High Point House.

 

But largest and more useful information proceeds of friendly and nice people that I want to thank from:

 

Davis County Genealogical Society, The State Historical Society of Iowa or Shrine´s Club Fort Madison... and sure I forget some of them.

 

Finally and once confirmed locations I also searched some photos of interest from private collections and searched and bought old postcards of these locations some of them I´ve reproduced here.

Edited by Lazard 20
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Interesting pictures. Not much of Sheaffer left in Ft Madison these days, outside of the museum, but plenty of people worked there so bits and pieces are all around the area.. Here's a picture of Richard Binder and I on the front steps of the Sheaffer factory in February 2008, about a month before the nib department and service center, and therefore the building, closed for good. We were on our way in to spend the day with staff in the service and nib department. An amazing trip to be sure!

http://www.mainstreetpens.com/pix/onsheaffersteps.jpg

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Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

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Another home occupied by Sheaffer´s family (#6 on the map which I started the topic).

http://s32.postimg.org/c53y99shx/Sheaffer_Lazard_Fort_Madison_Avenue_E.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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I´ve left this funny hieroglyph for today, a holiday day for me.

 

Looking images for this theme I followed the track to C.U. Williams a photographer who edited a serie of postcards with at least twenty summer images of Fort Madison and looking between these postcards to see if it had happened to photograph a street with interest for us, I came across this postcard that I don´t hesitate to buy and incorporate, just in case, to my fountain pen memorabilia.

 

Fort Madison at that time was about 12,000 habitants.The postcard can be dated with determination between 1907 (start of back divided postcards) and its 1908 postmark and has a number of similarities with Walter Sheaffer and his customs, such date, season, activity, site or place, in a group, certain resemblance physical, in clothing and even "Walter" is doing a joke, as he liked to do as stated in his memoirs, with the hook in the ass pants as if he had been caught.

 

As educated guess, what do you think?

 

http://s32.postimg.org/ohsu5uhz9/Sheaffer_fishing_Lazard_english.jpg

 

click on photo for more resolution.

 

http://s32.postimg.org/yrh0ghmrp/Sheaffer_fishing_Lazard_comparation.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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Interesting really interesting post!!! A shame that the Sheaffer plant in fort madison had to close. Globalization and profits. Closing and outsourcing, it´s like the new trend and happens everywhere.

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#3 in the map. After testing the market by manufacturing and selling in 1912 from the back room of his jewelry, and now with the Sheaffer Fountain Pen Co. constituted, Sheaffer set up his first pen factory in the upper floors of B.B. Hesse Building(*) in 2nd St. with Pine St. (today Avenue G with 7th St.)

 

http://s32.postimg.org/4zlcmscdx/Sheaffer_Hesse_building_Lazard.jpg

 

(*) This Italianate building was constructed in 1869 for Charles Conradt, who opened the city's first meat market. However it would be better known for its association with B.B. Hesse's clothing and tailor business from 1879 into the middle of the 20th century.

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#4 in the map. With seven people employed in the first year and demand increasing, the W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company was incorporated in January 1913 with $35,000. As business continued to grow, Sheaffer very soon purchased the old Morrison Manufacturing Company building -manufaturers of agricultural implements- to the east of downtown and moved his operations there. In 1917, the company employed 100 workers in the factory and produced 100,000 pens.

 

http://s33.postimg.org/7xp288oq7/Sheaffer_factory_Lazard_Fort_Madison.jpg

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Accumulating quinquenniums of loyalty and seniority by Sheaffer'S employees was awarded with these jewelry details. As a consecuence they were fulfilling quinquenniums design added a "nib" more and, at the same time, the material was enriched so that the first was gold filled but, for example, 15 years was dignified with 10k solid gold and the 25 was crafted with solid gold 14k. White Dot was also dignified increasing seniority so in the first three was formed by white enamel, but the fourth was a little pearl and from the fifth, corresponding to 25 years, and following was a diamond. In adition became more complex, so the 25 years, for example, in addition to button-hole insignia, had a complementary bar with chain to use it also as tie tack.

The manufacturer of many of these Sheaffer'S award was Balfour famous century-old company still active that in recent decades has made during several years the rings for Super Bowl winners.

http://s33.postimg.org/7d11hz7of/Sheaffer_25_years_Service_guarantee_Lazard.jpg

 

http://s33.postimg.org/vrldjkpsv/Sheaffer_Employee_Service_Anniversary_Pins_Lazar.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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# 7 in map posted 05 May 2016. Craig R. Sheaffer´s house. Ford Madison, High Point. Style Tudor revival. Built 1929/31. Mayo & Mayo Architects.

 

http://s33.postimg.org/o6g1but67/Craig_Sheaffer_Lazard_High_Point.jpg

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# 7 in map posted 05 May 2016. Walter Sheaffer´s house. Ford Madison, High Point. Style Tudor revival. Built 1929/30. Mayo & Mayo Architects.

 

In 1934, this house also contributed to the continued well-being of the Company when Mr. Sheaffer mortgaged his home to secure sufficient capital that prevented the laying-off of a single plant worker.

 

W.A. Sheaffer continued to reside at the High Point residence until his death in 1946. When Mrs. Sheaffer passed away in 1961 the house - with most of its original furniture - was sold to Richard Greenwald. Austin S. Alton - a Sheaffer vice president - bought the property from Greenwald in 1968. He sold the house in 1973 to James Ringling -cheetah included as domestic pet-, a member of the Ringling Circus family.

 

Craig and Maggie Abolt purchased the house in 2005. Because of limited maintenance, the house and grounds had suffered greatly over the past 28 years. With support from a special matching state grant, costly repairs were undertaken to preserve the slate roof, from which water leakage had damaged decorative plaster work within the house.

 

http://s33.postimg.org/mcnjb2sjj/Sheaffer_High_Point_Lazard_Fort_Madison.jpg

Edited by Lazard 20
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