Esterbrook History

[AAAndrew]

I'm always conflicted when I come up with historical stuff related to a specific pen maker. Do I post it in the specific pen maker thread, or in Pen History?

 

This time I posted a bunch of stuff under the Esterbrook forum, but thought I'd point it out here for those not specifically trolling there.

 

Basically, Newspapers.com just added the Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey starting in 1949. I sorted through several thousand results from the basic search for "Esterbrook" and found a treasure trove of info from the last couple of decades of Esterbrook history, from the trivial to the significant.

 

I've been dumping the general finds here. I just added a list to this thread of the "introductions" and "new" announcements I've found which helps nail down some products for which we may not have been sure before. (e.g. the 444 dipless was "new" in 1955)

 

I've also compiled a map of Esterbrook History. it's not complete, but I will be adding to it as I find new things. It's a shared Google Map which includes the various production locations (at least three additional locations in Camden were used by Esterbrook besides their main factory on Cooper, one in Haddon Heights, and then there was the Cherry Hill location, and I'm still tracking down where Venus Esterbrook moved to Tennessee after leaving Cherry Hill in 1969), some of the houses where Richard Sr. and Richard Jr. lived, and the British Esterbrook factory in Birmingham. If you have additions, let me know.

 

The link to the shared Google map can be found in this thread.

 

I'll post more as I can. There are plenty of insights into the company left to capture, and some less obvious stories to tell. Reading the home-town newspaper has been a great way to better understand the company and its activities.

[siamackz]

Very cool!