Esporta traduzioni

Impostazioni

Gruppo

Lingua

Formato

Esporta per la traduzione off-line

Esporta nel formato nativo

{{DISPLAYTITLE:John Holland Pen Company}}{{DEFAULTCATEGORYSORT:Holland}}
[[Image:Holland-Logo.svg|center|400px|Holland Logo]]

The ''John Holland Pen Company'' was one of the first fountain pen manufacturers, beginning production in the second half of 1800. The apex of its success, however, was in this early period of the fountain pen history. At that time the company contributed to fountain pens spread and evolution, particularly in the early '900, when [[Holland]] distinguished itself in the research for new filling systems.

In these early days, the pens produced by [[Holland]] were between the more advanced for quality and features, but the company always worked at the local level, relying on a network of resellers (among which stands out ''George S. Parker'', founder of the far more famous [[Parker]] company). Because of this [[Holland]] remained behind in technological advances compared to its competitors of the same time. Starting from the '20s the company was just following the trends set by its competitors, and faced great difficulties during the great depression of 1929. Since the '30s the quality of its pens decreased gradually, and in 1950, with the death of the son of the founder, [[Holland]] ceased operations. {{Infobox_Brand|Holland}}{{BrandData|Ancestor=George Sheppard|OrigDate=1941|Founder=John A. Holland|Date=1862|ProdDate=1865|Place=Cincinnati|Country=US|Fullname=John Holland Pen Company|Closing=1950}}
== History ==

The origins of [[Holland|John Holland Pen Company]] will officially went back to [[1862]] when ''John A. Holland'', acquired the gold nibs manufacturing company started in [[1841]] by ''George Sheppard'' in Cincinnati, with whom he had been employed by approximately from 1850. ''John Holland'' immediately began to expand production at dip pen holders, pencils and boxes. The first experiments with fountain pens are traced back to [[1859]], with the production of a metal pen, but there is no documentation on the marketing of such an object. The real fountain pen production starts therefore later, probably after the market introduction of the hard rubber, occurred in 1870 by Goodyear, but the company is claiming to have started in [[1865]].

The historical data on the initial production are very scarce, and throughout the first part of the decade of 1870 there is only evidence of advertising for gold nibs and holders. The first news of fountain pen sale dates back to [[1879]], with production of fountain pens advertised in magazines and scientific literature with the slogan: ''"We have no record of any fountain pen having been offered to the public before the John Holland fountain pen."'' First pens were gold nib [[eyedropper filler|eyedropper]] pens, that were improved with different feeding system,

The initial fountain pens marketing was made through a network of distributors, agents and commercial travelers, among which stands out the name of ''George S. Parker'', who will start his own business by improving the feeder of an [[Holland]] pen. In [[1889]] the company was incorporated; at this time [[Holland]] probably was the largest fountain pen manufacturer on the market, but only on the 1890's the company launched a nation wide promotional campaign.

At the beginning of 1900 [[Holland]] distinguished itself for research on filling systems: the first automatic filling system is dated back around [[1905]], with the introduction of the [[sleeve filler]] on the [[Holland Eureka|Eureka]] model, the following year the company introduced the [[pull filler]], which remained in production until around 1918.<ref>the date is not clear, the last known advertising seems to date back to 1915.</ref> Finally since in [[1908]] the [[hatchet filler]] was introduced, which remained in production until 1919. Since [[1920]], and continuing for all the following production, the company used a [[lever filler]].

[[Image:1925-10-Holland-Jewel.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1925 advertisement]]

One of the valuable characteristics of this early century production is the presence of great quality [[overlay]] models. These models are distinguished by the use of a  screw cap, often made in an original manner. In the early models in fact, the thread was placed at the end of the section, and inside the inner cap, while  in following model the cap was made without inner cap, and the block was made directly through the threads itself. These pens can easily recognized for the presence of a long straight section. Finally, some models allow you to screw the cap on the bottom of the pen during the use.

With the death of its founder, occurred in [[1917]], the leadership passed to his sons, but at that time company's preminence in the market was only memory. In [[1925]] [[Holland]], following all other producers, converted production to celluloid. The pens of that period were substantially similar to those produced by other minor companies, but there are some original models, made with mother of pearl inserts, named [[Jewel Pen]], using the name of the nib. The company still continued to use hard rubber mixing it with celluloid; there are pens produced with cap head and barrel end in hard rubber, where barrel and body are celluloid, or vice versa.

The company severely suffered the crisis of 1929, having low financial resources. The pen quality decreased gradually for all the '30s, when the pens that were made by assembling parts produced by other companies with nibs and stocks parts resulting from earlier production, while the bulk of its revenue came from sales activities of the stationery shop that was on the ground floor of the company building. In [[1950]], with the death of the last son of ''John Holland'' the activity ceased<ref>although the end is [http://www.pensandwatches.com/_pages/pen_company_photos/holland_pen_company.htm reported] to be in the late '70s, perhaps because the local business sales remained standing, at least until the company's palace was sold at auction with all the stocks in it in 1980.</ref>

==External references==
* [http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/JohnHolland/JohnHollandJewel.htm] An article on the [[Holland Jewel|Jewel]] model.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929201944/http://www.kamakurapens.com/John_Holland/John_Holland_Pens.html] A John Holland biography.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130614070241/http://www.pensandwatches.com/_pages/pen_company_photos/holland_pen_company.htm] The company page on Pen and Watch website
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20081227221637/http://www.penbid.com/Auction/showarticle.asp?art_id=24] An article on company history.
== Notes ==
<references/>

Esporta traduzioni

Menu di navigazione

Ricerca