Leroy Cleaning Kit 3233-25 made by Keuffel & Esser Co., cpyrt 1950, issued ca.1950-1960
Entry/Object ID
2009.006.0094
Description
Leroy Cleaning Kit 3233-25 made by Keuffel & Esser Company, New York & Hoboken, N.J., copyright 1950, issued circa 1950-1960. Cardboard carton with hinged cover lid; covered in green leather-grained fabric, 5" wide x 4-1/4" deep x 2-1/4" high; stamped on top: K&E Leroy. Contents: glass jar with black screw lid, 2-5/8" diameter x 2" high, for soaking pens; separate plastic sieve (strainer) inside the cleaning jar; red rubber bulb for flushing out interior of pen; folded printed instruction sheet. Not present: bottle of Leroy Cleaning Fluid.
Leroy was a trademark for a letter inking system sold by the company. The pen points intended for cleaning as described in the instructions were those used in the Leroy scriber.
Present, but not original to the kit: 4 silver plastic triangular 'wrenches' or keys marked K&E Leroy. Date of these items not known, but probably accumulated in the 1960s or later as K&E offered technical pens similar to Rapidograph and other manufacturers (and by the 1970s was actually selling Rapidographs, etc.) Each one would probably have been part of the package for a single pen. They would have been used to tighten or remove pen points.
K&E main offices and factory were in Hoboken during the period when the main item was manufactured.
Acquisition
Accession
2009.006
Source or Donor
Lukacs, Claire
Acquisition Method
Gift
Credit Line
Museum Collections. Gift of a friend of the Museum.
