Name/Title
Perry & Co. Fountain PenEntry/Object ID
2020.371.7Description
Fountain pen used for writingContext
An inscription on the pen reads: 'L.C.C. PERRY & Co. BEST ACCOMODATION LONDON"
James Perry was a schoolmaster who began making steel pens by hand because he was dissatisfied with the quality of existing pens. As a result, in 1824, James Perry and Co. was founded in Manchester, England. The company later moved to London, England. By 1829, due to excellence in products manufactured by James Perry and Co., the company became one of the largest manufacturers of pen nibs world wide. After 1847, the company became Perry and Co. and in 1876 became Perry and Co. Ltd. At this time the company also began production of steel chains and bicycle accessories. By the late 1890s, due to financial struggles, the company was bought by James William Bayliss, part owner of the Bayliss-Thomas car making company. By 1914 Perry & Co specialized in steel pens and pen holders, cycle chains, free wheels, hubs, bells and cycle accessories, stationers' sundries, gold pens, solitaires, studs, sleeve links, supplies for tobacconists and drapers and had 2,000 employees. In 1945 the chain making and cycle coaster portion of the business was transferred to a subsidiary, Perry Chain Co Ltd. The pen business was continued by Perry and Co (Pens division) Ltd. Perry and Co (Holdings) Ltd became the main parent company, with financial control all divisions of the Perry group. With the invention of the typewriter and ballpoint pens later in 1943, fountain pens were then less used.Acquisition
Accession
2020.371Source or Donor
Sharon BloomfieldAcquisition Method
Gift
