Waterman Pen Company: A History
Author: Neil Thompson

For more than 120 years, Waterman pens have been regarded
as premier fashion accessories, aside from being very
reliable pens used by people of style and refinement.

When it comes to quality writing, Waterman pens are indeed
one of the most coveted pens in the industry. Add to the
fact that these pens come with so much style, and you will
surely understand why there are so many people in the
market who prefer the company's pens to other brands. The
usage of the brand itself spells esteem and refinement for
the user because of the French design and the prestigious
quality that comes with all of their pens. When you give
someone a Waterman pen for a gift, it would spell esteem
for the recipient. The company was established way back in
the year 1833, right in the heart of New York City, by
Lewis Edson Waterman.

The company's pens are actually one of the select brands
that came from the first generation of fountain pen brands
ever. The company has survived the rigorus in the industry
to this very day, under the name of Waterman S.A. This was
actually a French subsidiary of the company back in the day.

Waterman is credited with instigating innovation with the
improvements that the company brought to the basic design
of the fountain pen. When meshed with aggressive marketing,
it did not take long for the pen to become a mass-market
object coveted by so many people all over the world. You
may have heard about the foundation of the company is
associated with a loss of insurance sales on the part of L.
E. Waterman. This is actually a fabricated story, but
nonetheless, is something that is worth mentioning since so
many people have heard many versions of the story over the
years. It has been told that Waterman used to work for an
insurance company, as a sales agent. But when it came to
signing contracts and such, it failed to furnish the
prospective client with a reliable fountain pen, thus,
losing the insurance sales in the end. However, this story
holds no ground at all, and remains one of the many urban
legends about the history of the Waterman Pen company.

What holds true is that the savvy, canny, and innovative
business sense of L. E. Waterman is the binding force that
the company can truly boast of.

The death of the founder in 1901 brought forth the next
generation leadership, in the name of Frank D. Waterman.
Being the nephew of the late founder, Frank was also
exposed to his late uncle's innovative business sense. He
did not waste time implementing even fiercer aggression,
towards the expansion of the company in the world market.
But the success did not last long because the company was
forced to shut its doors in 1954. The company was revived
by its original French subsidiary, now known as Waterman
S.A.

Since this momentous revival, the Waterman pens have become
more stable in the market, even garnering more sales than
it used to. The following pens are considered trademarks of
the brand: the Philias, the Edson, the Himisphhre, the
Harmonie, the Expert, the Audace, the Liaison, and the Man
100. The Man 100 pen was released in 1983, to celebrate the
100th year of the company itself.


About the Author:

Neil Thompson is a fashion writer who specialises in gifts
and accessories. He has a particular interest in socks,
pens and wallets and brands such as Waterman, Parker and
Simon Carter. For more information click here:
http://www.kjbeckett.com/acatalog/pens.html