Macniven and Cameron

The Waverley Pen, Macniven and Cameron's flagship dip pen.
Macniven and Cameron Advertisement, ca. 1902.

Macniven and Cameron Ltd., later known as Waverley Cameron Ltd.,[1] was a printing and stationery company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was best known for its pen nibs, the "Pickwick", the "Owl", and the "Waverley", which were sold under the advertising doggerel:

They come as a boon and a blessing to men,
the Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley Pen.

History

In 1770, Nisbet MacNiven established a paper-making business at Balerno, outside Edinburgh. The firm soon diversified into stationery and moved to premises on Blair Street in Edinburgh's Old Town.

In the 1840s, brothers John and Donald Cameron became involved, and the firm became Macniven and Cameron.

The "Waverley" nib was invented by Duncan Cameron, another brother, and was unusual in having an upturned point, making the ink flow more smoothly on the paper. The "Waverley" was named after the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), which were still hugely popular at the time. The new nib was initially manufactured by Gillott and others, until the company bought a factory in Bordesley, Birmingham, in 1900. It then manufactured its own nibs, fountain pens and printed stationery, until 1964, when the factory closed.[2]

Macniven and Cameron also made pens called the "Pickwick", "Owl", "Phaeton", "Nile", "Hindoo" and "Commercial". The company filed several patents in relation to its fountain pens.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Waverley Cameron". Edinburgh City of Print. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  2. ^ "MacNiven and Cameron". Grace's Guide.
  3. ^ "Improvements in fountain and other reservoir pens: Patent no. GB 151844 (A)". espacenet. 1919.
  4. ^ "Improvements in fountain and reservoir pens: Patent no. GB428727 (A)". espacenet. 1935.
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