Macniven and Cameron
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{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
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|caption1 = The Waverley Pen, Macniven and Cameron's flagship dip pen.
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|caption2 = Macniven and Cameron Advertisement, ca. 1902.
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Macniven and Cameron Ltd., later known as Waverley Cameron Ltd.,{{cite web |url=http://www.edinburghcityofprint.org/pages/the-printing-industry/printing-houses/waverley-cameron.php |title=Waverley Cameron |work=Edinburgh City of Print |access-date=5 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726013839/http://www.edinburghcityofprint.org/pages/the-printing-industry/printing-houses/waverley-cameron.php |archive-date=26 July 2011 |url-status=usurped }} 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:
{{blockquote|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.{{cite web |url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/MacNiven_and_Cameron |title=MacNiven and Cameron |work=Grace's Guide }}
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.{{cite web |url=http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&NR=151844&KC=&FT=E |year=1919 |title=Improvements in fountain and other reservoir pens: Patent no. GB 151844 (A) |publisher=espacenet}}{{cite web |url=http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=GB&NR=428727&KC=&FT=E |year=1935 |title=Improvements in fountain and reservoir pens: Patent no. GB428727 (A) |publisher=espacenet}}
References
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External links
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- [http://www.londonancestor.com/iln/fountain-pen.htm 1879 advertisement for Macniven & Cameron Pens]
- [http://www.historyworld.co.uk/advert.php?id=108&offset=25&sort=0&l1=Stationery+etc&l2= 1890 advertisement for Macniven & Cameron Pens]
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Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1770
Category:Manufacturing companies based in Edinburgh
Category:Pulp and paper companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Defunct pulp and paper companies
Category:Stationers of the United Kingdom
Category:Fountain pen and ink manufacturers