Chicago’s Paris Pen Company
When we suppose of Paris, we think of France, not Chicago. But the restored pen this week brings us to the “Bombastic City”.
This pen was a fun one to restore as it is so colorful and very away preserved red hard rubber. As you can see from the photo unbefitting this is a lever filler that has not been cast-off in quite some time as evidenced by the fractured and hardened sac. Paradigm cleaning was done. The section, feed and nib were scrubbed with q-tips and finished up with an ultrasonic cleaner. The cap was swabbed out and had the conventional caked on ink residue. The threads on the barrel were notably dirty and a toothbrush did the trick on these. A size 16 sac was seconded to the section with sac cement and the pen was reassembled.
As you can see, the pen was a promotional pen, commissioned by the Merkle Broom Throng. A search for Merkle Broom Company brings a big surprise. It was in Paris, Illinois. See the following:
The “Broom Plant”: Merkle Broom Company
Merkle Broom Train was established by John Merkle, Sr. and his son, Oscar T. Merkle, in 1879. The slab factory was built at the corner of West End Avenue and Broom Street in 1890. Also known as Merkle-Wiley Broom Co. The task was known as the largest broom manufacturer in the world during the originally 20th century. At one time, it produced 6,000 brooms per day. Its “Blu-J” pursuit of brooms was manufactured into the 1960s. The company merged with France Broom Co. in 1964, but the plant closed several years later. In 1985, a effects manufacturer acquired the location. The original building survived a ardour in 1996, but Northern Harvest demolished it in 1999 to declare way for a newer facility. Source: Paris Beacon-Hearsay, March 3, 1999
