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Sampson Mordan Snr. was born in 1790. He was apprenticed to John Bramah who invented patent locks and the elastic ink reservoir for fountain pens. Mordan established his own business in partnership with John Isaac Hawkins at City Rd. London in 1815. In 1822, they patented a metal pencil with an internal mechanism for propelling the graphite lead shaft forward during use so that it was "ever-pointed". Most of these pencils are operated by a mechanism that allows the pencil to be propelled out of the casing by pulling on the opposite end. When closed, only the case could be seen. They entered the first silver mark for sterling silver pencils the following year. Mordan then bought out Hawkins and entered into a business partnership with Gabriel Riddle, a wealthy stationer, in 1823.
Mordan and Riddle listed their business as "patent ever-pointed pencil and portable pen manufacturers." As well as the ever-pointed pencils, they manufactured patent locks, cedar pencils, pens, inkstands, letter balances, copying and seal presses and fire proof cash and deed boxes. The partnership between Mordan and Riddle was dissolved in 1836 and the company continued to be run by Sampson Mordan alone. Sampson Mordan Snr. died in 1843 and the business passed to his sons Sampson Jnr. and Augustus. They were later joined by Edmund George Johnson and Zachariah Watkins. Watkins retired in 1879. Sampson Mordan Jnr. retired to Paris and died there in 1881 and his share of the business passed to Augustus.
Harry Lambert Symonds joined the business as a partner in 1890. The business converted to a limited liability company in 1898 operating under the name S. Mordan & Co Ltd. It absorbed a smaller business of Johnson, Sons & Edmonds. Margery Doris Symonds is subsequently recorded as a director. The City Road Factory was rebuilt and showrooms were opened in Regent Street, London in 1900. The firm supplied silver articles to many retailers including Asprey & Sons & the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. Ltd. Various whimsical patterns were introduced including pig and boar-shaped pencils, and horse heads, dogs, cats, fish, frogs and owls were all modelled into pencils. Other shapes used included pistols, champagne bottles and Egyptian mummies.
The company gave the distribution rights on their propelling pencil business to L. G. Sloan Ltd. in 1933. The company ceased trading in 1941 following destruction of their factory by enemy bombing. Patents were sold to Edward Baker but the company was put into voluntary liquidation in 1952.
Between 1820 and 1873, more than 160 patents were filed for various mechanical pencils. The first spring-loaded mechanical pencil was patented in 1877 and a twist-feed mechanism was developed in 1895. Different types include:
- Ratchet-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by a button on the end or the side.
- A variation of the ratchet-based pencil where a weight inside the pencil operates the mechanism by shaking the pencil.
- Screw-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by twisting a screw, which moves a slider down the barrel.
- Screw-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by friction with the screw.
- Twist-based pencils in which the lead is advanced by twisting the head of the pencil.
Many have a locking mechanism to allow the lead to be pushed back into the pencil. Most can be refilled with more graphite but some less-expensive models, especially screw-based designs, were disposable.
Marks
Sampson Mordan & Co. products can be approximately dated by the following marks:
S MORDAN & COS PATENT and SM GR - 1823 to 1837
S MORDAN & CO MAKERS & PATENTEES - 1838 to 1845
S MORDAN & CO MAKERS - 1845 to 1860s
S MORDAN & CO - 1860s - 1941.
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