Carter's Ink Company

1902 "After All Carter's Ink is the Best" Ad.

Embossment found on the (pictured) ink bottle's base:

CARTER'S
NO 7 1/2
MADE IN U.S.A.

Similar shape-wise, a Carter's "Black Letter Ink" bottle.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

William Carter, a paper wholesaler, founded the William Carter Company in 1858 in Boston, Massachusetts on Water Street.  He supplemented his paper sales by selling other companies' inks under his own name as "Carter's Ink".

1876 Carter's Mucilage "The Great Stickist" advertisement.

In 1860, William's brother, Edward Carter, joined his company, leading to the change of name to William Carter and Bro.

The start of the American Civil War in 1861 disrupted a large portion of the Carters' ink supply, so the two brothers purchased rights to the ink formula and begin their own manufacturing operation.

1873 Photograph of Carter's mucilage and ink display.

This venture into large-scale ink and mucilage manufacturing necessitated a move into a larger building on Water Street.  During this move, a third Carter brother, John H. Carter, joined the company, forming William Carter & Bros.



In 1867, a fourth Carter was invited to join the company:  the brothers' cousin, John W. Carter.  The company name was thus changed to Carter Bros. & Company. 

1904 Photo

John W. Carter was mainly interested in the ink division of Carter Bros. & Co., so in 1868, the company split apart into a paper division and an ink division. 


















Disaster struck in 1872 when a fire broke out in the middle of Boston, leaving much of the city completely burnt.  This included both Carter's locations.

1872 Panoramic scene of the destruction following the great fire at Boston.

Following the fire, John W. Carter partnered with James P. Dinsmore, a sales wizard responsible for much of the Carter Bros. & Co.'s success, and together they formed a new company named Carter, Dinsmore & Company.

Carter, Dinsmore & Co.'s plant on Batterymarch St.

This new company was soon headquartered in a new factory on Batterymarch Street in Boston.


At this point in time, the Carter, Dinsmore & Co. operation had a total of six mixing and storage tanks, zero laboratories, six employees, and an office clerk.  Their ink was also produced and bottled completely by hand.











On the side over the next ten years, John W. Carter hired an experienced chemist to help him research and produce the best possible ink products that science had to offer.  Because of their findings, the Carter, Dinsmore & Co.'s ink production rapidly increased from around 100,000 bottles in 1873 to nearly 5 million bottles in 1884.[1]

1885 Photo of Carter, Dinsmore & Co.'s headquarters.

Some of the different types of inks created from Carter's research include: 



 

• "Carter's Blak Copying Fluid" - a very heavy gall ink that eliminates the need for special paper for making copies,

• "Carter's Koal Black Ink" - a jet-black ink adapted for records-keeping that will not fade from sun or water damage,

• "Carter's Arabin Mucilage" - an enhanced type of Mucilage product that has had all waste matter removed from the solution, ensuring that every single particle will stick,

• "Carter's Fountain Pen Fluid" - an ink prepared specially for fountain pens, meaning the ink will not ever dry and clump on the tip of the pen and will flow smoothly the instant pen touches paper, and

• "Carter's Red Household Ink" - an all-purpose red-colored ink for daily use.[2]

1904 Carter's Writing Fluid ad featuring an owl.

With his company's success and rising sales, Carter had to find an even larger facility to relocate to in order to keep up with the demand.  He settled on a plot of land located on Columbus Avenue, and in 1884, built a plant that was ten times the size of the company's Batterymarch Street building.

1889 Carter's Inks advertisement.

In 1888, James Dinsmore, retired.  And in 1895, John W. Carter died in an accidental drowning.  However, their company by that point was large and well-managed enough that both of these incidents did little to disrupt production.  By this point, the company was known as Carter's Ink Company, and had branches in cities across the United States as well as in Canada and some European markets.[1]

1899 Illustration of Carter's Photolibrary Paste.

In the early 1890s, with the boom in amateur photography, demand for an adhesive that was specially adapted to mounting prints was on the rise.  Carter's Ink Company was up to the challenge, and after careful trials and studies, came out with their innovative "Photolibrary Paste".  This adhesive would rapidly become the standard in its field throughout all developed nations in the world.[2]




At the same time, Carter's Ink Company introduced a line of Typewriter Ribbons and Carbon Papers that eventually lead to the downfall of all writing and copying inks as a result of the ever-increasing usage of typewriters.




In 1910, a new factory was built to handle the company's continued growth in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Carter's Ink Co.'s main headquarters on 172 Columbus Ave., Cambridge "C," Boston, Massachusetts, 1912.

After over a century in business, Carter's Ink Company was sold to the Dennison Company in 1976. 

CARTER'S GLASS BOTTLE IDENTIFICATION AND NOTES:


Carter's glass ink bottles were produced in a large variety of colors, including aqua, clear, shades of amber and green, teal, and shades of blue.

Ink bottle sizes varied from one quarter pint to one quart.

The small Carter's ink bottles came in a variety of shapes, too:  round, square, turtle-shaped, irregular/odd-shaped, flat with pen ledges, umbrella-shaped, and--most commonly--cone-shaped.[1]







The following include a selection of Carter's trademarks and makers marks that were used:

Fountain Pens produced 1924-1932

Reg. 01-16-1906

Reg. 03-20-1906

Reg. 06-26-1906

Reg. 04-12-1949

References:

[1]Faulkner, Ed & Lucy.  Let's Talk About Ink:  The Carter Ink Company.  Bottles and Extras.  Spring 2003.  <www.fohbc.org/PDF_Files/Ink_Sp2003.pdf‎>.

[2]Geyer's Stationer: Devoted to the Interests of the Stationary, Fancy Goods and Kindred Trades, Volume 46.  New York, N.Y.  Thursday, July 9, 1908.  Pgs. 18-21.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=pZY7AQAAMAAJ&dq=french+railroad+ink+carter%27s&source=gbs_navlinks_s>.