Bagley’s Pen Factory Operated for more than 60 Years

 The Albert G. Bagley gold pen factory was established in the late 1830s in Brooklyn, and later operated in New York City. The factory was located initially at 1 Front Street in Brooklyn, and Bagley employed skilled workers who were trained in the steps of gold pen manufacturing

The manufacturing process at the Albert G. Bagley gold pen factory was highly specialized and required a great deal of skill and precision. The factory used a variety of methods to manufacture gold pens, including hand engraving, machine engraving, and stamping. The factory also used a variety of materials to manufacture its pens, including gold, silver, brass, and steel.

The employees at the Albert G. Bagley gold pen factory were required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement,  and then trained and became highly skilled in the art of gold pen manufacturing. They were responsible for all aspects of the manufacturing process, from designing and engraving the pens to polishing and finishing each item.

The Albert G. Bagley gold pen factory was  ocated in Brooklyn and later Manhattan. Distribution to other parts of the country, ranging from New England through the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Georgia, throughout the Midwest including Chicago, and California and the West Coast was undertaken and accomplished by newspaper marketing via Agents who advertised in newspapers across the USA.

Several Agents initially sold Hawkins and Levi Brown gold pens through newspaper advertisements, and by 1842 added Bagley Gold Pen nibs to sales advertising. Bagley Gold Pens became the most prolifically newspaper advertised Gold Pens for the 20 years.

The Albert G. Bagley Gold Pen factory was a skilled operation that produced some of the finest Gold Pens of its time. The factory employed skilled workers who were trained in the art of Gold Pen manufacturing, and it used a variety of proprietary methods and materials to produce its pens.

In the accompanying image below, several Bagley Patented Extension Gold Pen holders are compared. Some are marked with Bagley's 1850 Patent. One is marked with Bagley’s 1850 Patent, yet it contains John Rauch’s signature slotted rib pencil extender. Another is marked with Mabie’s 1854 Patent, a product of Bagley’s factory sold to-the-trade. Aside from internal mechanism differences such as the Mabie or Rauch pencil novelty, all are Bagley 3-piece pen holders manufactured in the Bagley factory. 

• Note that all of the depicted examples are equipped with a so-called Rauch end cap at the pen nib/pencil holes, depicted in his 8640-patent dated 1852. Although Rauch depicted the end cap in his patent drawing, he did not claim this as his invention. Bagley 3-section extension pen holders had this end cap long before Rauch included this feature in his 1852 patent. 

In 1848 The New York correspondent from the Charleston Courier newspaper furnished an update vignette about American Gold Pen manufacturing, clearly stating that the Albert G. Bagley gold pen factory was established soon after the invention and creation of Gold Pen nibs with iridium tipping applied in the 1830's.

The update expressed that although Mr. Brown was initially taught the production process, Albert G. Bagley was quickly the "most extensive manufacturer" of Gold Pen nibs, having working capital of $80,000 with weekly expenses of $1,000. Profits were stated to be 100%.

The update also illuminates that a firm named Platt and Brothers contracted both Brown and Bagley Gold Pen nib production early in the  writing revolution,  thus creating a monopoly for years. Platt Brothers and Company was established in 

The manufacturing process at the gold pen factories was estimated to be less than 1,000,000 per year and demand was enormous.

The correspondent stated that Bagley made a rapid fortune.

The United States Library of Congress (LOC.gov) opines about the Weekly National Intelligencer in this image.

Albert G. Bagley ingenuity and dominance in  Gold Pen Nib and Patent Extension Case manufacturing was illuminated in a Washington, D.C. publication, the Weekly National Intelligencer, on July 5, 1851. 

The article (click on the image) addresses Bagley’s Gold Pen Nib manufacturing steps and, with the exception of undisclosed  trade secret steps, provides the steps of extension pen holder case production.

The article addresses the global extent of Bagley Gold Pen Nib and pen case distribution, and highlights that Mr. Bagley trained half of the labor workforce in the United States in the art of Gold Pen Nib and pen case manufacturing.

Finally, Bagley patent methods realized in various manufacturing machines is addressed.

The Congress Pen was produced with several styles of marking the Gold Pen nibs.

Advertising for Bagley's The Victoria Pen is scarce, indicating the production may have been extremely limited.

As foreman of the Bagley Factory, Mr. Marion  created many of the original designs of pen holders. He would also oversee unusual pen holder requests.

Marion was awarded patent No. 8,988 in 1876, assigned to Edward Todd & Co. for a design for writing pens. The accompanying drawing depicts a Centennial Gold Pen nib design.

Bell & Bro. San Antonio, Texas

Established in 1812, no business in San Antonio is as deeply intertwined with Texas history as the Bell Jewelry Company. 

This firm uniquely blends romance and sentiment with business, standing as the oldest continuous jewelry establishment in San Antonio and among the oldest, if not the oldest, west of the Mississippi. Its uninterrupted legacy dates back to 1812, when the company’s namesake first began crafting swords by hand for the government in Tennessee.

Samuel Bell, at just 14 years old, took up this trade out of patriotism, supporting his country. After the war, he pursued silversmithing full-time, specializing in crafting ornate sword handles adorned with gold and jewels, some of which were valued at up to $500. In February 1852, Mr. Bell moved his family from Knoxville to San Antonio, traveling by steamboat to New Orleans and then by stagecoach—a journey that took six weeks.

Bell chose Commerce Street for his first Texas jewelry store, setting up in a small brick building just east of Main Plaza. Here, with his five sons, he created handcrafted jewelry and silverware, melting down Mexican coins to fulfill any custom order. From this shop, the Bell family would often watch Native Americans, adorned with scalp locks, visit the plaza to receive their annuities from Major Tom Howard.

In those days, the Bell shop received many unique orders: saddle pommels and cantles covered in silver, bridles decorated with jewels, ivory-handled revolvers inlaid with $20 gold pieces (often arranged in the form of the Lone Star), and silver belts to hold these firearms. Among Samuel Bell’s most famous creations was an ornate pair of silver spurs worn by General Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, crafted during Bell’s time in Knoxville.

After Samuel’s death, his sons—David, Powhatan, and Jessup M. Bell—continued the business as Bell & Bros. The company thrived, enduring through the Civil War and operating at what is now 327 West Commerce Street. In 1895, Mr. Hammond acquired the business, renaming it the Bell Jewelry Company, yet preserving the integrity and honor of a name that began its legacy in 1812.

The to-the-trade example depicted is a Bagley produced Gold Pen nib stamped  Bell & Bro. San Antonio Texas 2.

Mr. Bagley embellished some of his earliest extension pen holders with “B”.

The A.T. Cross Company, established in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island by Richard Cross, is one of the oldest writing instrument manufacturers in the United States.

Originating from a family of jewelers from the English Midlands, Richard Cross started the company by creating elaborate gold and silver casings for wooden pencils. 

Although the official registration of the company might have occurred in or just after 1847, the birth of son Alonzo Townsend Cross in 1846 is considered the company's inception and is the source of its name, thus marking the earlier date as its foundation.

The to-the-trade example depicted is a Bagley marked  pen holder equipped with a Gold Pen nib stamped The Cross Pen Co. No. 1  from soon after the founding of The Cross Pen Company.