Remington
and Sons - (en)
E. Remington and Sons (1816-1886) was a manufacturer of firearms and
typewriters. Founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New
York, on March 1, 1873 it started manufacturing the first commercial
typewriter.
In August 1816, then 22 year old Eliphalet Remington II would forge
his first rifle barrel. His initial experiment would prove a success,
and the young blacksmith proceeded to make others to meet the growing
demand for sporting rifles in the Mohawk Valley. With the completion
of the Erie Canal, connecting Buffalo with Albany, commerce in the
Mohawk Valley expanded remarkably. To meet the increased demand for
rifle barrels, in 1828 the Remingtons moved their forge and foundry
from its rural setting to 100 acres (0.4 km˛) of land they had
purchased astride the canal and abutting the Mohawk River near a town
then called Morgan's Landing (later Ilion), New York. The move
coincided with the elder Eliphalet's death, and Eliphalet II assumed
control of the business.
Remington's Typewriter
In 1867 Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Sholes
invented another typewriter. The Sholes and Glidden typewriter was the
first device that allowed an operator to type substantially faster
than a person could write by hand. The patent (US 79,265) was sold for
$12,000 to Densmore and Yost, who made an agreement with E. Remington
and Sons (then famous as a manufacturer of sewing machines), to
commercialize what was known as the Sholes and Glidden Type-Writer.
Remington started production of their first typewriter on March 1,
1873 in Ilion, New York.
Becoming "E. Remington & Sons"
In 1839 Eliphalet was joined by his eldest son, Philo Remington (to
make the business "E. Remington & Son"), and in 1845 his
second son, Samuel, also joined the company, afterwards called
"E. Remington & Sons". Remington's third son, Eliphalet
III, would later join the company as well.
During this period, the Remingtons specialized almost exclusively in
the manufacture of rifle barrels. These barrels, marked with the
distinctive "REMINGTON" stamp near their breeches, were
recognized for their quality and reasonable price. Many, if not most,
of the independent gunsmiths in the Mohawk Valley purchased completed
(but not rifled) barrels from Remington and assembled them into
firearms custom ordered by their customers. As demand increased, the
Remingtons added other parts to their inventory, first percussion
locks made in Birmingham, England but marked with their stamp
"REMINGTON", and later sets of brass gun furniture,
including trigger guards, butt plates, and patch boxes. After 1846,
first martial longarm and then revolver production dominated the
company's workforce.
Remington supplied the U.S. Army with rifles in the Mexican-American
War (1846 to 1848). In 1847, Remington supplied the U.S. Navy with its
first breech-loading rifle. In 1856 the business was expanded to
include the manufacture of agricultural implements. Upon Eliphalet's
death in 1861, his son, Philo, took over the firm during the Civil
War, and diversified the product line to include sewing machines (manufactured
from 1870 to 1894) and typewriters (1873), both of which were
exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.
The Remington Arms Company supplied a large proportion of the small
arms used by the United States government in the Civil War (1861 to
1865) and in World War I (U.S. involvement 1917 to 1918) and World War
II (U.S. involvement 1941 to 1945). Remington in addition was one of
the most successful gun manufacturers in the world arms trade between
1867 and 1900, specifically through the export of the Remington
Rolling Block action rifle. This single shot, large caliber
Blackpowder cartridge rifle was exported in the millions all over the
world, including shipments to France, Egypt, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Belgium, Argentina, Mexico and the Vatican.
Becoming "Remington Arms"
In 1886, E. Remington and Sons sold its typewriter business to the
Standard Typewriter Manufacturing Company, Inc. Included were the
rights to use the Remington name. E. Remington and Sons changed its
name to "Remington Arms".
"Standard Typewriter" changed its name in 1902 to
"Remington Typewriter Company". This company merged in 1927
with "Rand Kardex Company" to form "Remington
Rand", which continued to manufacture office equipment and later
became a major computer company, as well as manufacturing electric
razors.
