Character the Grandest Thing

by

Laine Farley

What do a curtseying Scottish lass and a massive iron steam pump have in common?

This celluloid bookmark has a nice illustration of a little girl and a detailed depiction of a steam engine, typical of Whitehead and Hoag’s bookmarks. The distinctive shape of the bookmark that, on closer inspection is echoed in a large protuberance on top of the steam engine, is decidedly unusual. And the slogan quoted on the bookmark, “Character the Grandest Thing” made me wonder how it could possibly relate to steam pumps.

The company A. S. Cameron published “The Story of the Cameron” in 1910 with an explanation of the proud history of the Cameron family that embodied the “Scotch characteristics of strength, patriotism and kindred qualities.” Furthermore, the name Cameron still “stands for a certain rugged integrity, well symbolized by the oak, which was the badge of the clan, and the acorn, which is the Trade Mark of Cameron Pumps.” Adam Scott Cameron, a descendant of this proud clan, apparently inherited these qualities along with “a certain mechanical and inventive ability that ultimately found expression in the line of steam pumps bearing his name.” The rest of the booklet described in great detail how the pumps were made with attention to quality workmanship.

According to an article by Charles A. Hirschberg titled “A Modern Plant for Building Pumps” in Compressed Air Magazine, v. 18, July 1913, p 6867, Cameron founded A. S. Cameron Steam Pump Works in 1860 in New York. In 1863, he formed a partnership with William Sewell who was then a Chief Engineer in the U. S. Army. After Sewell’s death in 1865, Cameron continued to expand the business, eventually growing it into an international supplier of all types of basic and specialty pumps.

Cameron married his former partner’s daughter, Julia Elizabeth Sewell on June 2, 1874.  Sadly, he died in 1877, a year after their son Walter Scott Cameron was born in Rome, Italy. Julia and her son were left with a comfortable fortune and she purchased the grand Halcyon Lodge in Southhampton Village, New York. When Walter inherited the house in 1915, he renamed it “Lochiel” which is derived from a Scottish biographical name, i.e. “Donald Cameron of Lochiel” according to a story about the house titled “Halcyon Lodge; Lochiel, 436 Gin Lane,” in the Southampton Village Review, Dec. 2, 2010. Apparently he was quite the athlete and socialite whose “social endeavors listed often in the society pages most often related to hunting or marriage.” From what I could discover, there is no evidence he ever worked in the family business or developed his own career although he was described as “engaged at present in agricultural pursuits” and was a member of several sports clubs. While he did spend time in Scotland, it’s not evident that he inherited his father’s abilities. Perhaps he did possess a certain ruggedness, having survived several sports accidents.

The motto emphasizing character still seems a stretch to apply to the business if not to the family. An article on “Cameron Steam Pumps” in Dun’s Review, 1904, p. 87 sheds some light on the connection, revealing that the trade mark is the “air vessel of their pump, the shape of which was designed to resemble an acorn.” It quotes a writer in a prominent mechanical magazine who explained that “As the  acorn typifies the strong and sturdy oak, so the ‘Cameron’ has stood for nearly half a century unparalleled among its rivals for simplicity, yet superiority of design, compactness and strength of construction, certainty of operation and reliability in long continued service.” The company’s pride in delivering a good product as well as superior service comes through in “The Story of the Cameron,” and their catalogs as the preface to a 1910 catalog demonstrates. Headed by their slogan, it begins:  “At the outset we desire to express our opinion that QUALITY is as essential in Steam Pumps as in anything else, and the best is always the cheapest in the truest sense, viz, long life of satisfactory use under the most trying conditions, with maximum service and minimum cost of maintenance.” If that’s not a practical and genuine promise of quality, and by extension, character, then I don’t know what is.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to find a company today that would make such a statement and mean it?

Their ads also reflect the company’s values. In the Trade Notes section of the Sibley Journal of Engineering, v. 20, 1905, p. 49, the writer observes that “nothing but the most attractive” forms of advertising will stand out and garner attention. The writer goes on to say that “the Cameron Steam Pump Works of New York City have always appreciated this fact and have endeavored in their advertising to make a clear statement, attractively and appropriately illustrated . . . and to give convincingly an expression of their views with reference to the superior qualities of their pumps.”

What follows is a detailed description of my bookmark with its distinctive acorn-shaped top that features a “winsome lassie wearing the Cameron plaid and dropping a graceful curtsy”–and with the exciting news that there was a companion bookmark illustrating a “Scottish bag pipe player in full regalia wearing the Cameron plaid.” Both bookmarks were  proclaimed “veritable works of art.” The bagpipe player was sent with routine correspondence whereas the winsome lassie was the reward for orders and remittances. Their value as bookmarks and as “admirable advertisements” was obvious according to the writer. The bookmark’s polite request to pass it along to a friend if no use could be found was one the writer couldn’t imagine anyone ever needing to follow.

Several other trade journals in engineering and mining also noted the bookmarks. I find it somewhat difficult to picture gentlemen in those professions using the delicate bookmarks, but I suppose the illustration of the famous pump made them seem familiar tools. I found that the companion bookmark sold at an auction in January 2011. There are two differences from the one I own: it does not have the phrase “Thank you kindly” at the base of the acorn shape, and the page flap is shaped like a partial oval. The bagpiper really shows off the Cameron plaid flying from the bagpipes. I hope another example will turn up as I would love to reunite the pair.  As always, the journey from names and images on a bookmark to “the rest of the story” was a fascinating look at a family and business values of an earlier age.

Bookmark specifications: A. S. Cameron Steam Pump Works
Dimensions: 1 1/2" x 5 1/8"
Material: Celluloid
Manufacturer: Whitehead and Hoag     
Date: 1905
Acquired: eBay

Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Contact Laine.