Hymen L. Lipman was born in Kingston, Jamaica back in 1817. In 1829, the family moved to the United States arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he resided for the rest of his life. He worked as a stationer in Philadelphia where in 1840 he was the leading stationer. In 1843, he started the first envelope company in the United States.
In 1848, he married Mary A. Lehman daughter of Peter Lehman, who was one of the founders of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He died in 1893, he was 76.
What you may not know about Hymen is that in 1858, he registered the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser (U.S. Patent 19,783). He sold his patent for $100,000.00 to Joseph Reckendorfer. Reckendorger wanted to sure the pencil manufacture Faber for infringement. The United States Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer, declaring the patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use.
Good thing Hymen sold don’t you think?
NW Arkansas, come for a visit, stay for a lifetime.
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