The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-10-04
PAPER BOX MAKING.
What Maine Firm has Accomplished.

In an interesting article on paper box max
ing in the Boston Sunday Herald the writer
thus refers to a well known Maine firm:
About 40 years ago Mr.. A. L. Dennison,
since become famous as the originator of the
machinery for the American system of watch
making, was working at his trade as a watch
maker in Boston, He saw the difficulty the
trade labored under in that city for want of a
regular supply of iewelry boxes, and con-
ceived the idea of meeting the demand by an
article of home production. He went to his
home III Brunswick Me-, and, in cooperation
with his father, Col. Andrew Dennison, a
well known and highly respected citizen of
Brunswick, commenced the manu- facture OF
these boxes. His father and himself cut the
paper or straw board into shape and scored it,
by hand, while members OF the family and
some hired help pasted and covered the boxes
The Dennisons, father and sons (the second
son, Mr.. L. W. Dennison, founder of the Den
nison Manufacturing Company of Boston,
known throughout the world as the originator
of Dennison's tags, and the successor to the
business of paper-box making, which he has
extended and elaborated to a most surprising
extent) were clever men, and had a natural
turn for mechanics. They studied over the
paper box business for sometime, in the mean
time finding a ready sale for all they made,an
finally came to the conclusion that there was
quicker and more exact way of making these
boxes than by hand. They went to machine
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labor and experiment, succeeded in making
machine that is still in use and is only now
being superseded by a new one, operated by
steam power and known as the Clark machine
The old Dennison machine consisted of a long
straight blade, which was set so as to penetrate
only portion of the thickness of the straw or
paper board used, and at one end of this blade
was right-angled blade, which was set
lower, and, in its descent, cnt out the corner
OF the square or oblong piece of board with
which 1t was designed to make the box. This
had to be fed in four times, the height of the
sides being regulated by a stop at the back
side and end Of the knives which could be ad-
justed to suit any size box within the capacity
Of the cutters. The board was cut into
squares ETC., by knives such as are used in
cutting cardboard and, indeed, this is done to
a. considerable extent the present day. But,
even in this respect there is change from
the old to the new. The Clark machine cuts
to size and scores at the same time, SO that all
that remains to be done is to cut out the
corners, thing that is rapidly accomplished
by another machine operated by foot power
Thus, in the year 1874, the Dennisons of
Brunswick, Me-, inaugurated a new era in
paper-box making, which has established one
OF the most widespread, useful and interesting
industries in the country. 1t was success
from the start. The machine invented and
patented by them has made possible an ad-
vance in the art of making the paper boxes,
which places the products Of this country in
that line fully abreast, if not ahead, of the
best efforts of the French makers, who are ac-
knowledged to be the most skillful people in
works of taste and delicate art in the world.
The Dennison Company, besides its factories
in Boston, has large factory in Brunswick
Me-, employing over 200 persons, and its pro-
ducts, which are of the finer and more costly
kind, are finding every year a larger and still
larger market and demand