Brief History

The Sanford Manufacturing Company was started by Frederick W. Redington and William H. Sanford, Jr. in 1857. They focused on producing and selling ink and glue. In 1866, the company relocated to Chicago. After fire destroyed their factory in 1899, by 1900 they rebuilt in downtown Chicago.

Norman Rockwell was commissioned in 1927 to paint advertizing paintings to commemorate Sanford's 70th birthday. During the 30s and 40s, the company name was changed to Sanford Ink Company. But it wasn't until 1964 that the emerging permanent marker business brought us the Sharpie. The first ever pen-style permanent marker was the Sharpie Fine Point black marker, the first image of Sharpie in most minds to this day.

I remember in 1989 when the Ultra Fine Point was introduced. Due to some unforeseen consequences for a child and a Sharpie, my mom was quite leery of letting me have the Ultra Fine Point. By 1992, I had a bit of my own money and a small Sharpie collection. Fast forward to 2004, and I'm buying all the new colors I can get my hands on. I do not have all 39, but I'm getting there. How about you? How many Sharpie markers do you own?

Links

• Sharpie
• Sanford Brands

Version Log

Version 1 - Write Out Loud! (a)
13JAN2008 - 25SEP2008
Background created from a Sharpie.com background. Font is Disney Print.

Version 2 - write out loud (b)
25SEP2008 - Present
Header created from various Sharpie.com images. Fonts used are y.n.w.u.a.y and Tahoma. Layout by Elizabeth mK.