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"...The early days of the rubber stamp industry began in 1866. J.F.W. Dorman was the first person to commercialize the making of rubber stamps. His vulcanizer machine began producing rubber stamps during the Civil War. Dorman's business is still in production today.
Charles Klinker began selling stamps in San Francisco in 1873. His red rubber stamps were a hot selling item at that time..."
"...Prior to the rubber stamp, there were metal printing stamps, usually made of brass. These preceded the rubber version by six to eight years. We remember them in the form of seals, used with wax to ensure the privacy of documents. The seals themselves were generally very elaborate. The word 'stamp' is used to refer to a marking device.
There is some confusion surrounding the production of the first rubber stamp. In America, Charles Goodyear discovered the process by which rubber is cured, in 1844, while he was experimenting in his kitchen. He dropped a mixture of rubber and sulphur on to a hot stove and found that it was still flexible the next day. The process was dubbed vulcanisation after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
The birth of the rubber stamp was closely entwined with early dentistry. Vulcanized rubber, set in plaster molds, was used to make cost-effective denture bases. Dentists had their own round vulcanizers, called 'dental pots', which would be used, eventually, to manufacture the first rubber stamps.
In 1866, James Orton Woodruff started experimenting with a vulcanizer, trying to make some letter molds. He asked his uncle [Urial], who was a dentist, for help and advice and after additional experiments with the 'dental pot', the first quality rubber stamps were created. Some of the rubber stamp companies formed in 1880 are still in business today. [Woodruff's cousin, Alonzo, started the Superb Stamp Pad Company in 1891. B.G. Volger invented his Excelsior Stamp Pad (two felts and a blotter on a wooden base covered with nainsook) in 1884. Since the gel mixed with dye made the pads smelly, Volger perfected a formula for quick-drying nonsmear ink in 1908. Other type of stamp pads followed: foam stamp pads, wood stamp pads; laundry, invisible (exposed via blacklight), opaque (for to stamp on metal, plastic, ceramics), edible (used by grocers, and parachute (for nylon).]
The rubber stamps we are familiar with are those found in banks and offices, such as the mechanical date stamp, often found in Post Offices.
The first picture stamps came in the form of educational stamps. German artist Kurt Schwatting, as early as 1919, used artistic stamps in his collages. The home of 'art stamps', as they are often called, is California, where they have been popular for over sixteen years, and there are specialist shops just selling art stamps. With the increase in workshops and demonstrations over the last few years, the craft has grown tremendously...
[In concluding, there is a mystery today who the very true originator of rubber was!]"
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Some early companies:
in California...
• All Night Media, in Forest Knolls and later, San Rafael, began in 1974 with only wood mount 250 stamps, with designs mostly of zany phrases along with everyday themes. The 23-page catalog cost $1. Each stamp cost $3.50 and was made using an antique stamp press with the wood mounting being oiled-rubbed individually by hand. Founded by artists Robert Bloomberg and Marilyn Freund, All Night Media merged with Plaid Enterprises and moved to Norcross, Georgia in 1999.
• Hero Arts, in Berkeley. began in 1974 also. Jackie Leventhal was the artist who was formerly a photographer. She taught in stamp-making classes. She contributed her rubber stamp art in a feminist children's book, A Girl Named Hero, written & illustrated by Kit Duane, and published by Kelsey Press of Berkeley. Her $1 catalog had 100 wood mount stamps with prices ranging from $3.25-$4.75. The designs are everyday themes. Jackie's still in business, currently in Emeryville.
• Leavenworth Jackson (yes, a she), lone freelance illustator & graphic designer based in San Francisco beginning in mid-1970s. Specialized in surrealism & capriciousness, whose images graced Village Voice, Saturday Review, Psychology Today, and Ms.. Still selling today via mail-order and appearing in rubber stamp conventions in Bay area.
• Personal Stamp Exchange (PSX), in Petaluma, began in 1980. The wood mount stamps were found mostly in gift shops and stationery stores. Designs were everyday themes. Influenced the foam mount trend in other like companies. Purchased by subsequent owners based in Santa Rosa.
• Rubberstampede, also in Berkeley, came out with a catalog in 1977 for $1 that boasted 150 wood mount stamps. Founded by Jessica Katzen (an early student of Hero Arts), who purchased a used vulcanizer to pursue her venture at home. One of her first stamps was created with her high school boyfriend that read 'Sincere good wishes to a dear friend', which was stamped in many high school yearbooks. Rubberstampede is currently owned by Delta Crafts paints since November, 1999 in El Monte and eventually, Whittier, and became Rubber Stampede. Designs are everyday themes.
• Stampendous, in Anaheim. Founder Fran Seiford made her first $25 investment in stamps in the Fall of 1981 when she ordered a batch of wood mount custom rubber stamps made from her own illustrations. An art student at Biola University, Fran worked full-time as Assistant Art Director for a gift manufacturer and managed the stamp business on the side for the first 2 years at home. The name 'Stampendous' was established in January, 1983. Fran designed lots of garden images based on her travels to England as well as selling stencils of her designs besides stamps. Designs are everyday themes. In January, 1988, the business moved to a 1200 square foot warehouse in Fullerton. Over the next 5 years, the company doubled its sales volume each year and outgrew several more warehouses. The business has outgrown its two warehouses in Anaheim but is still selling today in Anaheim, in its current warehouse. (Thick) catalog (for 3-ring binder) still available. The company's known for using gray rubbers instead of the standard red.
other Locations...
• Flim-Flam Shop (founder Gene Borckardt claimed to be the biggest rubber stamp maker in America). He started selling at a swap meet in 1970, making his own stamps and wood moldings before becoming strictly mail-order. His stamps started at 50 cents upward and sold catalogs for $2.00 each. He named his business 'Flim-Flam' because people get flim-flammed at swap meets. He set up shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Designs were everyday themes. Eventually sold to Inkadinkado.
• Inkadinkado began in Boston in 1980 with a cart selling stamps in the market place and eventually moved to a huge building in Woburn, Massachusetts and eventually Reading, Pennsylvania. Today, it's based in Chicago, Illinois, where it is now owned by Wilton (a company famous for its themed bakewares). Designs are everyday themes.
• Rubber Stamps of America, founded in 1979 based in Saxtons River, Vermont. Eventually moved to Dublin, New Hampshire in 1990s and set up shop in a barn. Offers a tour of their factory where you can watch them make and process a wood mount stamp designed by their very own artists. Designs are everyday themes. Notable artist of others is Ken Brown (since 1983), who sends his batch of humorous designs to the company from his home in New York City. Catalog: $5.00 (43 pages); separate Ken Brown catalog: $5.
• Many others who [sadly] went out of business:
Acey Deucy
ACME Tip Top
Adorned Surfaces
Alice in Rubberland (was later purchased by Mid Summer Night Stamps, which eventually went out of business on May 19, 2005)
All Creatures Rubber Stamps
Arizona Stamps Too
Art on the Block
Art Stamps Direct
Artistic Enhancements
Bella Rosa Paper Arts
Blazing Star Rubber Stamps
Calico Creations
Calligraphy House
Camper Stamper Company
Change of Pace Rubber Stamps
Classic Status Stamp Company
Copper Leaf Creations (new owner)
Creative Gifts - The Rubber Stamp People
Daisy Kingdom
Delafield
Diakonos Stamps
DollarStamps.com
EccenTricks (exception: only makes custom stamps)
Elderberry Knoll
Embossing Arts Company
Eugenia's Eclectibles
For Me and My House
Gail's Studio, LLC
Good Good the Elephant
Good Stamps * Stamp Goods
Granny Moon Rubber Stamps
Granny's Rubber Stamps
Granny's Rubber Stamps and Supplies
Graphic Rubber Stamp Company
Graven Images
Great Notion
Green-Eyed Goblin
Herbarium
Hippo Heart
Impressive Stamps - Main Company Info
L.A. Stampworks
Love To Stamp
Love You To Bits
Mail Expressions
Main Street Stamps
Mars Tokyo (was later purchased by Adorned Surfaces, which eventually went out of business)
Mid Summer Night Stamps
Midnight Oil
Milltown Obsessions
MJ Stamps
Nan Stamps - Rubberstikzkin Presents
Octopus Ink Rubber Art Stamps
OM Studio Rubber Stamps
Onion Arts
Overland Express
PhotoArtStamps and More
Pink Ink
PO Box Rubberstamps
QKR Stamp-ede
Quarter Moon
Raintree
Raw Stamps
Red Head Rubber
Refried Rita (owner Barbara Cressman later sold to Gary Dorothy, new owner of Stampa Barbara in 1980s, who eventually sold Stampa Barbara to Clearsnap in 1999, who is selling off Gary's remaining inventory)
Rise Reading Designs
Rose City Stamps
Rubberstilzkin
Sarasota Stamps
SonLight Rubber Stamps (known for 'window display' mounted on stamps)
Stamp Cabana
Stamp Crazy
Stamp Studio, Inc
Stampa Barbara
Stampassions
Stamping By Candlelight
Stamping Matters magazine
Stamps In Motion
Strangecraft Art Rubber Stamps
Sweet Celebrations
Synergistics
TooMuchFun Rubber Stamps
Tejas Rubber Stamps
The Cottage Stamper
The Rubber Attic
The Stamp Mill
The Studio Zine
Trifles, Inc.
Under The Rubber Tree
Visions of Ink
Visual Image Printery
Visual Lunacy Society
Wizard of Ah's Stamps
Works of Heart
[discontinued & retired stamps made by the above companies are considered valuable collectibles]
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• Today's many newer companies [happily] starting & growing in business, some have incorporated sisterly scrapbooking inventory:
A Stamp In The Hand & Judi-Kins (hosts of annual conventions in Bay area)
Alias Smith & Rowe
Anna Griffin (thin clear unmounted stamps that mount to acrylic blocks)
Art Gone Wild
Auntie Amy
Biblical Impressions (which ran Rubber Stamp Auction only)
Carmen's Veranda (hosted annual convention in southern Arizona. Founder Elaine Madrid's grandfather used to work for Goodrich, a tire company that made rubber.)
Catch A Falling Star
Close To My Heart (consultation)
Creative Images
DeNami Designs
DJ Inkers
G-Rated Rubber Stamps
Good Impressions
Inka Stamps
I Love Rubber Stamps
Ma Vinci
Magenta Art Stamps
Michael Strong Rubber Stamps
My Heart Stamps For You
New Stamp On The Block
Paula Best
Penny Black
Posh Impressions/Dee Gruenig
Rubba Dub Dub
rubberstampingdepot.com
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers
Rubber Monger
Rubber Romance
Rubber Stamping Across America (specializes in custom designs using photo-polymer type rubber, which is clear yellow-ish and common for custom stamps orders)
Ruby Red Rubber
Serendipity Stamps
Stamp Art
Stamp Camp
Stamp Francisco (owner Catherine purchased Hippo Heart Rubber Stamps from Jennifer, and expects to carry: Fruit Basket Upset, Ivory Coast Trading Poste, Bartholomew's Ink, Gumbo Graphics, Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper, and Imagine)
Stamping Bella
Stamps Galore
Stamp LaJolla
Stamp N' Around
Stamp Oasis
Stamp Out Cute
Stamp Zia
Stampin' Up (consultation)
Stampland
Sunday International
Terry Medaris Art Stamps
Tessler Stamps
The Rubbernecker
The Stamp Doctor
The Stampin' Place
Toybox Rubber Stamps
Viva Las Vegas
Xpedx Paper
Zettiology
Zimprints
...[& many more...]
Something different & neato...
• Douglas Homs Corp. in Belmont, California. Douglas founded the idea that, instead of the classic wood mounts (or foams), a contraption of all-in stamp phrases would save a space. So, he invented 'Dial-A-Phrase', which comprised of 12 words or phrases (i.e. payments due, teachers' grading) inside a metal cover each identified by a number, which you dial to get to by using a selector key (supported by a seamless rubber belt). Five of these stamps (with the 12 words or phrases collected) ranged from $2.95 to $11.95(teachers) and were found in stationery and business supply stores. Today, there's a reproduction made in 2004 by Leisure Arts' Memories in the Making called 'Thinkable Inkables', made of up to 10 stamps (12 words/phrases) averaging $7. Phrases in: love, family, pet, baby, etc.).
• Stamp'N Stitch in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. The company was founded on sick leave sitting in a big brass bed reading needlecraft magazines. The clever idea was simply that, to use the stamp to mark an embroidery design on fabric instead of the tissue embroidery transfer. After you're done stitching the designs after stamping, the washable ink launders away leaving no residual marks. The kit cost $4.95 that included a small vial of washable ink, a plastic handle, and a sheet of gray rubber stamps of your chosen designs, such as flowers, letters, lamb. Today, various companies offer similar business.
Today's neato...
• Lost Angeles Rubber Works in Beverly Hills, California. General and sign language images, wood mount & unmounted stamps. Artists: Kendra Harness and Dan McClintock, among others. Catalog: $4.95 or $1 for sign language portion.
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The famous users:
-> chef Julia Child, who stamped on her personal correspondence
-> actress Diane Keaton, who collected whimsical array of stamps
-> writer Tom Robbins
-> writer Jerry Kosinski
-> writer Saul Steinberg of The New Yorker, who incorporated his stampings in his works and whose personal stamp collection was exhibited
old Trivia:
from Marking Devices, August 1936
"Rubber Stamp Entertains Zeppelin Passengers
Lakehurst, New Jersey
Hans Hinrichs, New York business man, probably holds the Hindenburg's record for the number of postcards--somewhere around 200--sent from the airship. He's a practical fellow. Before leaving Berlin he had a rubber stamp made. It read: 'Greetings from mid-ocean and mid-heaven.' While others were plodding away writing greetings or chewing their pens in an effort to think up something bright, Hinrichs sat there with his rubber stamp. Thud, thud, it went--and everybody laughed."
~~~
from Stamp Trade News, August 1909
"Don't show your customers through your shop. Rubber stamp making should be kept secret."
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Publications:
(early newsletters)...
rubberstampmadness. Thompson, Lowry (with Miller, Joni K.). Quarterly in tabloid form (approximately 10 pages per issue). Taught how to stamp in New Canaan High School Publishing Workship's newsletters (Courant), in Spring 1978. Also sold rubber-stamped stationery and postcards. New Canaan, Connecticut. Late-1970s.
Rubber Hand Stamps and the Manipulation of Rubber. Sloane, T. O' Conor, A.M, E.M., Ph.D. Norman W. Henley & Co. 1891.
(early trade journals beginning in 1907)...
Marking Devices Journal/Marking Industry Magazine (directory)
Stamp Manufacturer's Journal
Stamp Trade News
(books/booklets)...
Banana, Anna; Gaglione 1940-2040; Schraenen, Guy. (Untitled). A Press, Antwerp, Belgium. 1978.
Berner, Jeff. Jeff Berner California. Mill Valley, California. 1986.
Bloch, Julie Hagan. The Zenrin. Hurleyville, New York. 1991.
Borofsky, Jeanne. Rubber Art: A Guide to Rubber Stamping. Rubber Stamps of America, Saxtons River, Vermont. 1989.
Bottinelli, Bickhard. Mail Art and Künstlerstempel. Kassel, Germany. 1976.
Button, Roger, ed. Artstampers Worldwide. Kettering, England. 1994.
Cairns, Phyllis. Floating Heads: A Contemporary Visual Narrative. Pembrole Press, Westport, Connecticut. 1986.
Crane, Michael, and Stofflet, Mary. Correspondence Art: Source Book for the Network of International Postal Art Activity. Contemporary Arts Press, San Francisco, California. 1984.
Dass, Baba Ram. Remember: Be Here Now. Hanuman Foundation, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1978.
Fisher, Hervé. Art et Communication Marginale: Tampons d'Artistes. Balland, Paris, France. 1974.
Freidman, Ken. A Ready-Hand-Novel by Henrik Have in Adaption by Ken Friedman. Edition After Hand, Ringkobing, Denmark. 1973.
Fricker, H. R. Networkingmaterial. Museum für Moderne Kunst Weddel, Weddel, Germany. 1986.
Gaglione, Bill. Stamp-Art #3. Abracadada, San Francisco, California. 1982.
Gaglione, Bill. Vile Number 7: Stampart. Banana Productions, San Francisco. 1979.
Gaglione, Bill. Dadaland Stampbook. Stempelplaats, Amsterdam, Holland. 1978.
Gaglione, Bill. This is a Special Rubber Stamp Art Issue of Dad(d)azine. Dadaland. San Francisco. 1976. European Tour. 1978.
Gleason, Kay. Stamp It. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York. 1981.
Gruber, Hermann, Ungültig. Mail Art-Archiv Wien, Vienna, Austria.
Gunn, Ian. Rubber Tricks Ink: Annual Tricks Fest Invitational. Corona, California. 1993.
Hempel, Jr., Hugo. Das Stempel Buch. Gruene Zweig, Löhrbach, Germany. 1992.
Horiike, Tohei. Rubber Stamp Art. Edition Shimizu, Shimizu City, Japan. 1979.
Jackson, Leavenworth. This is a Book by Leavenworth Jackson. San Francisco, California. 1976.
Johnson, Ray. Correspondence: An Exhibition of the Letters of Ray Johnson. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina. 1976.
Kocman. J.H. Monography of my Stamp Activity. Czechoslovakia. 1974.
Kocman, J.H. Stamp Activity. Czechoslovakia. 1972.
Lisboa, Unhandeijara, ed. Karimbada. Number 2. Paraiba, Brasil. 1979.
Loeffler, Carl, ed. Front. San Francisco, California. Vol. 1, No. 4, May 1976.
Maidan, W., and Bucher, M., ed. (Untitled). Soft Art Press, Lausanne, Switzerland. Number 17, May 1979.
Mancusi, Tim (Joel Rossman, Bill Gaglione), ed. Stamp Art. San Francisco, California. 1980.
Mather, Mick. Eraser Carvers Quarterly. Syracuse, New York.
Melucci, Dina, ed. The Rebus Quarterly. West Orange, New Jersey. 1993.
Miller, Joni K., and Thompson, Lowry. The Rubber Stamp Album. Workman Publishing, New York, New York. 1978.
Nagiscarde, Sophie. L'Art du Tampon. Musée de la Poste, Paris, France. 1995.
Perneczky, Géza. The Magazine Network: The Trends of Alternative Art in the Light of Their Periodicals 1968-1988. Soft Geometry Editions, Köln, Germany 1993.
Poinsot, Jean-Marc. Mail Art: Communication at a Distance, Concept. Éditions C.E.D.I.C., Paris, France.
Ricardo the Magnificent. The Rubber Stamp Folio. Los Angeles, California. Number 2, Fall 1989.
Rivard, Karen and Brinkmann, Thomas H. The Marking Story. Marking Device Associaion. Illinois. 1968.
Rocola. The First Rainbow Stamp Art Show. San Francisco, California. 1988.
de Rook, G. J. Stempel Kunst. T'Hoogt, Holland. 1975.
Rosenberg, Harold. Saul Steinberg. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York. 1978.
Roth, Dieter. Mundunculum. Edition Hansjörg Mayor, Stuttgart, Germany. 1975.
Schraenen, Guy. Stamppostcards. Antwerp, Belgium. 1977.
Schraenen, Guy. Stamps in Praxis. Archive Small Press and Communication, Antwerp, Belgium. 1978.
Splettstösser, Peter Jörg. International Rubberstamp Workshop. Bremen, Germany. 1981.
Stein, Melody and Franklin, founding editors. National Stampagraphic. North Valley Stream, New York. (nnewsletter-magazine format)
Stendahl, Roz, ed. Stretch Marks. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Thomson, George L. Rubber Stamps & How to Make Them. Pantheon Books, New York, New York. 1982.
Thompson, Lowry, ed. Rubberstampmadness. New Canaan, Ct. 1980. (magazine)
van Barneveld, Aart. Rubber Stamp Publications. Stempelplaats, Amsterdam, Holland. 1980.
van Barneveld, Aart. Rubberstampdesigns. Stempelplaats, Amsterdam, Holland. 1978.
van der Marck, Jan. Arman. Abbeville Press, New York, New York. 1984.
Vigo, Edgardo-Antonio. Our International Stamps/Cancelled Seals: Book 6. La Plata, Argentina. 1981.
Vittore Baroni, and Bill Gaglione.
Vigo, Edgardo-Antonio. Sellado a Mano. La Plata, Argentina.
Ward, David. Rubber Stamp Marketplace: A Complete Guide to the World of Rubber Stamp Delights. Cornucopia Press, Seattle, Washington. 1995.
Waterman, Nanci. Vamp Stamp News. Hanover, Maryland. (newsletter-magazine format)
(magazines)...
Craft Stamper (UK), Rubberstampmadness, Scrap & Stamp Art, Somerset Studio, Stamper's Dream (online newsletter), Tabloid Trash (for carvers & mail art), The Rubber Stamper, The Stamper's Sampler,
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