For those interested in old technical
publications on various aspects of metalworking, up for auction is a
well-preserved little booklet with the title Facts on Soldering, likely by
P. C. Ripley, who holds the copyright to the printed item, which has on the
last page these words:
COMPILED
BY
THE
EXPERIMENTAL AND
RESEARCH
DEPARTMENTS OF THE
CHICAGO
SOLDER COMPANY
CHICAGO ILLINOIS
U. S. A.
The triple-stapled booklet, which has
a handsome light brown cover with raised titling on a dark brown shield-like text
block, measures 4 inches wide by 8 inches high and comprises 32 pages, printed
in black and red and with fancy red ornamental borders as well as two
decorative floral motifs, a black one at the top of page 3 and a red one on page
29, as well as seven illustrations, all of them with “P.C.R. 26” printed below
(one on the bottom left, six at the bottom right), which I’m pretty sure stands
for P. C. Ripley and the year 1926, which is likely when this booklet was
published.
The booklet is accompanied by a three-page
reprint of an illustrated article, “Can Soldering Costs Be Reduced?”, also by
P. C. Ripley, from the May 1928 issue of Radio Manufacturers’ Monthly. On
the first page, Ripley is identified under his byline – and above a
black-and-white photographic portrait – as “Research Engineer, Chicago Solder
Company.” The two other photographs in the article are captioned “Portion of Assembly
Room in Atwater Kent Factory” and “Another A-K Factory Scene Showing Coil
Winding Process.” Note that the last page is blank.
There are five headings in the booklet,
and they read:
WHY SOLDER?
FLUXES
SOLDERS
SOLDERING EQUIPMENT
APPLICATIONS OF SOLDER AND
FLUX
The captions accompany the seven
figures are:
Unfortunately, I was not able to find
any biographical information – or even the full name – of P. C. Ripley, but I
did locate some data on the Chicago Solder Company, which is today known as
Kester Inc. I found it on a website on IBS Electronics, and the information
reads:
KESTER / ILLINOIS TOOL
WORKS INC.
Kester Solder has been a
worldwide supplier of soldering products since its inception in 1899.
Today, Kester Solder is a
leading worldwide manufacturer of solders and related materials for the
electronics manufacturing industry. Kester Inc. manufactures and supplies
assembly materials to electronic assembly, semiconductor, and automotive
industries in North America, Europe and Asia. The company offers traditional soldering
chemicals, paste, wires, advanced materials for semiconductor packaging, and
bars. Additionally, it produces liquid solder flux, tacky solder flux,
preforms, washers, pellets, and flux-cored wires. The company was formerly
known as Chicago Solder Company and changed its name to Kester Inc. in 1929.
The company was founded in 1899 and is based in Itasca, Illinois. As of July
2006, Kester Inc. operates as a subsidiary of ITW – Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Products include:
·
Solder pastes
·
Liquid fluxes
·
Flux cored and solid wire
·
Solder preforms
·
Bar solder
·
PC fabrication chemicals
·
Residue removers and cleaners
·
Temporary solder masks and conductive inks
Kester products are known for their hiqh quality and advanced technology. Kester’s QS-9000/ISO-9001 certification ensures customers of their dedication.
I just did a Google search again trying to find something out about Ripley, Chicago Solder, or Kester, and I found an update on the latter on the website of the International Tin Association:
US solder
producer Kester has announced its acquisition by Element Solutions Inc (ESI),
owner of MacDermid Alpha, effective December 2nd 2019. MacDermid Alpha is
already one of the world's leading solder producers, with global operations
headquartered in the US.
The move
follows a portfolio review by Kester parent company ITW in late 2018 and will
make Kester a part of the MacDermid Alpha business, including the Kester
facilities in the US, Germany, and Singapore.
Kester was
founded in 1899 as the Chicago Solder Company to produce an innovative
flux-cored solder. ITW acquired Kester in 2006 and established manufacturing
facilities in Singapore (1969) and in Germany (1972) to better service the
Asian and European markets.
MacDermid Alpha also has a long history in the solder
business, founded in the US in 1870, acquired by Cookson in the 1980s
and by ESI in 2015, merging with MacDermid in 2018. The company now operates
under a broad platform of electronics materials technologies and is well
positioned to integrate this new expansion of its solder business.
The overall condition of this rare triple-stapled
booklet and the four-page flyer is good. There’s some spotting, ripples,
creases, chipping, comer bends, rubbing (on the top half of the back cover,
where it appears a label or price tag may have been removed), etc., to the brown
construction-paper-like wrapper. The red and black inked pages within, 32 in
all, are in great shape, though the fine bond paper may be a bit age-toned,
spotted, etc., Also, there are a couple tiny marks near the staples at the
centerfold, where the silver-tone metal items have rusted a bit. There are no
annotations, marginalia, underlining, etc., anywhere within, nor any major
damage or flaws in the way of clipped or missing pages, tape repairs, water or
other liquid damage, etc. The single-fold flyer, a glossy reprint from the May
1928 issue of Radio Manufacturers' Monthly, is quite age-toned, spotted,
chipped, creased, etc., and it has been folded twice horizontally. There is neither
a musty nor smoky odor to these two vintage – over 90-year-old -- paper items.
This 1920s booklet on soldering from
the Chicago Solder Company, by its employee P. C. Ripley, and a reprint of a
1928 article, also by Ripley, are being sold AS IS, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND
PICTURED WITHIN. I am setting a very reasonable starting price
for the auction, and there is NO RESERVE. I am also including a Buy It Now
price.
Shipping and handling for the booklet and reprint: $4 to U.S. addresses (via Media Mail).
Note that eBay has now instituted a
shipping program whereby bidders from outside the U.S. can bid on or buy all
sellers' items, and the seller sends everything to an eBay facility in the US
for shipping. So far, this seems to be working out well.
If you want these two printed items on
soldering sent more quickly to you (e.g., via Priority Mail in the
U.S.), you must request this asap after winning or purchasing the two
pieces (or beforehand, if possible), and I will adjust the amount accordingly.
I will do my best to send the booklet
and reprint out to you no more than 2-3 business days following receipt of
payment (that is, when eBay informs me that your payment has been posted
to or otherwise cleared in my account).
If you are the winner or buyer of these
two printed items, PAYMENT IS EXPECTED WITHIN ONE WEEK (7 DAYS) FROM THE
PURCHASE DATE. If you cannot pay within this time frame, PLEASE contact me asap
so we can work something out. I'm very flexible and understanding, but I would
appreciate communication from you one way or another.
PLEASE NOTE THAT RETURNS WILL NOT BE
ACCEPTED NOR REFUNDS MADE FOR THESE TWO PRINTED ITEMS, SO PLEASE READ MY
DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY, LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS I’VE UPLOADED, AND ASK
ME ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT THE CONTENTS OR CONDITION OF THE BOOKLET
AND ARTICLE REPRINT. THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!
Thanks for looking, and please don't
hesitate to email me if you have any questions about these two 1920s
printed items on soldering by P. C. Ripley, who was employed by the Chicago
Solder Company.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL HAPPILY ADJUST
SHIPPING CHARGES FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES!!!
ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT, IF APPLICABLE,
eBAY WILL ADD ANY APPROPRIATE STATE SALES TAX TO THE INVOICE.