November 2005 Newsletter

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Upcoming Meeting - November 3 rd , 2005,

Doors Open 7:30 p.m., Meeting starts at 8:00 p.m.

Directions to the Town of Islip Recreation Center, Ronkonkoma Beach Pavilion at Lake Ronkonkoma off Rosevale Ave. (631) 467-3308

From the LIE: Exit 59, Ocean Ave North to Rosevale Ave. bear left to 1 st traffic light, turn right at light into park, left into parking lot, building is at the end on your right.

From Sunrise Highway: Exit 49 Lakeland (Sayville) continue north crossing Veterans Highway, merge w/Ocean Ave, continue north under LIE & follow the directions above.

Program by John Feldman

And now few words from the President (or chief bottle nut notes)

Well, this should be an exciting meeting, as we will be treated to a program by a member who is among the tops in their area of collecting. He is one of the top bitters collectors in the United States today. For anyone who has had the pleasure to see his bottle room, which is breathtaking to behold, you already know who I am referring to. This is none other than our own John Feldman. John has been active in bottle collecting for some time, in fact, at the October meeting, we were talking about how John had attended the Charles Gardiner auctions back in the mid 1970's when his collection was sold. I was just a young thing then, digging my bottles in the woods and recall reading about the sale in the hobby publications of the day, such as Bottle News and Old Bottle Magazine are two that come to mind. What will John be talking about? Well, come on down and find out!

I had the great pleasure to not only visit Andy Foy and Ann Guiliano, but also was treated to a tour of their lovely, and spectacular, home on the water in Center Moriches. In addition to bottles, there are nice displays of other glass collectables in the home, which is really something. As you can guess, I had a wonderful time!

I would like to thank everyone who came out for the October meeting, despite the late newsletter. My talk on Sayville bottles was well received, and I do want to thank Mike Katsar for his input and help with information on the Sayville milk bottles that I had brought.

For your reading pleasure this month, I have a piece on a rather short lived, but very interesting company from Sayville, the Indispensable Kit Company. If anyone should have any information on the Indispensable Kit Company, PLEASE let me know! Perhaps the best information I have to date is the obituary notice from my hometown paper, the Suffolk County News, of the founder of the Company, Theodore Crampton. My knowledge of the firm is somewhat limited, as there seems to be a lack of information in general about it, but you never know what might turn up next! Ah, the joy of collecting and researching what you collect!

Special note to George Fisher. I picked up 4 different deco sodas from Brooklyn, will bring to meeting for you.

We are already looking forward to next months meeting, which is the Christmas party. The poinsettias are looking nice, so there will be a nice one for the club raffle!

See you at the meeting on November 3rd !

Mark

The "Doctor's Deputy"

Or a history of the

INDISPENSABLE KIT COMPANY

By Mark Smith

For this article I want to share with you what I have been able to learn about one of the most intriguing companies's to ever operate in Sayville, and perhaps one of the shortest lived to boot. So far, I know of the pair of kits I have, and an empty box which is owned by a neighbor, that is all that remains to my current knowledge.

The Indispensable Kit Company as I can best determine was founded either late in 1923 or early 1924, and by the winter of 1924-25 had closed up shop for good. So we are looking at a period of operation of just around 1 year, not very long by anyone's standards! Over the years I have been very fortunate to acquire both versions of the Company's kit, one aimed at the home market, and a second aimed more at travelers. Since I have examples of both, I can attest that there is no difference between the kits, other than the kits name, which is stenciled in a gold tone paint on the inside of the cover.

The Indispensable Kit Company was founded by a noted young man, Theodore H. M. Crampton. Mr. Crampton was a highly recognized young engineer, who developed and patented several advances in the construction of roadways. However, he must have developed a case of wanderlust, as it appears he left the engineering world behind briefly to pursue his Indispensable Kit Company idea.

The Kit is packaged in a nicely made metal box, well japanned to protect it, and stenciled on the inside of the cover would appear either "The Doctor's Deputy Indispensable Kit Co Sayville Long Island NY" or the much longer "Indispensable Medical & Surgical Kit for Travelers Campers Autoists & Home Indispensable Kit Company Sayville Long Island NY". The dimensions of the box are 2 x 9 x 6 and it is very well stocked. Now of course the most interesting aspect are, for me anyhow, the 10 little numbered and labeled bottles which are contained in the kit. Numbered 1 through 10, with a direction booklet for use. With the direction booklet, you would look up your ailment or problem, and you would then take the prescribed medication, such as 1 #3 tablet & 2 #7 tablets. Rather clever all in all. I am very fortunate in that both of my kits are 95% intact, with it seems only a few tablets missing from the bottles, and shy a tube of ointment or a box of bandages. They seem to have been used very little over the years. We will reproduce as much of the paper work as we can; I hope it reproduces well for us, as it is very enlightening. Included are two testimonial letters, one from the Director and Dean of the University of Arizona, and one from a mining engineer in New York City. Both letters are dated late in 1923, and the wording indicates that the Kits they had seen were either prototypes, or samples.

The Kit was advertised with a price of 7.50, and you could obtain refills as required either at your local pharmacy or through the mail from the Indispensable Kit Company. Funny thing though, a physical address is not given in any of the paperwork I have for the kits, they only say Sayville Long Island NY. I guess the post man would know where to take the letters!

Now, there seems to have been a related company, of which I can only make at best an educated guess about, at the same time in Sayville. First, a little background that I hope will allow you to follow along. As I mentioned before, there are bottles in the Indispensable Kit, and these bottles all have paper labels on them. The labels are all marked "Indispensable Prescription" as part of the printing. I was very lucky to be able to obtain two bottles, from that two edged sword of a source, eBay, one is a small, round bottle, with a paper label on it, from a firm with the name "Universal Prescription" where one would find the "Indispensable Prescription" name. The label is also numbered (#12) and the lay out of the label is identical to the "Indispensable Prescription" labels. The second bottle is identical in all aspects to the bottles contained in the Indispensable Kits, being amber in color, and rectangular in form, and also bears a label for the Universal Prescription Company of Sayville. Now, with the type styles, layout, numbering and address matching (both give just Sayville Long Island NY as the address), I have very little doubt in my mind that this Universal Prescription Company is closely related to or was a part of the Indispensable Kit Company. Perhaps this was the company that would sell you the refills for the Kit? I regret to say that it is likely that we will never know for sure.

I have searched through my local newspaper for the years 1923, and 1924, hoping to find something on the Indispensable Kit Company, however, the only thing I have been able to find to date of any relation was a notice that Mr. Crampton had wed a young lady from neighboring Bayport, Miss Cora Frieman. Some of the members might recognize that name; her father was one of the brothers who operated the Frieman Brothers bottling company in Bayport, whose bottles we collect today. I have been in contact with my Historical Society in regards to information on either of Mr. Crampton's Company's, or on Mr. Crampton. They were able to supply me with a copy of his death notice. They have no records or knowledge of either company, so for the time being, things are looking like the end of the road.

I have seen his obituary notice, it seems he died very suddenly while visiting his family at a young age, I believe he was 41 when he passed away. I have reprinted his obituary notice as it shows how inventive and creative Mr. Crampton truly was, it is amazing what he invented! As you read it, notice that the date 1923 appears several times, in relation to Mr. Crampton making some changes in his life, this is the time of the Indispensable Kit Company. Here it is in its entirety, from the October 9 th , 1931 issue of the Suffolk County News:

"Theodore H. M. Crampton, known throughout the engineering world for his inventive contributions in the field of concrete, asphalt plank an road work, and for his many and varied technical articles on mining, metallurgy, geology, and asphalt plank for highway and railroad crossings and bridge work, died suddenly at the home of his mother in Santa Monica, California on September 30, at the age of 41. He was born on January 20 th 1890.

In 1914 he was graduated a Mining and Metallurgical Engineer from the Colorado School of Mines where he had taught in several subjects during his scholastic years and through the same years had been associated with Dr. G. M. Butler in the research and preparation of data for Bulletin Number 8 "Clays of Eastern Colorado" for the Colorado Geological Survey.

Shortly after his graduation, Mr. Crampton, with his brother Frank A. Crampton, formed the engineering firm of Crampton & Crampton and conducted a general mining and consulting engineering practice which, until 1923, was interrupted only during the period the World War, during which period he was connected with the War Department in the development of Field Plotting and Computing Board for the direction of artillery fire; later securing patents on the perfected plotting apparatus.

Mr. Crampton had devoted much time to inventive subjects, among the most important being the development of high temperature furnaces, and the development of preformed Asphalt saturated Felt Planks as a wearing surface for bridge floors and road work which he had invented and perfected.

Since 1923, Mr. Crampton had devoted his time largely to road, bridge and railroad work and had been connected in in the various branches of this type of engineering as Field Engineer for the Phillip Carey Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was Vice President and Field Engineer for the Universal Asphalt Plank Company and Chief Engineer for the Servicized Products Corporation of Chicago. For the five years past he had been the Supervising Engineer of the Concrete Products Section for the Johns Manville Corporation which firm he had left in June of this year, in order to conduct a private engineering practice and resume research work in his chosen field with his brother, in the original engineering firm of Crampton & Crampton.

Mr. Crampton's activities in the engineering societies had been many and varied. He was an ex-trustee of the Cleveland Engineering Societies; a member and ex-secretary of the Ohio Section of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and the ex-secretary of the Cleveland Alumni of Tau Beta Pi, which fraternity had awarded him its highest honors in 1914. His college fraternity was Beta Theta Pi in whose work and activities he was actively interested and connected after graduation from "Mines".

In the loss of Mr. Crampton the engineering world has lost one of the most valuable on its younger group. He is survived by his wife, the former Miss Dora Frieman, two sons, his mother, and his brother. Funeral services were held on Wednesday afternoon from the Raynor Memorial Chapel, the Rev. Joseph H. Bond officiating."

Of course, if anyone should have any information on The Indispensable Kit Company or the Universal Prescription Company I will be very interested in hearing from you! I have learned that it can be much easier to find the products, than information on the producers!

The two kits side by side

Above the Surgical Kit lettering and to right the paper work from the Doctor's Deputy Kit.

OPPS! I would like to apologize for not getting this newsletter out before the meeting gang. Seems real life got in the way (that and I have no mind left). Again I apologize. Also another reminder that the December Meeting is the Holiday Party (so start planning those goodies) and please remember that the December Newsletter will be our last. So a new newsletter team will be needed. If no one steps up to do the newsletter right away we will bring up at the next available meeting sending out post card reminders until such time as a new newsletter editor can be found or another decision is reached by the club... Laura