Anglo American

Anglo American existed by 1881 no one is quite sure when it came into being, but it was around the time that englishman Stanley Fruiff set off for the United States to buy fountain pens, watches to sell back in Britain.

In about 1947 the company was bought from Druiff's descendants by optician Arthut Jenkin.

Anglo American is known to collectors today for its Alternative collection, which began in the early 1970s with butterfly; this frame was produced in order to gain coverage in magazines, but sold in surprising numbers. The collector's main purpose was to bring people to the company stand at trade shows. Most models were too difficult to make entirely by hand, so the company brought in an accomplished toolmaker from the toy firm Linsey.