The Humphrey family private papers, most of which cover the period from 1892 to 1939, are few, comprising a book of mortgage receipts, the records of a typewriter sales, rental, and repair business in which the family was involved in the 1930's, and one small folder of miscellaneous papers. The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Century Pen Company including incorporation papers, minutes of the Board of Directors and of the stockholders meetings, and annual and semi-annual financial reports.
Of interest in the family private papers is a letter dated May 7, 1899 to James Nelson Humphrey from his brother E. P. Humphrey in Fort San Carlos, Nicaragua which documents the difficulty involved in transportation and communication between the United States and Latin America before the construction of the Panama Canal. Also included in the family papers is correspondence relating to the Whitewater Rifle Club of which Heywood C. Humphrey was secretary.
The minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors and stockholders of the Century Pen Company are nearly complete, but as they are brief they contain little information about the actual operation of the company before 1921. After that date, when financial problems began to plague the firm, the minutes are more informative. The decline of the company is well-documented by the series of financial reports (1922-1937).
Generally, the collection gives a comprehensive, although at times somewhat superficial, picture of the rise and decline of a small business firm.
