Arthur H. Pitney (1871–1933) was an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and businessman best known as the father of the

postage meter A postage meter or franking machine is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage (or franking) to mailed items. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority. A postage meter imprints an amount of ...

. Pitney filed a

patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and re ...

, in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

for the world’s first postage meter on December 9, 1901. He presented, demonstrated and perfected his invention over two decades – after partnering with

Walter Bowes Walter Bowes (1882–1957) was an English-born industrialist and Sportsperson, sportsman, who came to fame in the United States as the co-founder of technology firm Pitney Bowes, Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company (now Pitney-Bowes) An entrepren ...

, the postage meter was approved by the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

. He co-founded the Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company in 1920, now

Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes Inc. is an American technology company most known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment and services, and with expansions into e-commerce, software, and other technologies. The company was founded by Arthur Pitney, who i ...

, is a $6.1 billion provider. Pitney’s invention, the Pitney Bowes Model M Postage Meter, has been recognized as an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

Biography

Arthur Pitney was born in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

in 1871. In 1890 he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he attended the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893, spending days viewing the mechanical inventions on display. Later, while working as a clerk in a

wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so t ...

store he identified a problem that was costing his firm time and money — affixing postage stamps to hundreds of envelopes took time and also led to stamp theft. An inventor in the classic “tinkerer-putterer” mode, he created a device to simplify business mailings. The first postage meter device consisted of a manual crank, chain action, printing die, counter and lockout device. In 1902, he received a patent for "a hand-cranked gadget with two locking counters - one counting down the amount of postage remaining from the original amount purchased, the other counting up to show the total postage dispensed".''FORTUNE'' Small Business, "Meter Men", September 2002.
/ref> He gave the device a trial run in 1903. He formed the Pitney Postal Machine Company in 1902, which became the American Postage Meter Company in 1912. The machine’s acceptance by the public was slow. Pitney — his finances and marriage both wrecked by the project — resorted to selling insurance but persisted. In 1919, Pitney was introduced to

, an industrialist who had success marketing a post office stamp canceling machine. In April 1920, the Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter Company was formed. In September of that year, the Model M Postage Meter was approved by the U.S. Postal Service, legislation was passed by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and the first postage meter was put into commercial use on November 16, 1920. Pitney and Bowes set up a

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

presence in Stamford, Connecticut and by 1922 there were branch offices in a dozen major cities and the Pitney-Bowes postage meter was also approved for use in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was awarded the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

Certificate of Merit The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal replaced the much older Certificate of Merit which was authorized by the United ...

in 1922. Pitney and Bowes were often at odds, and after they had a dispute in 1924, Pitney resigned. While his innovations led to the creation of an entire mail processing industry, his efforts brought him little joy. Pitney suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1927 and died in 1933.

References

"The Real People Behind Our Famous Brand Names"

Footnotes

External links

Pitney Bowes corporate US websitePitney Bowes corporate UK website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitney, Authur 1871 births 1933 deaths People from Quincy, Illinois People from Stamford, Connecticut American businesspeople American inventors

Biography

References

Footnotes

Further reading

External links