Stencil
Manufacturing ( part 8)
Gestetner:
Gestetner
was the main manufacturer of stencil duplicating supplies equipment
and supplies outside of the United States. Their main competitor was
Roneo. Sigmund Gestetner, the president, was a son of David
Gestetner, who invented the Gestetner two drum duplicator. He with
his wife, Henny, came to the United states several times. Once they
came to my house at 10 Baldwin Place for dinner. When I went to the
back to open the front door, they followed me through the kitchen.
On one of their trips, their niece Ellen Buhler came with them. Many
of the top managers of Gestetner were Sigmund’s nephews. Ralph
(Rafe)
Barnett was the manager of the United States operations. His brother
Jeffery also worked for the US division. The sales manager,
Cummings, was the son of one of the directors of Gestetner. For
awhile he lived in Tarrytown, NY.
I
was sent to England in 1951 to exchange technical information. At
that time there were no jets. The planes called flying boats had to
stop in Newfoundland or Labrador for refueling and sometimes also in
Prestwick, Scotland. I am fairly sure the London airport was
Heathrow. The Gestetner factory was in the Totenham section of
London. I stayed at the Green Park hotel on Piccadilly. To get to
Totenham it was necessary to take the London Underground to Three
Sisters and then a bus. On later visit’s, the Underground had been
extended to a station close to the factory. I worked with Willy
Proudfoot, Gestetner research director. At that time food was
scarce. Mr.Gestetner sent me to the Savoy for a dinner.
He
also took me to his farm at Bosham on the south coast of England.
This was one of the first automated farms in England. The Gestetners
were strong supporters of Israel.
I
then flew to Paris, Orly airport, with one of Gestetner’s chemists
Bob Hughes. I stayed at the Royal Monceau, near the Etoile. We went
to Gestetner’s factory in MalMaison where stencils were being
coated. This factory was run by either a Buhler or Barnett brother.
Another Gestetner nephew, who worked in the laboratory was Weil,
whose father was connected to the Weil perfume company. Bob Hughes
took me one evening to a restaurant which was sort of diagonally
across from the Follies Bergere. On my subsequent visits to Paris, I
looked for it and was disappointed when I could not find it. When I
again met Bob Hughes, he told me the owner and his wife had a fight
two years after we were there and closed the restaurant. Gestetner’s
niece, Ellen Buhler, met me in Paris and took me to a restaurant that
served an excellent Bouillabaisse. When I brought her back to her
hotel room, she tried to seduce me. When I didn’t respond somehow
she knew I was in love with Kay. Ellen later married her cousin
Jeffery Barnett.