The Gibson family, originally from York, England, settled in the U.S. in 1850. Printing was the family business, so they brought with them a French hand-press to jumpstart their new lives and business opportunities in America. The Gibson brothers (Robert, Stephen, George and Samuel) and a young, sixteen-year-old John Gibson launched two printing companies, respectively: one propelled by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1860, and the other by purchase in 1870. The latter, a company called the John Gibson Company, was to become today’s C.R. Gibson.
Some of John Gibson Company’s original retail products included letterheads and business forms, notes, drafts and receipts sold to stationers, plus marriage certificates and calendars.
After prospering separately for over thirty years, the John Gibson Company and the Gibson Art Company merged into one, forming C.R. Gibson & Company under the leadership of John Gibson’s nephew, Charles Gibson. A young innovator and apprentice to the family business, Charles had previously developed wedding and baby books from the elaborate wedding and baptismal certificates of the day. These fresh formats were transferred to the new company, increasing C.R. Gibson’s presence in the industry and firmly established it as an industry leader.
By 1940, with the rough waters of the Great Depression behind them, the company had outgrown its New York dwelling, so C.R. Gibson, comprised of thirty-some employees, relocated to larger facilities and a more measured pace of life in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Continuing to innovate and increase its range of products, C.R. Gibson began a strategic growth strategy by acquisition, starting in 1963 with the purchase of photo album manufacturer, W.C. Horn Brothers & Company. This pivotal maneuver allowed C.R. Gibson to successfully enter the gift book and photograph album market with two revolutionary products: the popular Unimount™ photo album featuring adhesive pages under acetate sheets, and the Univision™ photo album with acetate windows (or pockets) on each page. As a direct result, sales increased seven-fold in as many years for C.R. Gibson.
The 1979 purchase of the Creative Papers Stationery Company added new dimension to the company in fine stationery and boxed card categories.
C.R. Gibson itself was acquired in December 2007 by CSS Industries, Inc. (NYSE: CSS). In May 2008 the company acquired Basalt, Colorado-based iota stationery and gifting essentials.
We are proud of our heritage and of the wide range of products our company manufactures and markets – from our photo albums, stationery and journals, to the new product categories of acrylic partyware and women’s fashion accessories. All items can be found online at www.crgibson.com.
Frank L. Griggs said:
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Frank Griggs and I am a cribbage board collector and doing research on W. C. Horn, Brother & Co. that C.R. Gibson & Company purchased in 1963. I am trying to find someone who might be able to provide information on this purchase and provide when Gibson phased out the cribbage board line after the purchase.
Many thanks for any information,
Frank L. Griggs
frankgriggs@juno.com
C.R.Gibson said:
Thank you for commenting on our blog and it is definitely an interesting question. Unfortunately I was unable to find any information for you. Since that was such a very long time ago when nothing was kept digitally, it is nearly impossible to find out an exact date when that company stopped producing cribbage boards. I will tell you that product was never something that was part of our core line so I believe it was not long after the purchase that these would have stopped being produced.
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