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| From the December, 1920 issue, Vol. 27, No. 3. |
Irving Pierson Fox (b. August 23, 1860; d. July 20, 1927)
New York. White.
Occupation: Publisher.
Father's occupation: clergyman, farmer, teacher.
Irving P. Fox was born in Ashland, New York (in the Catskill mountains) to Clarinda S. and Henry J. Fox. Henry and Clarinda were originally from England. The father embraced Methodism and left England in 1844. He planned to work as a pastor in Canada. However, during a stay in New York City, he was convinced by Methodist ministers to stay and work there as a pastor.
The year Irving was born (in 1860), his father was president of the Ashland Collegiate Institute (a school in Ashland, New York which was open from 1858 to 1861). However, the next year a fire destroyed the school's building and the institute closed. The family then moved around New York state, following Henry in his work as a Methodist minister.
The family left New York for South Carolina in 1869. The family moved to Oro, SC in Chesterfield County. The family tried to start a farm, and Henry continued his work as minister. Around this time, the family is said to have been "exposed to great danger" and "experienced no small amount of suffering and pecuniary loss by the persecutions of the Ku-Klux-Klan."
In 1872, the father Henry was appointed to a church in Charleston. The family moved again in 1873. This time they moved to Columbia as Henry had been appointed as Professor of Rhetoric, Criticism, Elocution, English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina.
Irving matriculated into USC's preparatory school at some point between February 1875 and January 1876. The university closed before he completed his degree.
After the 1877 closure of the university, most of the Fox family left South Carolina for the greater Boston area. Irving completed his college preparatory education at Hyde Park High School, graduating in 1879. He then enrolled at Boston University. At BU, he served as editor of The Beacon and was President of the Philomathean Society (a literary society). He graduated with a B.A. degree in 1883 and was class president. He would remain involved with Boston University throughout his life. He was active in the alumni association and the fraternity Theta Delta Chi. For example, he served as president of the alumni association from 1889-90.
After completing his education, Irving worked in the newspaper industry. He started working for the Boston Courier after graduation. He remained working for the Courier until 1892. During the last four years, he was managing editor. After leaving the Courier, he worked as editor of the Manufacturers' Gazette for a year. He left after the paper changed ownership.
In September 1894, shortly after leaving the Manufacturers' Gazette, Irving began working as a publisher. He served as president and treasurer of the Spatula Publishing Company. The company's main publication was the magazine The Spatula. The Spatula was a publication for druggists. In modern usage, the term "spatula" usually refers to a kitchen utensil, but the magazine title referred the utensil's use by a druggist when mixing pharmaceuticals.
The Spatula was published from 1894 to 1925. The first issue described the magazine's purpose as follows: "The publication in no way intended to rival the other excellent periodicals devoted to druggists. . . . . that are already in the field. They furnish the roast; it is the purpose of the SPATULA to provide the side dishes, the vegetables and dessert. For a prefect meal and good digestion, all are necessary."
The magazine focused on the business side of being a druggist and was more irreverent than publications like the National Druggist. For example, the first issue asked druggists to submit photographs of their shops. Special interest was expressed in receiving a photograph from "the man who believes he has the most disreputable looking shop."
In February 1902, The Spatula provoked local controversy. The Boston Globe published a front page reading notice that stated The Spatula published formulas for patent medicines and cough cures that contained poisonous drugs and were dangerous. A particular cause for concern was a formula for cough sirup. The article alleged that the formula recommended using an amount of morphine sufficient to kill 7 men.
Irving responded with a Letter to the Editor in which he protested and said that The Spatula had been misrepresented. For example, while the published cough sirup formula did involve a large amount of morphine, the formula was for a few bottles of sirup, not one dose for personal consumption.
Irving's interest in the druggist's trade may have had its origins in family connections. His brother Clarence ran a business that sold things like glassware to druggists. Clarence's business regularly advertised in The Spatula
Irving's former USC classmate Charles R. Parmele also ran a wholesale business that sold to druggists. The two were in contact later in life, but it unclear what sort of relationship they enjoyed. The only recorded interaction occurred in the first issues of the Spatula. The first issue contained an announcement that Charles had changed the name of his company. However, it incorrectly reported that the name had been changed from the "E. M. Johnson Company" to the "C. R. Parmelee Company." The next issue printed a letter from Charles in which he pointed out that the new name was actually the "Charles Roome Parmele Company." In what was hopefully a comical exaggeration, Charles further asked the editor to "Please go out and purchase a box of [the rat poison] 'Rough on Rats,' keep it on hand and administer it to your compositor in case he repeats the error."
In addition to publishing The Spatula, Irving's company also published books. One of its first publications was the book The Law of the Apothecary by George Howard Fall. The book is a compendium of laws regulating the druggist's profession, especially laws in the Northeast. The book was aimed at a druggist untrained in law. Several book reviewers expressed concern about the wisdom of publishing the book as they thought it might encourage laymen to make decisions on legal matters. For example, one review quoted Oliver Wendell Holmes' proverb, "the man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client."
In 1898, four years after publishing George Fall's book, Irving published the novel The Tragedy of a Widow's Third by George Fall's wife Anna Christy Fall. The novel followed a woman's tragic decline after she is left a widow. Anna Fall was one of the first female lawyers in Massachusetts and the first to argue before the state Supreme Court. She drew upon her legal training when writing the novel. The novel's title refers to a law that limited a widow to receiving at most one-third of her husband's assets except in certain circumstances.
Irving probably knew George and Anna Fall through his connections with BU. Irving, George, and Anna all attended BU at roughly the same time, and both Irving and Anna graduated in the class of 1883. George taught at the university for most of his career.
Other Spatula publications advertised in an early magazine issue are a five volume set of the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a book of druggist's formulas (Remington's Practice of Pharmacy), and a self-help book (Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden). The company also sold printing related devices that a druggist might want. For example, they sold a "numbering machine" for printing numbers and a pharmacist's' band dater, a device for stamping dates on documents.
Irving also published the Church Militant, the official organ of the Massachusetts diocese of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Irving himself wrote a book that was published in 1907. That year Irving and his coauthor Bertha Alexander Forbes published One Thousand Ways and Scheme to Attract Trade. The book is exactly what the title says: a collection of a thousand recommendations on improving a store's trade. For example, recommendation 690 suggests that a merchant keep track a list of families that have moved to the area and sending them an announcement welcoming them to the city and offering them services.
When Irving completed his education, he was living in Saugus, MA. However, around 1890 he moved to Lexington (another town in the greater Boston area). His move caused him legal trouble. The year he moved he was arrested by U.S. marshals for voting illegally. He had voted in Boston during the state election after having moved to the town of Lexington. Irving was one of a number of individuals arrested on this charge. The Boston Globe reported that "It was generally agreed that . . . the parties all voted in the belief that they had a right to do so," but many of those arrested were fined $100, a large sum at the time (roughly $2,800 in 2020). Irving was indicted, but it is unclear what the ultimate outcome was.
Irving lived in Lexington for most of this life. He was involved in a many civic organizations. He served as president of the Lexington Historical Society, served as clerk and treasurer for the Lexington Episcopal parish for part of the 1890s and was involved with the Episcopalian Club of Massachusetts.
Irving was also active in promoting Republican politics. He served several times as a delegate to the Republican State Convention
In 1927, Irving's life came to an abrupt end. On July 20, he died suddenly in his publishing office.
Sources Cited
1) 1870; Census Place: Old Store, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 366A; Family History Library Film: 552990
2) 1870; Census Place: Old Store, Chesterfield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1491; Page: 359A; Family History Library Film: 552990
3) 1880; Census Place: Saugus, Essex, Massachusetts; Roll: 527; Page: 274C; Enumeration District: 146
4) 1910; Census Place: Lexington, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_598; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0829; FHL microfilm: 1374611
5) 1920; Census Place: Boston Ward 8, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_742; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 232
6) "Two sudden deaths." The Brattleboro Reformer, July 20, 1927. p. 8.
7) "Locals." Boston Globe, August 15, 1886. p. 4.
8) "College of Liberal Arts." Boston Globe, June 1, 1887. p. 2.
9) "Charged with illegal voting." Boston Globe, December 6, 1890. p. 4.
10) "$100 for a vote." Boston Globe, December 17, 1890. p. 4.
11) "Boston University Notes." Boston Globe, May 26, 1891. p. 8.
12) "Books in Cloth Received." Boston Globe, November 1, 1894. p. 8.
13) "Theta Delta Chi Banquet." Boston Globe, April 12, 1895. p. 2.
14) "Lexington." Boston Globe, April 22, 1895. p. 2.
15) "Lexington Delegates Favor Reed." Boston Globe, March 22, 1896. p. 6.
16) The Fitchburg Sentinel. March 18, 1898. p. 6.
17) "The Tragedy of a Widow's Third." The Fitchburg Sentinel. September 10, 1898. p. 6.
18) Fall River Daily Evening News. September 12, 1898. p. 4.
19) "Meade Overwhelmed." Boston Globe, September 25, 1900. p. 9.
20) "Exceptions taken." Fall River Globe, February 20, 1902. p. 6.
21) "Fourth District." Boston Globe, April 1, 1908. p. 4.
22) "That Cough Sirup." Boston Globe, February 14. 1902. p. 7.
23) R. W. H. "The law of the Apothecary" (review). Harvard Law Review. University Press, John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, MA. (1894). p. 240.
24) "Other Books Received: The Law of the Apothecary." American Law Review. Volume XXIX. Review Publishing Co., St. Louis. (1895)
25) "Wants Blood" The Spatula. November, 1894. Vol. 1,. No. 2. The Spatula Publishing Co, Boston. p. 52.
26) "Manufacturers and Wholesalers" The Spatula. October, 1894. Vol. 1,. No. 1. The Spatula Publishing Co, Boston. p. 24.
27) B. A. Forbes and Irving P. Fox, One Thousand Ways and Schemes to Attract Trade. The Spatula Publishing Co., Boston, MA (1907)
28) "Our Graduates" The Shield, Vol. XI, No. 2, (June, 1896), pp. 156–157.
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