A SHORT HISTORY OF THE AIRBRUSH
1879 Abner Peeler using scraps found in his workshop invents the Paint Distributor. Using pieces of wood,sewing needle,copper tubing and a bit of metal. He turned them into the first airbrush. Thus the airbrush was born.
1883 Peeler sells his invention to Liberty Walkup.
Walkup forms the Rockford Manufacturing Co. and 6 months later renames it the Air Brush Manufacturing Co.This is the first time the term airbrush is used
1885 walkup produces a refined version of Peelers invention.
1890 Charles Burdick receives the patent on his first double action airbrush
1892 Burdick receives the patent on his internal mix airbrush. Thayer and Chandler a mail order art supply company starts producing Burdick's airbrushes in the U.S.
1893 Thayer and Chandler introduce their airbrush at the Chicago hosted Columbian Exposition (Worlds Fair) and wins an award. The 27 million visitors were introduced to the airbrush. Liberty Walkup was there with his Airbrush Manufacturing Company. He had great expectations for the fair. Unfortunately he was upstaged by Thayer & Chandler,
1893 Burdick moves to England and starts the Fountain Airbrush Co. In 1900 he changes the Company's name to the Aerograph Airbrush Co.
In 1931 Burdick sells the Aerograph Airbrush Co. to DeVilbuss and returns to the U.S. Where he invents coin counting and sorting machines.
1895 O.C. Wold the foreman at T&C gets his patent for a refined airbrush that was assigned to Thayer & Chandler, and the ancestor of the modern airbrush is on its way. This was the first airbrush to have a removable nozzle and the first to resemble a modern airbrush.
1899 Wold leaves Thayer and Chandler and starts his own airbrush company. Wold was a great innovator and had great products. Many of his airbrushes worked as either side or bottom feed. Although Wold did make some weird airbrushes, he also made many improvements like the removable air cap as on an Iwata and the cone tip although his screwed on
1904 J.A.Paasche who worked for both Thayer & Chandler and Wold , leaves to start his own airbrush company. His first product the AB Turbo is the modern version of Walkups airbrush.Through innovation, a wide range of airbrush types and great advertising Paasche becomes the best known airbrush of all.
1964 Badger airbrush is formed. Previously the Schotfeldt Machine and Screw Company made parts for other airbrush companies. In 1964 Schotfeldt's son started the Badger Air Brush Co. Today the company is run by Schotfeldt's grandson. Badger then becomes the largest mfg of airbrushes. Badger was first to use Teflon seals and one piece triggers.
1980 Wold airbrush closes their doors, which is a shame as Wold made great airbrushes but died do to poor advertising.
1980s Media starts selling the Japanese made Iwata airbrushes
1985 Thayer and Chandler come out with the Vega airbrush,the first brush with a cutaway handle which other companies are quick to copy
1998 Thayer and Chandler shut their doors do to lawsuits over patent rights
1999 Wold airbrushes start being made in New Zealand
2000 Badger acquires Thayer and Chandler
Cheaply made Chinese airbrushes start to flood the U.S and European market
2007 DeVilbuss re inters airbrush manufacturing.This time making them here in the U.S. instead of the U.K.
2008 Both Paasche and Badger add new a new line of high end aorbrushes
Innovation goes on and on within the industry.What will be next??
