l/^\ OUR BEST YEARS JUST BEGUN Z^M 



ALFRED F. CONARD 



1835-1906 

 Our first president. Pre- 

 viously, he had put out the 

 first mail-order Rose catalog 

 in America. 



ANTOINE WINTZER 



1847-1925 

 Our first vice-president. An 

 exceptionally able propaga- 

 tor; born in Alsace, France. 



Why should we pause at the 50th milestone in our business, except to talce lessons 

 from the past, give credit where due, and point to what should be expected from 

 us in the years ahead? 



Near the beginning of the 20th century this firm had at West Grove the double 

 advantage of excellent soil and climate and personnel with a half-century's training 

 as nurserymen. Indeed the National Mail Order Rose business had begun here. 

 The second half century has abundantly justified the founders' faith that quality 

 and worth built into a product are a solid foundation on which to build. 



Alfred F. Conard had long been president of the Dingee and Conard Company, 

 at one time a distinguished Rose firm here. Antoine Wintzer had been the vice- 

 president and propagator. These two, with S. Morris Jones, a neighbor, and Robert 

 L. Pyle, a local business man and silent partner, incorporated The Conard &. Jones 

 Company in June 1897. That same month, Robert Pyle, having just graduated 

 from Swarthmore College, was detained there to substitute as Business Manager. 

 In 1898 he became an employee of the new Company. In 1906 upon the death of 

 Alfred F. Conard he became president. Later, he and his father purchased the major 

 interest in the Company of the Alfred F. Conard estate and of S. Morris Jones. In 

 1924 the firm name was changed to "The Conard-Pyle Company." 



Sidney B. Hutton, now vice-president and general manager, joined the firm in 

 1930. His son Sidney B. Hutton, Jr., came in 1942. George Ohlhus, our Rose grower 

 since 1929, is also a director. At first the line of plants offered included long lists 

 of shrubs, vines and house plants, also seeds and bulbs. Management early realized 

 the need to concentrate on a more limited line to insure nationwide recognition of 

 a superior product. Not only did Roses become the leading specialty but "The 

 Best Roses for America" was made a central aim. 



There followed two innovations: (1) The adoption of the Star as a Trademark, 

 in consequence of which the celluloid Star tag became the emblem of (2) Our 

 guarantee to refund full value for or replace any Rose that did not bloom. 



Progress along another line led us to switch from growing own-root Roses from 

 cuttings in greenhouses to field-grown Roses budded on the roots of a vigorous 

 wild Rose. West Grove has proved to be an ideal location for this method. 



Ambition to have always "The Best Roses for America" drove us to become 

 pioneer plant hunters (see p. 3). Repeated Rose exploration trips to Europe have 

 followed the first invitation sent to our president to be judge at the 1911 Inter- 

 national Rose Contest in Paris. The test of merit in the selections thus made is not 

 in the number of kinds introduced but in the large number that have so long con- 

 tinued to be used and loved. 



"The present is but prologue." A new generation is here being trained to carry 

 on our program of providing for you regularly at a fair price, not millions of 

 mediocre plants but only as many as will make good and especially *The Best 

 Roses for America." 



President 



Vice-President 



Vice-President 



Secretary 



Treasurer 



Fabian 



Bachrach 



Photo 



ROBERT PYLE 



President since 1906 



THE CONARD-PYLE CO. 



West Grove, Pa., U.S. A. 



Catalogs published in 1894, 1898 and 

 1925 show the development of pho- 

 tography and color printing, from 

 quaint wood cuts and "paintings from 

 nature" to the life-like, accurate color 

 photos of today. 



COPYRIGHT 1947, BY THE CONARD-PYLB CO. 



