In 1932 shoe repairman and part-time inventor Davis J. Ajouelo applied for a patent on a shoe-repair machine he had designed, a machine that nailed soles on shoes or boots. Unlike previous nailing machines, it made each nail from a coil of wire before driving the nail at sewing-machine speeds, three per second. Ajouelo pitched his invention to various manufacturers of shoe machinery and then engaged with salesman William H. Wilkerson, who established the Auto-Soler Co. to manufacture Ajouelo's invention.

Wilkerson quickly discovered that Ajouelo's machine was not yet fully practicable, and he hired a professional machine designer, James Linton Moore, to make further improvements. Over a year later, the first improved version was complete and another patent was applied for, but this new version of the nailing machine also proved to be too unreliable to put into production. In 1937 the problems were finally overcome; with Moore as plant superintendent, Auto-Soler Co. worked on moving the machine into production. Moore died unexpectedly in August 1937 and it took until mid-1938 before the patent application was in. Auto-Soler Co. negotiated a joint contract with Moore's wife and Ajouelo for the rights to the patented invention.

By the time the patent was applied for the Auto-Soler machine had entered early production. It appears that the relationship had soured between the company and Ajouelo: in 1938 the company issued a sales pamphlet on the machine that gave credit for the idea of the machine to Wilkerson, gave all design credit to Moore, and did not mention Ajouelo at all. Ajouelo had talked of his nailing machine and his relationship with Auto-Soler Co. to various clients and prospects. As the pamphlet caused a stir in the fraternity of shoe-repair machinery builders and users, Ajouelo was accused of exaggerating or even lying about his role in the development of the Auto-Soler, and so he filed a lawsuit for libel against Auto-Nailer Co. plus Wilkerson and Moore individually. The lawsuit was bitterly fought and eventually a modest financial settlement was made, the settlement apparently allowing Auto-Soler to continue to ignore Ajouelo's role in the development of the Auto-Soler machine—a 1945 trade journal article on Auto-Soler Co. again ignored Ajouelo completely in the development of the machine. Ajouelo's obituary noted that he never made a meaningful amount of money from any of his inventions.

In any event, some nailing-machine sales were made before World War II intervened. After the war, the business was expanded to included models designed for nailing wood; these machines were badged as made by Auto-Nailer Co., but the only real legal entity was the Auto-Soler Co.

The Auto-Soler Co. and Auto-Nailer Co continued until 1972 when Wilkerson, who had continued as company chairman and president, sold the business to Textron Inc.

Information Sources

• Ca. 1938 lawsuit, Ajouelo v. Auto-Soler Company et al. Ajouelo alleged that he suffered financial and reputational loss due to a pamphlet issued by Auto-Soler Co. in 1938 which portrayed James Linton Moore as the sole inventor of the Auto-Soler machine, when in fact Ajouelo was the original and solo inventor and had sold the rights to his patented invention to Auto-Soler Co. in May 1938. We do not know for certain the outcome of the lawsuit but the above-quoted <1945 cite>Cosgrove's Quarterly article, which again does not mention Ajouelo and gives credit to Moore, implies that Ajouelo must have lost.

  In effect the petitioner alleged that the 'Auto-Soler' was patented under the patent No. 2036988. Elsewhere in his petition a certain contract between the plaintiff and the defendant company was alleged to have been entered into, and the contract was attached to and made a part of the petition. The pertinent part of the contract was as follows: 'Davis J. Ajouelo and James Linton Moore, deceased, joint inventors of certain new and useful improvements in machinery for making and affixing metal fasteners, and the exclusive joint owners of letters of patent of the United of America, as follows Patent No. 2036988, granted April 7, 1936, 'and that said Ajouelo and Mrs. Susan Ansley Moore, sole executrix and beneficiary of said James Linton Moore, under that contract of May, 1938, sold all the rights incident to the said letters patent...'"

• 1945 Star Machinery Co. catalog.
• 1945 Cosgrove's Quarterly), Volume 17 page 14.

  [Photo caption] Post-war hops of the Auto-Nailer Company hinge on the machine above which is being inspected by John I. Wright, research engineer, Charles A. Watkins, plant superintendent, and William H. Wilkerson, president. [End photo caption]

  Thirteen years ago the Auto-Nailer Company of Atlanta, Georgia, was only an idea in the mind of William H. Wilkerson, a young salesman who envisaged great possibilities for a high-speed nailing machine in the shoe-repair field. With confidence that he could get this idea out of his head and into shape as an accomplished mechanical fact, he collected $6,050 from backers with as much faith as his own, and started from scratch. He had troubles. His first models didn't work, and his factory was only a rickety back-street loft. But his crew of three, himself, J. Linton Moore, a local machine designer and inventor of talent, and a machinist, kept at it, and finally produced a machine which seemed to fill the bill.

  They got an order, delivered their first machine-and had to bring it back to the shop the next day to repair breaks. Years of pioneering the shoe repair, market followed against skepticism, prejudice, and some stubborn kinks in their product which seemed to defy cure. But time and effort and much hard work brought Wilkerson's idea nearer perfection.

  Customer acceptance gradually increased, the company grew, and its product improved. Today the Auto-Nailer Company is housed in a modern factory, and the business provides a livelihood for 110 employees, including 12 salesmen in the field who cover the nation from coast to coast. The same aggressive spirit which characterized the company's life thus far is redoubled in its program for peacetime business. Already Mr. Wilkerson and his associates plan for expansion. Land has been purchased for additional factory space; the engineering and research departments have been enlarged; and an advertising and sales promotion department has been installed. This accent on sales is by no means confined to domestic business. The company is settings its sights on world-wide markets and has already lined up its dealer organizations in accessible foreign countries. The management feels that its greatest opportunities for accelerated post-war growth lie in its new-found woodworking and plastics markets.

  The present Auto-Nailer being improved, and a second model, which will broaden the firm's market, is now being engineered and will be ready for production when Johnny comes marching home.

  Underlying all post-war plans of the Auto-Nailer is the idea of expansion. For expansion means more employees and employment is the keystone to sound, abiding prosperity for all.

• 1947 issue of Industrial Marketing (Volume 32, Issues 1-6, page 60). "Auto-Soler Company, Atlanta, producers of automatic shoe-soling and wood-working machines, is another Southern company seeking world-wide markets. The company's 1946 level has been nearly 10 times that of 1941. Auto-Soler plans to extend business paper and export advertising in developing its new domestic and foreign markets."
• Article in 1954 issue of The Wooden Box and Crate.
• Listing and ad in 1964 Hitchcock's Woodworking Digest.
• From Ancestry.com, William Hoyt Wilkerson born 1902-01-15 (Rome, GA), died 1988-01-25 (St. Petersburg, FL; buried Atlanta, GA).
• Findagrave.com entries for James Linton Moore Sr. (1875-1937), David J. "Davis" Ajouelo (1896-1975) and William Hoyt Wilkerson (1902-1988). The obituaries included in those entries provided useful information.