[2]: 37  Indeed, the prevailing wisdom of the Boston Associates and their colleagues at the time indicated that writing paper could not be sold in the quantities that Parsons aimed to produce it, and the belief was held that it would only drive down prices and leave a surplus in the market.

[2]: 83  The very first batches of paper made by Parsons were produced using a 62" Fourdrinier machine by Goddard Rice & Co. of Worcester, and derived from rags from Boynton & Whitcomb of Templeton, driven to Holyoke by four-horse teams.

[3] Almost immediately the concerns of the Boston Associates proved unfounded, as within 10 months of the company's founding it had produced and sold $50,000 worth of fine writing paper and by 1859 expanded into a second mill.

[2]: 83 By 1887 Parsons had reached an international market, selling its bristol board, envelope paper, and ledger bonds to customers across the United States as well as in South America and Australia.

[2]: 161 [6] On February 12, 1959, the company and its assets were purchased by National Vulcanized Fiber, which continued to operate it as a subsidiary until its closure in April 2005.