T. Talbott Bond (Deceased)

T.Talbott and Ann 1990

T. Talbott 1987

T. Talbott Bond  
Baltimore, MD

 

Thomas Talbott Bond, founder of the T. Talbott Bond Co., a Baltimore-Washington photocopier dealership, died Friday October 26, 2011 of complications from dementia and a broken hip at Keswick Multicare Center.

 

The longtime Ruxton resident was 85.

 

HE is the son of Henry M. Bond, who had been president of the Bond Brothers Paint Co., and Lala Belle Bond, a homemaker, Mr. Bond was born in Baltimore and raised on Roland Avenue.

Mr. Bond was a descendant of and named for Thomas Talbott Bond, one of the defenders of Fort McHenry during the British invasion of 1814.

 

He attended Friends School and graduated in 1942 from the old Cochran-Bryan Preparatory School in Annapolis.

After graduating in 1947 from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., Mr. Bond worked as a third mate aboard a ship that sailed to South America.

 

After leaving the sea, he was a sales representative for the Atlantic Refining Co. and Charles Wilson Co., before establishing T. Talbott Bond Co. in 1955.

 

"He began selling carbon paper out of the trunk of his car," said a son, Henry M. Bond, who lives in the Woodbrook neighborhood of Baltimore County.

 

Mr. Bond eventually moved the business to the 3900 block of Hickory Ave., and with more than 300 employees, became the largest independent photocopier dealership in the Baltimore-Washington area, whose memorable radio slogan was: "You can trust the word of Bond."  The company later expanded and added an office in Tysons Corner, Va.

In 1988, Mr. Bond sold his company, which had sales of $20 million, and its subsidiary, Coin-A-Copy, to Alco Standard Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa., which later became Ikon Office Solutions.

 

"Talbott was a good man and a good competitor," said Alan Elkins, who with his wife, Lois, established Advance Business Systems, a Cockeysville business-equipment company.

 

"He was a gentleman, yet he was very competitive. I respected him, and there was never a cross or negative word between us," recalled Mr. Elkins.

 

"He was such a good man that his people stayed with him for a very long time. Talbott ran a good business and served his customers well, all the while being a tough competitor," he said. "I'm going to miss him."

 

The longtime Circle Road resident had been a member of the board of Kennedy Krieger Institute, St. Paul's School, Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries and Maryland Mentoring.

 

His board memberships included the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Fort McHenry and Pumpkin Theatre. He was a former president of the Ruxton Riderwood Lake Roland Improvement Association.

 

Mr. Bond was an avid golfer and tennis player, and enjoyed vacationing in Maine and at Bethany Beach, Del.

 

A member of the Bachelors Cotillon, Mr. Bond was also a member of the Maryland Club, Elkridge Club, Gibson Island Club and the Hopkins Club. He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and Sons of the American Revolution.

 

Mr. Bond was a communicant of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Ruxton, where funeral services were held Wednesday.

 

In addition to his son, Mr. Bond is survived by his wife of 14 years, Carter Middleton Sollers; a daughter, Evelyn C. Bond-Skinner of Timonium; and three grandchildren. His wife of 42 years, the former Ann Rice, died in 1995.