Keystone Pecan Company

Keystone Pecan Company is credited as the creator of Paper shell pecans., a book published in 1919. Library of Congress records list the company as based in Manheim, Pennsylvania, and describe the work as an illustrated volume on pecans.

The book itself suggests the company was closely tied to the business of promoting and marketing paper-shell pecans rather than to a single named literary author. One figure mentioned in surviving text is Elam G. Hess, identified there as president of Keystone Pecan Company and a member of the National Nut Growers Association.

Because the available records point to a company rather than an individual writer, the best way to understand this “author” is as an early 20th-century agricultural business using print to educate customers, build interest in pecan cultivation, and support its commercial work.