209 The PENNANT 2005 Winter Vol. XXII, No.2

T
NIBS
PENNANT
The
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E P E N C O L L E C T O R S O F A M E R I C A , I N C .
All about
THE NIB
WINTER 2005 $9.95
PENNANT
Inside The
Winter 2005 Vol. XXII No. 2
FEATURED PEN ARTICLE
4
A History of Making Metal Pen Nibs by L. Michael Fultz et al
FEATURES
10
The Invention and Perfection of the Gold Nib:
The George Sheppard and John Holland Story by J.G. Leone
18
19
20
B. Grieshaber and Sons: Nibs and Pens by L. Michael Fultz
22
29
32
35
36
38
35
41
Modern Parker Duofold Nibs by Michael J. Conway
Parker Nib Making & Materials From the 1950s Through the 1970s
by Dean Hackbarth and L. Michael Fultz
Parker “51” Nib Tipping Materials: ’R U’ Ready for a Better Nib by Don Hiscock
Sheaffer’s Gold Nib Department by Dan Reppert
Using a Fountain Pen: Why Bother? by Susan Wirth
A Little Levity by Ian Kreisberg
American Pen, Pencil, Parts, and Gold Nib Manufacturers, 1931 by L. Michael Fultz
Smoothing Scratchy Nibs by John Mottishaw
DEPARTMENTS
28
41
48
51
The Bookworm: a Book Review by Sam Fiorella
Cryptonibology: It’s Just a Matter of Tines by Daniel Kirchheimer
Remembering Two Friends
Arthur Twydle by Jim Marshall
George Richard Swartz by Jack Leone et al
From the Stacks by Dan Reppert
IN BRIEF
2
3
3
37
From the Editor
Letter to the Editor
New Editor Announcement
Coming in the Next Issue
38
P.C.A. RESOURCES
3
50
50
51
52
52
52
53
53
54
55
56
56
56
P.C.A. Pen Available
From the President by Craig Bozorth
PayPal Now Available for P.C.A. Membership
Local Clubs
Upcoming Shows
P.C.A. Supporters
Back Issues
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Pen Repair Directory
P.C.A. Contributor GuidelineS
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32
FROM THE EDITOR
PENNANT
The
NIBS & MORE NIBS
Here, after some delay, is your Winter edition of The Pennant,
the magazine of the Pen Collectors of America. Together with
last Fall’s double “painted pens” issue, you are now current in
PUBLISHERS
PEN COLLECTORS OF AMERICA
receiving the magazine. This edition, subject to the guest edi-
P.O. Box 447
Fort Madison, IA 52627-0447
Phone: 319.372.3730
Fax: 319.372.0882
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pencollectors.com
tors whim and interest, is devoted to the subject of nibs. If you
like the idea of issues dedicated to a single subject, please write.
It is winter here in Southern Wisconsin—15 degrees and 6 inches of snow—a good
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CRAIG BOZORTH
President
DAN REPPERT
Vice-President
VICTOR CHEN
Recording Secretary
time to reflect on pens and pen people. First, a sincere thank you to those authors
who contributed so much original research and material to this issue. Others simply
could not have written the articles such as those by Dan Reppert and Don Hiscock.
BOARD MEMBERS
Susan Wirth’s irreverent humor and rampant common sense are so refreshing after
CRAIG BOZORTH
VICTOR CHEN
L. MICHAEL FULTZ
JOEL HAMILTON
ANNMARIE HAUTANIEMI
BERT HEISERMAN
CARLA MORTENSEN
LEN PROVISOR
DAN REPPERT
listening to entire pen shows worth of arguments about what a “left oblique” actually
is. Jack Leone writes about another long-time nib maker. The real hard work of editing this issue was done by Tom and Dede Rehkopf, unsung heroes of the P.C.A. The
ADMINISTRATIVE
reproductions of original catalog material are available from the P.C.A. library, a very
ROGER WOOTEN
DAN REPPERT
Treasurer
Librarian
L. MICHAEL FULTZ
Guest Editor
TOM AND DEDE REHKOPF
Associate Editors
TERRY MAWHORTER
JAYSON HANES
Advertising Manager
P.C.A.Webmaster
FRAN CONN /PENDAPRESS
Art Director
underutilized resource in my view. John Mottishaw has contributed greatly through
his expertise on nib repairs. Dean Hackbarth, the last boss of Parker’s nib department,
has written about that firm’s nib making history.
In this Winter season, we mourn the loss of several friends, pen collectors and pen
company executives: Bobbi Barston, Arthur Twydle, Fr. Terrence Koch, Walter A.
MEMBERSHIP
Sheaffer II, George S. Parker II, Howard Rossen, Sue Courtier, George Swartz and
PEN COLLECTORS OF AMERICA
U.S., one year, $40
three years, $105
Outside U.S., one year, $60
three years, $150 U.S.
others. Pen collecting is not, really, about pens but rather about people. I know of no
other collecting hobby whose members are so generous and so friendly.
ADVERTISING
Finally, The Pennant has a permanent editor. The P.C.A. Board is to be congratulated for their selection of Jim Mamoulides, who started work February 1. See the
announcement elsewhere in this issue. Good luck, Jim. If you have an article ready
or near ready, please contact him at [email protected]. Oh, yes,
remember that your dues are due!
!"##$#%
4HE
! 0 5 " , ) # !4 ) / . / & 4 ( % 0 % . # / , , % # 4 / 2 3 / & ! - % 2 ) # ! ) . # !LLABOUT
Good hunting,
Fultz
2
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7 ) . 4 % 2 Deadline: March 15, 2006
Inside front cover (full-color) $1,100
Inside back cover (full-color) $1,000
Back cover (full-color) $2,000
Last page (full-color) $800
Full page (full-color) $700
Full page (black & white) $300
Flyer insert $300
Half page $150
Quarter page $100.
P.C.A. Repair Directory listing (3 issues) $75
Business card $50
Classified ads (per word) $0.50
ON THE COVERS
Front & back covers: Photos courtesy of
L. Michael Fultz. Photos by David Bloch, Chicago
Photos are identified on page three.
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
LETTER TO
THE EDITOR
NEW EDITOR
ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear Editor,
JIM MAMOULIDES NAMED PENNANT EDITOR
Thank you, thank you very much. “The Search for the Lost
The Board of Directors of the Pen Collectors of America is
Sheaffer, The Story of Antoine’s Lost Pen” was wonderful,
pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Mamoulides as
a thriller to the very end.
Editor of The Pennant magazine.
I can think of no better publication for the birth of a new
Jim brings a considerable creative talent to the P.C.A. and
writer than The Pennant. Congratulations to Antoine Patterson
has shown a long time dedication to serving the pen collecting
for a superb story.
community through his writings and website publications.
Jim will be attending local and national pen shows to meet
Sincerely, Will Thorpe
On the Covers
Front Cover: Tools of the nibmaker’s trade.
Back Cover: Clockwise from top left: 1) Corona Pen Co. Janesville: Steps in
nib production: blank, formed and finished nib. 2) Special Parker Osmium alloy
tipping material for calligraphy nibs. 3) Five early nibs: Aikin Lambert No.5 nib
on A. G. Day’s Patent fountain pen; 1877 Newell Prince’s 1855 fountain pen
Stenographic fountain pen; Mabie Todd’s Patents 1881 and earlier Calligraphic
fountain pen; Mabie Todd’s Patents, 1881 and earlier; Kurtz & Monaghan dip nib
on Goodyear’s Patent dip pen/pencil holder, presentation by Wisc. Legislature.
4) Electric brand Falcon nibs metal box. 5)Early tipping materials, possible native
iridium, from C. E. Barrett Co., circa 1890. 6) F.T. Pearce & Co. pocket calendar,
1904. 7) L-R, Tiffany & Co. solid 14K gold tuxedo pattern dip holder with John
Foley Dip Pen, Unger Brothers sterling figural dip holder with Chicago Gold
Pen Co. No. 3 nib. 8) Sheaffer nib tipping material, probably osmium. 9) Early
Waterman nibs: horseshoe nib probably by John Foley, star pierced nib by Leroy
Fairchild, Falcon nib by Aikin Lambert. 10) Parker 025 Jointless with Falcon nib.
11) Center overlay: L-R, S. Johnson offset copperplate nib, Aikin Lambert No.
6 dip pen nib. —Corona Pen nib samples, Parker and Waterman pens from the
Sachs-Fultz collection. Other items from the collection of the editor.
fellow pen collectors in the pursuit of articles and content for
The Pennant. We encourage you to meet Jim and discuss topics that you would like to see in future issues of The Pennant.
Jim Mamoulides was initially drawn to fountain pens
through his interest in calligraphy. He didn’t become an avid
collector until he lost, of all things, a Montblanc ballpoint
while on a business trip. His efforts to replace this prized
pen led him on an intense search through many pen stores
and the internet, only to discover a world of interesting pens
much larger and more varied than he realized. He has a great
interest in the history of fountain pens and his articles and
photography can be found on his website, PenHero.com.
(He eventually replaced the ballpoint).
Jim resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.
P.C.A. Pens
Now Available from
Jim’s Fountain Pen Site
Limited supplies of the
Pen Collectors of America
Limited Edition Pen
are available and may be ordered directly from
www.jimgaston.com or email: [email protected]
Jim Gaston
Jim’s Fountain Pen Site
The Board of Directors of the P.C.A.
wish to thank Jim Gaston for handling the sales and marketing of this
very special pen on their behalf.
www.jimgaston.com • email: [email protected]
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
3
Before the introduction of modern
metals, reed, bamboo, and large bird
feathers were the staple materials
of writing pens. These pens were
cheap to make, but it took skill and
J
ust who invented the metal pen nib is lost to history. American,
practice to cut and shape them
English, French, and German mechanics each claim to have invented the
metal dip pen nib. They seem to be claiming second place, though. In
into serviceable dip pens. They also
February, 1933, the Paper-Zeitung of Vienna wrote: “There are grounds for
the belief that the first fountain pen was in existence about 4000 B. C. During the course of
excavatings in Egypt in 1929, a hollow stem in the form and size of a lead pencil was found.
didn’t last very long, so it is
At the lower end, a piece of copper was fastened, similar to a modern steel pen nib.”
A History of Making Metal Pen Nibs
understandable that both writers
and inventors sought better pens
By L. Michael Fultz
With help from John Foley, Henry Bore, and others
The history of the making of steel dip pen nibs is cloudy too. In 1890 Henry Bore published The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens (Ref. 1), in which he wrote: “In Paris, France,
in 1884, a pamphlet was published on the subject of the steel pen and the writer says: ‘The
by experimenting with better
invention of the metallic pen is due to a French Mechanic — Arnoux — who lived in the
eighteenth century, who made as far back as 1750 a number of metallic pens as a curiosity.
materials.
This invention did not have any immediate result in France but spread to England, and
became, in Birmingham, about 1830, a very prosperous industry.’”
John Foley wrote in his self published book, An Interesting History, Gold Pens: Who
Invented Them, When, and Where (Ref. 2): “In the year 1805, Mr. Wise, an Englishman,
made the first steel pen.”
About the American invention of metal nibs, Mr. Bore writes: “There appeared in
the Boston Mechanic, August, 1835, the following notice: ‘The inventor of steel pens, says
4
WINTER 2005
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WINTER 2005
5
Mabie, Todd & Bard nibs, 1880.
6
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
the Journal of Commerce, was an
THE PROCESS
American and a well-known resident
of our city (New York), Mr. Peregrine
John Foley, in his combination
History of Pen Making and Catalog,
published in New York in 1875,
gives us a step by step account of
his process of making a gold nib:
Williamson. In the year 1800, Mr. W.,
then a working jeweler, at Baltimore,
while attending an evening school,
finding some difficulty in making
a quill pen to suit him, made one of
1
steel. It would not write well, however,
for want of flexibility. After a while he
made an additional slit on each side
of the main one, and the pens were
2
so much improved that Mr. W. was
called to make them in such numbers as to eventually occupy his whole
time, and that of a journeyman….
The English borrowed the invention
and some who first engaged in the
business realized immense fortunes.’”
Maryland, received a United States
Patent on November 22, 1809, for a
metallic writing pen.
lic pen to the English inventors, John
Mitchell, Joseph Gillott, and Josiah
Mason. He credits them not so much
for their invention of the steel pen but
rather for their invention and development of the machinery to make
such steel pens quickly and cheaply.
Bore writes: “the balance of testimony
tends to prove that steel pens were
first made by tools, worked by a screw
Camden, New Jersey, but he did not
claim priority, only to make a superior
product at a good price.
The saga of the invention of the
gold dip pen nib is as cloudy as the
invention of the steel nib. Why gold?
Just to have a shiny tip to one’s writing
stick? Well, no. Early inks (and some
current ones) are extremely acidic.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
nib might be measured in days or even
hours. Gold is practically immune to
attack by acids. The making of a nibshaped piece of gold is simple: just cut
it out from a sheet of the metal with
a jeweler’s saw. Even a slit to improve
ink flow and retention can be cut with
such a saw. The problem is that gold,
even alloyed to fairly low karat, is
very, very soft, and writing materials
4
a burring machine grinds a recess in the end of the nib
blank to receive the iridium pellet.
written with them rapidly grew wider.
5
iridium pellets are hand selected, picked up with a
small brush dipped in borax solution, and placed on the
recess in the nib blank.
gold nibs wore away quickly, and lines
Early mechanics realized that the solution was to tip the gold nib with some
very hard substance.
In England, experiments were made
6
the iridium pellet is sweated (soldered) to the gold using
a gas burner and flame.
7
the gold blank is rolled to stretch it to its final length,
great care being taken not to run the iridium through
the rollers, the machinery being designed with a recess
to protect the point.
monds and rubies set in tiny gold set-
8
the nib blank is now hammered on a small, curved anvil
so as to increase its hardness and flexibility.
metal seemed the obvious solution for
9
the outline of the hammered blank is trimmed to final
size and shape in dies with a press.
0
a screw stamping press is used to emboss the name
and other lettering into the gold nib blank.
¡
in a screw press, the nib is rounded or curved lengthwise from its earlier flat form.
ing countries, with the idea of using
Ô
the iridium point is now slit with a copper disk coated
with powdered diamond.
family metals to tip nibs. Hawkins was
£
the rest of the nib is slit in a special slitting lathe with a
steel saw.
began his process of attempting to
¢
the nib is burnished, that is, the tines are hammered to
bring them close together and close the gap left by the
slitting saw.
ing several of the leading chemists in
In 1858, Richard Esterbrook founded
the United States Steel Pen Works in
alarming rate so that the life of a steel
like paper are very abrasive. Untipped
press, about the beginning of the
third decade (of the 19th century).”
in nibs made from that material at an
using a press and dies, nib blanks are stamped from
the gold ribbon.
Bore, however, gives most of the
credit for the invention of the metal-
that bar is rolled between steel rollers until its length
is increased to a ribbon perhaps 10 times the original and the thickness of the ribbon is only about
1/32nd of an inch.
worse, they rusted or ate away the steel
3
Whatever the merits of his claims,
Peregrine Williamson of Baltimore,
Fine gold is mixed with small amounts of silver and
copper to form an appropriate alloy, then melted in a
furnace, and cast into a bar about 0.5 inches thick,
1.5 inches wide, and 20.0 inches long.
They softened the quills and reeds;
in tipping gold nibs with minute diatings. These nibs were said to write well
at first, but the settings quickly wore
down and the stones fell out. A hard
tipping the gold nibs, but what metal and
how to attach it to the points?
John Isaac Hawkins is generally
given credit, at least in English speakiridium and other very hard platinum
an American living in England. He
tip gold nibs with metal by interviewthe country. Professor Wollaston, a
noted expert at Oxford University,
ˆ
the two tips of the point are now set even with each
other.
§
the nibs are ground so that the slit is even, the points
are smooth and the nib is made fit for writing.
¶
the top of nib is polished, made bright, but the underside of the nib is slightly roughed with a scotch stone
so that the ink will cling to it.
which had been mined in the Ural
Finally, the nibs are inspected, graded, tested, and
offered for sale.
he learned the tricks of soldering it in
suggested using platinum family metals. Hawkins eventually obtained a
small sample of native iridium pellets
Mountains of Russia. It was expensive, but proved very effective after
place then slitting the ball of iridium
and the gold nib together.
7
8
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
In 1834 Hawkins made and sold several nibs. However,
manufacture to gold nibs. Randell’s system proved effec-
he soon found that the supply of iridium was unreliable
tive and profitable. With modifications and technical
and, even when available, expensive. He continued to
improvements, it remains in use today.
make nibs as the market and materials were available but
The making of fountain pen nibs continued in the
found the business less than rewarding. In 1835 Hawkins
same vein. Early fountain pen nibs, such as those used
sold his process, list of customers, suppliers, and the few
by Newell Prince and Paul Wirt, lack breather holes
special tools to Aaron Porter Cleveland who was financed
and are identical to dip pen nibs. Later, when Lewis
by New Yorker Simeon Hyde. Charles Cleveland, an
Waterman perfected the underfeed, a breather hole was
American minister, arranged the sale. Hawkins retained
punched in the nib to aid the flow of return air into the
or perhaps reacquired the rights to make and sell iridium
ink chamber.
pointed nibs in England and was to pay a small royalty
By no imaginings should the reader conclude that the
on the nibs he made and sold in England. It is reported
making of gold nibs was or is an easy and trouble free pro-
that Cleveland paid Hawkins £300 for the rights and the
cess. At each step, skilled hand labor was required. While
process.
The Reverend
Cleveland had
Hawkins train
his brother in the
process. Aaron
Cleveland returned
to the United States
to instruct Simeon
the replacement of
The making of gold nibs
by hand was…not an especially
profitable enterprise in the early
Hyde’s agents in
the nib making
system. Cleveland
Detroit jeweler, to
learn the Hawkins’
system and make
nibs as a business.
greatly reduced
the price of modern gold nibs, it
is also responsible
for the loss of flexibility in nibs and
also in the general unevenness of
days. Worse, each worker trained
and Hyde arranged
with Levi Brown, a
this hand labor has
quality and performance in modern
nibs. Modern nibs,
was almost certain
to become a competitor…
Somewhat later,
the making of gold nibs.
are produced and
ground by automated machinery,
and are very rarely
hand ground, hand
Isaac Hawkins
moved to New Jersey and also helped train workers in
almost exclusively,
set, write tested,
or even inspected. Cheaper, certainly; better, no way.
Special thanks to John Mottishaw for lending his orig-
Brown trained several workers, including George
inal Foley book. For a somewhat different view of Levi
Barney, the Bard brothers, and John Foley. In 1840 Levi
Brown’s role in the development of gold nibs, please see
Brown relocated to Brooklyn, New York and established
Jack Leone’s article, “The Invention And Perfection Of
both jewelry and gold nib manufacturing businesses
The Gold Nib,” beginning on page 10.
!
there. The making of gold nibs by hand was, perhaps,
not an especially profitable enterprise in these early
All rights reserved by the author.
days. Worse, each worker trained was almost certain to
References:
become a competitor, if not now then some day, since
1. Henry Bore, The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens,
the process was becoming public knowledge and could
(London, New York: Ivison, Blakeman and Company, 1890);
not be patented nor otherwise protected. John Foley’s
2. John Foley, An Interesting History, Gold Pens: Who
steps in making a gold nib are described in the accom-
Invented Them, When, and Where, (New York: self pub-
panying sidebar.
lished, 18 75);
Among Levi Brown’s workers was John Randell, also
of Brooklyn, who applied the techniques of machine
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
3. Beulah G. Groehn, Before the Ball Point Pen (pamphlet
published by the Detroit Historical Museum, circa 1960).
9
THE INVENTION AND PERFECTION
The George Sheppard and John Holland Story
OF THE GOLD NIB
by J.G. Leone
This story starts in 1840 in Detroit,
Nibs” elsewhere in this issue for another view
Michigan, a frontier fur-trading town
on the role of Levi Brown and others in the
of 5000 inhabitants. The new steel pens
invention of gold nibs.)
arriving from England intrigued a local
The gold pen business prospered
gunsmith, George W. Sheppard. (What
and Sheppard soon moved it to larger
we now refer to as ‘nibs’ were called
quarters at Sixth and Walnut Streets.
‘pens’ at that time.) The steel pens
Many needed supplies were purchased
were an improvement over the quills
at the nearby Armstrong’s Drug
of Mother Goose, but left much to be
Store. It was in this shop that our next
desired. They were crudely made; they
important development occurred.
corroded in both ink and the open air,
JOHN HOLLAND JOINS THE
COMPANY
and they were expensive because they had
In 1845, John Holland and his fam-
to be replaced often.
ily emigrated from the area known as
THE FIRST GOLD PENS
George Sheppard decided to make a pen
“Holy Ground:” County Cork, Ireland.
from gold instead of steel. A Detroit jeweler named Levi Brown supplied the gold, and
They settled in Cincinnati where John’s
John Holland
Sheppard experimented with solving two major
problems: tempering the gold for a combination of
strength and flexibility, and tipping the point so the friction of
writing would not ruin it.
Sheppard eventually solved both problems and crafted the first
father found work as a bricklayer. After a brief
stint in public schools, John Holland became a
clerk at Armstrong’s Drug Store. In the summer of
1853, fifteen-year-old John caught the attention of George
Sheppard. John soon was employed as an apprentice pen maker at
a salary of $3.00 per week.
durable gold pen. He realized that his handiwork would require a
Holland was a quick learner. By 1858, he had become a master
larger market than Detroit. The first railroad line had just been
craftsman and had acquired a one-third partnership in Sheppard’s
completed between Lake Erie and Cincinnati, so Sheppard used
gold pen company.
it to leave Detroit and find his fortune in Cincinnati, a city of
50,000 and the largest city in the West.
In 1841, above a barber shop on Main Street, between Seventh
& Eight Streets, George Sheppard founded the first gold pen factory in the world.
(Author’s Note: In 1916, John Holland made the claim that George
In 1859, John Holland made his first fountain pen, as he saw
the appeal that such an instrument would have. However, the
holders for the pens had to be made of non-corrosive materials
such as solid gold, which was cost prohibitive.
In 1861, John’s brother, Timothy Holland, also became a master
pen maker at the factory. The gold pen business continued to thrive.
Sheppard invented the gold nib and built the first factory for producing
However, the tensions of the approaching Civil War weighed
them. See L. M. Fultz’s article, “The History of Making Metal Pen
heavily on George Sheppard’s mind. He was convinced that the
10
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THE PENNANT
Fig.1. 1883 Holland advertisement showing Extra Fine (323), Falcon and Oblique nibs.
Fig. 2. Holland #8 nib with integral ferrule and holder, and a Falcon nib.
Confederacy would win the war, leaving Cincinnati, now a
city of more than 200,000 people, vulnerable to the victors
located just across the Ohio River in Kentucky.
Sheppard decided to sell his pen company, retire to a
farm along Hogan’s creek in nearby Aurora, Indiana, and
live in peace for the rest of his days. (His peace was short-lived
– see sidebar on page 14.)
In 1862, John Holland bought the business from
Sheppard and made immediate innovations to the product
line. Until then, the company’s gold pens had been made
with nibs of long, short and stub lengths with iridium points
in various widths. They expanded the product line with
Bank, Extra Fine (323), Falcon, IXL, Oblique, Record, and
Spade nibs (Figs. 1, 2, 3).
During the Civil War, John Holland served in the Union
Army. It is not known whether Timothy also served, or
remained at home to run the flourishing gold pen business.
However, Timothy had become a partner, and the business
was known as “John Holland and Brother” (Fig. 4).
INNOVATION AND GROWTH
The Hollands continued to experiment with fountain pens
and stylographic pens and began to sell them in small numbers. When the company issued 60th anniversary blotters in
1901, they stated, “Gold pens since 1841—Fountain pens
since 1865” (Fig. 5).
Although Charles Goodyear received a patent in 1844
for vulcanized rubber, it appears that hard rubber became
commercially available on a regular basis only after the Civil
War. John Holland wrote, “In 1867, we began turning hard
rubber parts in our nib factory. The fountain and stylographic part of the business had grown to such proportions
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
11
that we established a separate factory for turning and
working hard rubber, being the pioneer in this line of
business. By 1869, we began to regularly make fountain pens and stylographic pens from hard rubber.”
Today, if we think of stylographic pens at all, we
think of them as suitable for technical drawing.
However, they were popular in the 19th century for
general writing, particularly where a thin, even line
was desired, as in bookkeeping. Some referred to
them as ink pencils (Fig. 6).
The early Holland eyedropper filling fountain pens
had primitive feeds. They used a black hard rubber
‘overfeed’ on top of the nib, and a cylindrical, slitted
hard rubber feed under the nib (Fig. 7). Lewis Edson
Waterman’s breakthrough feed design would come
about 15 years later.
Fig. 3. Holland dip pen nibs with different ‘breather
holes’—crescent, oval, ‘V.’
Fig. 4. Civil war era nib with
“J. Holland & Brother” nib imprint.
It was about this time that the company name
was changed to the John Holland Gold Pen
Company. We do not know the reason for the
change, but the Cincinnati city directory of the
era no longer lists Timothy Holland as a gold
pen maker. He is mentioned as a lithographer.
John Holland continued his innovations,
receiving patents for various fountain pens,
feeds, mechanical pencils (added to the line
in 1870), gold toothpicks, and iridium tipping (Fig. 8).
JOHN HOLLAND AND IRIDIUM NIB
TIPPING
Perhaps John Holland’s most enduring contribution to the pen industry was his work with
iridium for tipping pen points.
12
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Fig. 5: 1901 blotter stating when Holland started making nibs and fountain pens
Iridium, similar to platinum and the hardest of all metals, had been known since
1803. Decades after its discovery, it still was expensive to buy and difficult to use.
The processing of the ore had progressed only to the point where iridium was available as a fine powder or in small grains. It was devilishly difficult to fuse iridium to
gold and shape it into pen points, as is evident in the number of old nibs with missing iridium on the tips.
In the late 1870s John Holland conducted experiments to create a better tipping material.
His objective was to create a compound containing iridium and another more malleable, less
expensive material. He discovered that if he heated iridium ore in a crucible until it turned
white, then added phosphorus, he could fuse the iridium with gold and form a pen point in
the desired shape.
The importance of his invention was recognized in 1891 when John Holland
received a medal as an honorary member of the Parisian Inventor’s Academy in
France for his work with iridium and gold nibs.
HOLLAND AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOUNTAIN PEN
Today, Waterman is often credited with creating the first practical fountain pen in
1884. Waterman made this claim in its advertising, and it has been widely accepted
as fact. However, it is clear that Holland (and others) were making and selling serviceable fountain pens prior to 1884.
The historical record seems to support the claim that the John Holland Company
was the first U.S. manufacturer to introduce a commercially successful fountain pen
in the late 1860s. There are earlier patents and earlier fountain pens that have survived. However, Holland appears to have been the first to make and sell them in
quantity in the USA.
The next fountain pens to emerge were the stylographic pens of Alonzo T. Cross
and Duncan MacKinnon. They did not become popular until the 1870s, about five
years after Holland’s second factory was built.
By the 1880s, Wirt, then Waterman, began to dominate the American fountain
pen market. Other major players would emerge. George S. Parker moonlighted selling John Holland pens in the 1880s before he founded the Parker Pen Company in
1888. Walter Sheaffer’s pens would appear 15 years later.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
Fig. 6. Red hard rubber Stylographic pen or ink pencil.
13
The Civil War Comes to the Midwest
by John G. Leone and L. Michael Fultz
When George W. Sheppard sold his partnership interest in the John Holland Gold Pen Company in 1862 he
said he feared that the Confederacy would win the war
HOLLAND’S DECLINE
The John Holland Gold Pen Company entered the 20 th
century as a major manufacturer, selling pens across the
USA and abroad; yet, the company was beginning to fade.
The main reasons appear to be twofold: sporadic advertising and lack of investment in industrializing its manufacturing operations.
and take reprisals against Cincinnati and its merchants.
Although a neighboring soap & candle company was
Sheppard retired to southeastern Indiana, feeling that it was
the leading advertiser of the era, John Holland did not
a safer location. While his fears of a Southern victory were
unfounded, his timing and choice of a safe haven were flawed.
follow Procter & Gamble’s example. As the years rolled
by, Holland’s weak advertising put it at an increasing competitive disadvantage. By the 1920s, advertisements for
During much of 1862 and the spring of 1863, Confederate
Holland pens were disappearing from national magazines
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his troops conducted
and only appeared in Cincinnati newspapers when new
raids harassing, in particular, the L&N Railroad, a major line
of supply for the Union army occupying sections of Middle
Tennessee.
models were introduced.
It is not clear why Holland did not make the investment in the equipment required for automated mass
production. Perhaps cash flow did not provide sufficient
On July 8, 1863, Morgan’s Raiders commandeered riverboats
earnings to pay for automation. Perhaps the Holland
and crossed the Ohio River into southern Indiana. For several
family did not want to dilute control by bringing in out-
days his troops destroyed railroad junctions and telegraph lines
and burned bridges, buildings, and homesteads. Pursued by
side investors to raise capital. Following incorporation
in 1884, the founder and his four children (James, John,
Robert, and Teresa) owned nearly all the stock and kept
Union troops, Morgan headed east, left Indiana near Sheppard’s
it that way. Perhaps Holland simply believed that bench-
‘safe haven’ on Hogan’s Creek in Aurora and entered the state
made nibs were the key to a quality product. (The founder
of Ohio near the town of Harrison. He proceeded east, skirted
is reputed to have tested every nib that went out the door,
heavily defended but badly panicked Cincinnati and began to
well into his 80s.)
By the 1920s, Holland’s major competitors had auto-
work on the second objective of his raid, the procurement of
mated their pen production. Holland never did get there.
horses and money for the Confederacy. He is said to have cap-
When the auction of the John Holland Pen Company’s
tured nearly 1000 horses, and it is alleged that his men also
assets occurred on February 22, 1981, following the death
robbed banks.
Morgan’s Raiders continued east along the Ohio River but
were opposed by Federal troops, militia and even gunboats on
of Robert, the founder’s last surviving son, observers commented that the Holland nib-making equipment belonged
in a museum as it was clearly from the 19th century. It
became scrap metal instead.
the Ohio. On July 26th, some of Morgan’s troops crossed the
When John Holland died at the age of 85 in 1924, the
Ohio at Buffington Island, Meigs County, back into Virginia (now
company lost its guiding light. His sons had long worked
West Virginia). However, a major part of his force was killed
and Morgan himself was captured. His raid represented the
in the business and were willing to experiment with new
ideas—painted pens, celluloid pens—but they lost the
innovation race, and the downward trend continued.
longest and northernmost excursion of Confederate troops
The Great Depression also took its toll on Holland’s
into Union territory during the war. After several months of
business. By the end of the 1930s, the quality of Holland
incarceration in a Federal prison in Columbus, Ohio, Morgan
products had deteriorated, and they were no longer a top-
escaped and returned to the South but was killed by Federal
troops in Greeneville, Tennessee on September 4, 1864.
Both authors are interested in Civil War History as well
as pens.
tier manufacturer. Annual production had dropped to
about 20,000 pens and pencils by the end of the 1930s.
During World War II, raw material restrictions
placed on pen manufacturers made it even worse.
Production plummeted to barely 3600 units in 1947.
By 1950, production had ceased, and salesmen were no
14
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Fig. 7. Circa 1885-1890 Holland eyedropper
pens with primitive hard rubber feeds.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
15
Fig. 8: Circa 1877 advertisement showing Holland products.
Holland blotter advertising its gold and silver pens, gold toothpicks , charms, etc.
longer on the road. The once
proud manufacturer had become
a retail shop and repair facility that sold and serviced writing instruments made by other
manufacturers. Between 1953
and 1957, fewer than 1000 John
Holland pens were sold, presumably assembled from existing
parts.
The halcyon days of the John
Holland Gold Pen Company were
in the late 19 th century. Its pens
earned top honors at the Vienna
Exposition in 1873, at eight consecutive Cincinnati Expositions,
and at the U.S. Centennial
The author wishes to thank the Cincinnati Historical Society,
Exposition in 1876.
Mike Fultz, Rick Horne, Dick Johnson, John Mottishaw, and Abe
Holland pens have faded into history, but John Holland, the
Schwartz for their contributions to this article.
inventor, left an important technical legacy that deserves to be
Pen photos by David Bloch & L.M. Fultz
rescued from obscurity. The journey to make gold nibs may have
All other photos by L.M. Fultz.
started in the frontier town of Detroit, but it came to fruition in
Images of paper items by Tim Smith of Tim Smith Design.
Cincinnati. All the gold nibs that we cherish today are descendents
Pens and ephemera from the collections of Abe Schwartz and
of the efforts of George Sheppard and John Holland.
!
Jack Leone.
All rights reserved by the author.
16
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
17
B. Grieshaber…and Sons
Nibs and Pens
By L. Michael Fultz
Most pen collectors associate the name Grieshaber with fountain pens of medium quality made in Chicago
from about 1910 through about 1940. The family has a much longer history and association with pens, however.
The company was especially active as a supplier of gold nibs to other pen manufacturers, including Sheaffer and Parker.
B
urkhardt Grieshaber emigrated from Germany to New
pen repairs. Its “Umpire” brand eyedropper filled fountain pens were
York before 1850 and learned the nib making trade from
advertised with the slogan “Keeps to the Write.”
Levi Brown. Brown had been a jeweler in Detroit before moving to
Pens made after about 1910 carry the name B. Grieshaber & Sons,
New York City and becoming the first gold nib maker in America
and by 1920 the pens are labeled B. Grieshaber Sons, suggesting that
(see “A History of Making Metal Pen Nibs” in this issue). Among
Burkhardt had passed on. In his autobiography, Walter Sheaffer
those who worked for and were trained by Levi Brown was the young
recounts that many of the earliest Sheaffer pens were made with
Burkhardt Grieshaber. After his training, however, Grieshaber elected
nibs purchased from Grieshaber. Sheaffer recounts how he arranged
to move to Detroit and work as both a nib maker and a jeweler.
to gain access to certain U. S. patents by agreeing to buy nibs from
He was first employed by Charles Piquette, a jeweler, who
another supplier if that supplier could match Grieshaber’s price and
advertised among his other wares, “Piquette’s Superior Gold
quality. They couldn’t, and Sheaffer continued to be a Grieshaber
Pens.” By 1857, Burkhardt Grieshaber is listed in the city direc-
customer. Even after Winfield Kaye was hired by Sheaffer to start a
tory as a “gold nib maker,” with his own business in Detroit.
nib manufacturing department, some of the less expensive Sheaffer
It has been impossible to learn when Grieshaber relocated to
and nearly all Craig pens were fitted with Grieshaber nibs.
Chicago since all the records and directories from before 1871
George Parker was also a regular Grieshaber nib customer, at
were destroyed in the great Chicago fire. However, Burkhardt
least until he formed a partnership with George Gilman and they
Grieshaber appears in the first post-fire directory as a maker and
jointly founded American Metals on the top floor of the Parker
seller of gold pens. His business continued to grow and prosper.
plant on Court Street in Janesville. No doubt many other Midwest
During the 1892-1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago,
pen makers bought their nibs from Grieshaber, too.
Grieshaber nibs were “Awarded the highest premium and medal
over all competitors for superiority and general excellence.”
By 1900 the firm was named B. Grieshaber & Co. and was located
at 84-90 State Street in Chicago. The firm advertised “Gold Pens,
In the 1940s, B. Grieshaber Sons was renamed Grieshaber
Manufacturing and relocated to the Chicago suburb of Elk
Grove Village. Little is known about the fate of Grieshaber
Manufacturing after their move to Elk Grove Village.
!
Fountain Pens, Holders, and Pencils.” It seems to have made these
items and sold them both at retail and at wholesale. The firm also did
All rights reserved by the author.
Grieshaber invoice, 1909.
18
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Modern Parker Duofold Nibs
by
Michael J. Conway
LEFT
RIGHT
OBLIQUE OBLIQUE
ITALIC
Nib Chart
Designation
Standard or Regular Nibs
18K Gold
Oblique Nibs (right hand)
18K Gold
Reverse Oblique Nibs (left hand)
18K Gold
Italic Nibs
18K Gold
Oblique Italic Nibs (right hand)
18K Gold
Reverse Oblique Italic Nibs (left hand)
18K Gold
STANDARD
Current production Parker Duofold nibs fall into four
main categories: standard, oblique, italic, and oblique
italic. While the nib sizes are different for the two
Duofold sizes (Centennial and International), they both
use the same numbering system for nibs.
Standard nibs have a rounded writing point with sizes
ranging from a fine needle point to an extra, extra bold.
These nibs are suited for any writing speed. Size is
largely a matter of personal preference for the lightness
or darkness of writing and thickness of lines.
Oblique nibs are cut on an angle to provide a thick
line on the downward stroke and a thin line on the
upward stroke. They also are fitted with a rounded
pellet for smooth writing. Oblique nibs add flair to one’s
handwriting. A reverse oblique nib, which slopes to the
right, often is preferred by left-handed writers.
Italic nibs have a precision sharp, straight cut, suited
for special writing purposed, and tipped with a pellet to
glide effortlessly across the page. Italic nibs, designed
for slower, more methodical movement, create the crisp
thick and thin strokes of formal writing.
Oblique italic nibs are cut at an angle and tipped with a
beveled pellet. These nibs are best suited for meticulous
writers with controlled and consistent handwriting,
using few connecting strokes or letter combinations in
one movement. A reverse oblique italic is available for
left-handed writers.
Duofold Centennial
and International
Size Nibs use
the same numbering
system.
Nib Size
Flowchart
Extra Fine
Medium Italic
Fine
Medium Oblique
Medium
Medium Left
Hand Oblique
Broad
Needle Point
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
Broad Italic
Fine Oblique
Broad Oblique
Fine Left
Hand Oblique
Broad Left
Hand Oblique
Extra Broad
Extra Broad
Oblique
Extra-Extra
Broad
Extra-Extra
Broad Oblique
19
Parker Nib Making & Materials From the 1950s
Through the 1970s
by Dean Hackbarth and L. Michael Fultz
Dean Hackbarth was the last supervisor of Parker’s nib department in Janesville. When he retired,
the nib department was closed and all nib production moved to England and France.
After he retired, Dean kept his personal notes about nib making.
The data below are taken directly from his papers.
The Parker nib department alloyed its
Yet another formula for making making
own gold for making nibs but sometimes
13.6kt nib gold was calculated especially
0.215 to 0.183
started with pure gold bars from the U.
to use up 5979.30 dwt of 18kt gold scrap
0.183 to 0.160
S. Treasury or bullion refiners Handy and
which Parker had on hand (Fig. 1).
0.160 to 0.141
Harmon. The department also occasion-
After the gold alloy was melted, it was
ally started with gold scrap purchased on
poured into molds with each 1980 dwt.
the open market.
melt making five bars of about 20 Troy
Second annealing
Third annealing
0.141 to 0.108
0.108 to 0.092
Parker had an active Technical Division
ounces each. The alloy was then rolled
At this point the gold bar has become
that worked out the formulae and supplied
to the appropriate thickness in a series of
a strip, which while no wider than when it
them to the nib department. A 1956 for-
steps. While fine gold is very soft and does
started, is many feet long; too long for easy
mula to make 13.6kt gold reads as follows:
not appreciably harden during working,
handling. So it is cut in half, annealed, and
All virgin gold formula (13.6kt)
alloy gold must be annealed (heated, then
the rolling resumed.
Fine gold
1122.1 dwt.
cooled) from time to time or it will begin
0.092 to 0.070
Fine silver
228.5 dwt.
to crack. Parker annealed its gold several
0.070 to 0.060
Fine copper
174.4 dwt.
times during rolling using a large electric
Patent alloy
455.0 dwt.
furnace. The gold strips were placed in
0.060 to 0.047
1980.0 dwt.
Total
Fifth annealing
the furnace at full length, brought up to
0.047 to 0.039
For those unfamiliar with the language of
temperature, held at annealing tempera-
0.039 to 0.034
precious metals, fine gold is 24 karat or 0.999
ture for an hour, then pushed through the
0.034 to 0.029
pure gold; a “dwt” is the standard abbrevia-
rear door of the furnace into the quench-
0.029 to 0.026
tion for a pennyweight, and there are 20 dwt
ing liquid.
0.026 to 0.024
in a Troy ounce (a unit of weight for pre-
In annealing, the gold was brought to
Again the strip has become too long
cious metals, equal to approximately 1.1
1240 degrees Fahrenheit, then quenched
and is cut in half, annealed, and the rolling
ordinary ounces). Moreover, 14 karat gold
in water, and the rolling process resumed.
resumed.
must, legally, be at least 13.5 karat fine—that
The steps in rolling (measurements in
0.024 to 0.019
is, containing 13.5 parts fine gold out of 24.
thousandths of an inch) were
0.019 to 0.0175
1980 dwt is 99 Troy ounces. This quantity
Bar thickness to
0.480
0.0175 to 0.016
was selected since Parker’s induction fur-
0.480 to 0.454
nace for melting gold had a capacity of 100
0.454 to 0.424
0.016 to 0.015
ounces Troy.
Final annealing
0.424 to 0.403
0.015 to 0.014
Another formula was prepared in 1963
0.403 to 0.370
0.014 to 0.013
for making 18kt nib gold using commer-
0.370 to 0.330
0.013 to 0.0125
cial 14kt scrap:
0.330 to 0.317
0.0125 to 0.012
18kt gold formula
The rolling process could, of course,
13.6 scrap
1000.00 dwt.
0.317 to 0.275
be stopped at any stage depending on the
Fine gold
924.24 dwt.
0.275 to 0.244
thickness of gold stock needed for the pro-
55.76 dwt.
0.244 to 0.232
duction of a given nib style and flexibility.
1980.00 dwt.
0.232 to 0.215
For comparison with the above measure-
Fine silver
Total
20
Then anneal
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
ments, the rim of a new U.S. one cent coin is 0.055 thousandths
of an inch thick and a human hair is 0.0025 thousandths of an
inch in diameter.
The special alloys Parker (and other nib makers) used changed
from time to time. The article by Don Hiscock in this issue details
his analysis of the metals and processes used. Milton Pickus and
other engineers at Parker Pen received U. S. patents for their pioneering metallurgical work.
From the 1940s, Parker nib pellets were made from powdered
metal. This powder was pressed through a heated extruding die,
forming rods of pellet material. This was somewhat soft and was
formed into the appearance of a string of beads in another press
using special dies. The individual pellets were then broken free of
the rods, the scrap material between the pellets was separated and
recycled, and the nib tipping pellets were then sintered (melted
and hardened) in an electric furnace. Still, there remained a band
of metal around the pellet.
Parker developed a special process called “lapping” to make
the pellets of nib tipping material a precise size. Batches of rough
pellets were rolled with diamond abrasive and oil between two
Fig. 1. Formula for making 13.6kt gold using scrap.
precisely ground parallel steel plates. A pellet that was too large
would be scraped through the abrasive until worn smaller, while
other metals using a die set. Then the nib blank was curved and
one which was the correct size would simply roll along. Tapered
shaped in a series of additional dies, after which the pellets were
rolls were used to sort polished pellets by size.
added. The exceptions to the “formed first” approach were the
Parker had only a few standard sizes of pellets which were later
ground into the various nib widths and shapes. A chart from the
1950s shows which size (in thousandths of an inch) pellet was used
to make which nib:
tubular/semi tubular nibs for the 21, 51, 61, and 75 pens, which
were tipped before forming.
After forming, the Parker name and other information was
stamped onto the nib blank, and the pellet and nib was slit with
0.030
Accountant, Needle, Steno, Extra Fine,
a special abrasive saw. These saw blades were custom made for
0.033
Fine, Medium
Parker by Bahr-Manning and were about 5 inches in diameter
0.039
Broad, Fine Arabic
when new, but only 0.004 inches thick. All nibs were first ground
0.052
Medium Arabic
and polished by machine, but the larger nibs were then hand
0.062
Medium Stub, Broad Stub
ground and adjusted. At various times Parker calculated that there
Medium Right Oblique,
were about 300 steps in making a nib, but more than 50 of these
Medium Left Oblique,
were inspections. While Parker maintained its own quality con-
Music, Executive,
trols including an internal metallurgical laboratory, samples were
Extra Broad,
also sent to an outside laboratory to verify that the nib gold met
Custom Broad
federal standards for karat content.
These pellets were induction (electromagnetic) welded onto
As can be seen from the above, creating nibs from scratch
nib blanks which had been cut from the gold strip rolled at Parker.
was a complex, multi-step process. Parker, like other pen man-
In addition, Parker made its own nibs from titanium as well as a
ufacturers who made their own nibs, developed special equip-
special stainless steel alloy which the company called “Octanium.”
ment and processes and employed a highly skilled labor force
Tip welding was performed in a special inert atmosphere of argon
to manufacture its nibs. Many of those skills have been lost
for titanium and nitrogen for gold and Octanium. Parker made
today as automation has taken over and nib making has been
the tipping equipment itself, which included high precision hold-
consolidated down to a relatively small number of pen and
ers that were ground to hold the nib blank and the pellet in per-
specialty manufacturers.
!
fect alignment.
This tipping was only one step in the process of nib making,
All rights reserved by the authors.
however. First, the nib blank was stamped from the rolled gold or
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
21
Parker “51” Nib Tipping Materials
‘R U’
Ready for a
Better Nib?
by Don Hiscock
Among the many innovations that made the Parker “51” a breakthrough pen were several
so “back of the house” they’ve never been fully appreciated.
The development of the Parker Pen Company’s expertise in powder metallurgy is one of these
innovations. Parker found a way to improve quality, increase consistency, enhance automation and
productivity, and never really bragged about it.
This article discusses this evolution of nib tipping materials in the early years of the Parker “51”, based
on a review of patent art and analysis of nibs from the period.
“Iridium” is the term we collectors universally use for tipping
ELEMENTAL, MY DEAR WATSON
Parker noted in 1940 that nib tipping had to satisfy several
materials, although by 1930 the pen companies were writing ad
requirements (Ref. 1). It must:
copy using terms that weren’t quite “iridium,” and it seems that
1. Be hard and wear resistant for long life,
they weren’t quite using iridium in making the nibs, either, but
2. Be corrosion resistant to inks
that’s getting ahead of our story a little.
3. Have uniform and fine grain structure to wear uniformly and
The Parker Pen Company used different names for its nib-
prevent roughening, as well as freedom from voids and cracks
tipping materials in advertisements over the years. In the late
to prevent chipping, and,
1920s Duofold ads, it called the tipping simply “iridium.”
4. Weld readily to the nib body.
In the Vacumatic and “51” era from the mid 1930s until the
Nib tipping materials have traditionally been drawn from
late 1940s, nibs were tipped with “oil smooth Osmiridium.”
the Platinum Group of Metals (PGM), consisting of six ele-
In the 1950s and later, Parker used the name “Plathenium” for
ments: iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and
the pellet.
ruthenium. These metals are similar chemically and are often
found as byproducts in the extraction of other metals.
In the early “51” era, from around 1941 to 1944, the imprints
on the nib show things were changing in some way. Earliest nibs
Parker “51” and Duofold Nibs Analyzed by EDX
Date of
Nib
Imprint
Dominant
PGM in Tipping
Comment
1941
None
Osmium
1944
OS-PL
Osmium
1944
1944
RU-PL
None
Ruthenium
Osmium
1947
RU
Ruthenium
1951
PU
Ruthenium
Strange “PU” imprint seems to not make sense
1952
PU-PL
Ruthenium
Again, “PU” on a ruthenium tipped nib
1953
1965
BP
Octanium
Palladium
Ruthenium
1929
Duofold C
Osmium
English-made nib
Chromium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and iron found
from the eight-metal alloy in the nib body.
From Parker Moderne Black & Pearl straightline threeband Senior, c 1929 - 30.
Typical nib from first-year Parker “51”.
Estimated date. “Short” nib from Parker’s shell-mounted
“51” nib development program in mid 1940s
Table 1. Parker “51” and Duofold Nib Tipping Materials.
22
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
to offer powder metallurgy to others.
This company, SSI Sintered Specialties,
is still a leader in powder metallurgy and
is still in Janesville, Wisconsin.
In its earlier patent filed in September
1940 (Ref. 1), Parker heated platinum
and from two to 20% carbon to near
the melting point of platinum to produce platinum carbide. Platinum isn’t
the most oxidation-resistant Platinum
Group Metal, so it will react with the
carbon. This compound was ground to
make most of the particles less than five
micrometers (or µm) diameter, which is
about one tenth smaller than the diameter of a human hair and finer than
Fig. 1. Parker Chief Metalurgist Robert Pickus from circa 1939–1940 Collier’s ad.
flour. This platinum carbide powder
was mixed with a binder metal, similarly
have no imprints. Later nibs have imprints with RU or OS, some-
powdered. The binder metal was chosen to have a melting point
times in combination with PL, and sometimes other odd imprints
substantially lower than that of the platinum. 14kt gold was used,
show up on nibs. What do they mean? What was the Parker Pen
based on a gold, copper, and silver alloy, because it was similar
Company thinking?
to the nib body and would eliminate electrolytic corrosion at the
The promotional names for Parker tipping alloys weren’t just
point where the pellet joins the nib.
marketing fluff; they were based on metallurgy. Table 1 shows the
The powder was compressed into small pellets, sort of like
composition of various tipping metals analyzed for this article. In
packing a snowball between one’s hands. Parker used 35–50 ton/
almost all cases, the dominant metal in the alloy is reflected in the
square inch (480–690 megapascals, or MPa) and rubber tooling
name used by Parker.
to do this. These compressed powders were sintered in an inert
DUST TO PELLET
or reducing atmosphere into dense solid metal pellets which were
In 1941 Parker noted that osmium was “almost universally employed”
compact, uniform and void-free. The temperature for this process
as the preferred nib tipping material from within the platinum group
is controlled by the binder metal, 14kt gold in this case, because
of metals and was used in common with many others of the group
the hard material doesn’t melt.
(Ref. 2). Osmium has a good combination of corrosion resistance and
In Parker Pen’s next nib tipping patent, filed in December 1941
hardness. It seems to have completely supplanted iridium at Parker
(Ref. 2), it went in a different direction. In this second, and prob-
by at least the late 1920s. It was processed using conventional (melt)
ably more important, patent on powder metallurgy for nib tip-
alloying. The “Osmiridium” name began the transition from iridium
ping, Parker disclosed the use of ruthenium powder, alloyed with
to osmium and other PGMs.
smaller amounts of other PGMs. Ruthenium had, of course, been
The Parker Pen Company received two patents in the early
considered by others, including Parker, as a candidate for tipping
1940s for new nib tipping materials and processes based on pow-
material over the years. Parker found it couldn’t be used due to
der metallurgy. Both were the invention of Milton Robert Pickus,
brittleness, despite its economic attractiveness and good wear-
Parker’s chief metallurgist (Fig. 1).
resistance. The key to this 1941 invention was to keep the ruthe-
In contrast to conventional metallurgy, by which metals are
nium level high (85 to 98% of the total weight) and to prevent
alloyed by being melted together, powder metallurgy combines
diffusion of the ruthenium into the minor PGM. Parker found
metals into unique combinations by blending finely-divided
that too much diffusion of ruthenium into the other metal gave a
powders of the different metals desired into a compressed raw
resulting alloy that was too brittle to be processed in grinding and
state and then sintering (a process of melting and hardening) the
slitting. This occurs, for example, with platinum at about 15% by
mass at high temperature into a solid form. Powder metallurgy
conventional fusion (melt) alloying. If the minor PGM were kept
gave Parker the ability to make better pellets out of materials it
low enough, say 2%, fusion could be used to make a useable pellet
couldn’t use before. These inventions turned out to be so useful
but the melt processing at these levels wasn’t practical commer-
they formed the kernel of a new company founded by Parker Pen
cially. Powder metallurgy was the solution to control composition
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
23
FUN WITH ELECTRONS AND X-RAYS
The analytical tool used for the original data in this article was developed using a Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM) with an Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-Rays (EDX) detector. Typical of a highly technical field, jargon abounds. A scanning electron microscope is a completely different kind of instrument from
the one you used as a kid in biology class. For one thing, it doesn’t use any light to create images. The SEM
uses a beam of electrons, sort of like the gun in a TV picture tube, to scan the surface of the object under
inspection. The SEM has lenses like most microscopes, but they’re rings of strong magnets to bend and focus
the electron beam.
The sample to be examined is sealed in a vacuum chamber. The electrons strike the surface of the sample and
most are carried away to ground (the sample having been coated with a conductive material during preparation).
A portion of the electrons are scattered from the surface or are re-emitted after being absorbed by the sample.
These are the electrons that show the surface of the material, usually on a TV screen. SEMs are only in black
and white, but image analysis software can do a good job of adding false color.
The biggest advantage of SEMs is the high magnification that can be obtained (over 20,000 times diameter, far more than the 1000 times that a very good light microscope can achieve). The other main advantage
of SEMs is that the images are not limited by depth of field, in which the focal plane becomes more narrow
as magnification increases. Scanning electron microscopes have perfect depth of field, which makes them
perfect for things like the fearsome enlargements of insects you may have seen.
By the way, images taken with a microscope are called micrographs. If taken with a light microscope,
they’re photomicrographs. If taken with an electron micrograph, they’re electron micrographs, and in the
case of a SEM, scanning electron micrographs. If you see something called a scanning electron photograph,
it should probably be a picture of the instrument, not its product.
So what about the other part of the analytical jargon, EDX? One of the things that happens to some of
those electrons bombarding the sample in the SEM is that they can be absorbed by the material under the
beam, which raises the atom to a higher energy state. A little jolt of subatomic caffeine, you might say. These
higher energy atoms are unstable (again taking the caffeine analogy), and they pretty quickly settle down by
emitting the excess energy in the form of X-rays. A SEM can be equipped with a specialized detector that
measures the energy distribution of these X-rays. Through complex software and the characteristic X-ray fingerprint of each element, the composition of the sample can be identified. Furthermore, because the electron
beam is painted over the surface of the sample, the distribution of the elements present can be mapped to show
where it is on the sample. In the case of the Platinum Group of Metals, the very similarity that leads these to be
grouped together makes it hard to pull them apart in analysis. The X-ray energy distribution tends to overlap
for many of the PGMs, and only with effort and high energy X-rays can we start to tell them apart, especially
the minor PGM components in a blend with other PGMs
For further reading about nib analysis, see John Mottishaw’s articles “How Can We Talk About Iridium?”
and “Where’s the Iridium?” (Ref. 4 and 5).
within these ranges. A typical ruthenium pellet in 1943 would
JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM
have used about 95–98% ruthenium powder, 2–5% platinum or
Parker “51” collectors have probably noticed that many of the nibs
another platinum group metal and would have been sintered for 2
are marked with technical imprints in addition to a USA origina-
hours at 2950F (1620C) to produce a pellet with ruthenium grains
tion mark and a date code similar to that used for the pen barrels.
dispersed in a matrix of another platinum group.
A number of “51” nibs with common and not-so-common imprints
This same process and composition were being used by
were analyzed to confirm the code used on the nib describing the
Parker Pen as “Plathenium” well into the modern era (Ref. 3)
tipping material and process. This included several non-imprinted
and presumably still form the basis of tipping materials used by
nibs, the most common type found on first year “51’s. A straight-
the company.
line Duofold nib and a “51” Special octanium nib were included
24
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Fig. 3. Elemental Analysis of Nib + Tipping
Nib: ca 1944 Unmarked Parker “51” Short Shell-Mounted Nib
Region: 14K Gold Nib Body – Gold (Au), Copper (Cu), and Silver (Ag)
Region: Tipping – Osmium (Os)
for reference to the generation before and after the key patents in the early 1940s.
Figure 2 shows the elemental map of a “51” nib and tipping, with the image of the nib in
black and white. Note how the gold, copper, and silver signatures dominate the nib body, and
ruthenium dominates the pellet at the tip.
Figure 3 shows the characteristic “fingerprint” identifying each element found in the area
Fig 2. Elemental map of nib body and
tipping material.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
of the sample being analyzed. Charts like this were prepared and analyzed for each of the nibs,
whose composition is shown in Table 2.
25
PARKER “51” NIBS THAT WERE NOT PRODUCED
The tubular nib has always been an essential element of the finned collector and hooded shell ink delivery
system that is the heart of the “51”. Parker made several interesting technical detours off this path in the
1940s that show development was constantly underway. One of the more interesting was a nib patent that
was issued to Marlin Baker in 1942 (Ref 6).
This design involved making a nib using a blank with two points on it, shaped like a rectangle with a
V-shaped notch cut into one edge. The idea was that since a “51” nib is tubular, one could tip, grind, and
finish the two tines separately and then fold them over until they meet. This saved the slitting and difficult
finishing inside the slit and allowed easier access to the pellet. Clever idea, but it doesn’t seem to have
ever been practiced. Your author is not aware of any of these nibs in existence, although Parker patent art
always seems to have been drawn from actual examples and they probably were made for in-house evaluation at least. (They would be easy to spot with the nib out of the pen, since the slit on the top would extend
the full length of the nib, and there would
be no seam on the bottom, exactly opposite a normal nib.)
The unique shape of the nib blank
prior to forming is shown in Figure 4.
Rather than the conventional approach of
slitting an already-tipped nib with a 0.006
in. (0.15 mm) diamond saw, Parker folded
the nib blank into a tube. In this way the
seam in the rolled cylinder also served as
the slit. What’s more, the patent showed
the process of tipping the two halves of
the nib before the tube was formed, so
the pellet never needed to be slit. They
simply ground the ends of the blank and
rolled these into a nib. Simple in concept,
but maybe not so simple in practice.
Other nibs that aren’t found except
in the company’s R&D archives include
“two-story” tubular nibs with both vertical and horizontal slits in the pellet, nibs
made of two tipped gold wires laid sideby-side in the feed, permanently-spaced
nibs with less-than-full slits, larger wraparound nibs somewhat reminiscent of a
Sheaffer Triumph nib, true solid cone
Fig 4. Nib shape from Marlin Baker patent of 1941.
shaped nibs with cross-cut slits, and who
knows what else? Some of these nibs are
illustrated in David Shepherd’s book,
Parker “51” (Ref. 7) and could form the basis of another article at some future time.
If anyone has a “51” with any of these unusual R&D nibs, the author would welcome the opportunity
to discuss details about these escapees from the development department.
26
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
THE ENVELOPE PLEASE
of ruthenium as a tipping material transformed the way
So, the key to Parker “51” nib-tipping seems to be as fol-
nibs were made and continues to be the basis by which
lows: “OS” stands for osmium, using the standard naming
tipping materials are made today."
!
conventions of chemistry. “RU” stands for ruthenium. It
seems most likely that “PL” refers to a Platinum Group
All rights reserved by the author.
Metal alloyed with the main tipping metal, although
exactly why some nibs have this imprint and others don’t,
awaits further information or research. We think a little
platinum might be in the tipping of nibs even without the
References:
1. Milton Robert Pickus, Material for Pen Tips, U.S.
Patent 2,328,580, Issued September 2, 1941.
additional imprint. “PL” technically stands for plutonium,
2. Milton Robert Pickus, Ruthenium Alloy Pen
a metal clearly never used in Parker nibs. The chemical
Point, U.S. Patent 2,328,580, Issued September 7,
symbol for platinum is Pt, which never seems to have been
called out specifically on imprints.
“51” nibs are made of osmium or ruthenium, often
with minor levels of other Platinum Group Metals. If the
nib is unmarked, it’s almost certainly osmium. Later nibs
are likewise almost certainly ruthenium.
Not a speck of iridium was found in these nib samples,
even as far back as the end of the Parker Duofold era,
1943.
3. The Parker Pen Company, Material Specification
862, Issued August 3, 1976, personal collection of
author.
4. John Mottishaw, “How Can We Talk About
Iridium?”, The Pennant, Winter, 1999.
5. John Mottishaw, “Where’s the Iridium?,” The
Pennant, Fall, 1999.
which was far as this study went. This isn’t a surprise,
6. Marlin S. Baker, Process for Manufacturing Pen
really—iridium was commonly in use only as a name, not
Nibs, U.S. Patent 2,267,147, Issued December 23,
an actual tipping material, by the time the Vacumatic and
“51” were developed.
The price and availability of iridium provided a strong
1941.
7. David Shepherd, Parker “51”, Surrenden Pens,
Brighton, England, 2004.
motivation to develop new tipping materials. Ruthenium
makes a great target, based on important properties of
Acknowledgements
the PGMs, and including 1941 metal prices as shown in
Special thanks to Jeanne Orr of Reservoirs Environmental
Table 2. A ruthenium pellet would have been almost ten
Services in Denver, Colorado, for access to the micros-
times cheaper than iridium in 1941, and less than half the
copy and elemental analysis equipment and technical skill
price of osmium, a powerful incentive to develop new
in interpreting the results.
technology.
Thanks to L. Michael Fultz and Brad Torelli for the loan
Powder metallurgy gave a new level of control to tip-
of odd nibs, tipping materials, and archive information.
ping material composition, grain structure, and processing
Thanks to Ernesto Soler for initiating the discussion
to Parker Pen Company in the 1940s. The development
about the wide variety of “51” nib imprints.
Table 2. Properties and Costs in 1941 For Platinum Group Metals For Tipping.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
27
THE
BOOKWORM
A BOOK REVIEW
by Sam Fiorella
The Quill Machines
that you actually want to cut a quill yourself instead of just col-
Dr. Jim Marshall
lecting quill machines, there are instructions about how to prop-
The Pen & Pencil Gallery, Penrith, Cumbria, UK, 2005
erly turn a feather into a fine writing instrument.
ISBN 0-9546304-8-3, $15, 24 pages
Today, when we need a new pen, or as is more likely the case,
when we want a new pen, we head to the nearest pen shop, either
down the street or via cyberspace. And if the nib is not quite right,
The Quill Machines is recommended reading for those of you who
are curious enough to know what came before the fountain pen!
Marshall’s second monograph will be titled: Compendiums, Etuis
and Penners—quick now, what is a compendium?
!
we can always go to one of the nibmeisters who is at our service
today, who will customize any nib to our exact
specifications.
Not so in the days when a pen was defined
as a quill. Most people would pull out their
trusty penknife to cut the quill, turning it into
a pen. If one had a bit of spare change in one’s
pocket, the task could be made easier with a
quill machine.
The Quill Machines is the first in a planned
series of six monographs written by Dr. Jim
Marshall. Personally, I am quite fond of the
idea of short books detailing a lot of information about writing instruments, especially
those that are difficult to find information
about in the first place! Be honest with yourself: how many of you reading this review
really know what a quill machine is? I know
that there are several of you, who, even if you
had heard the term “quill machine” or “quill
cutter,” might be standing at an antique mall
table with dozens of them staring you in the
face…and not have a clue that those odd
things that you were looking at actually had
something to do with writing!
Dr. Marshall takes us through the evolution of quill machines, from the simple pocket
machine with fold-out blade and built in cutter,
to the most elaborate desk-type machines made
of malachite, ivory and precious metals. More
than just pretty photographs, the book includes
patent references, component charts and historical information of the different styles of
quill machines. And in the event you decide
28
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
SHEAFFER’S
DEPARTMENT
by Dan Reppert
The history of the Gold Nib Department at Sheaffer Pen Company began in 1895
when Winfield Kay answered an ad for an apprentice at Mabie Todd & Co. That
history will end when BIC closes the doors of the Sheaffer plant in Ft. Madison,
Iowa, currently scheduled for Spring, 2006. Since its beginning, the Sheaffer
Gold Nib Department has been known as one of the premier producers of high
quality, long lasting fountain pen nibs.
W
infield Kay was recruited from his Progressive Pen Co. in 1917 by W. A.
Sheaffer to start and head the new Gold Nib Department at Sheaffer Pen Co.
He held the position as head of the department until 1929 when, according to
his grandson Prescott Smith, he moved to the Personnel Department, partly because Sheaffer
Paul Lake looks over the pattern left on a strip
of 14kt gold as the punch press stamps out the
blanks which will eventually wind up as pen
points on Sheaffer fountain pens.
had installed auto grinders. Kay was still employed in personnel and sales training at Sheaffer when he passed away in 1938.
At approximately the same time that Kay was leaving the department a young Paul Lake started working for Sheaffer Pen Co., starting what would be an 88 year dynasty in the melt room. Paul, who started in 1928, learned his trade from Alexander “Sandy” Fairlie and
worked for the company for 47 years. In the early 1960s he trained his son Gary in the art of creating the gold alloy used in Sheaffer
nibs. When Gary makes his last pour sometime this coming Spring he will have worked 41 years with the company and will be using
the same formula and the same machinery to produce the same
gold color that his father was taught when he began.
While the Lakes, father and son, together may have set a service record at Sheaffer, no one can match the record of Letta
Grosekemper. When Sheaffer’s doors close in May 2006 Letta
will have served the company in excess of 52 years, a record second to none. But several others have come close.
As mentioned above, Paul Lake worked for the company for
47 years. Alvin Hetzer received his 50 year pin before retiring. Joe Simpson began grinding nibs in 1924. By 1954 over
$3,000,000 worth of gold in the form of 500,000+ nibs had
passed through his talented hands, under his watchful eye.
Others such as Alexander Fairlie, Cora Dye, Bernard Muerhoff,
Hilda McMillan and Lawrence Smith all had in excess of 40
years of service.
When Lawrence Smith started on June 12, 1924, he thought
his job would last “…maybe three or four years. I was sure the
market would be flooded with pens by that time.” When he first
started, “…all operations were done by hand, and we worked
nine hours a day, five and a half days a week. Mechanization
has been the big change.”
Father and son, mother and daughter and many siblings have
made up the history of the Gold Nib Department over Sheaffer’s
88-year history of making its own nibs. Most of these histories
have been long. Melting, stamping, slitting and grinding are all
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
Winfield Kay, manager of Sheaffer Nib department, 1924.
29
arts that take years to learn. Having invested those years in learning
the trade, many have found 40 years or more of satisfaction in the
perfection and practice of making nibs, a practice that created long
lasting, high quality writing instruments, which is exactly what W. A.
Sheaffer set out to do nearly one hundred years ago.
!
All rights reserved by the author.
Winfield Kay and giant nib for the float in Sheaffer
employee picnic parade. The nib was made of tin
by the Gold Nib department.
Hilda McMillan on her 40th Service Anniversary, and Lawrence Smith on his
35th Service Anniversary. Both, 1959.
30
Sandy Fairlie pouring moulten 14kt gold into a mold to form a bar, 1948.
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Earnest Skinner checks the shape of a sample pen point on the contour projector screen, 1958.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
31
USING
A
FOUNTAIN PEN: WHY BOTHER?
By Susan Wirth
TIPS ON HOW TO FIND A PEN THAT ENHANCES YOUR WRITING INCLUDING ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NIB GRADES.
Why should you use a fountain pen instead of a ballpoint or
(or left). The slant is anywhere from four to 15 degrees, depend-
rollerball? What’s the attraction? How do you select the right
ing on the manufacturer’s interpretation. (Fig. 5). Obliques
nib? After dealing with thousands of customers (and pens), here
make the same thick and thin lines as the straight italic.
are some important points to remember.
Fig. 1. Writing with an italic nib.
UNTAPPED VARIETY
The best argument for using a fountain pen is that it provides
results you can’t get with a ballpoint or rollerball.
• A fine italic can be wonderful for general writing and
tends to improve legibility. A customer said, “I don’t feel
I have a lot of control over my writing, sort of like a car
that goes all over the road. But when I use an italic, it
Fig. 2.Using a flexible nib.
gives me traction.” (Fig. 1)
• A flexible nib requires more effort but can produce a dramatic effect. (Fig. 2)
• A super fine point, also known as “needle,” is ideal for extensive editing, small printing, or detailed illustration. (Fig. 3)
OBLIQUES AND ITALICS: STOP LOOKING AT YOUR
FEET AND LOOK AT THE NIB
There’s tremendous confusion about nib grades, obliques in particular.
When the nib slants up to the right some call it “right oblique;” others
“left.” People have tried to clarify by saying right oblique looks like one
of your feet. The following is all you really need to know!
Nibs fit into two major categories: round-ball and square-cut.
ROUND BALL
• The round-ball point makes a line that’s the same in all
directions.
• Nib grades go from needle to triple broad.
• Flexible nibs will produce a thick downstroke with a thin
upstroke only when the writer uses pressure on the downstroke and almost no pressure on the upstroke. (Think of
it like a manual transmission.)
SQUARE CUT
• The square cut nib (an italic) makes a fat vertical line and
a thin horizontal without requiring anything special of
the user. (Fig. 4)
• Although italics are associated with calligraphic lettering, fine italics 1/64th to 1/32nd inches wide are gaining
popularity for general writing.
• A straight italic will work for most people who want thick
and thin lines in their writing.
• An oblique (also known as “oblique italic”) slants up to the right
Fig. 3. Writing with a needle/superfine nib (this is from a 3 x 4 in. trip journal)
• A 30 degree oblique slants sharply up to the right. One or two
Fig. 4. Italic nib.
percent of left handers will prefer this over other obliques or
italics. Note the sharpness of the angle in illustration. (Fig. 6)
WHEN AN OBLIQUE IS NOT AN OBLIQUE
The oblique in Parker’s Sonnet is not intended to give thick and thin
lines. Their literature states: “the oblique is made to compensate for
extreme writing angles and is fitted with a rounded pellet for smooth
writing in all directions.”
Don’t buy an oblique or italic in a brand or model you’re not familiar
with without actually trying the pen.
SELECTING A PEN
Buying any fountain pen to write with without trying it first is similar
to buying a car without ever taking it on the road. Pen shows are one
of the best venues for “auditioning” pens.
• If you use a certain kind of paper, bring it along.
• Sit down when you write.
• It’s best to try the pen filled. A
Fig. 5. Four degree and 15 degree obliques.
pen that’s just dipped can hide
Fig. 6. 30 degree oblique
(very sharp angle).
flow problems (starved flow or
flow that’s too heavy).
• Pens tend to have fewer flow
problems when they can be
filled through the nib from
a bottle. When a new pen is
designed to be sold without a
convertor, it can be impossible
to find a converter that fits.
• Try different nib grades for
some of the different kinds of writing you do.
• Write the kinds of things you expect to use the pen for. A
physicist wanted a fountain pen for writing formulas; so he
tested pens by writing formulas. (Fig. 7)
• Write at least two lines of cursive and/or two lines of printing.
(Don’t just test a pen with your signature.)
• After you find the type of nib you want, try several different
pens in the same grade. They will all feel a little different.
FINAL STEPS
• Try to determine how the grip feels: too fat, too thin, too slippery, just right?
• Then consider the pen for heft: Is it too heavy? Too light?
• Finally, check the options for finish and color.
• If one particular pen writes better for you than any of the others, buy it. Pens of the identical model and nib grade often
don’t write exactly alike.
• If you don’t buy the pen that writes beautifully for you, make
sure to keep a sample of how it wrote.
Fig. 7. Testing a pen by writing formulas using a flexible nib.
CAUTION: BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES
SUMMARY
Sometimes I hear, “This pen writes better than anything I’ve ever
• One size does NOT fit all.
known, but I wish it weren’t so plain.” A pen that writes beautifully
• Different nib grades are best for different purposes.
for you will make the process of writing more pleasurable over
• When buying a pen to USE, try before you buy.
time. It will actually encourage its use and experimentation.
!
All rights reserved by the author.
Fig. 11. Using a Sheaffer No-Nonsense italic nib.
(Twelve-year-old girl).
Fig. 8. Testing a nib for cartooning.
Fig. 9. Trying a slightly
flexible Duofold Junior.
(Eight-year-old boy).
Fig. 10. Trying a nib for sketching.
A LITTLE LEVITY
BY IAN KREISBERG
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
35
American Pen, Pencil, Parts, and Gold Nib
Manufacturers, 1931
Compiled by L. Michael Fultz
The Keystone Jeweler’s Index, published by the Keystone Publishing Co., Philadelphia, Pa., was America’s preeminent trade paper for the
jewelry and related industries during much of the 1900s. It was so powerful that its name, “Keystone,” has been given to the standard
mark-up formula used even today in the retail and wholesale pricing of jewelry and related items. The Keystone Jewelers’ Index was (and
is) a sort of business to business yellow pages for the industry. One of the categories in the 1931 book (Fifth Edition) is “Pen and Pencil
Manufacturers;” another is “Pen and Pencil Parts.” Listed there are the following firms:
Aikin Lambert Co.**
3 Dey St.
Bay State Gold Pen Co.**
10 East Street
Blaisdell Pencil Co.
141 Berkley
Brown & Bigelo, Inc.*
Byers & Hayes Co., Inc.*
133 Monroe
C. E. Barrett & Co.**
315 S. Peoria St.
C. H. Ingersoll Dollar Pen Co.* 545 N. Arlington Ave.
New York, NY
Hill & Hill, Inc.
40 W. Broadway
New York, NY
Mansfield, MA
Hutcheon Bros.
241 Centre St.
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Inkograph Co., Inc.
159-201 Centre
New York, NY
St. Paul, MN
Interstate Mfg. Co.
149 Cleveland
Hoboken, NJ
J. Harris & Co.
110 E. 23rd
New York, NY
John Holland Gold Pen Co.**
127 E. 4th
Cincinnati, OH
Jos. B. Bechtel & Co.
725 Sanson
Katchem & McDougall, Inc.
15 Maiden Lane
New York, NY
L. E. Waterman Co.*
191 Broadway
New York, NY
Laughlin Mfg. Co.*
939 Majestic Bldg.
Chicago, IL
East Orange, NJ
Philadelphia, PA
Caws Pen & Ink Co.*
200 Broadway
Century Pen Co.
35 Centre
Crocker Pen Mfg. Co.
160 2nd. Street
D. E. Makepeace Co.
Pine and Dunham
Attleboro, MA
Leboeuf Fountain Pen Co.*
4 Birnie Ave.
Springfield, MA
D. W. Beaumel & Co., Inc.**
17-27 Vandewater
New York, NY
Leonardo Novelty Co,
Union Square
New York, NY
Duryea & Co.**
New York, NY
Providence, RI
Whitewater, WI
Boston, MA
Hackensack, NJ
Liberty Fountain & Gold Nib** 380 Canal
New York, NY
Mabie, Todd & Co.**
15 Maiden Lane
New York, NY
Manhattan Novelty Co.
227 Canal
New York, NY
Marlboro Co.
309 5th Ave.
New York, NY
E. O. Weigle & Sons
587 S. 10th St.
Eagle Pencil Co.*
703 E. 13th
New York, NY
Eastern Products Corp.
21 Gordon
Providence, RI
Eberhardt Faber Pencil Co.*
37 Greenpoint
Brooklyn, NY
Master-Craft Pen Corp.
59 Park Place
New York, NY
Eclipse Pen & Pencil Co., Inc. Chrysler Bldg.
New York, NY
Masterlite Mfg. Co.
110 E. 23rd.
New York, NY
Edw. Todd & Co.*
100 6th Ave.
New York, NY
McCoy’s Pen-Pencil Service
760 Market
San Francisco, CA
Electric Time Corp.
401 N. Broad
Philadelphia, PA
Michael-George Co.
East Church St.
Libertyville, IL
F. M. Stark**
61 E. 53rd
Brooklyn, NY
Monroe Fountain Pen Co.
Chrysler Building
New York, NY
Franklin Fountain Pen Co.
51 N. 10th
Philadelphia, PA
Morrison Fountain Pen Co.
1600 Broadway
New York, NY
Gaydoul Gold Pen Co. Inc.**
117 Fulton
New York, NY
Narragansett Jewelry Co.
74 Clifford
Gem Fountain Pen Co.*
53-61 Park Place
New York, NY
National Pen Products Co.
319 S. Peoria St.
Globe Import Co., Inc.
31 Union Square
New York, NY
New Diamond Point Pen Co.* 333 Hudson
Gordon Pen Co.**
450 Palisade Ave.
36
Newark, NJ
Detroit, MI
West New York, NJ
Providence, RI
Occult Novelty Co.
Chicago, IL
New York, NY
Whitestone, NY
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Oriental Art Studios
11-35 W. 35th
Paul E. Wirt Fountain Pen Co.*
New York, NY
Bloomsburg, PA
Penographic Pen Co.
152 W. 42nd.
New York, NY
Pen-O-Pencil Co., Inc.
1 W. 47th
New York, NY
Reliable Pen Co.
15 Park Row
New York, NY
Rider’s Pen Shops*
636 State
Madison, WI
Salomon & Co.**
33-37 E. 17th
Brooklyn, NY
Salz Bros, Inc.*
102 W. 101st.
New York, NY
Samuel Kenner
Long Island City, NY
Coming in the
next issue of
The Pennant
George S. Parker Arrives At Janesville 1880
Taxonomy Of Late 1940s Sheaffer Models
Schoellner & Bock Mfg. Co.** 359 Mulberry
Newark, NJ
Crafting Pen Repair Tools
Schoellner & Herback Co.**
276 N. J. RR Ave.
Newark, NJ
Interview With Son Of Henry Fenenbock
Skidmore Pen Co.
3519 Jackman Rd.
Southern Pen Co.
215 Washington
The Carter’s Ink, Co.
239 1st. Street
The Chilton Pen Co.
100 3rd St.
The Conklin Pen Co.*
Factories Bldg.
The Edison Pen Co. Inc.
219 Washington
The Fox Novelty Co.
258 13th St.
The Friedlander Co.
49 W. 23rd.
The Improved Pencil Co,, Inc. 158 Pine
The Moore Pen Co.*
63 Franklin
The Parker Pen Co.*
Toledo, OH
John Gibb, Parker White House Salesman
Petersburg, VA
Boston, MA
Long Island City, NY
Toledo, OH
Cliff Lawrence, Interview And Commentary
Pen Photography For Anyone
Ethics In Vintage Pen Collecting
Petersburg, VA
Long Island City, NY
New York, NY
Providence, RI
Inks, Inks, Inks
Pen Display Cases
Tech Talk
Boston, MA
Janesville, WI
Pens For Kids
The Sager Pen Co.*
36 S. State
Chicago, IL
Pen Show Reviews
The Wahl Company, Inc.*
1800 W. Roscoe
Chicago, IL
Pen Clubs News
The Whitney, Richards Co.
2063 E. 4th
Cleveland, OH
Theo. W. Foster & Co.
100 Richmond
Providence, RI
U. S. Victor Fountain Pen Co.
2 Lafayette
Utility Pen Co. Inc.*
30 W. Washington
W. A. Sheaffer Pen Co.*
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
Ft. Madison, IA
W. S. Hicks Sons*
19 Maiden Lane
Weidlich Pen Mfg. Co.**
Central Park & Jackson
Wm. Welty Pen Co.
36 S. State
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* Thought to produce gold nibs for the companies own pens.
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firms which paid for a listing in the publication and there were,
without doubt, other makers of gold and steel pen nibs active in the
U. S. which are not included.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
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37
-EGGL@AF?
(A:K
BY
JOHN MOTTISHAW
One of the pleasures of writing with a fountain pen is the
procedure is only for the brave, who realize that the pen might
feel of the pen on paper, as it glides effortlessly across the sur-
end up in other hands for the problem to be solved. A conserva-
face. Writing with a scratchy nib, on the other hand, is a less than
tive approach might be to start out with a “trainer pen” instead of
pleasing activity. Anyone who uses fountain pens regularly has had
a “writer pen”; no need to unnecessarily traumatize your nib any
this other experience.
further should things not go, well, smoothly.
Fig. 1a. Misaligned tines with left tine up.
Fig. 1b. Misaligned tines with right tine up.
I have often been asked if there is anything that can be done at
Hold the loupe close to your eye while pointing the tip of the
home to cure a scratchy nib. While there definitely is, I am con-
pen toward the loupe. This all occurs within a few inches of your
cerned, however, that the cure sometimes may create more prob-
face. Look for a close symmetrical arrangement of the tipping,
lems than it solves. With that caveat in mind, the following dis-
with both tips at the same level and little or no space between
cussion describes the steps that I take to troubleshoot a scratchy
the “iridium” shapes. (A very firm nib will have a very small gap,
writing pen.
while a flexible nib will be touching.) If you see one side more
If a nib that previously wrote smoothly has suddenly turned
than 5% above the other, test the tips by gently moving the low
scratchy, it has probably suffered some sort of trauma. The first
side up with your fingernail. If it moves up an equal 5% amount
thing to look for, and the most common, is misalignment of the
above the first side, try the other side to see if it moves up again to
tines (Fig.1a & 1b). If bumped or dropped, one of the tines can
its original position or the same amount. If this is what occurs and
move in relation to the other. Misalignment puts one tip ahead
the tines are of the firm kind, you have a well-balanced nib (Fig.
of the other on the paper, exposing a sharp inner margin of the
2). If one side is well above the other as you test both tines, you
tipping to the paper. It also can play havoc with consistent ink
have isolated the likely reason for scratchiness.
flow. In order to see the out-of-alignment tipping, a ten-power
If this is the case, look to see if the nib is centered on the feed.
loupe is necessary for those of us with mortal eyes. The following
If it is pushed off to one side, the cure could be simple. Gently
38
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
most pronounced. I put an arrow to show the direction of the circle and, using pencil, mark the part of the arc where the scratch
occurs. Then, returning to the loupe or to a microscope if you
have one, look for that leading edge. It is most likely on the inner
margin, where the slit meets the writing surface.
Now comes the tricky part. You will need some Micromesh
12,000. It comes as 3” by 6” sheets of abrasive on a rubberized
fabric backing. I like the Micromesh rather than a hard surface
abrasive, such as an Arkansas stone or Mylar disks, because it
gives, sinking under the weight of the tipping. I like to put the
Micromesh on a small stack of newspaper, to add to the cush-
Fig. 2. Tines balanced.
ion and the sinking effect. With ink in the pen, move it on the
push the nib back to center on the
feed. Push from the middle of the
curve of the tine, not from the shoul-
Fig. 3. Foot creates a flat plane with sharp edges.
der and not from the tip. If you have
gone too far, gently push again from
the other side, this time taking care
to move the nib only a small amount.
Repeat this process until the slit lines
up with the center of the feed. (There
are some nibs and feeds that write best
when they are not lined up, but that
discussion is for another time.)
Always, the test of a well-adjusted
nib is on paper and with ink. The ink
acts as a lubricant and the paper offers
resistance.
If the nib still feels scratchy, it may
have sharp corners or edges that are
catching on paper. At this point, I
like to draw big circles and ask myself
where on the circle the scratch is the
Fig. 4. Round inner margins, the ink will not contact the paper.
Micromesh two or three times in the direction of the scratch.
Return the nib to the paper and draw that circle again. If you have
caught the sharp edge or corner against the abrasive, it should
have gone away. Repeat the process taking care to observe the
effect of the smoothing with your ten-power loupe.
Warning: Micromesh, even though it leaves a polished surface,
is extremely aggressive. Overusing it can remove the tipping material from the end of the nib. This smoothing process can yield the
exact opposite from the intended result. It can create a flat foot on
the tip, making sharp edges in all directions (not good). (Fig. 3.)
Because people differ in what they prefer in the way of a pen
tip, the process of smoothing is more art than science. Below is a
list of attributes that various tips may possess which will appear
positive in one light and negative in another. Understanding
these parameters will help the writer in choosing their own
compromises.
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WINTER 2005
39
1. Extra-fine point
Fig. 5. Increasing ink flow carefully
at home that feels right
nibs. Because the extra
for the writer. (See
fine point is capable of
warning above.)
very small marks, it is fre-
5. Wet nibs write
quently used for making
smoothly. All things
notes in margins as well
being equal, a wet
as editing documents.
writing nib will feel
Currently there are several
smoother than a dry
kinds of throwaway pens
one because the ink
that make extremely fine
acts as a lubricant and
marks and are not difficult
the more ink under
to use. These pens oper-
the tip the smoother
ate in a different way from
the pen will feel. A pen
fountain pens and may
that delivers too much
be the best solution for
ink can be a nuisance,
some writing situations.
leaving a wet mark that
Preferred by most of our
takes a long time to
grandparents, the extra-
dry and bleeds into the
fine point can be very leg-
paper. The bleeding
ible. But, if used with all
reduces legibility and
but the lightest touch, the
can be less than attrac-
extra-fine point will have
tive. If the pen is writ-
excessive “tooth” and be
ing too dry, a simple
experienced as scratchy by
adjustment can be used
many people.
to increase the ink flow
2. Round inner-margins. Many current production pen tips are
of a nib. Decreasing the flow, on the other hand, is more difficult,
sold with rounded inner margins. This is roundness at the place
so beware of overdoing this adjustment. This adjustment is not
where the slit meets the paper (Fig.4). Manufacturers do this
for the faint of heart, as the nib can easily be made to write more
to insure smoothness. However, skipping can result. If ink does
scratchily if the tines do not balance. (See paragraph 2 at the top
not reach the paper when the tip touches, the writer can be frus-
of this article.)
trated with skipping, especially on the initial stroke. Some work
To increase the ink flow, hold the pen with the nib pointed
with Micromesh can “break in” the tip so that it does not skip. By
upright, and looking at the underside of the nib (the feed), catch each
removing some material from the tip, the slit is brought closer to
shoulder of the nib with your thumbnails (Fig.5). Pull gently apart
the writing surface, making the intimate contact between ink and
while pressing down gently on the top of the nib. It is best to have
paper possible. (But, see the Micromesh warning above.)
light coming through from the back so that one can see the slit gap
3. Creating a “foot.” The foot will act as a flat plane under which
open. Proceed with caution, testing the pen after each effort. Because
the ink will flow (Fig. 3). When working with a light pressure, on
the nib will need to be tested after each try, you will want to have
the right paper and at the right angle, the nib will hydroplane. This
paper towels at the ready and not be headed for a dinner engage-
effect can happen for one person and not for another. It also can be
ment, as you will most likely get ink on your fingers.
elusive. The “flat” necessary for this effect, if it has sharp edges, can
catch and drag. A tip with a foot can be heaven or hell.
4. High-angle foot or low-angle foot. Nibs are created and pens
Decreasing the ink flow is more difficult, as the nib may have
to be removed from the pen. Some minor decrease of the ink flow
can be accomplished by pinching the shoulders together evenly.
are sold with the average writer in mind. Because the smooth-
As may be noted from the above, a smooth nib is the result of
est point will have a round cornered but flat “foot” at the angle
several dynamics. The process of balancing a nib requires skill and
where the tip touches the paper, each person’s foot is slightly dif-
patience. Pitfalls abound, but the rewards are great.
!
ferent. Most people write holding the pen at about 55 degrees
above the paper. Those who prefer a higher or lower angle may
All rights reserved by the author.
find that the way the tip is cut is not good for them. Again, using
When not writing articles for The Pennant, John Mottishaw
the Micromesh smoothing cloth, a new foot can be customized
smoothens nibs at www.nibs.com.
40
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
CRYPTONIB
NIBOLOGY:
IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TINES
By Daniel Kirchheimer
experts. Nibmeister John Mottishaw opined, “I have seen this
Sheaffer Feathertouch-style music nib
groove just behind the tipping and on the top. I have also seen
it on Waterman’s pens. I believe it was thought to make better
ink flow characteristics. The logic may go: reduce the cross-sectional area just before the tipping to increase the velocity and
turbulence of the
ink just before it
Fig 2. Sheaffer nib with tip groove 2
reaches the paper.
This works for
This issue’s column will examine a potpourri, or smorgasbord if
me, although I
you will, of nib-related items. That is to say, I couldn’t come up
have not seen
with a single coherent theme, so it’s an all-appetizer meal; think
these nibs as
of it as the tapas bar of Cryptopenology columns. A tapas bar with
appreciably better
just smoked oysters and breadsticks. Maybe some olives.
than conventional
THE NICK OF TINE
ones. It looks
Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three tines is a music
cool, though.”
nib. Three times, however, is enemy action, as Auric Goldfinger
I also put this
observed, or in the present context, penemy action, one could say. To
question to vin-
wit: have you ever noticed how some nibs have a crosswise groove on
tage pen historian
the top surface just aft of the tipping material? At first (and second)
and dealer David
glance, this just appears to be unfortunate damage—ascribable to
Nishimura, and
happenstance, or perhaps mere coincidence when encountered for
he offered the fol-
a second time. However, when this feature keeps turning up (so to
lowing:
speak), the nibs seem otherwise undamaged, and the attribute seems
“No immedi-
confined to just a subset of brands, the cryptopenological mind
ate conclusions. I’ve always called this a hollow grind, rather than
latches on and begins to suspect that something interesting might
a groove. I probably see it more on Swans than on Sheaffers. [I]
be afoot. After starting to believe that this might be an intentional
have sometimes puzzled a bit over why such a recess would be
feature rather than random damage, I discovered that it appears
desirable.”
on some Sheaffer Feathertouch (two-tone) nibs with the platinum
plating on top of the groove, clearly indicating that it occurred during
manufacture before the nib’s platinum mask was applied.
Lastly, I inquired with restorer Richard Binder, who has a specialty in nib customization and repair. His take on the question:
“There is no question in my mind that the grooving is inten-
Figs. 1 and 2 show some examples of this strange score we’d like
tional. I’ve seen bunches of nibs like that one, including Onoto,
to settle. I am at a loss to concoct a well-supported explanation for
Swan, and other non-Sheaffer examples….If you are dealing
this phenomenon, so I did what all top-flight investigative jour-
with very firm nibs, as these Sheaffers (and all the others like this
nalists do—passed
that I’ve seen) seem to be, it is possible that the grooving may
the buck to
be to allow more easy alignment of the tip. If that’s the case, I
have someone to thank—it’s sure helped me out of a couple of
ugly ones. As to why it’s on the top, your guess is as good as
mine. I suspect, though, that putting it on the top provides for
more confidence that a worker aligning the nib won’t mess up the
feed. Vintage feeds approach the tip much more closely than do most
modern ones—look at your photo and see where the feed ends. The
Fig. 1. Sheaffer nib with tip groove 1
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
closer to the tip the feed is, the greater the risk of feed damage.”
41
A FEATHERTOUCH IN YOUR CAP
In one of the most durable and widely-imitated of the numerous
innovations from Sheaffer, 1931 saw the filing of the patent on, and
the debut of, the Feathertouch nib. Patent #1,869,950, issued August
2, 1932, embodied the principle of a nib with a slit lined with a plati-
num (or other metal) coating to improve writing characteristics. This Fig. 5. Feathertouch patent detail showing saddle.
feature was to prove a far more significant stylistic innovation than a
technical one, as it turned out; in reaction, nearly every major competitor brought out their own version of a two-tone nib, and today
this aesthetic is so entrenched that a modern luxury fountain pen
seems somehow unfinished with just a plain yellow gold point.
IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN’T A FEATHERTOUCH?
To first approximation, as Dr. Brody, my college physics professor, was wont to say, identifying a Feathertouch nib is simple—it says
“Feathertouch” right on it. Of course, if that was all there were to it, this
magazine would be noticeably thinner. It is fairly well recognized by sea-
Sheaffer grooved nib
soned collectors that two-tone Lifetime nibs from the ‘30s are also prop-
Fig. 3. “Lifetime Feathertouch” text from 1940 catalog
erly called Feathertouch nibs, as they have the requisite platinum plating, and indeed Sheaffer referred to such nibs as Lifetime Feathertouch
points (see Fig. 3, detail from 1940 catalog). Less well known is the
existence of other varieties of the Feathertouch nib. Fig. 4 shows that
Fig. 6. ‘Seagull’-saddle Lifetime Feathertouch nib, straight-saddle
Feathertouch nib.
Sheaffer employed the platinum plating ploy on some varieties of the
workmanlike 5-30 line, though two-tone examples of this variety are the exception.
Fig. 7. Straight-saddle Lifetime
Feathertouch nib.
When examining Feathertouch nibs, there are two attributes that appear to characterize them:
Fig 4. Feathertouch-style 5-30 nib
most obviously, the distinctive white-and-yellow pattern,
and secondarily, the ‘saddle’, or incused line, that separates
the two colored areas, which even appears in the original
patent drawings (see Fig. 5). The saddle, interestingly,
is not always the same shape; in open-nibbed pens, as a
general rule, the Lifetime nibs have a graceful rounded
wave- or ‘seagull’-shaped saddle (sadly, the nib-smoothing
cabal has laid claim to the term ‘baby bottom’) as shown
in the patent, whereas the less-prestigious non-Lifetime
Feathertouch points generally have the cruder straight-line
saddle—perhaps a subtle marketing touch to help stratify
pens bearing otherwise similar-looking nibs (see Fig. 6).
Of course, those scamps in the nib-making department in
Ft. Madison were not above planting the seeds of confusion for us cryptopenologists, and occasionally a straightsaddled Lifetime Feathertouch nib makes an appearance,
as in Fig. 7. The renegade Canadian operation marched to
the beat of a different drummer, producing such oddities
as the meandering W-shaped line seen in Fig. 8.
42
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Fig. 8. W-saddle Canadian Lifetime Feathertouch nib
BELLA FLEX
But the presence of the saddle on Sheaffer’s bi-color points was, in
some instances, implied rather than explicit. On some of Sheaffer’s
flexible nibs there is the usual two-tone appearance, but the saddle
is absent, presumably because it would interfere with the performance of the flex point. A broad flexible Triumph Snorkel nib of
this sort is shown in Fig. 9, and the 3-tined music nib depicted at
the top of this column shares this attribute.
The stamped saddle line separates the platinum-masked forepart from the unplated area to the south. We’ve seen that in the
case of Lifetime nibs, the word ‘Feathertouch’ doesn’t actually
appear on the point, but the plating is there and Sheaffer called
those tips Feathertouch nonetheless. But what category does
a Lifetime nib with the stamped saddle but no plating at all fall
into, we wonder (avoiding ending the sentence with a preposition)?
Often, Sheaffer’s flexible Lifetime nibs found on pens dating to the
1930s appear to have been manufactured sans plating, as shown in
Fig. 10; perhaps Sheaffer was concerned about possible flaking of
the plating due to the bending action of the flexible nibs’ tines.
It would seem, then, that the definitive test for a Feathertouch
nib, or more precisely, for a nib employing the Feathertouch principle, is that telltale silver and gold appearance alone. However, much
to the delight of the cryptopenologist, there is another wrinkle. The
early ’60s Sheaffer Target (later the Imperial III) sported a twotone nib that looks for all the world like any gold Triumph-style
nib with platinum plating on the forepart (see Fig. 11). However,
this is a canard—a Feathertouch nib only in the Bizarro world, as
the Sheaffer 1962 repair manual explains that this particular point
is actually solid palladium-silver, with gold plating on the rear por-
Fig. 9. Broad flexible Triumph
Snorkel 2-tone nib.
Fig. 10. Lifetime flex nib with saddle
but no plating.
tion. (For more on the Sheaffer Target, see Jim Mamoulides’ profile of that model on his web site, www.penhero.com) I suppose it
could be argued that a gold nib with palladium (rather than platinum) plating on the slit would com-
Fig. 11. Target nib
Fig. 12. WASP 2 tone nib.
ply with the Feathertouch principle,
and therefore a solid palladiumsilver nib perhaps would qualify as
well, no? Sheaffer literature is silent
on this point; they may have had
more important matters to attend
to, such as the making of pens, I
suppose.
Further complicating the task
of nailing down the criteria for a
Feathertouch nib is the existence
of items such as that shown in Fig.
12. This is the nib on a WASP pen,
which was a low-priced sub-brand
of Sheaffer; the brand name is actually an acronym formed from W. A.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
43
Sheaffer Pen. Here, Sheaffer applied white metal plating in the area forward of the dividing
saddle line—but in this case, the saddle line intersects the ink slit about one-fourth of the
way towards the tip, leaving the first quarter of the channel uncoated. Is three-quarters of a
Feathertouch still a Feathertouch?
In this topsy-turvy world, what do we know for sure about these reservoir pens? At least
we can take some comfort in the fact that even if we know little else, if the nib actually says
Feathertouch, it’s a Feathertouch.
Or is it?
CECI N’EST PAS UNE FEATHERTOUCH
To ensure that pen collectors would have something to puzzle over, Sheaffer produced an
object that went Magritte one better: the all-gold, unplated, Feathertouch nib. How, you ask,
could any nib with no platinum plating possibly be considered a Feathertouch nib, lacking, as
it does, the defining characteristic of that breed? The answer is that such nibs exist that are
marked Feathertouch! Close examination shows that these are not merely examples where the
plating has worn or been polished off, as there is neither residual plating in the slit nor any on
the underside of the point where it would have been protected from the effects of polishing
Fig. 13. Unplated Feathertouch nib.
(see Fig. 13).
So, a Feathertouch nib says Feathertouch, unless it doesn’t, but it’s still a Feathertouch nib if it’s
got that saddle line, unless there’s no plating, or if it doesn’t have the saddle but it’s silver-colored
on the front half (or third?) and gold-colored on the back half, unless it’s just gold-plated PdAg,
unless that qualifies, but if it’s just plain gold all over it certainly isn’t a Feathertouch nib…unless, of
course, it says Feathertouch right on it.
Got that? There will be a quiz later.
A closing thought: The mystery surrounding the meaning of the numbers on Sheaffer
Lifetime nibs is well known, but an interesting fact that only deepens the mystery is less-well
noticed: some non-Lifetime Feathertouch nibs also sport such numbers as seen on the ‘naked’
nib in Fig. 13.
MAPLE LEAF RAGOUT
For reasons shrouded in mystery (well, to me, anyway), Canadian variants of pens from U.S.based penmakers often diverged in interesting ways from their American cousins. Sheaffers
from the ‘30s often bore clips not seen stateside, Waterman cranked out such oddities as
the diminutive #51 (rarely seen in U.S.-made examples), and Vacumatics from Canada sport
delightful flexible points with a frequency not encountered in American production.
Fig. 14 shows a neat example of a pen from our Canadian neighbors. It’s a Parker Duofold,
but it has a somewhat odd shape—it seems to be the Streamlined model, to be sure, but the
profile is rather different from the usual contour and it has but one cap band. It is possible that
Fig. 14. Canadian Duofold with
decorative grooves .
this item started life as a non-streamlined pen and was converted to a semi-streamlined pen
through Parker’s program of modifying existing dealer stock when the streamlined pens were
introduced at the end of 1929. Dan Zazove and L. Michael Fultz wrote in these pages in the
Fall, 1998 issue, “Parker’s advertising brain trust came up with…rather ingenious methods
for dealing with the old style Duofold stock…the entire pen could be returned to the factory,
which turned down the back end of the barrel, fitted it with a streamline blind cap and a new
streamline cap and returned it to the dealer at a cost of 5%.” (“The Duofold Story, Part VI
—The Swan Song: 1929-1935,” The Pennant, Vol. XII, No. 2). But perhaps most interestingly,
this particular example also bears narrow color-filled grooves at the end of the barrel and the
top of the cap, reminiscent of the details used by Conklin in some of its writing instruments.
My opinion is that these decorative details are original, though that is open to debate in the
absence of any specific supporting evidence. However, I will note that the October 2, 1998 sale
catalog from Bonham’s auction house shows a similar (though non-streamlined) pen in man-
44
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
darin yellow, also with Canadian imprints, as item number 423, and the description in that
catalog notes, “as the mandarin yellow color was a slow seller, Parker and also retailers tried
to ‘jazz up’ the pens with engraved bands, chasing, and solid gold trim to make them more
saleable,” though no citation is provided for this information. Further confusing the matter,
the red pen shown here bears the numeral 7 stamped on the rather dramatically tapered barrel blind cap.
The pen also has an interesting nib, which conveniently provides an excuse—um, I mean
reason—for presenting it in this column. In Fig. 15 we can see the large flexible arrow nib
marked “Made in England” tipped with what seems to be an ingot of iridium the size of a
toonie. Perhaps it was to be used for covert action by Her Majesty’s Secret Service…
NOT IN THIS LIFETIME
According to the highly-questionable, yet oft-repeated, conventional wisdom, Sheaffer nibs
were commonly available on top-line pens in deliciously flexible form (in line with the offerings from other makers) prior to the Lifetime era. Then in 1921 they suddenly turned into
nail-stiff chunks of gold that may as well have been hewn from granite. It does make more
than a little sense that if Sheaffer were to hold the line on the cost of supporting that lifetime
guarantee, they needed to engineer a very durable nib that could not be easily damaged or
Fig. 15. Nib of Canadian Duofold
sprung, as could a traditional flexible point. (Incidentally, it should be pointed out that the
commonly-held belief that all Lifetime pens were guaranteed for life is in error, unless the
term ‘pen’ is interpreted in its earlier meaning of ‘nib’: it may come as a surprise that from 1921 until about 1926,
only the point carried that guarantee, not the whole pen, as evidenced by statements in Sheaffer catalogs and
advertisements.) But does it make sense that if a customer wanted Sheaffer’s largest, best-quality pen fitted with a
truly flexible nib, Sheaffer would turn that customer away?
The story of the big flexible nib during the first decade of the Lifetime era is actually interesting and veined
with subtlety and gradual changes. In the earliest catalog I’ve seen in which Lifetime pens appear (in zigzag
chased or plain black hard rubber, with clips bearing the SHEAFFER-CLIP stamp), most likely dating from
1921, Sheaffer also continued to offer their largest regular pen—the grand No. 8C, with an impressive No. 8
SELF-FILLING nib (see Fig. 16), at $8.25. This was just fifty cents less than the Lifetime pen with regular trim
(the ‘C’ in the model designation indicated that the pen bore a clip as standard equipment). The regular pens
were available with a wide variety of points, but the full-page description of the new Lifetime pen proudly proFig. 16. Nib of 8C from
1921 catalog
claims, “With pressure the ‘Lifetime’ point will make five carbon copies. This super-point cannot bend spring,
scratch, or get out of order.” This appears to indicate that the Lifetime pen was available only with a manifold
nib, and it is interesting to note that in the description of the various nib styles available for pens in general,
the catalog declares, “there is an additional charge of fifty cents
Fig. 17. Nib of 8C Lifetime
for manifold points” (presumably due to the significantly greater
quantity of gold needed to make such a heavy nib)—exactly the
difference in price between the No. 8C and the 8C Lifetime.
Indeed, the description of the Lifetime pen includes the note that
the 8C Lifetime pen is, in fact, the “same as 8C, except for the
addition of the Lifetime nib.” Fig. 17 shows an example of this
“super-point” in one of my artier photos.
The fact that the non-Lifetime 8C and the 8C Lifetime pen
differed only in the furnishing of a manifold nib for the corresponding surcharge, and the bestowing of a lifetime guarantee to
that nib (and, again, not to the pen as a whole), leads to speculation that perhaps the birth of the Lifetime concept was simply a
result of the recognition that manifold nibs didn’t seem to come
in for repair nearly as often as did all other varieties (which were
made from a significantly thinner piece of gold), and so a market-
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
45
ing benefit could accrue from leveraging that fact without incurring a major cost to support
the new guarantee.
In a subsequent catalog (No. A1), which dates to circa 1923, there are some interesting changes
with respect to the Lifetime line and the availability of an oversized pen with a flexible point. The
still hard rubber Lifetime (celluloid was about a year away) is no longer merely a pen from the
regular line fitted with a different nib; it now has acquired a distinctive vertical ribbon-line chasing pattern not available in non-Lifetime pens, perhaps to provide a distinctive exterior appearance to these premium products. If a customer wanted an oversized pen without the super-stiff
Lifetime point, there was only the model 8½C available (the ½ indicated a ¼” wide cap band,
in yellow gold filled in this case) at exactly the same price as the largest Lifetime pen with basic
trim—$8.75. However, the catalog notes that the 8½C is “made only with special bookkeeper and
court reporter points” (Fig. 18); perhaps Sheaffer was trying to lead all but the most hard-core
Fig. 18. Detail of 8½C nib area from
1923 catalog showing text
users of flexible nibs towards the Lifetime line.
In Sheaffer catalog A2, circa 1925, there are dramatic changes, as the Radite pen has
Fig. 19. Broad stub flex 7-30 nib.
debuted, bringing with it such flowery (and questionable) ad-speak as “pinnacled” and
“allurement.” Sheaffer is in a period of change, as Lifetime pens are concurrently offered in
ribbon-line chased hard rubber as well as the new plain black and jade green Radite materials. The Lifetime nib continues to do its part in making the Lifetime guarantee one Sheaffer
rarely needs to deliver on, as the catalog notes “all Lifetime points will make carbon copies,” though they are available in a half-dozen tip widths. For the customer that desired an
oversized top-quality pen with a flexible nib, there was…nothing, at least in traditional black.
The cherry-red celluloid Secretary pen, available in the same size as the largest Lifetime
model but at the lower price of $7.00, came with a nib “in the special Sheaffer Secretary size,
made either flexible or semi-manifold,” but that catalog offered no comparable item in black.
Nearly all the Secretary nibs one encounters today are of the semi-manifold variety, so it certainly seems that the flexible nib was falling out of favor.
More changes were brought to the Sheaffer line in 1928. If you wanted a Lifetime pen with
a flexible point, you were still out of luck, at least if the 1928 catalog is any measure. However,
at last Sheaffer does offer an oversized black Radite pen that can be fitted with a flexible nib:
the 7-30 line has jade and black pens that are dimensionally identical to the oversize Lifetime,
though continuing the Secretary’s price point of $7.00 and now bearing a 30-year guarantee
on the entire pen. The catalog mentions “flexible points furnished on request” for these nonLifetime models—a notation tellingly absent from the description of the point styles available
in the Lifetime line. Fig. 19 illustrates an example of a broad stub flexible 7-30 nib. As a side
note, this catalog is the first of which I am aware that indicates that the Lifetime guarantee
now applies to the entire pen (or
pencil), though magazine advertisements with text to that effect
appeared at least as early as 1926.
After the disappearance of the
No. 8-sized pen in hard rubber,
and before the availability of the
7-30, what was a potential purchaser to do if he or she wanted an
oversized plain black pen (preferably in the “practically indestructible” Radite) with a truly flexible
Fig. 20. Two Sheaffer No. 8 pens.
Fig. 21. No. 8 pen barrel stickers and cap tops
.
46
nib? Sheaffer catalogs are mute on
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Fig. 22. No. 8 pen nibs
Fig. 24. Flexible Lifetime nib (non-Feathertouch)
has the pen for you. By recent research,
even the action and shading of any
steel pen is duplicated by Sheaffer. And
Sheaffer’s is the only Lifetime guarantee.” (I have a hunch Craig Sheaffer
performed the ‘recent research’!) Fig.
24 shows the relatively-fragile yet fullyguaranteed flexible Lifetime nib, available at long last.
The Lifetime pen had gradually evolved over nine years from
a regular-line pen with a super-stiff guaranteed point to a model
with a bumper-to-bumper warranty that even covered the available, though delicate, flexible nib. A decade and a half later still,
that legendary guarantee was to revert to cover just the point
before disappearing almost entirely for well over a decade, but
that’s a story for another column…
Fig. 23. Detail from flex nib Balance ad
“THAT’S WHAT I MEANT” DEPARTMENT
(CORRECTIONS, ETC.)
LAPIS LAZULI X-PEN?
this point. However, I have found two items that demonstrate that
Last issue’s Cryptopenology showed a lapis blue Permanite (celluloid)
Sheaffer indeed manufactured a pen during this period specifically
Parker essentially identical to a flat-top Oversize Duofold save for the
to satisfy this type of customer.
lack of the word ‘DUOFOLD’ in the imprint and the presence of the
Figs. 20-22 show two oversized black Radite flat-top Sheaffers
same nib used for the model 7X. The appearance in on-line articles of
with their original price stickers intact, and they have some very
pictures of a maroon celluloid pen apparently identical to this lapis pen
interesting attributes. The stickers indicate that the pens are both
down to the barrel imprint (though with unknown nib) lends some sup-
simply model No. 8 in Radite—no “Lifetime” (and no ‘C’, for
port to the speculation that these items were actually extremely short-
some reason)—and that they bear flexible nibs in fine and medium
lived members of the X-pen family that included the 3X, 5X, and the
grades; the pens are priced at $8.25. The nibs themselves are huge,
7X, usually known only in hard rubber.
graceful, and wonderfully flexible, as advertised, and they are
BON TON ROULETTE
marked “8 SELF-FILLING”. Perhaps the most intriguing feature
Also last issue, I discussed a set of pens with a thread of similar attri-
is really the absence of a feature: the caps have no White Dot, as
butes that seemed to connect them. Among them was a pen marked
the pens did not carry the lifetime guarantee that the dot would
Bon-Ton as well as a Solar with a Bon-Ton nib; I speculated these
confer during that period, in keeping with Sheaffer’s practice of
might be Sheaffer products, perhaps made in the factory Sheaffer
limiting that coverage to the durable rigid-nibbed pens only. The
apparently acquired as a result of defeating Kraker in a lawsuit. As
combination of the cap, nib, and sticker are mutually supporting
revealed by Dennis Bowden of Parkville Pen on the Lion & Pen on-
as regards the correctness of these pens’ configuration.
line discussion board, a review of Kraker’s incorporation papers lists
What about a flexible Lifetime nib? It seemed that Sheaffer wasn’t
willing to offer a Lifetime guarantee on a part so delicate throughout
among their assets over six thousand Solar pens, which only deepens
the mystery as to the provenance of these brands.
the decade of the ’20s. However, the door seems to have cracked in
The author would like to express his thanks to Richard Binder,
the June, 1930 catalog, which says, “dealers and consumers alike are
L. Michael Fultz, David Isaacson, Jim Mamoulides, Al Mayman,
urged to submit special nib or point problems to Sheaffer with the
John Mottishaw, David Nishimura, David Wimmer, Roger
assurance that it is easily possible for Sheaffer nib experts to exactly
Wooten, and Dan Zazove.
!
duplicate any steel point, either flexible or manifold and which will be
backed by a broad and definite guarantee.” Finally, in a 1930 adver-
All rights reserved by the author.
tisement, Sheaffer declared in a bold heading, “Now, even a flexible
Photo credits: Fig. 11, Copyright © 2005 Jim Mamoulides/Penhero.
point on Balance Lifetime pens” (Fig. 23). The copy continued, “if
com—All Rights Reserved; Fig. 13, Copyright © 2006 David
you write flowingly, with shaded lines, or boldly, with lines all of
Wimmer—All Rights Reserved; All others Copyright © 2006 Daniel
equal weight, obliquely, or any one of fifteen different ways, Sheaffer
Kirchheimer—All Rights Reserved.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
47
Remembering Two Friends
ARTHUR TWYDLE - A PERSONAL APPRECIATION OF A UNIQUE MAN
War hero, businessman, innovator, pen master, teacher,
March 1940, and that was the last she saw of him for 5 years.
Arthur began in the pen business shortly after returning from
international repairer and curator.
World War II. He opened his first specialist pen shop in 1949
by Jim Marshall
and over the years built a chain of shops in the North of England.
It is February 1997, and Arthur Twydle and I are in
He was trained in pen repairs at the factories of all the major pen
Escondido, California meeting Peter Amis of The Pen Sac
companies in the UK and Europe—Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman,
Company to purchase some bits and pieces and more sacs. Arthur
Montblanc, etc., and went on to open a service department to
at this time is Peter’s biggest cus-
undertake repairs for all the UK’s major department stores and
tomer for pen sacs. We end up buy-
stationers. Over a period of 30 or so years Pen Corner branches
ing two new suitcases to carry the
in Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds and Hull catered to the needs of
‘stuff’ back to the UK.
Yorkshire’s penmen. During this period they were often the first
It is June 1997, and we are on
shops to introduce a new brand or model and during the 1970-
our way to look over the surplus
80 period, Arthur was acknowledged as one of the foremost pen
parts from an old pen factory owned
retailers in the North. When he decided to sell his Hull shop and
by the Caltagirone family near
finally retire, he was almost 70. But ‘retirement’ turned out to be
Le Mans. We travel back from Le
only a word to Arthur. He still spent his time restoring vintage
Havre with a van full of ‘stuff’ and
pens, designing repair tools and teaching others via his famous
a promise to return to collect what
“Masterclass” courses.
we could not carry! Our next visit in
One had to meet him personally to really know him. He had
December will involve a reconnaissance of a private wine cellar
presence, he could inspire and he was a great encourager of oth-
and one of the most memorable meals in a crumbling chateau,
ers’ ideas and projects. And you knew that there would always be
while buying 40,000 rods for making pens.
some spontaneous fun or mild adventure on a trip with Arthur.
It is January 2002, at the Paperworld Trade Show in Frankfurt,
He left pen collectors and restorers a legacy of good practice
and from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. I have been trying to keep up with a
and his friends a wonderful treasury of memories. Arthur Twydle
man 20 years my senior as he moved from stand to stand and hall
passed away in November 2005, at the age of 87.
to hall. It is Arthur’s 84 birthday and we are being entertained
th
by Conway Stewart, but although I am ready to go to bed, I will
GEORGE RICHARD SWARTZ
have to wait until he has had a dance with the wife of a pen manu-
by Jack Leone with Rick Horne and John Mottishaw
facturer from Taipei. No doubt in his small talk he slipped in the
A beloved member of the pen collecting community,
question, “Does your husband have any spares?”
These are a few of my memories of a unique man with incredible stamina, intellect, inventiveness, experience, business judge-
George Swartz, died November
1st, 2005 at home with his family
in Venice, California.
ment, friendship and generosity. He was without doubt one of
George was born on December 6,
the most significant influences on vintage pen repair this century,
1938 in Santa Monica and gradu-
more specifically in the UK, but he was an international man and
ated from Loyola University in
loved the buzz at the U.S. shows and the fun of those early shows
Los Angeles in 1959. (Those
in the 1990s. He loved discussing repairing with Frank Dubiel
who knew George appreciate
and had provided a lot of information on English pens for Frank’s
how it amused him to be the lone
Third Edition, which was in hand when Frank died. But Arthur
Episcopalian among the Jesuits.)
was much more than just a pensmith.
After graduation George
Arthur Twydle was born in Suffolk in 1918 and grew up in the
served in the U. S. Army
North of England. In 1939 he was one of the first wartime volun-
Counter Intelligence Corps in Germany. Upon his return
teers and by July 1940, was on his way to Singapore as an officer
to California in 1963 he married Donna Karen Swartz with
in charge of ordinance. He had married his girl friend Eileen in
whom he shared a deep and lasting love for 43 years.
48
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
George’s career was in the lumber business, like his father and
of directors of the P.C.A. The Swartz duo, along with Chris
grandfather before him. George was past president of the Lumber
Odgers and Harvey Raider, organized the Los Angeles Pen
Association of Southern California and served as its represen-
Show from 1993 though 1997.
tative to the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers
Association.
George is missed by his wife, Donna, his two sons and their
wives, Mark and Jennifer, and Andrew and Kristine Swartz, as
George was very active in Rotary International. Although he
traveled widely, he had 43 years of perfect weekly attendance.
well as his grandchildren, Emma and Nicholas Swartz.
George’s friends miss him. They remember his love of his fam-
Donna and George became interested in collecting vin-
ily and remember his integrity, his wry humor, and his gracious,
tage pens and pencils and pursued it with their usual energy
patient manner. He was sophisticated yet unpretentious, a fun-lov-
and good humor. Their collecting passion was Parker and
ing person of extraordinary humanity. A group of George’s friends
Carter pens, Autopoint pencils, and Carleton Ware desk bases.
have made contributions to the P.C.A. in his memory.
George was soon elected president of the Southern California
Pen Collectors Club. Donna served as a member of the Board
All rights reserved by the author.
PCA
From The Board
T
The P.C.A. Board of Directors meeting was held
Friday, November 4, 2005 at the Clarion Hotel in Dublin,
Ohio. In attendance were Vice President Dan Reppert,
Board Members AnnMarie Hautaniemi, Len Provisor,
Bert Heiserman and Joel Hamilton and Treasurer Roger
Wooten.
Pennant Associate Editor Dede Rehkopf and Copy Editor
• accept the membership of the P.C.A.
• accept the assets of the (former) P.C.A., Inc.
By-laws for the new P.C.A. were reviewed and amended,
and will be rewritten by Roger Wooten for final approval by
the entire Board of Directors.
The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. and subsequently
reconvened on Saturday, November 5, at 7 a.m.
Tom Rehkopf presented issues concerning the production
AnnMarie will review preparations for credit card and Paypal
and publication of The Pennant, with excellent suggestions
services. Roger Wooten will be able to set this up quickly once
and guidelines for improving the production of the magazine.
it is approved by the Board.
They departed after their presentation with sincere thanks and
appreciation for their efforts by members of the Board.
AnnMarie will work with volunteer Ron Lee on maintenance of the membership data base and renewal mailings and
Treasurer Roger Wooten presented the P.C.A.’s financial
ask Ron if he would be willing to maintain the P.C.A. website.
status and balance sheet as of Sept. 30, 2005. He also gave
AnnMarie and Ron will also investigate the P.C.A. website
an update on the incorporation of the P.C.A. as an educa-
password process, including the P.C.A. privacy policy.
tional 501(3)c non-profit corporation. The P.C.A. is in excel-
The Board of Directors discussed the need to form a Board
lent financial health and is up to date filing with federal taxing
of Directors nominating committee as well as creating a mini-
bodies. Income taxes have been paid on the sales of the P.C.A.
mal set of qualifications and responsibilities for new Board
Limited Edition pens.
members.
The following resolutions were passed as part of the requirements for incorporating the new non-profit P.C.A. To:
• dissolve the (former) P.C.A., Inc.
• gift transfer assets of the (former) P.C.A., Inc. to the
new P.C.A., NFP (Not For Profit)
• accept the by-laws of the new P.C.A.
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
A discussion was held on having three levels of terms for
Board members: three members would serve one year, three
would serve two years and three would serve three years.
The corporate sponsorship fee was set at $500 per year.
Each Board Member agreed to accept duties and responsibilities for the P.C.A. as discussed during various meetings.
49
PCA
Notes
FROM THE PRESIDENT
GROWTH AND THE P.C.A.
I’m writing this message on New Year’s Day and am trying to reflect on so many things that happened
last year. The P.C.A. is lucky to be in a good financial position, but unfortunately we have less than six
hundred members. You read right folks; we need more members, a lot more, so I am asking each of
you to sponsor a new member.
I want to share with you something that one of our Pennant contributors said to me just the other day. I visited his
house and he asked me point blank, “Why are most of the members old?” (he’s fourteen) and “Why aren’t there many
kids like me in the P.C.A.?” I thought for about ten seconds and after giving him my best answer, he reflected that he’d
like a pen-pal his own age. I told him that I’d see what I could do.
Fourteen years old, likes pens, likes to write about them. Isn’t this what we want in the P.C.A., more young members?
Hey, I’m up there with a lot of you: started in the 70s, still shopping for a great find at the fleas, but Antoine is right.
It’s only fair that he should have members his own age with whom to interact. I think I want to dedicate the remainder
of my presidency canvassing for new members who don’t know a “51” from a ‘Morrison,’ but who share the passion of
collecting and learning about writing instruments. Care to join me? Six hundred times one new member each, plus our
current 600, looks like a healthy membership of 1200 to me.
I want to thank Len Provisor for being such a help to me while I recovered from two Atlantic hurricanes earlier this year.
Len worked with our CPA Roger Wooten to correct some internal issues and create a new payment method for renewals.
Terry and Dan, I didn’t forget you either. Thanks for doing your jobs so well, and Dede and Tom, you are the best. Just a
reminder that those who work on The Pennant are dedicated professionals who provide their services pro bono.
Speaking of The Pennant, I’m sure that there is a budding writer in you! Why not contribute some of your knowledge
by way of an article for publication? Our members would love to read all that information you’ve gathered.
Feel free to drop me a line and share your thoughts. I’m a hobbyist just like you, and wish you a wonderful year full
of great finds. See you at a pen show.
Craig Bozorth
I
PAYPAL NOW AVAILABLE FOR PCA MEMBERSHIP
It is now easier than ever to join the P.C.A. You can make
Gift subscriptions are also available for that special per-
your choice of a one or three year membership and simply
son. Indicate this is a gift subscription in your comments and
click on the PayPal button to make your membership pay-
we will include a gift card at no additional cost. Your recipi-
ment. Go to the P.C.A. website (http://www.pencollectors.
ent will receive all three issues for 2006 plus two of the most
com), click on “Join PCA,” then “Join Today.”
recent back issues.
Whether you are in the U.S. or anywhere worldwide, you
With all new membership applications you should com-
may now conveniently submit your membership without the
plete the application form and mail to Pen Collectors of
expense of international money orders or bank drafts.
America, Roger Wooten, Treasurer, P.O. Box 174, Garden
In an effort to attract new, younger members the P.C.A. is
50
Prairie IL 61038-0174.
also introducing a new Youth Rate. If you are 18 or younger
New members joining now will receive all three issues of
your rate is one-half the normal membership: $20 for one
Spring, Summer and Winter for 2006 plus two of the latest
year. This rate is available for U.S. membership only.
back issues of The Pennant.
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
PCA
PCA
Local Pen Clubs
JOIN A CLUB
LOOKING TO NETWORK
WITH FELLOW PEN COLLECTORS?
CHECK OUT ONE OF
THE LOCAL PEN CLUBS LISTED BELOW
D.C. METRO PEN CLUB
Contact: Harry Shubin • [email protected]
Ph: 703.812.5306
FLORIDA PEN COLLECTORS CLUB
Contact: Giovanni Abrate • www.tryphon.it/fpc
email: [email protected]
KANSAS CITY PEN CLUB
Contact: Dennis Bowden • email: [email protected]
LAS VEGAS PEN CLUB
Contact: Chris Burton • email: [email protected]
Ph: 702.610.4045
From The Stacks
LIBRARY ADDITIONS
By Dan Reppert, P.C.A. Librarian
A short one this month. No ramblings; just new info.
1. FROM L. MICHAEL FULTZ:
This will be listed twice: Once as ARISTOCRAT and also
CROCKER
Crocker
19??
Small ad
1 pg
Aristocrat
19??
Small ad
1 pg
Crocker FACTS 19??
Small card
2 pgs
This one will be listed twice: once as PENMANSHIP, once as
SPENCER & RICE.
Penmanship
1918 Boys First Lesson in Penmanship 5 pgs
LONG ISLAND PEN CLUB
Spencer and Rice 1918 Boys First lesson in Penmanship
5pgs
Contact: Nancy Handy • email: [email protected]
Waterman
8pgs
NEW ORLEANS PEN CLUB
Contact: Thomas Bickham • email: [email protected]
Ph: 225.677.9448
NORTH TEXAS FOUNTAIN PEN COLLECTORS
Contact: Lowell Lindsey • email: [email protected]
PORTLAND PEN CLUB
Contact: Carla Mortensen
email: [email protected]
RICHMOND PEN CLUB
Contact: Sam Marshall
email: [email protected]
ST. LOUIS AREA PEN CLUB
Contact: Bruce Mindrup • [email protected]
or Jake Leventhal • [email protected]
1992 Jif catalog in French
Appears to be a reprint of a Patrician era catalog.
Printed sheet measures 16” X 22”.
2. THE BELOW ADS ARE FROM JACK LEONE WITH MANY MORE TO COME:
Parker
1930
Ad Desk convertible
1 pg
In color
Waterman
1929
Ad 7 points
1 pg
In color
Waterman
1948
Ad 100 year pens
2 pgs
In color
Parker
1940
New “51”
1 pg
In color
3. FROM DON HISCOCK A YEAR AGO WE HAVE:
Eversharp
19??
Service manual
22 pgs
4. FROM BRUCE MINDRUP:
SEATTLE PEN CLUB
Parker
Dec. 1933
Parkergrams
Contact: George Long • email: [email protected]
Ph: 206.365.5998
A Complete Rebirth of The Pen Business
16 pgs
SOUTHEAST PEN COLLECTORS CLUB
Contact: Glen Cheatham • email: [email protected]
TAMPA BAY PEN ENTHUSIASTS
Contact: Ray Roewert • email: [email protected]
Ph: 727.743.8890
The P.C.A. is happy to provide a complimentary listing
for local pen clubs. Email your club information including
contact name, email and phone number to:
[email protected]
THE PENNANT
PENNANT
THE
WINTER2005
2005
WINTER
51
PCA
Upcoming Shows
Location and dates may be subject to change; please contact the show organizers to verify information below. The P.C.A. keeps
an up-to-date listing of current and pending U.S. pen shows on the P.C.A. website: www.pencollectors.com, courtesy of Susan Wirth.
ATLANTA PEN SHOW
March 24- 26, 2006
Sheraton Buckhead/Lenox
Contact: Boris Rice
281.496.7152
MIAMI PEN SHOW
July 7-9, 2006
The Biltmore, Coral Gables
Contact: Jim Rouse
410.539.7367
MICHIGAN PEN SHOW
September 15-17, 2006
The Hilton Detroit/Troy
Contact: C. Eric Fonville
734.355.9408
BOSTON PEN SHOW
April 22-23, 2006
Holiday Inn Somerville
Contact: Rob Morrison
828.277.7026
PORTLAND PEN SHOW
July 14-16, 2006
Embassy Suites (downtown)
Contact: Carla Mortenson
503.282.0020
LITTLE ROCK PEN SHOW
September 16, 2006
Contact: Sam Highsmith
501.231.1005
CHICAGO PEN SHOW
May 5- 7, 2006
Westin O’Hare (Rosemont)
Contact: Don Lavin
847.272.2745
TORONTO PEN SHOW
July 30, 2006
International Center
Contact: Robert Bridge
905.274.7242
DALLAS PEN SHOW
September 30, 2006
Holiday Inn, Richardson
Contact: P. Kirby
972.529.6364 or
Walker 214.943.5675
RALEIGH PEN SHOW
June 9-11, 2006
Embassy Suites, Cary NC
Contact: Terry Mawhorter
740.454.2314
DC SUPER SHOW
August 11-13, 2006
Tyson’s Corner
Contact: Bob Johnson
864.963.3834
COLUMBUS PEN SHOW
November 3-5, 2006
Clarion Dublin 17a & I-270
Contact: Terry Mawhorter
740.454.2314
Show organizers are encouraged to submit show details for this column to the editor.
P. C . A P e n S h o w S u p p o r t e r s
The P.C.A. expresses its gratitude to the sponsors of the following pen shows for graciously donating table space. Thanks for your generosity!
PHILADELPHIA • Bert Oser, Ken Jones and Jim Rouse
MIAMI • Bert Oser, Ken Jones and Jim Rouse
LOS ANGELES • Boris Rice, Stan Pfeiffer, and Chris Odgers
PORTLAND • Carla Mortensen
GREAT SOUTHEASTERN • Jimmy Dolive and Boris Rice
SAN FRANCISCO • Harvey Raider and Detlef Bittner
NEW ENGLAND • Rob Morrison
OHIO • Sonya and Terry Mawhorter
CHICAGO • Michael Fultz, Daniel Zazove, Donald Lavin
MICHIGAN • Michigan Pen Collectors Club
RALEIGH • Sonya and Terry Mawhorter
Pennant Back Issues
Back issues of The Pennant are available. Most are photocopies. All are $10 each + $5 postage and handling in the U.S. per
order, overseas postage will vary. All requests for reprints should be addressed to:
Dan Reppert, P.C.A. Librarian, P.C.A. Library, P.O. Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627-0447; e-mail: [email protected]
1993—March, July, October
2000—Spring, Fall, Winter
1994—February, May, August
2001—Spring, Fall, Winter
1995—Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter
2002—Spring, Summer, Winter
1996—Spring, Summer/Fall
2003—Spring, Summer, Winter
1997—Spring, Winter
2004—Spring/Summer, Winter
1998—Spring, Fall
2005—Spring/Summer
1999—Spring, Fall, Winter
52
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
PCA
Membership
SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP LEVELS
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP OUTSIDE U.S.
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE LEVEL
$60/1 year or, $150/3 years
$150 per year
3 issues of The Pennant
Six issues of The Pennant (two of each issue)
1 free classified ad
Two free classified ads
Access to library, $.15 per page
Complimentary P.C.A. Lapel Pin
Fifty pages of reprints from P.C.A. Library
Members at special sponsor levels will receive certificates
Acknowledgement of sponsorship,
redeemable for classified ads and library reprints to be presented at time of redemption. Certificates will be included
each issue of The Pennant
in Sponsor Packet.
Certificate Of Sponsorship
PATRON LEVEL
The P.C.A. membership year runs from January–December.
$100 per year
Membership renewal notices are sent each November to those
Three issues of The Pennant
due to renew. If you join the P.C.A. between October 1 and
Two free classified ads
December 31, your membership is automatically extended
Complimentary P.C.A. Lapel Pin
through the following year.
Twenty-five pages of reprints from P.C.A. Library
Acknowledgement of sponsorship in
As a current member, don't forget to send any updated
personal information to [email protected]. If you've
each issue of The Pennant
moved, changed your name, changed your email, added
Certificate Of Sponsorship
a FAX line, or made any other changes, it will not be cor-
SPONSOR LEVEL
rect in the listings unless you tell us! We are pleased to offer
$75 per year
membership levels with added benefits. As a non-profit, all-
Three issues of The Pennant
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port it receives. Your contributions keep The Pennant arriv-
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ing on your doorstep three times a year, help support the
Ten pages of reprints from P.C.A. Library
P.C.A. projects and enable the P.C.A. to continue to grow
Acknowledgement of sponsorship in
and improve. When you renew your membership this year,
each issue of The Pennant
we hope you’ll consider one of our special new membership
Certificate Of Sponsorship
levels which are detailed at the left. Even if your member-
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP, U.S.
ship is not up for renewal, it’s easy to upgrade to one of the
$40, 1 year; or $105, 3 years
special membership levels—simply drop us a line or email us
Three issues of The Pennant
at: [email protected]. Thanks for your support!
One free classified ad
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Corporate Sponsors
BEXLEY
STYLUS
SANFORD NORTH AMERICA
LEVENGER
2840-B Fisher Street,
Columbus OH, 43204
614.351.9988
Parker, Waterman, Rotring, Sensa
2711 Washington Blvd
Bellwood, IL 60104 800.323.0749
979 Summer Street
Stamford, CT 06905
203.352.1817
420 South Congress Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33445
561.276.2436
The P.C.A. invites pen manufacturers and wholesale pen distributors to be a
Corporate Sponsor of the Pen Collectors of America.
Contact Craig Bozorth for details: [email protected].
THE PENNANT
PENNANT
THE
WINTER2005
2005
WINTER
53
PCA
Contributors
MIKE CONWAY is a tool and die maker with the
JACK LEONE lives in Cincinnati with wife Kathy and col-
Parker Pen Company and has been at
lects pens from Cincinnati makers like Conklin,
Parker through all of its different twists
Omas, Parker, Pelikan, and Wahl/Eversharp.
and turns for 28 years and counting. He
He is part of the Bexley Pen Company.
has been collecting pens for 14 years.
Mike is married, has two children, and is a
lifelong resident of Janesville, Wisconsin.
SAM FIORELLA is a long-time pen collector, the past
JIM MARSHALL owns and operates The Pen & Pencil
president of the P.C.A. and co-owner, with
Gallery in Skelton, near Penrith, Cumbria,
her husband Frank, of Pendemonium, a
England, along with his wife and business
writing collectibles and pen shop, based in
partner Jane. His activities include restora-
Fort Madison, Iowa.
tion, buying and selling, writing, and regular attendance at trade shows and a few topend antique shows. He is the author of several books about writing instruments, and
L. MICHAEL FULTZ is a writer, pen collector and manufacturer. He is a contributing editor to Pen World
among his many interests are late 18th and early 19th century
dip pens, pencils, quill knives and accessories.
International and editorial director of Penbid. He
makes and sells his own line of precious metal,
JOHN MOTTISHAW of Mottishaw Nibworks (oth-
vulcanite, and/or acrylic fountain pens. He lives
erwise known as Classic Fountain Pens)
in Chicago or in Milton, Wisconsin with his wife
smoothens nibs at www.nibs.com. A
Martha.
“lapsed metal sculptor” with a fine art and
metals background, John has been repair-
DON HISCOCK has been a pen collector in St. Louis,
ing pens and nibs for 13 years.
Mo. since elementary school, when lawnmowing money used to be able to buy old
stock pens at the corner drugstore. He
DAN REPPERT collects off-brand Sheaffers such as
works as a paper scientist for DuPont and
Univer, W.A.S.P., and Craig. He is vice
travels the world providing technical service
president and librarian of the P.C.A. He
to paper mills.
worked for Sheaffer for over 12 years, and
is currently involved in historic building
DANIEL KIRCHHEIMER has been collecting pens
renovation in Fort Madison.
since 1974. He has a fondness for Sheaffers,
though he performs restoration on many
brands, including dent removal for Parker
SUSAN WIRTH, a longtime user and collector of
“51’s. Other hobbies include playing blues
fountain pens, appeared on a 1999 Oprah
guitar, lockpicking, gemology, and barbecue.
Winfrey show, themed: People Who Are
Passionate About Something. She believes
one size nib does not fit all, and she can
be found at pen shows with her colorful
tables, including a place to sit down where
you can try before you buy. Her slogan: “A
pen for every hand...and some for the other hand.”
54
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
PCA
Pen Repair
PEN REPAIR DIRECTORY
BROADWAY PENS
BRAD KNAPP
456 S. Broadway
Lebanon, OH 45036
Home: 513.932.2220, Work: 513.932.6070
FAX: 513.932.9988
[email protected]
www.broadwaypens.com
Repairs most brands including Parker Button Fill($20) and Vacs($25);
Sheaffer Snorkels($25); Sheaffer and Wahl Plunger Fillers($30).
FOUNTAIN PEN HOSPITAL
10 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007
800.253.7367 • 212.964.0580
FAX: 212.227.5916
Website: www.fountainpenhospital.com
Email: [email protected]
Repairs and restorations for all pen makes, models and filling
mechanisms.
THE FOUNTAIN PEN RECYCLER
MIKE CARTER
MAIL: P.O. Box 28083
Store: 7000 57th Ave. N., Ste. 103
Crystal, MN 55428
Home: 763.434.7921 Work: 763.535.1599
FAX: 763.535.1892
Email: [email protected]
Repairs to all makes and models.Repairs on most vintage pens,
including Sheaffer vacs–fast turnaround, excellent communication.
INKPEN VINTAGE FOUNTAIN PENS
JOEL R. HAMILTON
1602 Arizona Avenue
Alamogordo, NM 88310
Phone: 505.437.8118
Email: [email protected]
SHERRELL TYREE
10009 Roe Avenue
Overland Park, Kansas 66207
Phone: 913.642.3216
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ink-pen.com
Repairs on most vintage pens, including Sheaffer and Parker Vacs,
PFM’s, etc. Excellent communication and all work is guaranteed.
“Your Pen Is Our Priority”
THE PENNANT
PENNANT
THE
WINTER2005
2005
WINTER
PEN HAVEN
BERTON A. HEISERMAN
LOUIS WOFSY
3730 Howard Avenue
Kensington, MD 20895
Home: Berton, 301.365.4452; Louis, 703.323.1922
Work: 301.929.0955 Fax: 301.365.4750
Website: www.penhaven.com
Email: [email protected], or [email protected]
Specialties: Total restoration to all models. Plastic crack repairs.
Replace bands, rings and crowns, Waterman 100 Yr. barrel ends
and cap-tops. Plating.
PENOPOLY
ROGER CROMWELL & VICTOR CHEN
1271 Washington Avenue, PMB 598
San Leandro, CA 94577
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.penopoly.com
Restoration and repairs on all makes and models.
RICHARD BINDER
31 Fairmount Street
Nashua, NH 03064-2523
Phone: 603.882.5384
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.richardspens.com
General repair and restoration of vintage pens; nib adjustment and
smoothing.
THE SOUTHERN SCRIBE
RICK HORNE
1868 Mt. Meigs Road
Montgomery, AL 36106
Home: 334.263.4169 Work: 334.263.4169
FAX: 334.263.4169
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST Monday thru Friday
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thesouthernscribe.com
Expert repair on Eyedroppers to Snorkels, difficult & unusual repairs
including cracks, goldplating, black hard rubber color restoration,
mother of pearl and abalone panel replacement. Now re-tipping nibs.
Y
Advertise your pen repair service in The Pennant’s Pen Repair
Directory. Your listing reaches nearly 2,000 members three times
annually. $75 for three consecutive issues. Mail, fax or email your
listing. Please include your name, address, phone number, e-mail and
a brief description of your repair services.
P.C.A.—Pen Repair Directory
P.O. Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627
Fax: 319.372.0882 or email: Terry Mawhorter,
AdvertisingManager, [email protected]
55
P. C . A .
PCA
Contributor guidelines
Board of Directors
The Pennant invites you to submit articles of interest to the P.C.A.
membership. Contributions should be submitted as email attach-
CRAIG BOZORTH
ANNMARIE HAUTANIEMI
ments, on floppy disk or on CD, using standard word processing
305.858.5635
607.257.8502
software.
[email protected]
[email protected]
instruments, pen manufacturers, ephemera, news about your recent
DAN REPPERT
BERT HEISERMAN
finds, and Letters to the Editor. The Pennant Author’s Guidelines docu-
319.372.3730
301.590.7111
ment is available upon request, and members of the editorial staff and
[email protected] [email protected]
Articles: We welcome articles dealing with pen collecting, writing
P.C.A. Board are available to assist you.
VICTOR CHEN
CARLA MORTENSEN
scanned at no less than 300 pixels per inch. They may be submitted as email
510.444.4119
Not available
attachments, as JPG files, or on disk or CD as PSD, JPG or TIF images.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Deadlines: for submission of articles are February 1, June 1 and October
L. MICHAEL FULTZ
LEN PROVISOR
1. Contributions are subject to editorial review and should be sent
312.642.7968
847.566.4206
to: P.C.A., Attn: Editor, The Pennant, PO Box 447, Fort Madison, IA
[email protected]
[email protected]
Illustrations: When submitting images, be certain that they have been
We cannot use images imbedded in text documents or spreadsheets.
52627-0447 or via email to: [email protected].
JOEL HAMILTON
_______________
All opinions expressed in The Pennant are those of the authors and do not
505.437.8118
necessarily represent the opinion of the P.C.A., its directors, or members.
[email protected]
MARKETPLACE
WANTED : POLITE COLLECTOR would like to buy
WANTED: Prince Protean, other pre-1880 fountain pens;
pens, pencils, advertising material, display cases or other
also fancy solid gold/sterling dip pens in larger sizes. Michael
information regarding the Hartline Pen Co., that was located
Fultz, [email protected], P. O. Box 308, Milton, WI 53563.
in Tampa, Florida, and for a short time in Michigan. Please
608-868-3006.
contact me at 786.275.0394, collect is fine. Or e-mail me:
REPAIRS : Parker “51” ding and dent removal and cus-
[email protected]. Thank you, Craig Bozorth.
tom-made pen repair tools by Daniel Kirchheimer. Visit my
WANTED: Pens, parts, ephemera, etc. sold as house brands
web site for pictures and information: home.comcast.net/
of Rexall, Montgomery Ward or Lipic. Larry Allin, 501 Crest
~kirchh/Pen_Restoration.
Court, St. Louis MO 63122 [email protected].
BUY/SELL : www.Parker75.com, Buy/Sell Parker 75,
FOR SALE: Visit PenQuest.com (http://www.penquest.com)
Premier, T-1, Parker Ephemera, Lee Chait 404-285-5564.
for great buys on gently used vintage and contemporary pens.
[email protected].
Buy • Sell • Trade in The Pennant Marketplace. Your classified ad reaches over 2,000 pen enthusiasts.
P.C.A. members are entitled to one or more free classifieds annually based on membership level.
Free ad may be up to 25 words in length. Marketplace ads $.50 per word. Deadlines for publication:
February 15, June 15 and October 15. Mail to: P.C.A. Marketplace, P.O.Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627
or FAX to 319.372.0882 or email:
Terry Mawhorter, Advertising Mgr. [email protected]
56
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
DEHAVILLAND
1930 DH80 Puss
Moth G-AAXV
Kensingtonpens.com
MONTBLANC
Fine Vintage Writing Instruments
Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH
All Brands, specializing in the
The name MONTBLANC and the star logo is copyright of
Rare and Unusual
1922 LVG C VI
MONTBLANC INTERNATIONAL GMBH
Cliff Harrington and Mark Hoover,
Historically accurate
reproduction models
Visit
www.inkblotters.com
for ordering information
Proprietors
4090 A Howard Ave.
Kensington, MD 20895
Telephone 301.530.1183
Email: [email protected]
Len Provisor email:
[email protected]
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
We Exhibit At All Major Pen Shows
57
!"#$ %&''$ (#)'$ *+',$ +'$ -$ ./##$ +),#/)#,$ '#/0+1#2$ 345'1/+5#/'$ -/#$
6-/,$ &.$ -$ 78)-9+1$ &):+)#$ 1&994)+,8$ &.$ 6#&6:#$ +),#/#',#7$ +)$
1&::#1,+);$6#)'<$6#)1+:'$-)7$&,"#/$/#:-,#7$6-/-6"#/)-:+-<$0+),-;#$
-)7$9&7#/)2$=-)8$'45'1/+5#/'$-/#$(>?$9#95#/'2$@&4$1"&&'#$
"&A$,&$6-/,+1+6-,#$B$:#-/)$-5&4,$6#)'<$548$'#::$&/$$,/-7#<$&/$C4',$
A-,1"$-)7$/#-7$,"#$9#''-;#'2$D,E'$.4)$-)7$+,E'$./##F$
G
Tuesday–Friday, 9–4. Most Saturdays 10–3. Call to Verify.
!"#$%&'"#()*%"&$+"$*",$-**.,//00012"3314"(/.5&3/$
6#$0#%*5$7"($8"33$)*$*2"3392"3314"($
H$IJJK!L%$
Collector wishes to buy pens by
Cincinnati makers
John Holland
Collins / Pick / Royal / Star
Weidlich / Weidlich-Simpson
Contact:
Jack Leone
[email protected]
513.732.2038
58
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
The Writing Equipment Society Journal
is published in England and covers the history and
development of writing equipment. For just $65 a year you
will receive three colourful issues of the Journal packed
with information and gain easy access to the 600 members
who are collectors and dealers in the U.K. and Europe. To
become a member of the Society, contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.wesonline.org.uk
Ohio pen show
A Premier Vintage Pen Show
November 2, 3, 4, and 5, 2006
Exceptional Pre-Show Buying ■ 30+ Tables Thursday, 100+ Tables Friday
Vintage Pen Auction ■ Seminars & Parties
Featuring Long Time Exhibitors ■ Many Exclusive To The Ohio Show!
150 Tables Saturday and Sunday
Vintage and modern pens, inkwells, and a full range of pen related items
Clarion Dublin Hotel • Columbus, Ohio
$87/Night ( Toll free, 1.866.372.5566)
Weekend Registration: $50.00
(Includes Significant Other And/Or Child)
Terry and Sonya Mawhorter, Show Organizers
740.454.2314 ■ www.ohiopenshow.com
Bexley Pen
Pendemonium
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
SHOW PATRONS
Luxury Brands USA
Inkblotters.com
PenWorld Magazine
pentrace.com
59
Pen Haven
3730 Howard Ave • Kensington, MD 20895
The Southern Scribe
EXPERT PEN REPAIR
PHOTOS
ON MY
WEBSITE • VINTAGE PENS SOLD
SINGLE PIECES & COLLECTIONS PURCHASED & APPRAISED
NOW
RE-TIPPING NIBS IN-HOUSE WITH
4–6 WEEKS
9–5 CST • MONDAY–FRIDAY
TURNAROUND
WWW.thesouthernscribe.com
Rick Horne • 334.263.4169
1868 Mt. Meigs Road • Montgomery, AL 36107
Open: Sat–Sun, 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
301.929.0955
Fax 301.365.4750
Professional Repair & Restoration
Vintage Fountain Pens & Accessories
Berton A. Heiserman 301.365.4452
Louis Wofsy • 703.323.4452
Email [email protected], or
[email protected]
www.penhaven.com
THIRD RALEIGH PEN SHOW
JUNE 8, 9, 10, & 11, 2006
VINTAGE PARTS EXCHANGE THURSDAY, JUNE 8
30+ TABLES THURSDAY (BEGINNING AT 10 A.M.!) •
VINTAGE PEN AUCTION,
90+ TABLES FRIDAY
FRIDAY, JUNE 9
90 TABLES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
VINTAGE AND MODERN PENS • FULL RANGE OF PEN ITEMS • SEMINARS
EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL • CARY, NORTH CAROLINA
$97/ CALL 1.800.EMBASSY OR 919.677.1840
FREE HOT BREAKFAST AND EVENING RECEPTION INCLUDED IN ROOM RATE
FREE AIRPORT SHUTTLE
WEEKEND REGISTRATION: $40.00 (INCLUDES SPOUSE, SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND/OR CHILD)
TERRY & SONYA MAWHORTER, SHOW ORGANIZERS
www.raleighpenshow.com 740.454.2314
SHOW PATRONS
BEXLEY PEN
PENWORLD MAGAZINE
LUXURY BRANDS USA
60
PENDEMONIUM
PENTRACE.COM
INKBLOTTERS.COM
TRIANGLE PEN CLUB
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Vintage Writing Instrument Repair, Restoration and Appraisals
One Week Turnaround!
Pen Collectors of America
Reference Library
Lever / Button Fill $30 • Parker Vacumatic $35
Sheaffer Vacuum Fill $35 • Conklin Nozak $40
All others call
Over 6000 pages of vintage catalogs, brochures and
advertisements await P.C.A. members
All work warranted. Large parts inventory. We buy!
Contact Dan Reppert, P.C.A.
PO BOX 2866 • Youngstown, OH 44511
330.507.pens
AARON A. SVABIK
Email: wasp [email protected]
[email protected]
The Pen Mechanic
Vintage Fountain Pen & Pencil • Repairs & Sales
Specializing in Waterman’s Rivet Clips and
100-Year Pen Barrel End replacements.
Reasonable rates and fast turnaround.
BILL ENDERLIN
301.585.0600
P.O. Box 197, Kensington, MD 20895
Todd Nussbaum
P.O. Box 32166
Mesa, AZ 85275
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.isellpens.com
E-MAIL: [email protected]
Are You Looking for the Perfect Gift for a Favorite Pen
Collector?
CONSIDER A GIFT MEMBERSHIP IN THE P.C.A.
Now you can give a gift that will inform, delight and remind someone you know that you are thinking of them everyday of the year! Complete
all of the requested information below, print clearly and send this form, along with your check or money order, made payable to:
Pen Collectors of America, Attn: Roger Wooten, P.C.A. Treasurer
P.O. Box 174
Garden Prairie, IL 61038-0174
Please send a Gift Membership for (check one):
Inside the U.S.:
Outside the U.S.:
■
■
One year $40 U.S.
One year $60 U.S.
■
■
three years $105 U.S.
three years $150 US
Send membership to:
Name of Gift Recipient __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City __________________________________________ State/Province _________ Country ____________________________________
Postal/Zip Code _________________________________ Email __________________________________________________________________
Phone (______) _________________________________ FAX (______) __________________________________________________________________________
Gift card message___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check this box if this name should be omitted from publication as a P.C.A. member.
■
Your Name _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City ___________________________________________ State/Province__________ Country ______________________________________________
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
61
CUSTOM NIB MODIFICATIONS
SPECIALIZING IN VINTAGE AND LIMITED EDITION PENS
We offer competitive prices on Pelikan, Omas, Namiki and Sailor pens
• Re-tipping (any size)
• Flow adjustments
• Re-grinding
• Crack repair
• Straightening
• Original Replacements*
*A large stock of vintage nibs is available especially Waterman’s and Parker
Stub, italic, oblique, calligraphy and
flexible tips made to custom specifications
• Re-tip on nib only .............................................................. $60
(extra charge for Stub, Oblique, Xbroad, or Xfine)............... $10
• Nib Removal and Resetting (Whole Pen Charge) .................. $20
• UPS Third-day insured for $100 ........................................... $6
(Any amount of insurance is available. Please add $.50 per $100 over $100)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.penpencilgallery.co.uk
Phone: (44) 1768.484.300
Location: Cumbria, England
Limited service from mid–June to mid–September.
John Mottishaw
P.O. Box 46723
Los Angeles, Ca. 90046
Telephone: 323.655.2641
Fax: 323.651.0265
e-mail: [email protected]
Visit our web site at www.nibs.com
!"#$%&''()*
CHICAGO PEN SHOW
+),%-./0%!11"
!"#$%&'()*+,"-*($"./--,(#"0(&$/-%.,12134567892:-;<<=>?@=;ABC
+2D-E83-6F1-GH19-#F8IJ-3561-
"53KL-56619M112-635M79N-05L-A-O-PQR-68-R7M97NF6
S37M5L-05L-T:->5R-68-CCQR
#56U3M5L-05L-B:->5R-68-AQR
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07XF51K-SUK6Y-O-HF-B<;=;B;=?<<B-O-EUK6YQ192W58K=X8R
@A;<2B@&B<CD
E)'?7*%F)G4H7%I%37'5$4JK)4*LM4>%I%JJJLM$?M)N437'5$4JLM4>
62
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Inkpen Vintage
Fountain Pens
™
Sales • Search • Purchase
Repairs on most vintage pens including
Parker and Sheaffer vacs.
EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION
All work guaranteed
Joel Hamilton
505.437.8118
[email protected]
Sherrell Tyree
913.642.3216
[email protected]
Visit our website
www.ink-pens.com
“Your Pen is Our Priority!”
Purveyors of Fine Inks & Refills
Would like to thank all of you for
8 GREAT YEARS!
Please contact our friends at
Bertram’s Inkwell
For all your ink and refill needs • 1.888.311.1025
Sincerely,
AnnMarie Hautaniemi
THE PENNANT
WINTER 2005
Fine Fountain Pens
& Writing Supplies
Norman G. Haase
[email protected]
www.hisnibs.com
63
Society of Inkwell
Collectors
Join Us!
Newsletter
Convention
Books & Accessories
Networking
P.O. BOX 324
MOSSVILLE, IL 61552
PHONE: 309.579.3040
[email protected]
WWW.SOIC.COM
64
WINTER 2005
THE PENNANT
Aurora, Bexley, Delta, Libelle,
Monteverde, Parker, Pelikan, Recife, Retro 51,
Sheaffer, Stipula, Visconti, Waterman
NEW!
Private Reserve Ink
Private Reserve Fountain Pen Inks are among
the best inks available today: purchase from
one of our dealers - you’ll be happy you did!
28 Vibrant Colors • Neutral ph
Excellent coverage
Smooth flow • Non-clogging
Fast drying • Made in the U.S.A
50 ml classic deco bottle - $7.60
Private Reserve Ink
is now available in standard
(universal or international)
cartridges, each
color packaged in
a unique plastic
recloseable case
containing twelve
cartridges.
Cartridges come
in 23 colors!
Private Reserve Ink
P.O. Box 704, Zionsville, IN 46077
(317) 733-1970 • www.PrivateReserveInk.com
Visit our website for dealer listings.
Dealer inquiries invited.
FOUNTAIN PEN HOSPITAL
The Showcase of Fine Writing Instruments
Since 1946
World’s Largest Selection
Visit our newly expanded showroom
for an experience unlike any other.
The world’s largest selection of
contemporary, limited edition and
vintage pens.
CALL OR EMAIL
FOR FREE PEN CATALOG
10 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007
800.253.PENS
T. 212.964.0580 / F.
212.227.5916
[email protected]
www.fountainpenhospital.com
Just click www.fountainpenhospital.com