Waterman’s licensed Italian distributor used to add stunning overlays to some Waterman pens. In this case, a 1920s Safety Pen. Waterman procured such unique pieces by sending pens to major jewelry houses and allowing the artisans carte blanche in creating overlays.
What does restoring a fountain pen mean? I have some vintage fountain pens that someone told me need restoration. Assuming your fountain pens are not broken, restoration will get them back into working order. Without having then in-hand we can’t tell you exactly what’s wrong with them, but chances are it’s one of a few things: no ink flow because of dried ink in the mechanism, ossified sac that needs replacing, or mechanism repair. Having your …
I recently inherited some vintage fountain pens but I don’t know what they are. How can I find out what they are? What can I do with them? To find out what those pens are, you can always just search online based on the brands and models (if they are labeled). If they are not, we do offer appraisal services where we can have a look at your pens and give an estimate of their …
Where can I find ephemera like the Waterman lucky tokens you posted about? A variety of ephemera is still circulating today: ash trays, tokens, posters, ads, pen displays, and more. You can find ephemera in a few places, but you will probably have the most luck at the following: eBay Estate sales Antique stores Flea markets Brick & mortar stores that are getting rid of old items (this is not as common as that stock depletes) …
What nib do you use? Just one? Or many? Vintage Waterman pens offered “color coded pens” that were matched to specific nibs. The Black model 94, 7, and 5 had color coded disks inserted into the bottom of their barrels. The Ripple Model 5 and Model 7 (seen below) had as many as ten different color bands, visible below the top of the cap (the Model 5 had fewer “colors” than did the Model 7). All of the …
Or a handful! The Pelikan Pen Company is reducing their range of nibs. Double-broads and obliques are already difficult to acquire. Pen #238 below is available in our Catalog #74 – a 1955 Pelikan 400N piston-filler with a green striped barrel and a blue cap and turning knob – very rare! The nib is a medium oblique italic; a beautiful specimen. This vintage pen is still available.
We have previously posted about Waterman’s Coin-Filler fountain pens. In 1908, Waterman released the self-filling pen, but by 1913, the sleeve-filler was improved and The Coin-Filler was launched under a special licence from Conklin. Each coin had a unique key number, making them something fun and interesting to collect today – if you can find one. A great vintage pen, indeed!
Pelikan has recently relaunched their 101N series in Lizard, Red Tortoise, and Brown Tortoiseshell. They look very similar to their vintage counterparts and feel quite similar in terms of the size and design. Pen #15 below is a 1937 Pelikan 101N Lizard. It has a delightful double-broad, flexible, italic nib. This specimen (no pun intended) is in near mint condition. Although you can find the modern Lizard, it won’t have a nib like this on …
Continuing on the (now vintage pens!) Esterbrook trend! For the traveling sales person, Esterbrook had handy cases with slots for various Esterbrook pens (such as the lovely pastels), along with smaller slots across the top for nib units, with corresponding numbers. There was also a nib selection chart with writtng samples tucked into the case. With so many nib units to choose from, it only made sense to carry a selection of pens and nib …
Now in the vintage pens category, Esterbrook’s interchangeable nib system was so great because it offered users the ability to have just one or two pens, and a huge variety of nibs. There were dozens of different nibs, each with its own number and name, that we could wonder how on earth a retailer could keep them all organized and easily available for sale. Esterbrook developed systems for this, of course, one of which is …
