Matchbook - The Flying Swan

The Flying Swan

At one point in time, 1890 and thereafter, the Swan Pens were among the most beautifully crafted eye candies in America. Their Overlay Eye droppers where not only ostentatious with their ornate designs but where also extremely good performers. Naturally, the brand had fired the public imagination which was reflected in the sales.

The entity making the Swan Pens can date itself back to 1859 which finally evolved into the Mabie Todd & Co which was incorporated in 1907. The company was regarded for its lever fillers, first in hard rubber and then in celluloid and had a dedicated fan following among the cognoscenti of the time. However, quality issues started cropping up towards the end of the Swan’s flight in the 1930’s and though it tried hard to ride the winds, production declined sharply forcing the US entity to shut shop in 1941.

Mabie Todd’s London office was opened in 1884 and the manufacture of pens had started in 1909. Even when the parent in the United States was beset with quality and other issues, the British Company had continued its flight with models that were both critically appreciated and commercially successful. As a matter of fact, such were the heights that were achieved that the Swan was advertised, in its hey days, as the “Pen of the British Empire” with availability in all corners of the world where the crown had its presence.  This global domination however, was short lived having continued till the 1950’s when it too was forced to down shutters following the ravages of the war and the gradual disintegration of the Empire on which the sun never set.

Mabie Todd pens, especially the Swan, was also widely available, and extremely popular to boot, in India. Manufactured in India under license from the owners, these pens were known as Indian Swans and were comparable to their cousins born in the United States and Britain. As a matter of fact, the Indian Swans also remain highly collectable.

As was the popular norm, major Pen makers preferred to have their own line of Inks which used to act as independent revenue streams to the companies. Tongue in Cheek, the communication used to eulogise not only the superiority of the inks but also the fact that inks and pens are complementary products and one necessarily calls for the use of the other from the same family stable, for peak performance.

The accompanying advertisements in match boxes of the day are a mute testimonial of the times that were, of a time when the Swan’s flight was witnessed in all its majesty.