PORTER'S SCHOOL PEN

A cheap but very interesting bhr eyedropper from the end of 19th century: the Porter school pen. For more information :!https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Porter%27s_School…

Red and black mottled hard rubber,eyedropper Parker pens

Red and black mottled hard rubber are in my humble opinion one of the more beautiful materials used in the manufacture of vintage fountain pens.
As other pen makers of it's time Parker used this type of material almost since the beginning of their fountain pen production,creating some, now amazing,collectible fountain pens.
Along my 25 years collecting I was lucky to find the group of pens I'm sharing today with all of you.

From left:
#026,#023 hexagonal,#020 with a VV Parker clip,##20 and #018.
Number zero before the size number means that they are jointless models.

From left:
#28,#26,#25 with a VV Parker clip,#24 and a #10

From left:
#20,#20,#18 with a VV Parker clip,#18 with a disappearing clip and another #18

Three "turban cap top":
#20 long,#23 and #25

From left:
two unnumbered very early pens,two #1 taper cap and another #1 but straight cap
.

A rare Depression pearl blue line Parker pen ....and some more

Comparison of the pearl black line depression Parker pen with the pearl blue line one .I even didn't know before about the existence of this color . This pen only, justify the cross of the Atlantic and all the continental US to attend the LA Pen Show 2015 !!!! To a serious pen collector this pen represents a small jewel ....independent of its commercial value which is low !!!!
As all of you know, Parker made two different sizes of depression pens . These two are also an example of the two sizes. I hope you can enjoy. Wish to all of you, crazy pen guys, a great weekend .

The U.S. Waterman's Patrician and the British Platignum Supreme - more than a coincidence?

In 1930 and despite the Great Depression ( which begun in October 1929 ) , Waterman's had the audacity (?) to launch a luxury and expensive model called Patrician when the other pen makers were producing low coast pens and trying to keep themselves "above  water".
The Patrician model in a Art Deco style were made with diferent attractive celluloid material and fitted with big gold nibs; besides those characteristics they had a bigger size than the standard for those days ( we can remember the size of the Parker Thrift time models ) .These pens are nowadays very sough after by collectors .
In 1931 (?) on the other side of the Atlantic a British pen manufacturer called Mentmore, launched the Platignum Supreme , a more slim and modest pen with a steel nib but not less nice ......and, with some similarities with the U.S. Patrician models. If we remember about the close commercial relationships between UK and USA we should easily understand these facts as more than a coincidence !?
In an attempt to confirm the launching dates of both pens ( in order to understand who influenced who ) I emailed Stephen Hull a friend pen collector and a expert in British pens who with the characteristic British fairplay answered me that " unfortunately" it seems that Patrician was launched before Platignum .....
So , this Friday , before Easter , I woke up early in the morning and shoot these photos which I'm pleased to share with all my pen friends and all those who love pens. Hope you will enjoy.



 WATERMAN'S PATRICIAN PENS

 PLATIGNUM PENS

David Nishimura Luiz, I think you are off a little on the introduction date of the Patrician. Advertising first appears in late 1929, and in Waterman's trademark application for the name, use is claimed since April of that year.


David Nishimura Note also that even after the Wall Street crash at the end of October 1929, it was not clear for some time how things would play out. As Wikipedia summarizes it:

"Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, optimism persisted for some time; John D. Rockefeller said that "These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity has always returned and will again." The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April. This was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929.

Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the corresponding period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered severe losses in the stock market the previous year, cut back their expenditures by ten percent."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

THE AMAZING RUN OF THE CARTRIDGE FILLER PENS

Common people who nowadays use a cartridge filler pen - actually the most widely used filler system - can't imagine the long run since the distant year of 1890 when Eagle Pen Co. created the first pen with a glass cartridge ! The pen was not a commercial success probably due to several factors being the more important the fragility of the cartridge and the consequent broken and leakage . The idea was put in practice again during the 1920s by another pen company called Pollock Pen Co. which made the John Hancock pen, but this time with a copper cartridge ; once again and besides the beauty look of some models the pen didn't receive the public acceptance. In 1936 it was the time for Waterman's to try it's luck with a glass cartridge, once again, ( but this time more thick than the one tried by Eagle ) . And once again no acceptance by the public. Only in 1953 Waterman's won finally the public acceptance with the CF model with a plastic cartridge ! The CF ( cartridge filler) model was a streamlined model and the beauty and great variety of pens made them a very collectible with some very sought  after models by fountain pen collectors. Besides the cartridge there was also a convertor with a similar shape. These converters are nowadays very difficult to find.
To those interested in history and to be honest we should add that this futuristic looking pen ( thin lines, hooded nib and an opened clip with excellent design ) was possible thanks to the genius of Harley Earl .



THE EAGLE PEN FROM 1890 WITH A GLASS CARTRIDGE FILLER (BROKEN ) 

The John Hancock pen made by  the Pollock Pen Co. Two ladies size pens. Included are an unsual cartridge case holder made with the same material of the pen.As previously said these pens were made on the 1920s and the cartridges were in copper and painted with black ink.

Another attempt was made by Waterman's in 1936 and once again with a glass cartridge but more thick than the inicial ones made by EAGLE.

And finally in 1953 , Waterman's ( once again ) reached the public acceptance with a cartridge filler ( with a plastic cartridge )  with the model CF. " The times were different and,with the rise of the ballpoint, the public was receptive to a new filling mechanism that was similar to refilling a ballpoint. The technology also made possible the construction of plastic cartridges without the associated fragility of the glass." - In " The Chronicle of the Fountain Pen- stories within a story " by João Pavão Martins, Luiz Leite and António Gagean.
The CF model had no great success in USA , despite it's quality and design probably as a consequence of the bad reputation that Waterman's had built in this country . In Europe though, the pen was an enormous success! ( despite that in this same year the Italian Marcel Bich marketed the first disposable ballpoint pen BIC. This was another milestone that changed forever the world of the writing instruments).
The CF model were made in USA, Canada and France ( in this last country until 1970 ).

The CF model it's a stremlined one but very elegant and with a special design which made it very actual even in our days. 

Aspect of some plastic cartridges  ( not the first ones ) and on the following photo the converters to those who opted for that solution. Obviously that nowadays it's very dificcult to  find theses converters in a good condition due to the fact that the rubber its prone to detriorate along the years. It's a problem that would be solved by any private company ( I hope ) because these  are nice pens and it will be a pleasure to anyone to use them to write. 

A demonstrator CF pen with the first plastic cartridge

The first CF pens were fited with steel nibs and  the typical Waterman's globe on the caps top includedd on the clip top 

The long section was in a diferent colour of the barrel's colour . Later on the CF was made with two lateral section bands ( chrome, silver or gold plated and fitted with 14 K nibs ( USA ) or 18 K nibs ( France ) .

Some USA models in  colorful plastics , in and outside the boxes.

The French Waterman's department made the more nice and luxurious CF models which are nowadays very sought after by some collectors who are focused only in this model! 
On the next photo you can see some lacquer pens.

Some gold filled pens

Some sterling pens; the sixth from the left it's called the crocodile pattern and it was made for the well known Cartier house!

And finally my unique CF set in 18 K solid gold over a crocodile cigar case holder with silver trim  ( British Hallmarks from 1891, yes, 123 years old !  ) .

The STERLING pen Co., an article by Silviu Pincu

This entire article was witten by Siviu Pincu to whom I wish to thank the permission to post it in this blog.
With the exception of the last photo ( with Sterling pens from my ownn collection) all the other photos belong to him.

 A black and red mottled hard rubber middle joint Sterling pen and a black hard rubber sleeve filler one.