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sexta-feira, 3 de abril de 2015

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. Roc
kefeller 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






2 comentários:

Unknown disse...

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

Unknown disse...

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