VintageWriting.com
Pens
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To order, email for invoice. Please give the name and number of the item, and the country to which it is to be shipped. Check my eBay listings here.
Compare the "a"s. Side-by-side writing samples of some of the pens for sale here (some are from sold pens, for comparison). The squares are 5mm wide:
For comparison, some popular steel
dip nibs used for pointed-pen calligraphy: Vintage Gillott 303
Click to enlarge thumbnails below
Rare Crown Pen, c1900, Straight Slipcap, Large Size, Extra-Fine Extra-Flexible Nib with Gold Overfeed  A
fascinating esoteric older fountain pen with a spectacular nib. From the
collection of the late L. Michael Fultz, who was devoted to the lesser
known makers. 'Crown' brand, black hard rubber, with 1887 and 1891
patent dates on the imprint. A straight slipcap pen, not unlike the
Parkers and Watermans of the time, but with a long feed that is a fully
formed tube on the underside of the nib, and a broad spade-shaped gold
overfeed. The nib is about a 5 size, quite large by later standards, and
about the size of a Parker Duofold Senior nib. There is an imprint, but
it's covered by the overfeed. The nib is very fine and extremely
flexible, giving lines just shy of a full 3mm wide with pressure. The
overfeed probably serves to minimize the railroading that sometimes
happens with very wide lines. Warning: this is an archaic writing
instrument and will not be as convenient to use and carry as a Vacumatic
or a Parker 51. But the nib is amazing. Length 138mm.
Item 1094 $450 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Edward Todd No. 4 Combination Dip Pen/Pencil, Early Chased Hard Rubber -- Extra Fine, Very Flexible  Charming
Victorian pen pencil combination in hard rubber with gold filled trim.
1851 patent date. The condition is amazingly good: the hard rubber
chasing is very crisp, and the gold fill shows little if any wear. The
edges of the milled slider are sharp enough to cut you, and the gold
filled repousse end cap is beautiful. There's some fading to the hard
rubber in one area. The pen nib slides up for use; to deploy the pencil,
you twist the back half of the barrel. Back compartment for lead storage
(no lead present; it takes an odd size that I do not have). The nib is
very fine and flexible. The whole thing is solid and heavy, giving the
impression of very high quality. A fascinating piece of pen history,
with a great nib. Length 105mm closed, 140mm with pen nib extended.
Item 1113 $250 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Fairchild No. 7 Dip Pen, Rare 'Bishop's Hat' Integrated Nib -- Extra Fine, Ultra Flexible  Dip
pens offer some of the most impressive nibs on the planet: they're often
very flexible and very fine. Unlike the calligrapher's ideal, the steel
dip nib, they also have iridium on the tip. This Fairchild dip pen has
that plus everything else you'd want in a dip pen: it's a very large
size, and it's made in that unusual configuration that's sometimes
called 'bishop's hat'. The nib and section are all one piece, an
elegantly tapered and elongated scoop shape that fits directly onto the
wooden taper. The writing qualities are unequalled: extremely fine and
extremely flexible, with swells coming right up to the 3mm mark and
hairlines of true steel-dip-nib fineness. An added treat: the Fairchild
name engraved on the inside of the nib. Excellent condition, with
one nick on the back tip of the taper. Overall length 175mm.
Item 1112 $600 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. ON HOLD
Mabie Todd Swan 1500 Eyedropper -- Extra Flexible Fine Stub  Swan
slipcap eyedropper in black chased hard rubber, probably 1920s. Hard
rubber under- and overfeed. These overfeeds were popular with Swan for a
while, and I think they probably help reduce the railroading that
happens sometimes with really flexible nibs. This nib is quite
interesting. The barrel is marked 'M Brd' but I'd call it a fine stub,
and it's extremely flexible. You can do flat pen type letters like
italic or Old English, but you can also do spencerian or copperplate.
The fine lines with no pressure have some hint of the flat edge, but not
that much. Excellent condition with nice dark color, crisp imprints and
chasing, one scratch in cap. Length is about 134mm.
Item 1095 $300 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. ON EBAY
Mabie Todd Swan N°2 Safety Screw Cap -- Amazing Extra-Wide Oblique Italic Nib  Black
hard rubber Swan No. 2 Safety Screw Cap pen, circa 1910s, in black chased hard
rubber. Triple-broad stub oblique nib, unlike any Swan nib I've ever seen.
Very wide, very smooth and somewhat flexible. Capable of any sort of
black-letter-style writing -- Old English, German fraktur, italic. The angle
built into the nib will make these alphabets easier for many people.
Very good condition with no chips or cracks. Moderate wear, significant fading
-- the hard rubber has lightened to a khaki color. Under magnification there may
be a tiny nick on the right side of the nib's breather hole. Length about 5 1/4
inches. This is an eyedop filler, so no restoration necessary. The screw cap, a
cutting edge feature at the time, gives the pen the ink-tight qualities of later
lever fillers, but with the large ink capacity of the entire barrel.
Item 1016 $375 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. ON EBAY
Mabie Todd Swan Oversized S.F.5, Mottled Hard Rubber with 18k Band -- Extra Fine, Ultra Flexible  A
true triple threat: this 1920s Swan is (1) one of the most beautiful
pens I've ever seen -- the red and black graining with the gold trim is
incomparable -- (2) one of the most imposing pens I've ever seen
-- bigger than a Parker Duofold Senior flattop, see photo -- and (3) has
a nib that's one of the most flexible I've ever seen. Red and
black mottled hard rubber with 18k gold wide band with presentation
engraving from 1928. The nib is amazing -- nice fine hairlines and
extremely broad swells. At their widest the lines are almost a full 3mm.
There is one flaw: a hairline crack in the cap lip, see photo.
Otherwise excellent condition with good color, legible imprints, nice
trim (even the gold filled lever shows only minor wear -- unusual for a
Swan). Lever filler, restored and working with a new sac installed. The
length is an astounding 5 3/4 inches.
Item 1104 $850 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Moore Safety, Solid 14k Gold Overlay, Flex Nib, Restored  Moore
Safety pen, circa 1910-1925, in solid gold 14-carat overlay. Very nice,
and very hard to find. Note that this safety pen has a clip, something
not often found in Moore safeties. The pattern is groups of lines
alternating with spaces, similar to Waterman's Sheraton. Charming
contrast between green gold clip and yellow gold pen. Marked '14k' on
clip, cap, and on barrel. Number 2 Moore nib, fine to medium and
semiflexible -- a typical 'Maniflex'-style nib. Very good condition with
some wear, several minor nicks, and a few minor indentations. Some
scratches on the hard rubber bottom button. Professionally engraved
initials on cap. Restored and workign with new seals installed by
safety-pen guru Andrew Beliveau. Length 115mm.
Item 1108 $800 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Moore Safety, Long Model -- Extra-Fine, Extra-Flexible Nib  Number-2-size
Moore Safety pen in black chased hard rubber in the hard to find extra
long size. This pen is an amazing 5 7/8 inches long. The nib is a
spectacular extra flexible extra fine point with correct early American
Fountain Pen imprint. Very wide swells and nice fine hairlines. Great
for copperplate or spencerian writing. Excellent condition with clear
chasing, nice dark color. Recently restored by safety-pen maven Andrew
Beliveau with new seals.
Item 1097 $400 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
The L-94 was one of Moore's larger pens, slightly bigger than an oversized Sheaffer Lifetime flattop, fitted with the long and elegant Moore No. 4 nib which, despite the lower number, is comparable to a Waterman 7. Here's an unusual wide-banded chased model. The chased version of this pen, with no fancy trim, was one of my first Moores, and I looked for a long time before I found this one. Excellent condition with near perfect dark hard rubber, minor wear to the chasing. The cap band is perfect, with crisp engraving and initials 'TJW' in the cartouche. Two typical Moore flaws are present, neither affecting use: the short crack at one corner of the lever slot, and the barely perceptible line coming up from the back of the nib, into the '4'. The nib is fine and semiflexible, the typical 'Maniflex'-style. Restored and working with new sac installed. Length just under 5 3/8 inches. Item 9026 $265 plus $10.00 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for international. Email for invoice.
First generation Parker Vacumatic in the oversized model. Emerald green laminate with gold filled trim. Correct striped top and bottom jewels, striped section. Near mint with perfect trim, clear imprints, excellent platinum plating on the two tone nib. Excellent barrel transparency. Pencil contains correct Parker lead cartridge with unused eraser. One of the best examples of this pen I've had. Note the top of the pen: the trim edges are crisp, the top jewel sharp. The big bulbous pencil is actually probably more rare than the pen, and is certainly as impressive. The only flaws I find are on the pen's blind cap: there are a few minor nicks, some shrinkage around the metal threading, and after restoration the surface is not quite perfectly flush with the barrel. The box is excellent but with the typical missing top decorative clasp. The nib is fine and firm. Lockdown Vac filler is restored and working with a new diaphragm installed. The pencil is also working. Item 1107 $950 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Sheaffer Lifetime Balance pen in jade green. The first iteration of the Balance pen in the next-to-biggest size. Extra-long pointy barrel, pinned lever made of a solid piece of gold plated brass, long hump clip, short early section. Almost as long, and a little thinner, than the oversized Senior model. Quite simply the best color in this pen I've had. It's easy to forget how vibrant the colors were in a pen shop in the late '20s, after the advent of celluloid. Here's something to remind us. Bright green with lots of perfect cream-colored marbled highlights and a lovely ivory white dot. Hefty Lifetime nib in the correct long shape, fine to medium and firm. Excellent condition with minor wear to the clip ball, shallow surface scratching, excellent imprint. Sac removed to preserve color. Length about 5 11/16 inches (144mm). Item 9514 $550 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Sheaffer Balance Senior Pencil, Marine Green Marble, Long Hump Clip The biggest Sheaffer Balance pencil made, and the earliest, biggest version. About 1930. Very good to excellent condition with minor trim wear, some nicks and scratches, excellent color (minor fading toward top). Takes 1.1mm lead. Length 147mm Item 9531 $115 plus $10.00 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for international. Email for invoice.
Sheaffer Balance Senior Pencil, Marine Green Marble, Long Hump Clip -- Extra Bright, Bluish Color The biggest Sheaffer Balance pencil made, and the earliest, biggest version. About 1930. Excellent condition with minor trim wear, excellent bright color. Unusually intense color for this pencil, with a slightly more blue tone than usually seen. Takes 1.1mm lead. Length 145mm Item 9532 $165 plus $10.00 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for international. Email for invoice.
Sheaffer Balance Senior Pencil, Green Stripe c1937 Very good condition with minor trim wear, some scratches, excellent color. Takes .9mm lead. Length 140mm Item 9533 $95 plus $10.00 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for international. Email for invoice.
Sheaffer Balance Senior Pencil, Black with Gold Filled Trim c1937 Surprisingly hard to find. Near mint. Takes .9mm lead. Length 141mm Item 9534 $135 plus $10.00 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for international. Email for invoice.
Silver pen holder with integral chain, similar to the Swan models but not marked. Appears to be sterling but again, not marked. This is the largest and most charming and impressive of these I've seen. Extra deep repousse work with naturalistic, though whimsical, designs -- birds, butterflies, vines. Will accommodate only older, very thin pens -- slipcap models with straight, short caps, nothing as wide as even a Waterman 12. Item 1109 $350 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
 Wahl
oversized Deco Band pen in red and black ripple hard rubber -- Wahl's
name was 'Rosewood' -- and gold filled trim. The large Gold Seal
Personal Point nib is medium and flexible, and is marked 'Flexible.'
It's fitted with a feed marked 'M', and is set into a screw-out inner
section marked 'Flex 6M'. Pretty cool. Excellent condition with bright
high-contrast color, good trim showing minor wear, excellent 'Made in
USA' imprint with raised edges still showing around the letters. Drilled
gold seal. Some minor nicks on the section.
Restored and working with a new sac installed. Length 135mm.
Item 1052 $600 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Waterman 14 Mottled c1910, Rare Waterman "Falcon" Nib -- Extra Fine, Extra Flexible  Waterman
14 in mottled red and black hard rubber and a nickel clip. The nib a
rare example of a Waterman 'falcon', a shape more commonly found in
steel dip nibs but occasionally adopted by fountain pen makers. Note the
oval vent hole too. Extra fine and extremely flexible, with the long,
tapered tines we associate with flex, the nib is great for any
pointed-pen calligraphy, copperplate or spencerian. Eyedrop filler. Very
good condition with legible imprints, but note short hairline in cap
lip. The color is excellent in the cap but shows fading in the barrel.
From the collection of vintage pen pioneer L. Michael Fultz. Length
about 135mm.
Item 1100 $425 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Waterman 13 c1910 -- Extra Fine, Ultra Flexible  Waterman
slipcap eyedropper model 13 in black chased hard rubber with a nickel
clip. The company didn't take long to find that it didn't need a size
between the 12 and the 14, so the 13, along with its partner in
redundancy, the 17, is today pretty hard to find. This one has another
plus, the attached clip, which in this era was still a bit of a novelty.
The nib is fantastic: very fine and very flexible, it can make
respectable hairlines and very wide swells. The contrast is dramatic.
The tines spread quite easily -- it's possible to write with the pen
with no shading, but it takes discipline. Very good condition with no
chips or cracks, typical wear and fading. The clip is strongly attached
but does move a tiny bit. Eyedrop filler. Length about 134mm.
Item 1101 $425 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Waterman 15 c1910, Mottled Hard Rubber -- Extra Fine, Ultra Flexible  Waterman
slipcap eyedropper model 15 in red and black mottled hard rubber. A
wonderful calligraphy-capable pen in a nice big size. The No. 5 nib is
very fine and very flexible, capable of respectable hairlines and very
wide swells. The tines spread quite easily; writing without shading is
possible but requires concentration. Very good condition with no chips
or cracks, legible imprints, some wear and fading. Eyedrop filler.
Length about 137mm.
Item 1102 $425 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Waterman 44 Safety -- Extra Fine, Flexible Nib  A
'30s nib in a '20s pen, this Waterman safety reminds me of the '30s
Artist Pen. See a discussion
here, with a description of an Artist Pen I once had. Like the Artist Pen, it is a hard rubber safety, but was
sold in the '30s with an extra-fine long-tined '30s nib. Unlike the
Artist Pen, this 44 has conventional '20s imprints, and as a 4-size
safety, it's noticeably bigger. The nib has the same qualities, though
-- very fine, flexible but not overly so, with long, elegantly tapered
tines. Very good condition with no chips or cracks. The smooth hard
rubber shows some wear and has faded to an olive color. Owner's initials
in a streamlined '30s font. Nice nickel accommodation clip. Restored and
working with new seals provided by safety-pen guru Andrew Beliveau. A
great pen for the artist or calligrapher who wants to use india ink or
other inks that can't be trusted not to clog the fine channels of a
conventional fountain pen. Length about 128mm.
Item 1099 $425 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Waterman 32 1930s -- Paintbrush Flexible Stub Italic  Waterman
32 in black celluloid with chrome trim. The '30s successor to the hard
rubber 1920s workhorse, the 52. The No. 2 nib is an unusual chisel point
with lots of flex. It would have been called a stub point at the time,
but today we'd say italic. Waterman stubs are often somewhat flexible,
and its blue color-coded nib was advertised as 'an improved stub' and
had some unmistakable flexibility -- but this one is more extreme. The
contrast between un-pressurized thin lined and the pressure-added swells
is quite significant. The feel when writing is of a paintbrush. You can
use it for edged-nib alphabets like italics, uncials and Old English,
but it's just as nice to let the flex go and have some fun. Lever
filler, restored and working with a new sac installed. Length about 130mm.
Item 1103 $375 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice. SOLD
Waterman Sterling Overlay, Rare 1930s Model -- Medium, Flexible Nib Alexander F. Ormsby, Asst. A.G., Judge, Founder and Dean of John Marshall College  Waterman
sterling overlay in the hard to find 1930s model. 'Gothic'
(checkerboard) pattern. This pen is the same
width as the 1920s sterling overlay 452, but is a little shorter, a
little streamlined, and uses the newer style clip and lever. It's
ergonomically better, since the shorter length improves the pen's
balance with the cap posted, but unfortunately Waterman didn't make very
many of them. This one was owned by Alexander F. Ormsby, a New Jersey
assistant attorney general, judge, and founder and dean of John Marshall
College, the predecessor of Seton Hall's law school. Very good condition
with no chips or cracks, several minor nicks and
scratches, and some
wear to the checkerboard pattern on one side of the cap. The nib is a
'30s Waterman No. 2, fine to medium and fairly flexible. The nib has a
crack coming up from the base, see photos, but this does not affect
function. Restored and working with a new sac installed. Length about 5
1/8 inches.
Item 1105 $450 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Photo: Ormsby with Eleanor Roosevelt at John Marshall College's 1937 commencement, where she received a doctor of laws degree. She wrote about her visit in her 'My Day' newspaper column for June 17, 1937, here.
Waterman Pen and Pencil Set, Rare '30s Overlay -- Excellent in Box Medium, Flexible Nib  Waterman
1930s gold filled overlay pen and pencil set in the Sheraton pattern.
These pens were the same width as the 1920s overlay 0552, but were a
little shorter, a little bit streamlined, and they used the newer style
clip and lever. The design is ergonomically better than the '20s pen,
since the shorter length improves the pen's balance with the cap posted.
Unfortunately Waterman didn't make many, so they're quite hard to find
today. The pencil is also an improved design, making it more comfortable
to hold than the earlier overlay. As seldom as one sees the pen, the
pencil is even more scarce. This is a set in the box with matching
high-quality monogram. The condition is excellent, with only very minor
wear showing, nice round ends, and one or two very minor indentations.
The engraved lines are satisfyingly deep and sharp. The nib is medium
and flexible, not terribly soft but capable of copperplate effects. It's
about like the typical No. 2 Waterman nib of the '20s. Lever filler
restored and working with a new sac installed. The pencil is also
working. The pen measures about 5 1/8 inches, the pencil just under 5
inches.
Item 1106 $450 plus $10 shipping and insurance to USA addresses, $30 for International. Email for invoice.
Item 9025 $7 (one ounce bottle) plus $4.95 shipping (up to 4 bottles, USPS priority, to USA addresses) Noodler's 'Boston Brahmin Blue 2006' Limited Edition Ink
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Rob Morrison |
Vintage Spencerian N°1
Noodler's 'Boston Brahmin
Black' 2010 Limited Edition Ink
