15836: A. A. Waterman (?) eyedropper-filler: black hard rubber slip-cap with full Art Nouveau fine silver filigree overlay, 13.1 cm long, marked only "30" at the end of the barrel and "STERLING" on the overlay, narrow feed of distinctive inner construction, all suggesting A. A. Waterman manufacture. Initials scratched onto barrel cartouche, pitting at top of cap surely from original manufacturing method of electrodeposition. Nib tipping is somewhat scant but a good writer, boldly calligraphic.
DATE: c. 1903 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: broad italic flex • $375
15863: Aikin Lambert Mercantile: mottled hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.3 cm long, excellent color and imprints, ribbed section, narrow feed, #2 nib is a lively and responsive writer, the very beginning of an axial stress hairline visible next to the vent hole under magnification. Cap mouth has been sleeved with black hard rubber to repair a small crack, traces now visible only on closest inspection.
DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: fine stub flex • $265
13802: Artbrown safety: unusual and interesting mix of styles, Vac-like end jewels, cap like an early 1940s Waterman Emblem Pen; 11.7 cm long, gold plated trim, nib is gold plated stainless steel, cap and barrel appear to be lacquered hard rubber. Internal spiral has been repaired, seals replaced. Japanese-made safety pens are uncommon.
DATE: c. 1950 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: extra-fine stub semiflex • $165
14991: Boston eyedropper-filler: black hard rubber ringtop, smooth sterling silver overlay, 10 cm long, marked only "STERLING" on cap and barrel; factory italic #2 Boston Safety nib is notably calligraphic. Fine overall appearance, bumps to end of barrel (see detail).
DATE: c. 1915 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: medium italic semiflex • $265
15033: Boston Safety eyedropper-filler: black hard rubber ringtop with full 1/8 18K gold filled overlay in fine parallel lines pattern, 9.8 cm long, notable rounded stub #2 nib. Clean and crisp, one very slightly raised bump on cap (see detail).
DATE: c. 1915 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: medium stub semiflex • $250
12754: Carey eyedropper-filler in box: black hard rubber straight-cap, gold filled chased pattern overlay, 13.5 cm long, nearly identical to a contemporary Aikin Lambert, narrow feed, #2 Carey nib has been retipped, is extremely soft and should be used with a light touch; "Cecilia" engraved on barrel cartouche, cap crown disk bumped askew from dings to cap top bead (see detail); fancy box is clean with full Carey markings on the interior.
DATE: c. 1910 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: fine stub flex • $895
12957: Century eyedropper-filler: black chased hard rubber taper-cap, 15 cm long, over and under feed, imprint with 1893 patent date. Moderate even fading, imprints and chasing are sharp except where heat-softened towards front of barrel, nib is usable as is but has lost its tipping. An early pen of excellent quality, from a company closely tied to Parker.
DATE: c. 1898 • CONDITION: VG-fine* • NIB: fine stub flex • $250
15303: Conklin Jaxon: clipless black chased hard rubber stud-filler, 13.3 cm long, patented variant of Conklin's crescent-filler with a metal lock ring securing the filling stud against accidental actuation. Nearly all of these pens were sold under the Jaxon name, used by Conklin as a sub-brand. Nice clean #3-size, strong chasing and imprints, usual rust to lock ring.
DATE: c. 1916 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: fine stub flex • $265
14136: Conklin 75: oversize black chased hard rubber crescent-filler, 14.5 cm long, gold filled trim, #7 nib, sharp chevron pattern chasing, strong imprints, hard rubber black and glossy, no brassing to trim; near mint but for a tiny chunk from the front edge of the crescent opening (see detail). Largest production crescent-filler made, hard to find in any condition.
DATE: c. 1921 • CONDITION: exc* • NIB: fine stub semiflex • SOLD
15540: De La Rue Onoto set in box: fully covered gold filled lever-filler, 12.3 cm long, matching twist-action pencil uses 1.1 mm lead. Notably calligraphic nib.
DATE: c. 1937 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: medium stub flex • $485
13747: Esterbrook Relief 314: mottled hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.3 cm long, fully Esterbrook-marked, manufactured by Wirt. Characteristic bottom-vented Wirt feed, pen shows no sign of ever having been filled, ventless gold Esterbrook-marked nib has one superficial nick or tool mark on the top right tine (see detail).
DATE: c. 1910 • CONDITION: near mint* • NIB: medium oblique italic • $950
11132: Mabie Todd Swan: hard rubber straight-cap eyedropper-filler with extremely rare Fleur-de-lys pattern gold filled high relief overlay; 13.5 cm long, full Mabie Todd & Bard imprint on barrel with 1880s patent dates, classic over and under feed with twisted silver wire "tail". Initial on cap, name on barrel, only a handful of examples of this design are currently known, with a silver specimen selling for over $11,000 on eBay in November 2013.
DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: medium stub flex • $4500
15111: Mabie Todd Swan 2 Self Filler: rare black chased hard rubber slip-cap bulb-filler, 13.6 cm long, New York production, calligraphic #2 nib is very flexible, with gold overfeed. This short-lived design was Mabie Todd's first self-filling fountain pen, and incorporates an internal check valve inside the filler housing (a full discussion of this design can be found here).
DATE: c. 1914 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: medium stub flex • $450
13813: Mabie Todd Swan Military Safety: uncommon screw-cap black chased hard rubber ink-tablet eyedropper-filler, 14.5 cm long, nickel plated trim, New York production but bearing retail imprint on cap top of Mark Cross of London; even fading, imprints legible, marked "PAT. APPL'D FOR", typical flakes off very end of ink compartment knob (see detail).
DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: medium broad stub flex • $495
13632: Montegrappa The Elmo Pen: early production black hard rubber safety, 12.75 cm long, smooth gold filled overlay, #2 Elmo nib, Moore-style one-piece shaft and feed; cap has engraved monogram, dings to crown, cap lip has been replaced. Nib has a crack from the vent hole, usable with a light hand. The Elmo Pen was one of Montegrappa's very first models, and an overlay example is unheard of.
DATE: c. 1922 • CONDITION: VG-fine* • NIB: fine stub flex • $650
15517: Moore Improved Non-Leakable: rare black chased hard rubber safety with double-function cap, screws on when nib is retracted, but acts as a slip-cap if put on when the nib is extended. 13.8 cm long, nib retracting sleeve covers barrel almost completely, thus has side cutouts to allow the barrel to be grasped firmly while turning the cap. Excellent imprints and chasing, even moderate fading, gold filled cap band, #2 nib is a sharp-edged factory italic.
DATE: c. 1912 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: fine italic semiflex • $495
13425: Moore Non-Leakable: black hard rubber retracting-nib safety with smooth gold filled overlay, 12.1 cm long, Moore #2 nib; one shallow ding and some pinprick marks to the cap, small patch of corrosion at front of barrel overlay (see details), safety post inside cap is absent.
DATE: c. 1920 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: fine stub flex • $650
15433: Parker 10: oversize black hard rubber cable twist straight-cap eyedropper-filler, 15.8 cm long, unusually early example with triple section ferrule, early Lucky Curve feed, #3 nib with keyhole vent (intact but for tiny chip to tipping -- see detail). Cap is a virtually perfect reproduction in original material.
DATE: c. 1896 • CONDITION: VG-fine* • NIB: medium stub flex • $1600
13552: Parker 018: rare black hard rubber "Jointless" eyedropper-filler, 13.9 cm long, spearhead Lucky Curve feed, barrel imprint heavily worn, no visible cap imprint, hairline from vent hole of teardrop-vent Lucky Curve nib should be repaired if pen is to be used extensively, otherwise usable as is.
DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: G* • NIB: medium fine stub flex • $250
15799: Parker Black Giant: iconic oversize black hard rubber eyedropper-filler, 15.5 cm long, full length model with clip, the best-preserved example that we have had in over 20 years. Cap top milling is excellent as is the barrel imprint, intact Lucky Curve feed, moderate even fading to hard rubber. Clip plating is spotty -- very possibly gold-plated by a jeweler and could be readily replated if desired.
DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: fine stub flex • $2500
15406: Parker Duofold Senior: red hard rubber bandless button-filler, 14 cm long, gold filled trim, an iconic model in excellent condition with strong large imprint, milling on ends sharp with minor marks, and but one spot of brassing atop the clip ball. Tipping is scant but present, nib writes a handsomely shaded line. Name and fraternity letters stippled very lightly on barrel opposite imprint -- so lightly that we only noticed it during closeup photography. "6" imprinted on end of blind cap.
DATE: c. 1922 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $1400
15123: Parker Duofold Junior: red hard rubber button-filler, 11.6 cm long, gold filled trim, single raised cap band, clean small imprint, well preserved milling on ends, cap lip slightly trimmed.
DATE: c. 1925 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: fine stub • $250
15709: Parker button-filler: black chased hard rubber "Black Line" ringtop, 12 cm long, gold filled trim, crisp imprints and chasing, ends with sharp milling, Lucky Curve #3 nib has a rounded oblique nib, a wet writer that needs to be canted correctly for best results.
DATE: c. 1928/1937 • CONDITION: near mint • NIB: medium broad oblique semiflex • $200
15157: Parker Vacumatic Junior demonstrator: black pump-filler with transparency barrel, 12.15 cm long, gold filled trim, marked "DEMONSTRATOR/NOT FOR SALE". Sharp imprint with 4th quarter date code, nib slightly later with early 1936 date stamp. Some scratches to inside of barrel, fine transparency.
DATE: 1934 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $600
15707: Parker Duofold Juniorette Deluxe: black streamline button-filler, 11.6 cm long, gold filled trim, late production with 4th quarter date, clip without patent date, notable factory italic nib.
DATE: 1939 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: broad italic • $265
14205: Parker 65 Flighter: stainless steel cap and barrel, gold plated clip and end jewels, 13.45 cm long; uses cartridge or converter (included), made in England, not sold in the USA. Usual slight shrinkage and clutch marks on section.
DATE: c. 1970 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: extra-fine stub • $185
15752: Parker 75 Prince de Galles: rare variant with ribless end buttons, featherless arrow clip; gold plated, made in France, late section with gold plated trim ring, uncommon 14K French-made factory broad italic nib with feed marked "BI".
DATE: c. 1985 • CONDITION: near mint • NIB: broad italic • $450
15959: Pelikan 400: green striated piston-filler, black cap and filling knob, 12.6 cm long, gold filled trim, transparency like new, nib marked "M".
DATE: c. 1955 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: medium stub semiflex • $350
15847: Pelikan 400NN: green striated piston-filler, black cap and filling knob, 13.1 cm long, gold filled trim, barrel transparency excellent, clean imprints at end of barrel; OBB nib writes a bold wet line, opens for further width with pressure.
DATE: c. 1956 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: broad oblique semiflex • $320
15991: Postal Reservoir Pen: oversize bulb-filler, black with transparent barrel, 14.4 cm long, gold filled trim; unusual filling mechanism with large ink capacity, good quality of construction. Even wear, a good sound example and a nice writer with a semistub nib, writes fine with no pressure but with normal weight of hand opens just enough for italic line variation.
DATE: c. 1927 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $225
15736: Salz lever-filler: red chased hard rubber oversize flat-top with purple casein ends, 14.2 cm long, gold filled trim, generously sized Salz-imprinted nib has barely any tipping but is still a fine writer. Overall appearance is fine, but cap has tight hairline cracks at mouth and top (along with a scrape mark) none of which affects the pen's usability (see details).
DATE: c. 1925 • CONDITION: G* • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $165
15862: Security Giant: oversize mottled hard rubber self-filler, 14.7 cm long, gold filled trim, made by Greek immigrants Kritikson Brothers in Chicago; high quality with distinctive end knob actuated pressure bar filling system, check protector at top of cap (rotating blades were rolled over a signature, making any attempt at alteration immediately apparent since the ink would bleed along the cuts in the paper). Name on barrel, overall condition would be excellent with strong imprints and only slight fading but for a tiny nick in the cap lip and an almost invisible repair to the end of the barrel (sealed crack with new aluminum liner -- see details). Unusual factory italic nib but tipping material rough; fully usable but drags on rougher paper.
DATE: c. 1925 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: broad italic • $695
15979: Sheaffer Lifetime: oversized black chased hard rubber flat-top lever-filler, 13.6 cm long, gold filled trim, White Dot on cap top, rare factory italic nib. Hairline over lever pivot on one side does not affect function, stable cracks in cap lip (see details).
DATE: c. 1924 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: broad italic • $295
11211: Unic Duocolor: French-market version of Zerollo's famous two-nibbed fountain pen, boldly patterned red and black hard rubber, 13 cm long, gold filled trim, bold imprints with patent number and both Unic and Zerollo names, crisp knurling at cap top. Condition is like new, noting a tiny nick to the cap lip (see detail; very common on these pens). Unusually, the nibs are different in tip width, one being more calligraphic and the other more suitable for note-taking.
DATE: c. 1935 • CONDITION: near mint* • NIB: medium stub flex/fine semiflex • $5685
14921: Wahl Tempoint: early green gold filled lever-filler ringtop, 9.85 cm long, no Wahl marks on metal, only Boston Safety patent dates and "14 1/8"; crisp "Grecian Border" pattern, early Sheaffer-licensed sprung lever mechanism, #2 Tempoint nib; some loss of hard rubber liner at cap mouth, does not affect posting or function.
DATE: c. 1919 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: fine stub flex • $250
15230: Wahl Signature: smooth red hard rubber lever-filler, 13.95 cm long, gold filled trim, roller clip, notable Signature nib; no brassing, no sign of ever having been filled, some handling marks and what appears to be a manufacturing defect in the form of a tiny nick to the end of the barrel (see detail). An uncommon model, and especially rare in red hard rubber.
DATE: c. 1925 • CONDITION: exc-near mint • NIB: medium fine stub flex • $625
14043: Waterman 414: early black hard rubber eyedropper-filler with .999 fine silver filigree Art Nouveau overlay; 13.1 cm long, #4 nib is a notable writer, early imprint, stable base crack; imprints on the silver are clean and legible, hard rubber has been professionally chemically reblackened. #4-size fine silver overlays are much less common than #2-size.
DATE: c. 1903 • CONDITION: VG* • NIB: medium stub • $875
15906: Waterman 12 PSF: extremely early clipless black chased hard rubber lever-filler, 13.55 cm long, nickel plated trim, a rare example of one of the very first Waterman lever-fillers with a number of distinctive features, including the oval recess for the lever end, a sprung pressure bar assembled with a rivet and with a barrel-shaped anchor end, and a lever box stop consisting of a bent-over tab (discussed in this article). Lever-fillers marked "PSF" were made only from 1915 to mid-1917; of these, only a small number had sprung pressure bars and raised barrel threads; and of these, only a tiny fraction belong to the very first series with the features noted above, making them at least as rare as Waterman coin-fillers. Hard rubber is crisp and glossy with bold imprints and chasing, near mint but for repaired cracks in cap lip (see details).
DATE: 1915 • CONDITION: fine-exc* • NIB: medium fine stub semiflex • $385
8403: Waterman 14: black hard rubber eyedropper-filler with smooth sterling silver overlay and bloodstone cap top seal; 13.1 cm long, a rare but catalogued factory model most often found in France and England (a version appears on p. 53 of Waterman's 1908 USA catalog under "Special Mountings" as Emerald End Special Fluted, priced at $50 -- more than three times the cost of a full sterling silver Snake); London hallmarks are worn but mostly legible, one ding to the side of the cap, #4 nib with unusual turnup grind at tip; the smooth silver version of this pen is several times rarer than the fluted version in gold, which is itself quite hard to find.
DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: medium oblique • $1950
8907: Waterman 472: uncommon black hard rubber screw-cap eyedropper-filler with smooth sterling silver overlay; 13.1 cm long, London hallmarks, number at barrel end is simply "72" with no hundreds column digit, as is typical for English-market Watermans; 1925-dated presentation inscription, nice stub #2 nib has an incipient hairline from the vent hole, but should be stable if used without excessive writing pressure; even wear, light marks to metal, one tiny stress crack where barrel overlay crimped in place (see detail; for some reason these are extremely common in English-market Waterman overlays).
DATE: 1920 • CONDITION: VG* • NIB: medium italic flex • $485
15878: Waterman 52½V: black chased hard rubber ringtop lever-filler, 11.4 cm long, bright nickel plated trim, hard rubber black and glossy with crisp imprints and chasing; nib is a smooth and wet writer, opens easily for dramatic line width variation.
DATE: c. 1927 • CONDITION: exc-near mint • NIB: medium stub flex • $220
14935: Waterman 52½V: black hard rubber clipless vest pocket lever-filler, 11.1 cm long, seven-sided 9K solid gold London-hallmarked engine turned overlay with enamel-inlaid perpetual calendar. Initials "P.S" engraved on cap top, date letter for 1930/31. A very rare and characteristically English model in notably clean condition.
DATE: c. 1930 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: broad oblique • $2950
15930: Waterman Skywriter in box: black celluloid lever-filler, 12.75 cm long, nickel plated trim, Canadian-made subbrand model by Waterman's subsidiary Alco (Aikin Lambert Co.). Wartime pen, great nib but cap bands irregularly crimped, slight swelling of barrel over lever pivot. From the Hopkins collection, dispersed at Bonhams some thirty years ago. Hopkins was a British Army officer, meticulous about recording the circumstances of each purchase, retaining and annotating receipts, instructions, and boxes to an almost obsessive degree.
DATE: c. 1943 • CONDITION: fine-exc* • NIB: fine stub flex • $175
15025: Weidlich Star: black chased hard rubber ringtop lever-filler, 11 cm long, gold filled ringtop fitting may be an old addition, as lever is nickel; some fading including the shadow of a slip-on clip on the cap, chasing and imprints good, high quality Weidlich #2 nib writes a nicely shaded line.
DATE: c. 1926 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $120
15143: unmarked eyedropper-filler: black hard rubber slip-cap, 13.6 cm long, gold filled Art Nouveau filigree overlay has not a trace of brassing (was sold to us as tested as 14K, but more likely top quality very thick gold laminate). Closely resembles a Waterman, similar quality but parts do not interchange. #2 warranted nib is a notable writer, only slightest fading to hard rubber.
DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: medium stub flex • $425
