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The dating of quill knives and erasers is necessarily approximate, as the same basic forms often remained in production through much of the 19th century -- and in some cases, even into the 20th. The heyday of the quill was over by the middle of century, however, so most old quill cutting tools found are now over 150 years old.
14303: Butler quill knife: made in England, 16.1 cm long, well-marked on wood handle including government Stationery Office stamp, tip of blade chipped.
DATE: c. 1860 • CONDITION: VG* • $65
14310: Manual Tool Co. quill knife: Sheffield-made, 17.1 cm long, well-marked on blocky wooden handle with queen's crown and "S.O." (Stationery Office) above "45-12", with maker's name; half of original case present, blade sound with some minor edge nicks at the heel.
DATE: c. 1860 • CONDITION: VG • $75
14304: Rodgers quill knife: 16.3 cm long, blade marked "CUTLERS/TO HIS/MAJESTY" and "SHEFFIELD/ENGLAND" at the heel, "SIMPLEX" on flat; with home-made wooden blade cover.
DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: exc • $95
14305: unmarked quill knife: folder, 10.9 cm long closed, 15.4 cm open, characteristically French, wooden handle with nickel silver fittings, name lightly scratched onto sides (not readily visible without raking light). Blade snaps open and closed, but only quite loosely, with sideways play as well.
DATE: c. 1840 • CONDITION: G • $120
14306: unmarked quill knife: slide-action, 11.6 cm long retracted, 16.1 cm extended, French manufacture, some damage to the handle but mechanically sound with a sharp and well-shaped blade.
DATE: c. 1850 • CONDITION: G* • $120
14302: unmarked ink eraser: 13.4 cm long, wood handle with fishtail end, double-edged spearhead blade.
DATE: c. 1870 • CONDITION: G • $45
14309: unmarked quill knife: light flat wooden handle, 17 cm long, sharp thin flat-ground blade, small chip from tip, handle marked "P.L.M", also small chip at end.
DATE: c. 1870 • CONDITION: fine* • $
14301: E. R. Oettinger & Co. dip pen: red hard rubber holder of unusual stubby form, 9.8 cm long excluding steel nib; imported from Germany for the US market, clean imprints and ribbing, one half of the nib holder plug is missing, does not affect function.
DATE: c. 1900 • CONDITION: fine* • $50
14313: Eagle Capitol: mottled hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.8 cm long, original gold-filled imprint for W. H. Sample & Sons, a prominent Albany, New York cutlery and sporting goods firm. Very clean with excellent color, a small rough spot on the cap lip (see detail).
DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: fine stub flex • $195
14314: Parker 16 Jack-Knife Safety: gold filled filigree over black hard rubber ringtop button-filler, 11.9 cm long, later production example, barrel is black celluloid and is likely an old replacement (the imprint shows under the barrel overlay); Lucky Curve feed is intact, #2 Lucky Curve nib is long-tined and a smooth writer with moderate flexibility.
DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: VG-fine* • NIB: medium flex • $325
14312: Parker button-filler: black celluloid "Black Line" flat-top, uncommon thick stubby model, 11.65 cm long, gold filled trim, hard rubber ends, Lucky Curve imprint and P5X nib, spearhead feed with intact Lucky Curve.
DATE: c. 1929 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: medium flex • $265
14299: Parker Vacumatic: slender silver pearl laminate Deluxe, 11.75 cm long, chrome plated trim, lockdown filler unit, imprint without date code, early Vacuum-Filler style construction with one-piece opaque barrel, no separate section, skewed laminations; two-tone Arrow nib is a slightly later replacement, two-way tip writes a smooth extra-fine inverted. Shallow tool marks to section, short sealed hairline in cap lip.
DATE: c. 1933 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: medium fine/extra-fine • $265
14297: Parker Vacumatic Junior pencil: grey pearl and black marbled, 11.9 cm long, chrome plated trim; good imprint with 2nd quarter date code, one area of brownish staining on barrel, uses 1.1 mm lead.
DATE: 1936 • CONDITION: fine • $80
14293: Salz (?) Peter Pan: black hard rubber miniature ringtop eyedropper-filler, 6.4 cm long, white casein cap crown, with contemporary suspension ribbon. Unmarked, but identical to pens sold by Salz, Aikin Lambert, and others. A few fleabites to the cap lip, cap posts loosely. A great conversation piece, functional if not practical.
DATE: c. 1920 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: fine stub semiflex • $65
14294: Sheaffer Triumph Signature pencil: black with wartime gold filled over silver trim, wide 14K solid gold barrel band, 12.5 cm long, uses .9 mm lead.
DATE: c. 1944 • CONDITION: fine • $105
14295: Sheaffer Triumph Signature pencil: black with wartime gold filled over silver trim, wide 14K solid gold barrel band, 12.65 cm long, uses .9 mm lead; barrel band has been engraved with monogram "A. E. M.", has a couple of pinprick dings.
DATE: c. 1944 • CONDITION: fine • $95
14292: Waterman 12: mottled hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.6 cm long, two-line barrel imprint with 1884 patent dates, pre-1903 Spoon Feed patent imprint, 1898 patent imprint on cap. All imprints strong, slight even dulling to hard rubber surfaces.
DATE: c. 1902 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: medium fine flex • $285
14298: Waterman 12: mottled hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.5 cm long, nickel silver clip with 1905 and 1910 patent dates, three-line barrel imprint, imprints on feed. Long-tined New York #2 nib opens up with light pressure but is rather draggy on paper, tines slightly wavy from restraightening. Unusual and striking hard rubber coloration with considerable red, black ends, and a very dark section.
DATE: c. 1912 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: fine flex • $275
14296: Waterman 12: unusual woodgrain hard rubber slip-cap eyedropper-filler, 13.6 cm long, unmarked and likely a second that somehow made its way out of the factory, inasmuch as there are a few shallow pits on the side of the butt end of the barrel (see details). Waterman switched from mottled to woodgrain patterning only after the heyday of eyedropper-fillers, so woodgrain examples such as this are quite uncommon. The flat ends are also indicative of late production.
DATE: c. 1925 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: extra-fine stub semiflex • SOLD
14319: unmarked dip pen: long and slender faded black hard rubber holder, 16.2 cm long excluding plated steel nib.
DATE: c. 1880 • CONDITION: VG-fine • $45
14311: unmarked dip pen: long and slender mottled hard rubber holder with pronounced end flange, 17 cm long excluding steel nib.
DATE: c. 1890 • CONDITION: exc • SOLD
14307: unmarked crescent-filler: glass-nibbed, bamboo construction with black celluloid trim and lock ring, 14.25 cm long, crescent plating rough, marked "MADE IN JAPAN"; this sort of pen was widely but not exclusively distributed in the USA by the Spors mail-order company.
DATE: c. 1936 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: extra-fine • SOLD
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