Fountain Pen Eye Candy: Davey's Pen Haul from the LA Pen Show 2015

[david i]

Some fresh fountain pen eye candy.

My haul from the Los Angeles Pen Show 2015. Big old Parkers. Big old Sheaffers. Modern MB 149. Waterman Edson FP. Parker Duofold Greenwich and True Blue. Bunch o' funky Pelikans from Luiz Oliveira Leite. Bakelite Parker Lucky Curve. Steller Parker 24 1/2. Sheaffer Balance Demo. Zaner-Bloser Parker with glorious Lapis color, at last and after years of hunting. Also at last and after years of hunting, a superb Conklin Zebra (nearmint, stickered) at a good price. Couple Gold Bonds (Montgomery Ward store brand) for my collection. Parker Vac Slender Maxima apparently with prototype nib. More.

I've discussed some of these pens under different threads and perhaps will add those images later

Great show.


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/LApenshow2015_spread1200a.jpg

regards

-d

[tandaina]

Oh that torti Pelikan...

[Crazyorange]

What pen is the blue barrel with yellow end caps?

[k5MOW]

Wow very cool!!!!

Roger

[david i]

What pen is the blue barrel with yellow end caps?

The brand is Gold Bond, noting there was no such thing as a Gold Bond manufacturer. The brand belonged to the catalogue/chain Montgomery Ward. Pens were made for it during this era by National/Barrett. This style (basically a "flat top" with decorative knurling and presumably lathed lines at ends) dates to 1931-1932. I wrote an article or two about GB pens couple years ago. One day I will finish the series. GB pens also were made during later years by LE Waterman and by Wahl-Eversharp.

Here is a shot of my GB pen collection as of a few months ago (I've added a couple since).


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/goldbond_64pens800a.jpg


regards

David

[manoeuver]

helluva haul!

you going to the Baltimore show David?

[david i]

helluva haul!

you going to the Baltimore show David?

Hi,

I fear I won't be able to attend. Bert puts on a nice show, so you should have a good time. I have trimmed from 10 to 5-7 shows per year. I cannot keep trading shifts at hospital to cover more. As I have some unexpected vacation time pending, I will be able to attend the Long Island show though.

regards

david

[Crazyorange]

How common are the the blue/yellow gold bond pens? Are their nibs good?
Thanks for the info.

[david i]

How common are the the blue/yellow gold bond pens? Are their nibs good?
Thanks for the info.

For the pure flat-tops (pre-1931) and perhaps into the modified flat-tops seen 1931-2, the nibs tend to be of appropriate size for the pens, consistent with nib sizes seen from the major brands, perhaps a smidge smaller in some cases. I have not checked for thickness/weight or for length of the tail that hides within the gripping section. Money might have been saved there. These pens did undercut the prices in the 1930s of similar pens by the big boys. The pens tend to make quite nice writers.

The pens all told are well less often seen than similar-era Parker/Sheaffer, but also the collecting base for these is well smaller. They do turn up. Impressive ones such as the large Hercules in bright colors turn up but occasionally. I would guess that a big Coral, Mottled Blue, Woodgrain each shows up a couple times per year at most on ebay. Pen shows are a good source for the various National/Barrett-made pens.

One could spend a collecting lifetime leisurely assembling a nice collection of these. The big ones when crisp can cost a couple-few hundred, but generally cost less than colorful large pens done by the Big Five.


regards

david

[david i]

One of the gems from the LA Pen Show. I searched for years to find a nice one at reasonable cost. A late 1920's Parker in Lapis Blue Celluloid made for the Zaner-Bloser writing school. The pinched barrel is proper. The pen as expected lacks the barrel "Parker" imprint seen with Parkers,proper, but has the Parker-for-ZB markings on the cap. A special pen. Superb color preservation.


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/parker_zanerbloser_lapis950a.jpg

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/parker_zanerbloser_lapis950b.jpg

regards

d

[Crazyorange]

Does the barrel curve fit nice in the hand? Sort of looks uncomfortable.

[david i]

Does the barrel curve fit nice in the hand? Sort of looks uncomfortable.

That would require using the pen, or mimicking use. With 5000 old pens and a rotation that sees perhaps 5-10 per year used, it might take awhile to get there ;) That said, ZB has offered curved-barrel pens for generations, with some popularity. The long gripping section (not normal for a Parker, proper) tends to be forgiving to the fingers, and curved barrels do rest nicely in the hand. I have some modern wooden craft pens with such curves, and they have a good feel.

regards

d

[david i]

Another rarity finally found on ebay actually but around the time of the LA Show, for my personal collection. Sheaffer mid 1930s Balance oversized Demonstrator. I've handled, oh, a dozen or so over the years, but never managed to find one at the right condition/price for my own collection.


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/sheafferbalance_demonstrator_yellowOS950a.jpg

regards

-d

[david i]

An interesting pen. Mid 1930s Wahl-made, usually sold as Wahl-Oxford, this one rebadged to sell as Monitor. Bulb filler. I don't know if anyone has identified which store owned the Monitor label. Could it have been a nationally distributed Wahl sub-brand rather than made-by-Wahl for a store?

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/monitor_green_oxfordlike950a.jpg

regards

-d

[Jon Szanto]

Another interesting thing is that exact combination of celluloids (marble caps, swirled barrel (for lack of better descriptions)) shows up on Bantams, as well.

[david i]

The spiral offers an alternative to a simple bland hunk of ink-view window, as is found with some Sheaffer sub-brands from the era.

[david i]

Then there was the Sheaffer flat-top in Black-and-Pearl Celluloid, with the best preserved color I've seen.

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/sheaffer_flattop_blackandpearl_superb950a.jpg

-d

[reprieve]

Wow, that Black and Pearl Flat-top is amazing.

[sgtstretch]

I love that black & pearl color!

[Scrawler]

In the first picture, upper right quadrant, the green pen 6th from the right, is that a 1927 Aikin Lambert "Commercial"?

[david i]

In the first picture, upper right quadrant, the green pen 6th from the right, is that a 1927 Aikin Lambert "Commercial"?

Sheaffer flat-top. Late production piece. Killer color.

As to AL, do you mean "Mercantile"?

Here's one of those. I've had a couple over the years.

http://vacumania.com/websitesalespics/pen2888lg.jpg

regards

d

[Scrawler]

In the first picture, upper right quadrant, the green pen 6th from the right, is that a 1927 Aikin Lambert "Commercial"?

Sheaffer flat-top. Late production piece. Killer color.

As to AL, do you mean "Mercantile"?

Here's one of those. I've had a couple over the years.

http://vacumania.com/websitesalespics/pen2888lg.jpg

regards

d
Yes, sorry, I meant Mercantile. Thanks for the close up. I am particularly fond of green/jade flat top pens.

[Scrawler]

This is my AL Mercantile. I find the springy stubbish nib to be a bit too smooth to use regularly.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/FPWriter/aikin_lambert_1927_zpslxrvwfzd.jpg

[david i]

Another one found at the pen show, a pen I've tried for years to find in nice shape and at good price. This one is the Conklin "Zebra", a sub-Endura line pen from the late 1920's, kin to the better known "Halloween". This one is near mint with price sticker at top of cap

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/conklin_zebra950b.jpg

regards

david

[david i]

The better known Conklin sibling, the "Halloween" pen.

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/conklin_halloweenset950a.jpg

regards

d