PDA

View Full Version : 1930s Wahl Desk Set. Happy David.



david i
October 31st, 2014, 04:22 PM
Just picked up this one. Happy Happy David. You know why, right? :)


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/wahl_flamingo_deskpen950a.jpg



regards

-david

Amberjack
November 5th, 2014, 04:03 PM
Wow. Now why did we ever move on from Art Deco?

congrats!

Jeph
November 6th, 2014, 12:07 AM
It looks like nobody knows why, or at least won't say. I have no idea but I do very much like the coloring on the barrel.

david i
November 6th, 2014, 03:45 AM
Hi,

The pen might be up to a decade older than the base (or at least the Trumpet) though some aspects of info are scarce.

To address Jeph, yeah the particularly charming key feature from the collecting standpoint is that the color is Flamingo, named presumably for the flower, not the bird.

Wahl-Eversharp was a manufacturer of very high quality pens. It is considered one of the Big 5 Pen makers from the 1920-1950 "Golden Age" for American FPs. In fact I just contributed an article to the brand new Fountain Pen Journal (link to the mag in my signature space below) about collecting Wahl's 1930--2 Equi-Poised pen.

With overlap, Wahl progressed from the classic "Flat Top" pen to the streamlined Equi-Poised to Dorice to Skyline, etc. In fact Syd Saperstein's reincarnated Wahl-Eversharp company (you can see his posts in this forum) is offering pens initially based on Skyline.

Flamingo was an interesting color from the collecting standpoint.

It is uncommon among all Wahls.

It was catalogued for the 1932 slender series of 2nd tier (still great pens) Equi-Poised. 4 Variants.

It was not catalogued for Flat-end pens. I'm not sure offhand if desk pens showed in this color in catalogues, though I suspect not.

Though catalogues for lower price point Wahl-Oxford pens are scant, none has shown an Oxford in Flamingo.

But, Flamingo pens are known not only (though still scarce) in slender Equi-Poised form, but also as Flat-Tops, Desk Pen and Oxford.

With the caveat that I of course do not know every pen in every private collection-- though my crazy level of involvement in buy/sell/collect and in photographing pen collections at pen shows and at homes has given me hefty exposure-- I doubt I've seen more than 3-4 Flamingo Wahl Desk Pens. Syd has one. I'm not sure about Luiz. Cliff probably has had one. Lynn has a gem for sale now that has a matching Flamingo taper.

Besides my attempt to collect Parker's Vacumatic in competist fashion, I have many mini/focused pen collections.

One such collection is of Flamingo Wahls. I note too that no other company has been found to have used that color.

Flamingo pens make knowledgeable collectors take a second peek.

After 12 years or so hunting that color, I have put together a collection of about ten pieces. Syd and Cliff probably have had as many. Luiz is running close. Lynn Brandt had a nice collection which he might be liquidating. It might have been Lynn who first introduced me to the color, at the Ohio Pen Show probably 2001-2002. I don't know anyone else with a hefty collection of Flamingo Wahls. I don't buy every last specimen I see (There are price limits. I do lose auctions. Etc), but I've bought nearly all that give me a fresh variant (new size, shape, trim, etc). I've been to 100 pen shows. I buy and sell collections. I hunt these. In 12 years I've managed to get examples of about 10 variants. Scarce.


I will offer a link to a 2 page thread at my own board next door, covering a great deal about this color:

Link- FPnuts/Fountain-Pen-Board Flamingo 2 page Discussion-Link (http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/index.php?/topic/4329-flamingooooooooooooooo-wahls-in-flamingo-celluloid/)


And, I'll offer a shot here of my own collection-- yes, "show and brag" as Allan Hirsch says-- likely one of the top 3-5 collections of this tough color. Since shooting this I've added the desk pen in the OP and one other funky variant.


Happy to answer questions.


http://vacumania.com/penteech2/intro_wahl_flamingo1804sm.jpg

regards

David

chojo
November 6th, 2014, 07:02 AM
Wow, to me it would just be a very nice pen, kudos on your knowledge David.