Aikin Lambert Capitole Cabinet

[migo984]

Just arrived, a vintage Aikin Lambert Capitole Cabinet in an attractive brown & gold celluloid, with a really great 18k Capitole nib. It has a heart-shaped breather hole. It's a slightly unusual nib; it writes on the fine side, with perhaps a hint of an italic edge. The nib is marked "18KT Capitole, U.S. America" and is original to the pen. Later nibs were marked A.L.Co. It makes that wonderful "scratchy" noise on paper that I associate with good antique nibs. Despite the noise it writes smoothly, and the ink flow is great. I love the feedback it gives.

The pen appears to have had very little previous use.

Aikin Lambert were originally a jewellery maker, founded in 1864 and based in New York. After diversifying into gold dip pens to meet demand after the American Civil War, they went on to make fountain pens, and to supply very high quality gold nibs to Wirt & L.E. Waterman, in the latter part of the 19thC and early 20thC. Waterman eventually absorbed the company around 1915, but continued to make some of the Aikin Lambert pen models. I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong), that these pens eventually evolved, through several iterations, into the 1930s - 40s Skylines.

[Lady Onogaro]

That's a gorgeous pen, Migo. What kind of length does the pen have? Is it a "lady's" pen?

[migo984]

That's a gorgeous pen, Migo. What kind of length does the pen have? Is it a "lady's" pen?

Hi LO,

No, it's not specifically a lady's pen but it is reasonably slender.

Capped it's 12.8 cm

Uncapped it's 11.8cm

The barrel is 10.7mm at widest points; the section is 8mm at the narrowest point.

I shall post a further photo soon, showing the Aikin Lambert alongside a Parker 45 and a Pelikan M400, for comparison.

[migo984]

Added to enable size comparisons; the Aikin Lambert alongside a Parker 45 and a Pelikan M400.

[Jon Szanto]

Handsome pen, congrats!

[Crazyorange]

Wow! Beautiful. Moving away from black pens. Need some orange ink.

[Lady Onogaro]

Added to enable size comparisons; the Aikin Lambert alongside a Parker 45 and a Pelikan M400.

Thank you for the comparison, Migo. I have a much better picture of it now.