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Thread: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

  1. #21
    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?



    Meant to add this oddity as well. I realized how poor of condition the original pen body was in after receiving it and one of the tines had lost its tipping material. However, I have never seen another reference to the Kendrick Bellamy company anywhere else. The best reference I can find is that Kenrick Bellamy was once a book seller in Denver Colorado. From what I could find, it was apparently a rather large company as well, supplying books and goods to many on the western frontier.

    A shame about the nib. It's a beautifully flexible nib, but that missing tipping, plus the fineness of the gold, means that unless I want to fork out more than the value of the nib or pen to get it repaired, it will have to go on unusable for now.

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    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by AzJon View Post
    A shame about the nib. It's a beautifully flexible nib, but that missing tipping, plus the fineness of the gold, means that unless I want to fork out more than the value of the nib or pen to get it repaired, it will have to go on unusable for now.
    Jon, even though you just have to keep it as part of your collection, I think you have done this nib a good service. Thanks to you now it has a bit more exposure. Not until we see these obscure brands that we realized how much ingrained in societies all over the world fountain pens were in the past. And to me, it's endlessly fascinating.

    Putting my restorer/geek hat on, that nib looks awfully like an old Conklin Toledo nib. Something about its proportion seems familiar to me.
    - Will
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Let's expand our repertoire of FP lore/knowledge together.

    Either vintage or modern pens, from time to time you'd hear about (or bought from ebay) a brand so obscure that you wonder if anyone else know about it. Share and tell us what you know (or don't know) about it. Not limited to one, of course, the more the merrier.

    PS: Bonus point if you actually have the pen and can share a picture of it.
    To be fair, outside of our little enclave, i'd reckon that the majority of people only know one or two of the most well known pen brands...

  5. #24
    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by AzJon View Post
    A shame about the nib. It's a beautifully flexible nib, but that missing tipping, plus the fineness of the gold, means that unless I want to fork out more than the value of the nib or pen to get it repaired, it will have to go on unusable for now.
    Jon, even though you just have to keep it as part of your collection, I think you have done this nib a good service. Thanks to you now it has a bit more exposure. Not until we see these obscure brands that we realized how much ingrained in societies all over the world fountain pens were in the past. And to me, it's endlessly fascinating.

    Putting my restorer/geek hat on, that nib looks awfully like an old Conklin Toledo nib. Something about its proportion seems familiar to me.
    Hmmm...Interesting. Now that you mention it, it does look like a Conklin nib. I wonder if, at a time, Conklin might have produced nibs as a specialty sub-brand run for the Kendrick Bellamy book shop?

    Now I want to find a Conklin to see if I can fit the nib into it. That would be compelling to get the nib retipped.

    Edit: This was the original pen body that the nib came from:

    Last edited by AzJon; July 27th, 2018 at 11:09 AM.

  6. #25
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by SIR View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Let's expand our repertoire of FP lore/knowledge together.

    Either vintage or modern pens, from time to time you'd hear about (or bought from ebay) a brand so obscure that you wonder if anyone else know about it. Share and tell us what you know (or don't know) about it. Not limited to one, of course, the more the merrier.

    PS: Bonus point if you actually have the pen and can share a picture of it.
    To be fair, outside of our little enclave, i'd reckon that the majority of people only know one or two of the most well known pen brands...
    But... we are inside of our enclave here at the FPGeeks, aren't we?

    I agree that no one who is not into FP writing or collecting would even give a hoot about obscure brands, but it seems that this thread has grown into a very educational one. At least for me.
    - Will
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    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by SIR View Post

    To be fair, outside of our little enclave, i'd reckon that the majority of people only know one or two of the most well known pen brands...
    But... we are inside of our enclave here at the FPGeeks, aren't we?

    I agree that no one who is not into FP writing or collecting would even give a hoot about obscure brands, but it seems that this thread has grown into a very educational one. At least for me.
    Oh, no doubt... and i don't disagree with asking the question; but as Jon observed obscurity is very relative and beyond a certain threshold there are many equals in the field of gross obscurity.

    Another question though, which is the most obscure pen - from both well known and obscure makers?

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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Obscure French brands: Matcher Colombes, Stylochap (goes with Oldchap, but I'm never sure if they are the same company or not).

    Brands from God knows where: Talisman, Acorn.

    All four are 1930s / 1940s. I'd love to know more about them if anyone has any ideas!

  11. #28
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    I am really enjoying this thread. Some great and interesting pens I would never have seen otherwise.
    Regards,
    Deb
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  13. #29
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by amk View Post
    Obscure French brands: Matcher Colombes, Stylochap (goes with Oldchap, but I'm never sure if they are the same company or not).

    Brands from God knows where: Talisman, Acorn.

    All four are 1930s / 1940s. I'd love to know more about them if anyone has any ideas!
    I may have encountered a Stylochap, but not the other three.

    Never heard of Acorn or Talisman, sounds like British pen brands, doesn't it?
    - Will
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Acorn pens and stylos were made by Jewel in London. I think the Talisman is Continental, maybe French. It's a quality piston filler, or at least the ones I've seen are.
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  16. #31
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Is there any way to directly upload an image without using a hosting site? I have pictures of The Wembley pen to post. This obscure little number was already way out of date and obsolete when it came on to the market. It is a slender BCHR eye dropper pen.

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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scrawler View Post
    Is there any way to directly upload an image without using a hosting site? I have pictures of The Wembley pen to post. This obscure little number was already way out of date and obsolete when it came on to the market. It is a slender BCHR eye dropper pen.
    Go to the advanced editor for uploading options. If you use the quick reply, hosting links are the only option. Use the manage attachments option under the "Additional Options" box that is below your reply box. Click "Add Files." When you see your image in the catalog. Drag the image you want to the lower attachments box. Click the insert Inline button at the bottom of the dialog box and you will see your picture files listed under the Manage Attachments button in your reply page.
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    wembley_2.JPG

    This is the Wembley Pen. This was the cheap Bic of its age and like Bic pens most were just thrown away so very few survived to be seen by modern people. These sold for one shilling when an Onoto cost 30 shillings.

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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    This may step a little outside of the thread title if for no other reason that it's an example where the brand isn't just obscure but unknown! I've posted this set before, but I'm sure a lot of people have found pens from the golden eras that didn't have any branding or provenance, and this set is like that. Absolutely no markings anywhere that would indicate original manufacture, in spite of the fact that it is moderately high quality and a nice material. I may have show this here on FPG before; I got some good info in a now-defunct Facebook group and not certain if I can ever find it again, but it is a set worth including.

    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    That is an absolutely gorgeous set! Just beautiful.
    Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Jon, that looks very similar to a celluloid used by Bayard in France. One of my favourite patterns! It's the thin white line that really makes it ping.

    One day I must get round to doing a celluloid/brand matching exercise and trying to work out which factories were supplying which brands.

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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Deb, thanks for the info on Acorn - I picked the pen up in France, like the Talisman, so either they exported, or someone bought it on a trip to London.

  26. #38
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scrawler View Post
    wembley_2.JPG

    This is the Wembley Pen. This was the cheap Bic of its age and like Bic pens most were just thrown away so very few survived to be seen by modern people. These sold for one shilling when an Onoto cost 30 shillings.
    That is cool that you have a survivor in such a good condition.
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  27. #39
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    This may step a little outside of the thread title if for no other reason that it's an example where the brand isn't just obscure but unknown! I've posted this set before, but I'm sure a lot of people have found pens from the golden eras that didn't have any branding or provenance, and this set is like that. Absolutely no markings anywhere that would indicate original manufacture, in spite of the fact that it is moderately high quality and a nice material. I may have show this here on FPG before; I got some good info in a now-defunct Facebook group and not certain if I can ever find it again, but it is a set worth including.

    That is quite ... electric!
    - Will
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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is the most obscure FP brand that you can think of?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    ...Absolutely no markings anywhere that would indicate original manufacture, in spite of the fact that it is moderately high quality and a nice material....
    Jon, I know for a fact that's a Szant-O-Matic pen and pencil set. Only two sets were made before the California company failed due to a mixup in celluloid ingredients causing the other set to spontaneously combust, in turn resulting in a fire that burned half the town to the ground. How's your set doing?

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