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

[Kismet]

Sassy. Don't you worry, Jon, I got you.

[Jon Szanto]

Okay... following on the heels of a spam message? Can't tell. Anyway, I've got a pen inbound so I'm posting sales photos. I originally thought to put it in the "what are you waiting for" thread but I like this old thread of Will's so here you go.

Who's up for a Packard? It popped up the other night when I pulled up ebay and the design and condition of the pen just shouted to me "HIT THAT BIN BUTTON!" So I did. Nib is not in good shape but it seems generic and I'll have a replacement, but for a lower pen, this one looks pretty cool.

[Roe D Hym]

I do not have any old or obscure pens so I cannot really post anything. I could go through one or more of Richard Binder's book to find an obscure pen but I think the pen in this photo might be the most obscure of them all--assuming it is not his Montblanc.

By the way, nice pens everyone who posted.

I would assume that if the brand name was revealed The Rocket Man might employ one of his better known "silencer" methods to make sure the brand name did not get circulated.kju pen.jpg

[penwash]

Okay... following on the heels of a spam message? Can't tell. Anyway, I've got a pen inbound so I'm posting sales photos. I originally thought to put it in the "what are you waiting for" thread but I like this old thread of Will's so here you go.

Who's up for a Packard? It popped up the other night when I pulled up ebay and the design and condition of the pen just shouted to me "HIT THAT BIN BUTTON!" So I did. Nib is not in good shape but it seems generic and I'll have a replacement, but for a lower pen, this one looks pretty cool.

That's a nice score, Jon. I really like the clip and the cap band. Packard pens usually are not that nice.

Looks like a typical 5 inches when capped I presume?

[Jon Szanto]

That's a nice score, Jon. I really like the clip and the cap band. Packard pens usually are not that nice.

Indeed, hence my surprise. Lots and lots of combo pen/pencils, too.

Looks like a typical 5 inches when capped I presume?

Boy, you are good.

Packard_02.jpg

[FredRydr]

...I really like the clip and the cap band. Packard pens usually are not that nice....

Not to mention condition of the black and pearl celluloid. Oh, I yearn for that quality in a '29 long oversize Balance.

[penwash]

Alright, to keep the ball rolling...

A tall and slender banker. New Banker that is.

Typically you see this brand on combo pen and pencil or awkward-looking conical-tipped pens.

I have been paying attention to this brand for a while because, well, I like obscure branded pens.

Then this guy showed up, look at that nice trims and flat top with black bands in strategic places that makes the pen resemble a Waterman Patrician at a glance. The framed lever adds to the resemblance, while the lever does not look like Waterman's it does look like high-end Eclipse pens.



The original nib was steel, and completely hopeless. All it's good for is to be an example of why 14K nibs are far, far superior against the ravages of time.

So I upgraded the nib with a deliciously flexy Eversharp 14K nib.

[Jon Szanto]

Veeery nicely done, Will. That nib looks superb with that pen and the entire package - at least visually - punches above it's pay grade.

The "Packard" pen came in and I'll take a shot or two after I put a new nib in. Here's the really odd part: absolutely ZERO identification on the pen. I have no idea if the seller actually knew this model or just took a guess. At the moment, it is only allegedly a Packard. When I take that photo, I'll do another pen or two to keep things moving.

[eachan]

Here's the Jock Pen, a real rarity from times gone by. It’s a black hard rubber pen with engine chasing, made in the 1920s. It resembles the Mabie Todd Blackbird of the same period, but with a smaller, warranted 14 ct nib. It is in good condition apart from considerable fading. I considered waiting for a better example to write about but it's just as well I didn't; I had this pen four years ago and I haven't seen another since.



As you might guess, this is a pen with a Scottish connection. I can’t tell who made it, but it was made for William Ritchie & Sons, a wholesale stationer with outlets in Edinburgh and Glasgow. They also sold a range of stylos: the Elderslie, the Bantam and the Accipol, as well as the Floeesie Valveless fountain pen*.



William Ritchie & Sons was a well established company, going back to 1892. Like many other stationers, they added photography to their products, bringing out postcards of Scottish scenes and eventually getting into publishing, producing ‘Picturesque and Romantic Edinburgh’, a book I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on.



They’re no longer around. Though I can’t find an exact date I think they closed down soon after World War II. The Jock Pen is a fine memento of this company and I would love to find a Floeesie Valveless pen. It sounds very interesting.

*Stephen Hull: The English Fountain Pen Industry 1875-1975

[FredRydr]

...Here's the Jock Pen...with a smaller, warranted 14 ct nib....

Was that Warranted nib manufactured in the UK or imported? Warranted nibs were originally installed in pens widely sold by several American pen companies.

[eachan]

...Here's the Jock Pen...with a smaller, warranted 14 ct nib....

Was that Warranted nib manufactured in the UK or imported? Warranted nibs were originally installed in pens widely sold by several American pen companies.

Same here, Fred. At the time that The Jock was made, those pen manufacturers which had nib-making capacity supplied smaller companies with warranted 14 carat nibs. These vary in quality like named nibs, some being very good indeed.

[Seattleite]

...Here's the Jock Pen...with a smaller, warranted 14 ct nib....

Was that Warranted nib manufactured in the UK or imported? Warranted nibs were originally installed in pens widely sold by several American pen companies.

Same here, Fred. At the time that The Jock was made, those pen manufacturers which had nib-making capacity supplied smaller companies with warranted 14 carat nibs. These vary in quality like named nibs, some being very good indeed.

In the States, our Warranted nibs mostly used "K" for gold purity. The "Ct" and "1st QUALITY" seem mostly to appear on English and some European pens.

Some US pen companies probably made their own warranted nibs along side their branded nibs for marketing purposes. Sheaffer, for example, put warranted nibs in it's economy "Craig" line of pens, with the higher line "Sheaffer" pens having company-marked nibs. I think that Wahl also did this with some of their sub-brands, like Olympic, where the warranted nibs have a distinctive flourish between the lines of text, which identifies them as a Wahl product. Even Montblanc used a Warranted nib with unique graphics in its entry-level 32x button fill pens of the 1930's. I don't know if MB was making its own nibs at this time, but the choice to mark the lower line in a generic fashion was no-doubt done to "elevate" the higher price point offerings.

Bob

[FredRydr]

You mean, "Warranted" was simply a generic name coined by pen companies used on some of their nibs?

I've been under the impression that Warranted nibs were the product of a nib manufacturer that produced nibs under that trade name, "Warranted," and sold them to companies that produced lesser-tier pens. I've never researched the issue, so I've basked in my ignorance all these years.

I've had some great pens with those nibs, such as a No. 8 Warranted nib in a huge faceted lever-filler in red and black mottled hard rubber and dual jewels in gold from the Bay State Pen Company.

[penwash]

You mean, "Warranted" was simply a generic name coined by pen companies used on some of their nibs?

I've been under the impression that Warranted nibs were the product of a nib manufacturer that produced nibs under that trade name, "Warranted," and sold them to companies that produced lesser-tier pens. I've never researched the issue, so I've basked in my ignorance all these years.

I've had some great pens with those nibs, such as a No. 8 Warranted nib in a huge faceted lever-filler in red and black mottled hard rubber and dual jewels in gold from the Bay State Pen Company.

When a Wahl-Eversharp collector came to our pen club and presented about the history of that brand. I asked him whether they produced Warranted nibs, and the answer is "yes".

Wahl engraved some of their nibs with "Warranted" to be used for repairs, replacements, etc. Not sure if they are also selling these "Warranted" nibs to other companies, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

If Wahl-Eversharp did this, it is not too big of a leap if we assume that the other nib manufacturers at that time (Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer, Moore, etc.) were also doing it. Of course until someone publish a found record that secure this assumption, all we can do is guess, but quite reasonably.

This assumption is corroborated in a way by our experience with some of these "Warranted" nibs. As Eachan pointed out, some of them are *very* good, and the quality variation resemble that of those brand-name ones.

[Jon Szanto]

MASTER LIST: Obscure Pens
Please note that pens obscure in one region/market may be more known in another.
Updated: March 28, 2022 - Post #284 contained last cataloged entry.

This post collates all of the obscure pen brands either shown or mentioned within the thread, in alphabetical order. I chose alphabetical rather than order of appearance simply to make it easy to see if a brand has already been included before you write up a post. Will and I will keep it periodically updated, likely after at least one new page of posts. A pen brand common to one area may be rare or obscure elsewhere, and it is the unusual pens we individually find or are made aware of that we celebrate.

Now go out and buy some obsure pens!

Acorn
Altura
Ambassador
Artus
Biltwell
Brause
Brecon
Camel
Cascade
Celtric
Centropen
Clio Skribent
Corona
Croxley
Dixie
Edel
Elster
Empress
England
Epenco
Essex
Evans
Federal
Gate City
Golden Queen
Golsil
Greif
Grieshaber
Hardtmuth
Haro
Harris
Inidian
Inkograph
Jock
LUS
Lalex
Le Merle Blanc
Liberty
Lifelong
Lincoln
Lindauer
Macniven & Cameron
Majestic
Marxton
Matcher Colombes
Mercedes
Mico
Morrell's
National Pen Products
New Banker
Newport
Ocean
Old Chap
Ora-Pen
Packard
Pento
Perry & Co.
Progress
Rex
Remington
Sliver Arrow
St. George
Standard
Standard AWB
Steiner
Stephen's
Stylochap
Stylos
Summit
Ta Tung
Talisman
Texas FPC
T. H. Payne Co.
The Veteran
Thompson
TOZ Penkala
Ultra
Underwood
Unic
Universal Pen Co.
Velva Tip
Victor
Vivapen
Vue-All
Waldorf
Wembley
Whitehall

[Radonactionservices]

I do not have any old or obscure pens so I cannot really post anything. I could go through one or more of Richard Binder's book to find an obscure pen but I think the pen in this photo might be the most obscure of them all--assuming it is not his Montblanc.

By the way, nice pens everyone who posted.

I would assume that if the brand name was revealed The Rocket Man might employ one of his better known "silencer" methods to make sure the brand name did not get circulated.kju pen.jpg

Isn’t that a Moonman M6?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eachan]

WRT your list, Jon, some of these pens may appear obscure to a US audience but not at all in their country of production. For instance, Croxley, Macniven & Cameron and Summit were mass market pens and are common today. Waverley was not a manufacturer but a model produced by Macniven & Cameron.

"Warranted" is not a trade name, Fred. It's simply an assurance that the nib contains the stated purity of gold.

[Yazeh]

I'm not sure if this is a rare pen but here goes: Unic made in France, Wet Noodle with a flex going from fine to stub. It cannot handle wet ink as they will dribble out of the pen...

76F8BEA2-199E-4038-90A1-BB876E223EDD.jpg

As you can see it has no clip:

16E1160F-998C-4361-AB02-00893E31F82C.jpg

Line variation:
B37632EF-C2DC-4446-B45A-34DF616B7EF0_1_201_a.jpg

Close up of nib:
6FBAE76B-B6D1-469D-A4F2-189AFAFFBBC2.jpeg

Close up of very elegant lever:
15603BA5-E974-48C4-AE36-958C76095872.jpeg
Close up of material:

87197AD3-D056-4771-8DEC-4D4D5B0F5653.jpeg

[Jon Szanto]

WRT your list, Jon, some of these pens may appear obscure to a US audience but not at all in their country of production. For instance, Croxley, Macniven & Cameron and Summit were mass market pens and are common today. Waverley was not a manufacturer but a model produced by Macniven & Cameron.

"Warranted" is not a trade name, Fred. It's simply an assurance that the nib contains the stated purity of gold.

Eachan, thanks for the suggestions. When I approached Will about doing this (he is linking to that post in the first post of the thread), I proposed to simply collate all pens mentioned in the thread. I'm well aware that regionalism will come into play, seeing the global nature of an internet forum. At this point, I'm hesitant to retroactively dismiss past offerings of pens - I had forgotten this thread was already a couple of years old. In a way, it is more about 'personal obscurity' than a global thing, as only the highest level collectors and scholars would have knowledge of the tens of thousands of pens over the ages.

That said, I'm open to either deleting pens common in a particular region, or putting a disclaimer in the post that "some of these may be familiar in your area", something like that. Yes, I was conflicted on "Weverly" (I originally knew it just as a nib) and thought I had seen mention of a pen, and I'll take that one out. Agreement on your take on "Warranted" as well.

I'm totally open to any of this, I just thought it would be a good thing to take inventory of what has been discussed in this long-running thread.

[eachan]

Yes, Jon, my comment was just for clarification. It's a good thread and there are many more "oddities" that could join it. Yazeh, Unik spelled that way is rare. I haven't seen one before. What a great pen!