Jon Szanto (February 27th, 2021)
How about this beautiful Moore?
Notice the black top on the cap. I just love the marble pattern on this celluloid. It is similar to Conklin's Black and Bronze.
Despite this pen being a big vintage pen (5-1/4 inches capped with girthy barrel), I have one with similar styling that is bigger.
AzJon (April 14th, 2021), Jon Szanto (April 14th, 2021), Sailor Kenshin (April 14th, 2021)
"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."
~ Benjamin Franklin
AzJon (April 14th, 2021)
Jon Szanto (April 14th, 2021)
"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."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Man, those are some beautiful Moores.
The big one. I mean BIG.
Notice the pale jade-like celluloid finial on the top? Not easy to find, especially the one that has no cracks or chips.
I had this 5.5 inches capped, girthy-barreled dude for a while but was waiting for a donor pen to replace the missing lever (and pressure bar inside). The replacement has to also be a Moore from around the same time period, The shape of the lever has to match not only the trough, but it also has to have the same exact placement of holes for the ring, and the slight "curvature" where the hidden end would rest when it's not nudging the pressure bar to press the ink sac.
Thanks to a broken Moore that I got recently, I was able to save the lever and install it on this pen.
The nib has an issue with a surface crack as well, but it's a massive Moore's MANIFLEX, so I'm keeping it until I can find a replacement.
Last edited by penwash; June 11th, 2021 at 09:36 AM.
Jon Szanto (June 11th, 2021)
Great pen, Will.
"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."
~ Benjamin Franklin
penwash (June 11th, 2021)
Great work, Will!
penwash (June 11th, 2021)
Another Moore, this time a pristine model L-94 from the 1940s.
At 5 inches capped and quite a girthy barrel, this pen sits very nice and comfortably in the hand.
But the material, soooo pretty especially in the morning light.
Cyril (July 5th, 2021), Jon Szanto (June 19th, 2021)
Jon This is an amazing collection.
I remember I won a bid on a Moor pen and the silly seller had cancelled the deal. So I missed that pen.
But that pen is going to be the ugliest pen on the side of these pens collection on this thread. But for me it is still a great pen as it had an amazing wet noodle type flex nib.
I am always keeping an eye to get a MOOR PEN ..
Last edited by Cyril; July 5th, 2021 at 06:06 PM.
Will these pens are amazing and beautiful.
Moreover they are the best tools for your nice drawings too.
A word of caution. If you want to acquire a fountain pen like the ones in Jon Szanto's photos you are best advised to not bid on a MOOR pen.
"Moore" and "MOOR" are not one and the same. They are two different pen manufacturers from the 1930's. Moore was based out of Boston and MOOR was based out of Rotterdam.
A word of caution. If you want to acquire a fountain pen like the ones in Jon Szanto's photos you are best advised to not bid on a MOOR pen.
"Moore" and "MOOR" are not one and the same. They are two different pen manufacturers from the 1930's. Moore was based out of Boston and MOOR was based out of Rotterdam.[/QUOTE]
@724Seney, Thank you for the above short explaining.
Actually I did not know that difference. Thank you again. I thought it the same MOOR I KNEW. Wow.. what a little things we know about this habit hole of Pen universe. !!!!!
Actually" THE MOOR I KNEW "is also have nice flex nib . That is the trap.
The Moore ( Boston ) is much better than the other. And now I see the difference.
Recently I found a pen ( MOORE ) on a sale and I did a biding, but it is a way too high on the shelf I could grab it. So I let it go.
Last edited by Cyril; July 8th, 2021 at 05:10 PM.
It is a bit of a tough time for bidding on Moore's at the moment. There appear to be a handful of people, some I believe fairly new to the hunt (based on low purchase numbers) who are jacking up the bids, both by bidding too early, and by having such deep pockets that they are willing to spend a significant portion more than what going rates have been for a couple of years (at least). There are still poor condition or lower rank Moore pens available, but the better models and cleaner items are going for increasingly high prices, some of them hard to justify.
I recently won an auction I worked hard on for a 96-A pen, the largest size for which I did not have an example. The pen arrived quickly, only for me to find out they had misread the imprint and put photos that were not easy to figure by eye, and the pen was a 92-A, of which I have a few examples and in better condition. Fortunately, the seller was both understanding and contrite, and gave a prompt refund once I had filed for one and put it in the mail. <sigh> Still looking for a good 96-A...
Last edited by Jon Szanto; July 9th, 2021 at 02:10 PM. Reason: Typo/error corrected on pen model.
"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."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Jon Szanto (July 8th, 2021)
My take is that Moore pens, and especially the nicer ones, have long been undervalued and they are finally catching on. Too bad for the people who have been collecting them for years and enjoying low prices but, I think, good for the hobby in general because what you are describing as the current crop of new bidders may well indicate they are being better appreciated by the hobby's "new blood."
By the way, that seller was not being entirely straight with you. I immediately recognized that pen as one of Moore's most classic and truly beautiful fountain pens, a green/silver/bronze/pink striated 94-A (I suppose it also could have been a 92-A given that the seller did not provide any measurements). Well before the auction ended, I contacted the seller and let him know that he should check the imprint. He thanked me for the information but, apparently, did nothing with it. Clearly a seller to avoid.... but at least he did not give you any trouble with your request for a full refund.
I don't have a firm opinion on the current run on Moores, but in a few areas I have seen fairly wild bidding that indicates more money than discernment. Of course, the only way to know would be to know the buyers and that doesn't happen in online sales. The key point for me is that they have never been a thing in the past with collectors at pen shows, and are very hard to find in those settings. Coupled with the almost complete lack of documentation from the company itself, it is an unusual area to focus on. Anyway, all just idle guessing, at least on my part.
To be clear, I suspicioned it was a 94, and simply took a chance, purchasing for a low enough price to resell without a loss. I've had pens fool me before - in the positive direction! - and spending some money and a few days in the mail may be a poor substitute for picking it up in my hand, looking, and putting it down again, but that is sometimes all that is available to one. This was not a lot more than hoping for the best, and it thankfully was an easy reversal.
"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."
~ Benjamin Franklin
For sure, we've all been fooled and we all learn something more (no pun intended) with every purchase. And by reading other's posts about purchases..........
At least this didn't turn into one of those eBay horror stories.........
It seems to me that post Pandemic I have seen a lot more eBay FP auctions getting run up to ridiculous amounts. And, I have seen more (apparent) "sumgai" outcomes, too.
I don't know what to make of the money part of the equation but it seems to me that over the past couple of years I have run into more & more people who "know" Moore pens and are making an effort to acquire some nice examples for their collection.
Agree, now that pen shows are ramping back up it will be interesting to see if there are more attendees expressing interest at shows.
Last edited by 724Seney; July 9th, 2021 at 03:35 AM.
Update: The seller has relisted the pen. Now says it is a 92-A!
He has one feedback which complains that he sold an item as 10kt, jeweler tested but it was brass! Explains it was a testing error.
Given he was aware that his pen was not a 96-A when he sold it to you as such I wonder if these episodes of "oops!" isn't a pattern?? No way I'd purchase anything from him!!
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