Happened across a gentlemen in my current city who had some pen related items for sale. Arranged a meet up and ended up buying a few things, as one does. So, what did I get...
From left to right:
- A presumably Art Deco inkwell :it's quite heavy, the cap seal area looks to be made of brass and needs a clean (not sure what with yet). The surfaces look like enamel paint, and while there are marks and scratches it has cleaned up quite nicely. The reservoir is built in, unlike some inkwells that have a glass liner, and has no leaks (I tested it after I cleaned it).
- A possibly BHR pen with chased longitudinal lines. This is a lever filler and is inscribed as "The Tip-Toe Pen" and "Made in England". More on this a bit down the page.
- A Parker 51, looks like a MK1 from the filler - which is marked with "To fill press ribbed bar firmly 4 times holding pen point down. Wipe point with soft tissue". The filler has a black end piece. Obviously the cap is incorrect, and appears to be a 61 or 65 Consort cap.
- Another Parker 51, again looks like a Mk1 from the filler - same inscription as above. Almost illegible stamp on the barrel, though I can discern that it was made in England. Very nice overall condition. The barrel has a discrete owner's name written thus " - W. H. K. Scott - "
- A cap actuated Parker 51 clutch pencil. Same colour as the previous 51 pen, but presumably not part of a set given the cap differences.
The Tip-Toe Pen when uncapped looks like this:
Yes, it's a glassed nib! The lever was stuck. I managed to coax the section out, to find a petrified sac inside. Some of this I got out by gently inserting a watchmaker's screwdriver, enough to free the lever, which is nice and springy. However, I cannot reach deeply enough, not know how exactly to extract the rest of the detritus from the end part of the barrel.
The Consort cap (I guess this is what it is), looks like this, if anyone wants to identify it better:
Overall I quite pleased with this little haul, and to the tune of $100 it seems like a reasonable deal. However, there are some issues.
1. Getting rotten sacs out of pens - how is it done?
2. Where can I get a correct cap for the 51.
3. If I do go for a new cap, is it better to just get any design of 51 cap for the grey pen, or swap the cap from the red pen and find a new cap for the red pen that matches the pencil (then I could call that a set!).
The inkwell I am going to use for my dip pens!
Any comments, suggestions, advice is greatly appreciated.
ps. If anyone knows anymore about the "Tip-Toe Pen" please share!
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