The Dickinson Croxley

**eachan** · June 13th, 2021, 07:14 AM

Two other pens were mentioned in the discussion in that other thread: Altura and Croxley. As Deb has written in her blog about the Altura I will say a few things about Croxley here.

Langs of Liverpool offered their pen-making machinery for sale in 1947. Dickinson, the large and well funded paper maker saw an opportunity and went into the pen business. The machines were set up to make Lang's successful Summit pens and Dickinson saw no reason to re-jig them. The pen they produced, the Croxley, was a Summit reborn.

The first pens had an anonymous clip and lever but thereafter they were fitted with an Art Deco arrow-style clip and lever, making the Croxley instantly recognisable. The pens sold like hot cakes. They seem to have been what the market desired: a no-frills, traditional fountain pen that was absolutely reliable. Where the US market chased the next gimmick whether it be a hooded nib or a snorkel device, the British market went for dependability.

In a very short run of two years, this version of the Croxley sold in thousands upon thousands before production ceased abruptly in 1949. There were other Croxleys, most notably a cigar-shaped pen but it is the plain-as-a-pikestaff Croxley that is the phenomenon. It is still one of the most common Vintage British pens to be found in eBay.

Why was the hugely successful Croxley discontinued? Many explanations have been put forward: perhaps Dickinson saw the ballpoint future, maybe they decided to reinvest their profits in their core paper business. We will never know. All we can say is that we are left with one of the great, late fountain pen success stories.

**penwash** · June 14th, 2021, 03:39 PM

After seeing these pens, I just remembered that I had one:

I bought it at the Dallas Pen Show several years ago.

As Eachan pointed out above, the reason I was attracted to it is also the lever "arrow" that mirrors the one on the clip.