See how much the modern Sheaffer knows about vintage Sheaffer

[mhosea]

About half of the pictures in this timeline are wrong in some way or other.

http://www.sheaffer.com/en/about/our-story

[tandaina]

They're also really poor resolution. You'd think they could manage better photos!

[Jon Szanto]

That was painful on a couple of levels.

[HughC]

Sad....btw Mike "about half" seems awfully generous to me.

Regards
Hugh

[mhosea]

I was debating whether to cut some slack over the PFM being associated with the 50's, although I read just the other day something associating Christina Aguilera with the 1990's. It's not that I'm a fan of any vocalist, just that it clashed with my recollection enough that I had to go to Wikipedia to sort out. I can only guess that the writer held in high esteem her work on the Mickey Mouse Club. Anyway, what Christina has in common with PFM's is a release date that just barely qualifies as part of an expiring decade.

[klpeabody]

wow. what the heck was that.
the touchdown pen they featured was available in the 1960's from what I understand, yet the timeline indicated 1950s. Idk. At least that's what my research yielded. That was a few years ago, but I could have been mistaken.
it's interesting when marketing people don't really know what or who they are making graphics for, but they produce the materials anyway. And then some higher-up signs off on it.
I'm getting tired of fp retailers not being in touch with their clientele. I'm actually a little insulted by this tom foolery, to be honest.

[mhosea]

The Touchdown filler was introduced in 1949. Early in the 1950's it was refined into the Snorkel system. The 1950's was the decade of the Snorkel for Sheaffer, no doubt. The PFM was introduced in 1959 (late 1959?), incorporating the Snorkel filling system as well, but the PFM was essentially a 1960's pen. I especially liked the 1960's metal cap commemorating the introduction of the white dot. The Balance II instead of the Balance was annoying but more easily forgiven.

Sheaffer is, in reality, dead and gone. What remains is a brand that is owned by Bic. I'm glad there's anything left at all, frankly, since it makes it easier to buy new converters, but it is hard to make excuses for the timeline. You do not need to be a pen person to sort this out, just have some modest research skills.

[klpeabody]

Sheaffer is, in reality, dead and gone. What remains is a brand that is owned by Bic. I'm glad there's anything left at all, frankly, since it makes it easier to by new converters, but it is hard to make excuses for the timeline. You do not need to be a pen person to sort this out, just have some modest research skills.

yeah. you're right.

[welch]

I was willing to accept the PfM as '50s...late '50s, but then to see the Intrigue as a 1990s pen...and to have the Touchdown filler represented by a wide inlaid nib, one that looks about wide enough to be a PfM...made my eyes hurt.

One of the Browns (as in the fabulous but closed Art Brown Pens) had heard that BiC was trying to sell Sheaffer a couple years ago. Could not figure out what to do with Sheaffer, while Newell has let Parker make good money in China as a $4,000 fancy Duofold for senior managers ("and don't forget a Sonnet for each of your assistants!").

So if anybody inherits a few million, maybe we could all chip in, buy Sheaffer, move it back to Ft Madison I-o-wa (as Jimmy Durante might say), and...

[pajaro]

. . .and try and reconstitute the labor force? I am not sure I like any of today's Sheaffers. Putting the company back together, so much expertise in so many fields lost. A formidable challenge.