Eclipse Models
Eclipse Models
BACKGROUND
The prime source for information about the Eclipse Pen Co. is a series of two seminal
articles written by John Roede, published in the July and September 2006 issues of
PenWorld. This draws heavily on Roede's excellent work, but presumes to add by
clarifying some terms, illustrating some examples of models that hadn't been mentioned,
and speculating about one name in particular which may have started as a sub-brand,
but evolved into a model.
DEFINING TERMS
Sub-Brands
By definition, a sub-brand does not carry any branding from the parent company. Sub-brands,
in current marketing-speak are "line extensions" intended to increase sales beyond the parent
brand by:
1. Offering products of lesser quality, lower price with a different brand name that does not
taint the parent brand.
and/or...
2. Offering products of superior quality, higher price that would be tainted were they to carry
the parent brand.
and/or
3. Simply cannibalizing the parent brand with a parody product and accepting a sale from
where-ever it might come.
Today this practice continues for products as diverse as canned soup and dish washers.
Eclipse sub- brands include Marxton, Park Row, Monroe, Deluxe and Jackwin.
Private labels
Companies also manufacture Private Labels...products designed for and badged to be sold
by specific, dedicated retailers. In the case of Eclipse that would be Keene, a high-end
jeweler located in lower Manhattan, Montgomery Ward (Riverside) and Sears (Famous
and possibly Lakeside).
Models
Models carry both the parent company name and the specific model designation, for example,
Ford Explorer. Eclipse offered models named Safety, Zephyr, Streamline, Hooded Knight
and Vis-O-Ray.
Safety, however is a nuisance. Initially the pens carried only the Safety designation
and would be considered a sub-brand. Subsequently the pens carried both the Safety
designation and the Eclipse brand name, which would, if you accept the definition, make it
a model. I worked with a fellow who bellowed one day, "You don't have to right, but dammit, at
least be consistent!." I can feel his pain.
And so, an overview of Eclipse models the Company offered from about 1920 to about 1950...
THE MODELS
The first model that Eclipse offered was a Safety. An early appearance of the name
occurs on the clip of this Big Red specimen with material and design that easily place it in
the late teens/early twenties. There are a number of characteristics that clearly establish
its Eclipse roots... the shape of the lever, section and feed.
...and this celluloid simulation of Mottled Red Hard Rubber follows suit.
At this point these pens could rightfully be called sub-brands. But then...
It was on the basis of the use of Safety with these pens that founder Marx Finestone
applied for, and on March 14, 1922 was granted a Trade Mark (#153,372) for the term. A
remarkable award since at that time almost any pen that had a screw cap also used that
descriptor. (The screw cap was touted as being more secure than the slip caps that had been
in common use because it is less likely to come undone when carried. Hence, less likely to
leave you with a pocket full of ink. Therefore offering, in a word, Safety) Shortly after securing
the mark Eclipse marketed pens like these.
This a Black Chased Celluloid Combo carries the Eclipse brand on a ZClip (which automatically
dates it prior to 1923 when the proprietary Eclipse Klein Clip was introduced) and the model
name, Safety, on the lever with the initial S in a wreath on the lever spoon. I assume that
the green end cap was an aid to finding the pen in the dark. The pen includes the nice amenity
of being threaded at both ends which makes it easier to keep track of the cap when you can't see
the green end cap. Or something like that.
This partial overlay shows markings similarly located...
but just to keep things confusing, this full overlay reverses the order, carrying Safety
on the clip and Eclipse on the lever. With both in hand it seemed fair to think that perhaps
at some time, these two pens might simply have had their caps switched, or be a mix-and-match
of available factory inventory, but that proved wrong. The threads are different; the caps are not
interchangeable.
Moving into the next decade Eclipse offered a paean to Parker with a model called Zephyr.
Made at a time when much of the Company's line was manufactured in Canada, this pen carries
enough imprinted information to justify sitting down with a basket of apples to read it all. The
section reads: Pat'd Reg'd USA Great Briton Canada. The barrel reads: An Eclipse Product Zephyr
Made in Canada. And should there be any doubt, the nib reads Eclipse (in the brand's football logo),
Canada. With a grateful display of restraint, the lever and clip are not marked.
Perhaps a little later, but still in the '30's the brand's Canadian facilities offered this Streamline
model. Here, all of the labeling is on the clip where Streamline runs the length in script,
and Eclipse is at the top in the football logo. The model offered a visulated section and an enigma.
Just below the end of the clip is the imprint of a Shamrock. I know of one other Esclipsaholic whose
collection and knowledge far exceed mine. Neither of us knows what that is intended to mean.
The last pen to offer evokes the clip treatment of a Skyline, with manufacturing likely shortly
after WWII; heading into the closing years of the company. The button-fill Hooded Knight
- a name worthy of a Marvel Comics Super Hero. We are once again offered more than full disclosure
with imprints on the section and barrel, but this time the clip has not been spared. It reads
Hooded Knight in stylized script with the Eclipse the football logo.The wide, stacked-coin cap
band completes the resonance of an Art Deco echo.
There is one more brand to mention. The elusive Vis-O-Ray. Only seen two in the last four
years. Still have the bruises, but not the pen.
Hope you found this entertaining. If this has caught your interest, there's more about the company,
from their beginnings in 1910 to their closing years in the mid '50s in this thread buried in the
Pen Photo Forum, including pics of about 50 pens. The story begins on page 2, post #30, although
the conversation that provoked it is fun too. Some really pleasant people participated. Some.
http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....-Eclipse/page2
And once again, if you have an Eclipse I'd love to see it.
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Originally Posted by DanDeM
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