I scored a delicious lot of Sheaffers!
I just nabbed a batch lot of Sheaffer pens on eBay. It was a risk (always is, right?) but there was one gem in the lot that I knew, the moment I saw it, was worth the price of the lot. As it happens, I got a few other real gems, too! But the undisputed king of this batch is the Jade Sheaffer Flat-top.
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| The Sheaffer Jade is in the middle. You can see the discoloration these pens usually suffer in the one right next to it,which was once the same color! Click the image to see it bigger! | |
Jade celluloid pens are known for their vulnerability to the discoloring effects of rubber or latex off-gassing. The pen right next to that glorious green one shows the very same material that has discolored. That’s the much more common condition of Jade pens from this era. How this one escaped discoloration, I don’t know, and how the fellow in eBay was willing to sell the lot for less than $100 I don’t know either, but I am so glad for both!
There are some other real treasures in this batch, though! From L to R:
- Ballpoint with the ‘reminder clip.’ Needs a refill, but in good shape. (Not like I need ballpoints, but it’s a nice example.
- Fineline by Sheaffer (1950s). Fineline was one of Sheaffer’s sub-brands. It’s clearly a low-budget pen; it’s light and feels plasticy, and has a pretty basic steel nib. Again, in good condition.
- Sovereign II Tuckaway. (1946-47) This little beauty has a touchdown filler that needs some TLC, but the barrel clarity is fantastic!
- Sheaffer Jade Flat top, white dot on top of the cap. (1913-28) Outstanding color! Huge 14K nib that is smooth, but doesn’t have much tipping left. Seems this pen was both well used, and well cared for!
- Another Flat top (1913-28) , heavily discolored, and lacking a cap. Another gorgeous nib, though. If I can find a cap for it, I’ll fix it up as a user-grade pen.
- Gorgeous Carmine Craftsman (1939-40s). I have always been fond of the Carmine Striated Sheaffers, but this one absolutely gleams! Arrived in perfect writing trim, with healthy sac and needing only a cleaning.
- Also gorgeous Carmine Balance pencil. (1939-42) Not white-dot, but a lovely piece. (At this rate, I may need a page just for all my Balance pencils!)
- Another Carmine, but this one seems to be a ‘franken-pen.’ The cap doesn’t thread properly, so I suspect a mismatch. Too bad, as both are lovely. The Carmine color and the ‘streamline’ or ‘radius’ clip, put it between 1939-42.
All in all, a very good haul! Look for these on my Sheafffer page as I get them restored and photographed (with better photos than these phone pics)!
12 new pens added
Finally got my new pens added. Since it’s crazy cold, I couldn’t photograph them outdoors. Sadly, my camera simply does not like shooting indoors, even in bright natural light, so this batch is not quite as good as I’d like. But, they are up!
On the Sheaffer Page:
- Sheaffer Midsize Balance Ebonized Pearl
- Sheaffer 100 Red
On the ‘Other Pens” Page:
- Pilot Metropolitan Purple Leopard
- Vintage Golden Rule in BHR
- Conklin LE Crescent Rose Gold Demonstrator
- Conklin Crescent Mark Twain Zebra
- THINK Gatsby Havannah
- Vintage Wahl GF with14K flexy nib
- 2 Gorgeous Waterman Kultur Reflectis, one iridescent blue/green, the other iridescent golden red
- Waterman Phileas Black
On the Project Pens Page:
- “Band O’White” BHR with 14K flexy nib
14 new inks added
I’ve finally gotten caught up with my new ink acquisitions, including two vintage and one Limited Edition from Mont Blanc.
- Levenger Cardinal Red, Mont Blanc LE Red Chalk, De Atramentis Jasmine, and Noodler’s Antietam are now on the Orange, Red, Pink & Burgundy page
- Levenger Cocoa, Pelikan Brilliant Brown, and Levenger Raven Black are on the Rust, Brown, Grey & Black page
- Caran d’Ache Blue Sky, Levenger Amethyst, Levenger Gemstone Green, Vintage Mont Blanc Green & Blue-black, and Stipula Musk Green are on the Purple, Blue & Green page
A more thorough site rebuild & some new links
I’ve finally finished a long-overdue reconstruction of this site from the ground up. Instead of a table-based layout, the structure is now CSS-based. I still used tables to contain the pen and ink listings, but the site itself should run a little cleaner and meaner. I’ve also updated the links list at left and removed a lot of dead links. And I’ve added a contact page, so if you know of a pen seller or website I should add, drop me a line!
I’m still working on getting the cigar boxes (below) converted into pen boxes, and will post pics when I do. I’m also thinking about possibly cross-linking with some of the sites I mention. Use the contact page to let me know what you think!
New pens added
I have just added several new pens to the Miscellaneous pens page:
- Baoer Amber
- Jinhao 250
- Levenger L-Tech
- Montblanc 585
- Mont Verde Intima
- Pelikan 200 Demonstrator
- Romus Majestic
In the near future, I plan to go back and expand the description of each instrument to include more of a review as well as a basic description. (The fact that this will give me an excuse to ink up and test all of my pens has nothing to do with it! đ I also have about a dozen new inks to get on here as well. Check back soon!
And we have a winner!
Never mind that silly horse race business, I scored the jackpot on wooden cigar boxes! I got hold of 6 really nice boxes, and have a source for more. I have already ordered some liner trays, and will be turning these into custom pen-boxes in the next week or so. I’ll post some pics when they are done of course! Look for them on FPN’s classifieds!
I recently acquired some new writing-related gear!
Over the last few weeks I’ve been scouring antique shops for a couple of things: a rocker blotter (to keep my black glass elephant company), and a few pen racks. I scored a couple lucite display racks, which now house a selection of my treasures in the dining room curio. (Pics of that to come). Back here in my study, I have also added a few new items.
First off is something I’ve been hunting since I saw one on Pendemonium that was beyond my budget. I kept looking, figuring someone has one of these and doesn’t want it! My patience paid off:
The top row (currently cradling my MontVerde Intima) holds 3 pens, and the inkwell, while far from airtight, is nevertheless quite functional, and in mint condition. My other goal was a non-glass rocker blotter. I have and love my little glass elephant (See him at the top of the Project Pens page), but I was hoping to find something less breakable for frequent use. I nabbed these:
This one has a lovely Victorian feel, but you have to ‘spring’ the bottom portion out of the top to change the paper. This is bound to end up with part of it flying across the room in my fumbly hands. Nevertheless, it’s a great size, gorgeous, and fits comfortably in the hand for use.
Then I stumbled on this beauty! The top handle unscrews via the two ‘flowerbud’ shaped screws, and releases the gripper plates that hold the paper. I have never seen a blotter with this intricate construction, or such lavish design before! My only problem? I need more space!!!
