Remarkable Recent Finds

by Marvin Stone

It is the goal of this column to report pens that have recently been found "in the field". The term, "in the field" refers to a pen that has been discovered in the hands of a private owner and made its way into the hands of a collector or dealer.

Whenever I talk to a fellow collector about pens, one of the first questions is, "Have you found anything new?" I delight in hearing about the new finds. I guess it provides me with encouragement that good pens are still to be found. I'm delighted when another great pen has been found. To hear about them, see them, hold them and sometimes buy them is one of the reasons I am involved in the hobby of pen collecting.

Some people do not want the general population to know that they have found a great pen. There are many reasons for this (most of which I don't understand) but, in any case, the people who have found great pens will not be identified in this column.

If you hear about a "Remarkable New Find" or find something yourself that is considered a "Remarkable" pen, I would love to hear about it and let others know through this column. The knowledge that a special pen has been found is needed by all of us to keep the excitement and interest in vintage pen collecting alive and well.

One recent weekend a collector found some incredible pens. As I heard the story, all of the pens came from one source. Our collector was in an antique store purchasing a pen. While at the cash register an elderly woman behind the counter said, "Oh, you are interested in pens? My husband and I have the smallest pen in the world. We have a lot of other pens as well." The collector asked the usual questions and the woman asked him to come to her house. He followed her home. He described a modest house with the smell of home cooking. There were doilies on the backs of the chairs and the house was overfilled with personal possessions, including lots of antiques, glassware and collectibles. He was very excited because the story that we are all often told about pens at home was actually about to come true. The woman brought some pens for him to examine. She had good general knowledge about antiques and had a good idea of what she wanted for the pens. The first pen was a Waterman #20 Safety in black hard rubber. It was the long version, the largest useable pen that Waterman made. Second was the Waterman #00 in BHR in its original box, the smallest pen in the world. It had an imprint on it that must be observed under magnification, and a miniature gold-filled Ideal clip. The imprints on both the barrel and the clip are exactly the same Waterman imprints that we all know but in miniature, requiring magnification to be observed. Third was a Waterman #415 Sleeve Filling pen with the Waterman globe on the pressure bar, a large pen, quite rare, in sterling filigree. Fourth was a Parker #14 with a beautiful sterling Heath overlay. Fifth was a Mont Blanc #60B lever filling pen in BHR. It is very rare to find this lever filler from the 20's. Fifth was a Waterman 6 doz. counter top display case. Sixth was a Waterman #55 ripple set, boxed, mint and unused. Seventh was a Waterman #0514 filigree near perfect. Eighth was a Parker #18, red and black mottled hard rubber slip cap eyedropper with a keyhole nib. Ninth was an Eversharp Doric in Tunis, with a price sticker, and mint in box. The collector was able to acquire all of these pens. Most of them were resold at the Columbus Pen Show. Has anyone ever had this many great pens show up all at once in the same weekend?? Maybe in the early days, but today it is very rare for an event like this to happen. I made sure that I touched this guy before the weekend was over to see if a bit of his luck would rub off.

Another collector had a similar weekend. He was called regarding some pens and went to see the dealer. In the group of pens was a Waterman #58 in Cardinal red hard rubber. This pen has a slip cap and it is bandless. The bandless models are very rare. I can't help anticipating that when I hold one of these that it might break by simply touching it. It is a very large pen and looks even larger when bandless. The same weekend he visited another dealer and discovered an extremely rare Waterman. He was shown a Waterman #417 in fine silver. First of all the #17 size pen has the same size barrel as the #18 so it is huge. A #17 is also rare in that the #18 was most common. For some reason the purchaser wanted a slightly smaller nib and ordered the #17 size. Many collectors do not understand the significance of fine silver pens. The early fine silver pens were painstakingly constructed. As I am told, the barrel was turned down in the center using a lathe for a distance only as long as the overlay was intended to be. Each end was not turned down so that the overlay could not slip off in either direction. Then it is speculated that a piece of silver foil was wrapped around the barrel and set into the turned down portion. We are not sure about this detail but in our discussions with jewelers and collectors this is a logical step. The pattern of the filigree was carved into the foil and the open sections of the filigree were removed. You will often see knife cuts into the hard rubber next to the opening in the filigree on a fine silver pen where the carver cut too deeply. If anyone knows more about this process I would appreciate your comments and I will include then in my next column. After the carving was finished the maker then began the long process of electroplating to a thickness much greater than the foil. Most of the thickness of the fine silver filigree pens has been electroplated onto the barrel and cap. This process had to take days in order to build up the needed thickness. This process of creating pens was too time consuming and costly so the process was quickly abandoned and the more common practice of sliding the filigree over the barrels and caps was adopted. I am not a historian and I may have made some errors in my descriptions, but you have the general idea and can see why fine silver pens can be so very desirable. I didn't tell you the most exciting thing about this pen. The pen that was found was even more desirable because it was made over Red Hard Rubber. A Waterman #417 over RHR in Fine Silver, incredible!! So, our collector friend found a Waterman #58 bandless in RHR and a Waterman #417 in fine silver over RHR in the same weekend. I'll have to get some of his luck too!!

I recently heard that two Parker #47's, the "Pregnant Parker", were unearthed, one in Texas, the other in Ohio. Both were alternating mother of pearl and abalone. Another #47 was auctioned on Ebay. A couple of months ago I was able acquire on Ebay a Waterman #414 Fine Silver Filigree over Red Hard Rubber. This is also a very rare find but smaller than the previously mentioned pen. A husband and wife antique dealer team owned it. They were going to put it in their local Antique Mall for $250.00. Their reserve on Ebay was $250.00. I paid substantially more than that at auction on Ebay. I was also able to acquire on Ebay a Conklin #6 Sterling Silver Filigree Crescent filling pen. It is a silver dome slip cap with an ornate silver Heath overlay. This is a very early pen and the #6 is the rarest of sizes made by Conklin.

Another remarkable pen recently went for bid on Ebay. It was a Waterman #418 Fine Silver Fancy Filigree over Black Hard Rubber. It was not the familiar nouveau style but rather a curly style filigree that was quite unusual. An Estate Buying Company that regularly sells on Ebay brought this pen to Ebay. I was told that the pen was just acquired from one of their recent buying trips and put on Ebay almost as soon as it came in. I was also told that their method of acquiring pens and other merchandise is to advertise that they will be in a town for the weekend at a local hotel. They advertise in the local papers that they will be at the hotel buying objects of value. People bring in their items and this company makes offers to buy. This wonderful and very large pen was acquired in this way. I know the lucky bidder and he is extremely happy with his purchase. Ebay holds great potential for New and Rare Finds.

I hope to hear from some of you as we publish future columns regarding your "Remarkable" pen finds. I realize that many pen collectors may not have a clear understanding about the pens that we will describe here. You may have never seen or heard of some of these pens but I assure you that they are the best, rarest and most desirable pens. As you read this column, you will know why you pursue this hobby and you will gain a greater appreciation and a desire to learn more.

If you have any comments, suggestions, corrections or contributions that you would like to make, please direct them to me at my Email address: marvinstone@compuserve.com or call me at 810-731-1410 during the day. I can also be reached at: Fax 810-731-6554.

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