All Pens and Ephemera

In 1936, Fred & Ginger lit up the silver screen in the classic "Swingtime," King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry an American divorcé, television broadcasts first began, Jesse Owens showed up the Nazis in Berlin, Joe DiMaggio was a rookie, FDR won a second term and this Parker Vacumatic standard set in burgundy was made. It was an elegant era, and this pen in many respects marks the pinnacle of art deco design. This particular set is in excellent condition. No cracks, maybe 1% brassing, no scratches, restored and working. Its two-tone 14k has some cosmetic issues. Click the headline to see close-ups. It writes an extra-fine line with a little flex but not much. The matching pencil works great in excellent condition and comes with spare 1.1mm leads. Pen measures 12.8cm capped.

No fountain pen collector's desk is complete without a classic rocker blotter. We have a fun little wooden model that fits any desk. Made of wood, it looks quite handsome, though it does have wear. Look closely at the photo and you'll see little chips around the edges. There also is a dark stain on the top plate of the blotter, but it blends in if you aren't looking closely. 8cm (L) X 5cm (W) X 7cm (H)

We aren't sure what Conklin called this pinstriped pencil made of rolled gold, but it is a very handsome taste of the 1920s. It is marked "Patented July 6, 1920." We suspect is was made a couple years later. This pen is a little more slender than the 4B and 5V models, but it is the same length. New Old Stock, it is dent and damage free. Twist the nose cone to advance and retract the 1.1mm lead. Pull off the tail blind cap to reveal a hardened eraser. Unscrew the eraser to reveal some spare leads. 13.3cm capped.

Discover a universe of joy when you write with the limited edition Omas Galileo Galilei rollerball pen. Ours comes complete in its original boxes. This preowned luxury pen was gently used and shows small traces of wear from use. Its clam-shell box shows more wear with some dimples on the top of the grey material. A new refill is included with the pen. A very handsome paragon-size pen at 14cm capped.

Roaring back into the light from the 1920s is this sterling silver Waterman pencil with the Sheraton design. It is new old stock with minimal traces of wear. The lead advances with a twist of the plastic nose cone. None of these pencils actually retracts the lead when twisting the other way. It needs to be pushed in. However, the lead seems pretty snug in the pencil. Unscrew the tail cap to reveal the spare leads. 13.1cm capped.

Vintage ink collectors will love this complete Parker Superchrome ink bottle set. Included is a 4-oz. bottle of blue ink (dried out) and the special tin that it rested in. Superchrome was a brilliant and beautiful ink that was far more vibrant than standard inks of the era. However, it was only intended for the Parker 51 with the "pli-glass" ink sacs. That which made it so vibrant was highly acidic and tore through normal ink sacs very quickly, ruining many old pens in the 1940s and '50s. It was discontinued due to its corrosive nature. We've seen a lot of Superchrome bottles over the year but this is one of the first we've seen to come complete with its tin. The tin shows a little rust and wear in places, but it isn't all that bad. EXTRA SHIPPING CHARGES MIGHT APPLY DUE TO THE SIZE AND WEIGHT.

A brace of woodgrain Wahl desk pens is ideal for the person with the rare 2-pen desk base that is missing its pens. We restored each with a new ink sac, and we are stunned at how minimal their wear is. No cracks, no chips, no scratches! The gold-plated trim rings and levers have some corrosion or gunk or brassing that won't polish out for us. Click their headline for a closer look at the whole pens and the nibs. The more vibrant, front desk pen comes with a 14k gold "Wahl Signature Pen" nib that writes a fine-medium line nicely with a little feedback. The duller-finished back pen sports a "Wahl 6 14k" nib that writes a blissfully smooth wet medium-broad line. The back pen measures 22cm and the front pen measures 21.8cm.

Saving people money during the Great Depression, Parker set out to make a more affordable series of pens. This ringtop model is a rare example of an early plastic they used with a really attractive red pattern. The faint imprint says Parker Lucky Curve, however, on restoring the pen, it doesn't have a Lucky Curve feed. In fact, its feed is missing a couple collector fins. We installed a new ink sac and pressure bar. Click the headline to see the old plier mark damage on the section. Its 14k gold nib writes a very nice extra-fine to fine line...AND it has a little FLEX. Overall, the pen only shows light wear. Unfortunately, there is one more hitch. The new pressure bar forces the button to ride a little higher than it used to, and the streamlined blind cap doesn't seat all the way down properly. You can see it in the photo. 11.5cm capped.