Latest Pens, Pencils, and Ephemera

Esterbrook Pushmaster pencils were a great early repeater that first came out in 1937. This copper-colored Esterbrook PJ likely came out in the 1950s. The click-activated lead-advance mechanism works well. This vintage pencil comes loaded with some spare 1.1mm lead. There's a little wear from use but nothing too hideous. 12.3cm.

Silver and gold. Silver and gold. I might be too early for Christmas songs, but love Pelikan Souveran M1000 fountain pens with vermeil caps! Vermeil, to the uninitiated, is a solid sterling silver coated in gold. The pen is absolutely perfect, except for 2 pits in the backside of the pen that look like tooth marks. No dents, no cracks, no deep scratches. Surface wear at worst for the rest of the cap and barrel. Its piston works smoothly to fill the pen. Even more smooth is the divine two-tone broad-point 18k gold nib. Sheer heaven for writing. We don't know if it came with this box originally, but we found them together with a full bottle of black ink. The cap logo has a mama pelican in gold with two chicks on a black background. 14.6cm capped.

In the second quarter of 1942, the United States was getting its tail kicked pretty hard around the Pacific and U-boats were making a mess of our shipping efforts in the Atlantic. Nevertheless, this Parker Duofold was made and has persevered ever since. We found it in a well-cared for collection in good working order, so we didn't replace the diaphragm. Its blue-and-grey stripes really stand out as an art deco beauty. The pocket clip and clip ring are pretty chewed up, but the celluloid is in very good shape. Nice aluminum speedline filler. You will write a smooth medium line with its 14k gold nib. Slightly smaller and more slender than some Duofolds. 12.3cm capped.

Carbon-fiber designs were hot during the early 2000s. Our Monteverde Invincia sports such a design, though we doubt it is real carbon fiber for the price it originally sold at. Our preowned pen looks good with only minor wear from use. You will write a smooth, fine, dry line with its steel nib. Click the headline for close-ups. Includes a standard international converter. 13.9cm capped.

Starting in the 1950s, Sheaffer began making cartridge-only pens with disposable plastic cartridges. Our Sheaffer Lady Skripsert was one such pen. It is quite attractive in its black-and-gold Tulle design. The cap and barrel only show a little wear from use, which is pretty good for a purse pen. The section shows more wear, and the nib is missing a fair amount of its gold plating. Click the headline for close-ups to see the extra-fine nib is just tweaked a little out of line. You'll write a very sharp extra-fine line with some scratch. The inkfeed seems a little out of alignment, and we couldn't slip it back into place without causing more damage. Sheaffer discontinued the slender cartridges for this pen, but the woman we got this from found a way to rig a standard international cartridge to fit. We left it in the pen as a demonstration to be reused. 13.7cm capped.

Black with platinum-plated trim...or is it rhodium plating...always looks sharp on a luxury pen. Our preowned luxury pen is a Pelikan Ductus. These handsome beauties were only made for a short while. For Pelikan aficionados it is an 800-size pen. Click the headline for a close-up of the unique design of its 18k gold nib. It is marked "B" for broad, but when we tested it, we thought it felt more like a buttery smooth medium with a little line variation. Also unique to this pen is that it is cartridge only. Unscrew the blind cap in the tail to reveal a cartridge carriage that hold two standard international size cartridges...no converters. The cap logo is a frosted, silvery mama pelican with one chick. 14.3cm capped.

In 1949, Sheaffer rolled out a whole new filling system called the TouchDown filler. We don't know the name of this model, but we know it is the Sheaffer TouchDown first year because that was the only year they made a wide-bodied version of this pen. We restored this handsome devil with a new ink sac and O-ring. No cracks mar this pen, but it shows some moderate wear from use. You'll find its two-tone 14k gold nib writes an extra-extra fine line. In fact, we are pretty sure Sheaffer would have called this an accounting nib! Those were their finest-point nibs. It is surprisingly smooth for something that pointy. 13.3cm capped.

Golden Walnut wood makes for a very handsome version of the Conklin All American. Conklin describes the accents as rose gold, but we think they look more like copper. Either way, it looks great. No scratches or cracks. Numbered 318 of 1898. It comes with its original boxes and heavily stained--but working--converter. Click the headline for a close-up. Its steel nib has a blackening that is slightly scratched. It is marked as a flexible nib, but it is a pretty stiff flex-er. You can get a fine to 1mm line out of it, but it is a little on the scratchy side. 14.5cm capped.