All Pens and Ephemera

We love the playful color palette of translucent flecks on the design of this limited edition Conway Stewart 100 Series pen. The company calls this color "Flecked Autumn." We would be more apt to call it spumoni or birthday cake. Complete with its original boxes and papers, it is in near-mint condition. It is a classic lever-filler, which we love as much as the colors. You will write a smooth fine-medium line with its 18k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. Numbered 13 of 500. 12.9cm capped.

One of the top sellers of the early 1940s, the Eversharp Skyline was a modern-design superstar. In fact, it was designed by Henry Dreyfuss who also designed famous items such as the 20th Century Limited steam engine, the princess phone, the Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter, a couple of oceanliners, nearly a dozen tractors and even the famed Polaroid SX-70 instant camera. We restored this "executive-size" vintage pen with a new ink sac. The cap and barrel show a little wear from use but no cracks or deep scratches. The green-striped cap has an optical illusion on the side of the cap that looks like a mini-wormhole to a different plane of existence, but it is just a trick of the translucence in the celluloid. We tried to capture it in the photo but it is photographically shy. You will write a very smooth fine line with its 14k gold cap. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.3cm capped.

Cherry-red veins swirl through the white pearlescent cap and barrel on this stunning Conklin Endura fountain pen. Our pre-owned pen is from the resurrected Conklin company...not the original from the 1800s through the 1940s. Trimmed in sterling silver plating, this pen is more than just attractive. It writes a phenomenally smooth broad line. Click the headline for close-ups. Sure, the two-tone 14k gold nib is marked "M" for medium, but it write so thickly, it borders on double broad. Our pen comes with its original converter and boxes! Minimal, if any, wear. 14.4cm capped.

Brass-barrel construction and a silver-plated cap offer this luxurious ballpoint pen the weight it needs to write such a smooth line with its ballpoint refill. Our preowned pen looks almost factory fresh...just some light wear from use. Also included are its original boxes and papers. Additionally, you get a great working, blue refill. Twist the tail cap to advance or retract the ballpoint. 13.9cm.

Esterbrook is most famous for it, but Wahl-Eversharp was the first that we know who made nib assemblies that screw in and out of its fountain pens. Click the headline on this Wahl-Eversharp Gold Seal to see the word "Flexible" written on the nib. This was just one of a series of nibs that could be screwed in or out to better suit the needs of its writer. We don't find this 14k gold nib to be super flexible. It seems more like a semi-flex these days. You will write a nice fine to roughly 1mm line. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. Its woodgrain hard-rubber cap and barrel sport some wear and hazing. There is a little brassing on the lever, too. 12.1cm capped.

When people discuss the Parker 51, they are usually focused on the revolutionary fountain pen. However, the Parker 51 is a pretty dang neat pencil, too. This vintage pencil is a nice black with steel cap and gold-plated trim. Twist the tail cap to extend and retract the pre-loaded red lead. This pencil takes any color .9mm lead, though. It has a little wear from use but nothing terrible. No spare leads or hardened eraser, though. 13cm.

German author Herman Hesse is best known for his masterpiece novel "Siddhartha." An Italian pen maker pays tribute with the Omas Herman Hesse fountain pen. The sterling silver cap is scratch and dent free with a Hesse quote following a barber-pole ribbon down the cap: "Ohne schrift gibt es nicht den begriff der Menschheit." In English, this translates to: "Without writing there is no concept of humanity." The cornflower-blue barrel of the pen bares his name, and it has a working piston filler. We dipped its 18k gold nib and found it writes more of a smooth, dry, fine line than the "M" medium it is marked as. Numbered 0528 or 1877. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.7cm capped.

There's nothing like writing with a junior-sized Sheaffer Lifetime. Possibly a little overlooked, these are fantastic pens with great nibs. Yes, the nibs are firm, but they also are smooth. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. It shows some wear from use and some brassing on the pocket clip and cap band. However, it remains a solid pen nearly 100 years after it was made. You will write a smooth, wet fine to extra-fine line with its thick 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. The nib photo shows a hairline crack in the nib from the section through the second 6 in the serial number and into the U of U.S.A. on the imprint. The nib seems stable and still writes well. The pen measures 11.2cm capped.