Pen Model: Eclipse

Eclipse fountain pens were made in New York City. The company had prior history in San Francisco, but its main history was as one of the many smaller Manhattan-based manufacturers.  While their pens never succeeded commercially, many were quite nice and well-made; they are often compared (and confused with) Conklins.  Richard Binder has noted that the Eclipse company pioneered improvements in rolling celluloid sheet and fusing the seams, a major improvement in fountain pen manufacturing.  Eclipse pens were often quite large, flat-tops in black hard rubber or orange plastic; some were gold overlays over BHR; there were reds and lapizes as well.  Like so many, they appeared early on, peaked in the 1920s, and largely disappeared in the Depression.  Eclipse survived as a corporate entity until the 1960s, but their fountain pen manufacture was long gone.