Tim's Collection

Edel

Germany 1935. The Edel fountain pen is a curiosity, a pen that had been mostly lost to history until a Dutch restorer took a risk and brought a barnful of them back to life. Piston-filled, made of plastic (barrel and cap), Bakelite (crown and blind cap), and ebonite (section and feed). It looks like a contemporaneous 100 Pelikan. Its nib is flexible and wet, writing from an EF to a BBB.

Esterbrook Deluxe

USA, 1960s. The Deluxes were Esterbrook’s 1960s successor to the J pens, and Esterbrook’s homage to the Parker 51. It’s the only one I’ve seen in the deep deep blue pattern.

Esterbrook Dollar

USA 1941-44. Black celluloid, wartime bandless Dollar, short model, quite rare now. Lever filler.

Esterbrook Dollar

USA, 1939-41. Copper marbled celluloid Dollar, lever filler, super handsome.

Esterbrook Dollar

USA, 1930s. This Dollar is one of the earlier ones, mid-1930s, in black hard rubber. Feels great in the hand, and it’s in unusually good condition.

Esterbrook Transitional

USA, 1946-49. This is a bright red marbled transitional short J, in wonderful condition.

Gold Starry

France, early 1930s. Its resemblance to Conway Stewart is not an accident, because CS made pens for GS until the mid-1930s. Model unidentified, pink, warm brown with light chips in marbled celluloid, original nib. Lever filler.

Hero 616

China, 2000s. The 51-clone that outsold the 51! Wonderful smooth extra-fine nib, writes like a champ, too. There have been at least several versions; this one is believed to be the first. It’s a great travel pen.

Inoxcrom 55

Spain, 1959-63. Another shameless copy of Parker 51 MKIII or 21. Brushed steel cap over black plastic barrel. This is the earlier 55, the first of two versions. Purchased in Barcelona. Aero filler, unmarked hooded nib. Very nice wet writer.

Jinhao Zhuge Liang

China, 2000s. Black lacquered brass with Chinese characters commemorative of Three Kingdoms Era in China. Jinhao nib, C/C filler. The barrel engraving is:

乘风破浪会有时 A time will come to ride the wind and cleave the waves
惊涛骇浪亦无惧 Yet have no fear of great waves
太极八卦在其中 Tai Chi and Ba Gua are inside of him
风来运转定乾坤 Settle the world when the wind turns
(from my friend Elizabeth Xu)