Eagle
1930s
About This Model
Eagle and Epenco fountain pens are among the innumerable "third-tier" pens from the Depression years, and indeed, most of those one sees today are pretty rough. However, if the history is parsed a bit, one learns that there are Eagles and Epencos, and while they are siblings, they are quite different. Eagles came from a strong tradition, the American descendants of the Berolzheimer pencil company in Germany who formed the Eagle pen and pencil company. Eagle pencils have been around in the US forever; their pens of the early 20th Century were imaginative and often innovative. However, the Depression hit Eagle hard, and their response was the sub-brand called Epenco. Many Epencos have very nice styling under the wear and tear: marbled barrels, whimsical designing, layered features that pop out from the depths of the plastic. They generally write well and are serviceable when found and restored.
About This Pen
One doesn’t expect to find an Eagle in excellent condition; their trim is almost always corroded and the celluloid pretty worn. In this case, the former is true, the latter not. It’s a decent pen, probably almost as nice as when it was new, except that air got to the trim over the years. Typical 5 1/8″ budget length, in green striated celluloid, it is a solid pen; it cleaned up very nicely. The gold trim has a solid layer of corrosion on the clip and lever; the cap ring appears to be of different material that has darkened and won’t polish out. However, the fact that this pen was capped for many years shows when the cap is removed. There is a clean, clear view window, the section is in bright black plastic, and the nib looks new! It is marked “Warranted, 14K, USA”, and writes a very smooth, fast, wet fine/medium. That makes this a very good pen for bag or briefcase; it will sustain abuse without a pen case, and be a great writer.
Price: $40 Sold