Epenco
1930's
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
Maligned as Epencos usually are, there are beautiful ones! This pen is almost certainly an Epenco, but since the only imprint is on the nib it is probable that the manufacturer used an Epenco nib in one of the many Eagle/Epenco many sub-brands. It is a lever-filled pen, 5.2″ long capped, in red and gold marbled celluloid. The bottom and top are tapered to a rounded dome, which is also similar to other Epencos. Overall, the pen is in unusually nice condition for a 1930’s third tier pen: it is very clean, no scratches or nicks. There is a very little bit of typical wear on the barrel under the cap, but this pen was well cared for while it was in use. The trim is gold-plate, although the gold is worn off the clip’s surface. The clip has a long engraved hexagon, which is not identifiable. The nib, which writes a firm but smooth fine line with a touch of shading, is marked “Epenco NY”, and is gold-plated steel, with much of the gold worn off. This could be a very nice pen for a bag or pen case, can be carried without worry.
Price: $49 Sold