Esterbrook Dollar
USA, 1939-41. Copper marbled celluloid Dollar, lever filler, super handsome.
Collection
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 Dollar
USA 1941-44. Black celluloid, wartime bandless Dollar, one full-size, one short, quite rare now. Lever filler.
Esterbrook Transitional J
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)
Longlife
China, 1960s. In black celluloid, unremarkable appearance; this button-filled pen is a curiosity since it was made during the Cultural Revolution in China. Believed to be mint.
Matador 811 Express
Germany, 1930s. Black celluloid, piston-filler. Original gold nib. Matador had less fame than Montblanc and Pelikan, but its pens were top quality.
Miller 662
Sweden, late 1930s. Little is known about Millers. They were related to Towers, a Soennecken sub-brand from WWII, from when Soennecken operated a plant in Denmark. They carry Soennecken-like designs on their cap bands. It’s a handsome pen with clear top quality German origins. Celluloid, f/m gold nib, button filler.
Montblanc Meisterstück 149
West Germany, 1969-70. My second fountain pen, this 149 was a 1970 high school graduation present from my parents. It is marked “Germany”, without the “West” because it was made for domestic use. It has seen almost continuous use since, although limited to desk use since a street fall in 1995 chipped the cap. This pen has never been serviced, except for a full flushing after each fill. Black resin with gold trim. Piston filler.