News — Vintage Fountain Pen

I'm occasionally asked about the merits of buying a vintage pen as opposed to a brand new model for around the same price, so I thought it would be worth doing a comparison. I've chosen two Parkers, a brand new Sonnet and a 1958 Duofold Senior: The Sonnet, a Matt Black version, has a RRP of £196 but is now on offer at £124.95, the Duofold Senior is on this site at £105 so the prices are similar. The appearance of a pen is obviously a very subjective thing, what is perfect for one person may be hideous to another.  The...

The Parker Lady pens usually are very good writers, I suppose a solid Gold Parker nib is the main reason.  As only a very small part of the nib is visible I thought I'd post a picture of a Lady during restoration, someone may be interested to see the small but beautiful No. 4. nib.

The Jewel pen company is one of Britain's oldest, it was founded in 1884 as agents for American made pens.  By the early 1900s the company was producing its own pens. This Jewel 46 was only made between 1943 and 1945 and, judging from the scarcity of the pen, it did not sell in great numbers. It's s very handsome, well made pen in a blue marbled pattern with Gold filled trim.  In terms of quality it is as good as any pen from the period, and better than most. The nib is Jewel's own brand, they called it a...

Mabie Todd didn't refer directly to this little Swan as a ladies pen, although the way it was advertised certainly made it clear the this was their intended market.  The most unusual thing about the pen is the clip, a stepped, art deco looking affair similar in shape to that found on some later Waterman's pens.  It never appeared on any other Mabie Todd offerings.  The pen appeared in 1939 and remained in production for only about a year, stopping when the wartime restrictions were imposed and not continued thereafter.  It is quite a rare pen. This particularly fine example is...

Well, I do for one!  I know they have a less than glowing reputation and are of little value but, during the 1950s and early 1960s the Platignum fountain pen had a huge following in the U.K. I'm under no illusions about the value of my collection of Platignums, should it be 'Platignae', but have an attraction to the brand based on pure nostalgia. If you had just started secondary school in the 1950s and were from the so-called 'working class', then there is a very good chance that your parents would equip you with a Platignum.  During my less than illustrious  school...