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It's amazing how ancient pens occasionally produce an innoivation that would have revolutionised the industry had they taken it a little bit further.  In this case MacNiven and Cameron devised a filling system that was only a tiny bit removed from an Aerometric filler.  Had they seen the natural improvement they would have jumped ahead about forty years, missing out button fillers and lever systems altogether. The pen was the 'Cameron', a hard rubber, Gold nibbed affair: The pen shown is missing the filler bars at the moment but the arrangement can be seen in a c.1912 advert for the pen: All...

Wyvern were one of the few English pen makers to produce a combination pen, the combination being a fountain pen and a mechanical pencil in one body.  the americans were quite keen on theae but they never really caught on in the U.K. This is a quite robust and good sized affair made around 1920. Not the prettiest writing device I've ever seen but it is was really quite practical at a time when handwritin gand sketching played a more important part in peoples' lives than it does today.  I can imagine a busy 1920s technocrat using one of these,...

One of the attractions of collecting vintage pens is that they evoke a connection with the past.  Occasionally one comes along that carries a tantalising hint of it's own history, often in the form of a name or dedication on the pen or the box, this is such an item: Although the set may not quite live upto the name 'Very Best Make', it is of good quality and is in excellent condition.   The set would, I believe, have been made at a time when dip pens were still in widespread use, perhaps late 19th century.   I bought the set some...

The Mentmore Diploma first appeared in 1934 and was updated to a semi hooded version, this pen, in 1948, presumably as a response to the hooded nib of the Parker 51. The pen is a typical English button filler and holds no real surprises in the restoration process. With gentle heat, I use a hairdrier, the nib section can be removed, it's a right hand thread.  Care should be taken when using a drift and knockout block to remove the nib and feed as the hood shape and size can render it succeptible to chipping The barrel is generously proportioned, a...

The Parker 75 Diamante is a gloriously opulent 75.  The Cisele crosshatch squares are topped with a pyramid to give the diamond effect and the whole thing is coated in 23Ct. Gold: The facets on the squares give the pen a light reflecting quality which justifies the name of the pen, a diamond.  This is evident when the Diamante is compared to the much less scarce Parker 75 Cisele Insignia, in this case the 'deep cut' later version: