The Swan Eternal pen, by Mabie Todd, was introduced in 1924. The Eternal nib was made from thicker Gold than the standard Swan nib so had less flex but was more robust and long lasting, hence the name.
Consructed in hard rubber (vulcanite), the pen has two Gold filled cap bands with horizontal grooves, and a Gold filled, ball end clip carrying the Swan logo and the words 'SWAN PEN'.
The pen has been conservatively restored and is in good working order. There are light posting and capping ridges and the hard rubber shows a very faint brown partina giving the pen an attractive, even colour, left as is, in the spoirit of conservative restoration. The rubber surface is good and the barrel imprint
The cap is a is a smooth screw fit, tightening with one and three quarter turns. It posts securely on the end of the barrel to give the pen an enormous 17.5 cm. length.
The lever filling system works well and takes up a good volume of ink. The large, number 4 nib delivers a medium line and offers some line variation with a small, but pleasing, amount of flex. The thicker sheet used to produce Eternal nibs places a limit on their flexibility.
The Mabie Todd Swan Eternal is a high quality pen made at a time when practicality and reliability were paramount, but the presence of the Gold filled cap bands indicated that this model could also have significance as a sign of financial well being on the part of the owner. Good examples are now extremely collectable and don't show up very often.