The Mabie Todd Swan 4660 Eternal was the top of the range of new 'torpedo shaped' leverless pens,launched in 1949. The early type B imprint, with the Swan logo centrally positioned, suggests that this pen is one of the first batch.
The pen has been fully restored and tested and is in truly outstanding condition throughout. It has a first class finish and gold filling with very strong imprints.
The filling system is the original 'leverless' type, rather than the later 'twist filler. It is very easy to use and efficient, filling with a turn on the ribbed filler button and taking up a good volume of ink.
The huge 14 Ct Gold Eternal nib is quite spectacular, both in appearence and performence. The Eternal nibs were reputably made from Gold of twice the thickness of a standard nib so tend to be more firm but still don't have a 'rigid' feel. This one is a superb writer, it is wonderfully smooth and is a pleasure to use, it's a pity my awful scrawl does it no justice.
When capped the pen is a 'normal' 13.8 cm. in length with a sizable girth, giving it a distinct 'chunky' appearence, but when the cap is posted for use the length is a most impressive 16.8 cm. The width of the pen is now consistent with the length and result is an extremely large pen with perfect proportions and an appropriately sized nib. It has a real 'presence'.
The Mabie Todd Swan 4660 Eternal is a fine example of English pen making at its best. It is a hugely attractive and practical pen which has a great deal of presence in an uderstated, rather than garish manner. It is a much sought after and extremely collectable vintage pen.