The Waterman's 32 was produced throughout the 1920s and 30s in a variety of guises. This hard rubber, clipless and bandless variety is a very early pen.
The pen has been conservatively restored and tested, it is in excellent working condition. The hard rubber has a good surface, with only light user marks, and strong imprints. One of these is a personalisation in the name of Sr. M. Emmanual, a Benedictine nun. I have no real insight into the pen preferences of the lady but would imagine, given her calling, that a no frills but high quality and very servicable plain black pen may suit very well.
At 13 cm. capped and an impressive 15.7 cm. when posted for use, it is a long, slender and well balanced pen. At a time when pens were designed to be used for extended periods of time on a regular basis, lightness in weight was a particularly desirable attribute, this pen weighs in at just under 10 grams.
The Waterman 'box lever' filling system first appeared in the Christmas 1920 catlogue. It provides a secure anchoring point for the lever, helps maintain the profile of the lever slit and, importantly for Waterman, avoided any litigation due to Sheaffer's earlier patent of a lever filling pen.
The filling system works well and takes up a good volume of ink. The correct 14Ct. Gold Ideal 'Reg.US.' nib has exceptional flex, fine to extra broad. It could produce some very impressive results in the right hands.
The early Waterman's 32 is a very collectable pen but, despite it's great age, would also serve extremely well as a 'signature pen' for letter writing, cards, etc. or just for the pleasure of putting the pen back to work.