The Mabie Todd Swan 4461, the first of the 'torpedo Swans', was introduced in 1949 and superceded by a pressure bar filler in 1951. A large and impressive pen, it is an unusual anachronism in that it was constructed entirely in hard rubber, many years after the pen industry, including Mabie todd had moved to plastics.
This pen is a very fine example, it has an unmarked smooth surface and first class Gold filling to the clip and triple cap rings. It is remarkable that the hard rubber shows no sign of oxidation, suggesting that it had been stored in the dark during its retirement. The barrel imprints are crisp and clear, as is the knurling on the filler button.
The pen has been restored to good working order and fully tested. On dismantling, the ink sac, which had hardened with age, was found to be the original Swan sac which was factory fitted over seventy years ago, as shown. This shows that this was the first restoration of the pen and that it hadn't been used for many decades.
The leverless system, patented in 1933, depends upon an 'entangling bar' to compress the sac. This term is a little misleading in that it suggest that the bar somehow twists the sac, this is not the case. A half turn anticlockwise on the knurled button compresses the sac and a tightening of the button release it, allowing ink to be drawn in.
The filling system works well and the large No.4 14Ct Gold nib is straight, well aligned and has a clear imprint. It writes with a fine line and offers a very pleasing flex, from fine to broad, to give line variation and add character to the writing.
The Mabie Todd Swan 4461 Leverless 'Torpedo' is, at 16.5cm. (over 6 1/2 inches), when posted, a very large 'chunky' pen with a great deal of 'understated presence' and an impeccable pedigree.