Writing Instruments
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The first recorded use of the quill pen was in the 7th century when it replaced the reed pen, an earlier innovation of the Romans. The quill pen became the writing instrument most widely used for more than a thousand years.

The inextricable link between these primitive pens and writing will forever live on in the word "pen" which is derived from the Latin word "penna" meaning feather. But that is the only resemblance that modern day writing instruments have with the great forebearers of writing history, the quill and reed pens.

The quill pen in particular has great historical importance and most of Western Society is built on the bedrock of legal documents signed with a simple feather or quill pen. Feathers from different birds were utilized but the goose feather was the one used most extensively. Only certain wing feathers from the goose were desirable and they almost always came from the left wing. This guaranteed that, once made, the pen would curve away from the writer.

Swan feathers were sometimes used for ordinary writing but feathers from crows were known to be more advantageous for creating fine lines. Once the feather was removed from the bird of choice, the hollow shaft had to be cut and shaped. This required the used of a very sharp knife, hence the word "penknife."

Creating a quality quill pen was far from simple. It required great skill and patience. It is said that no two quill pens are the same and it is unfortunate that the artisans who created such historically significant artifacts are long since gone. When one looks at the importance of the quill pen in history, it is clear that this one writing instrument was indeed "mightier than the sword" and vital to the advancement of knowledge throughout the world.

As we move closer and closer to a fully computerized world, the future of writing instruments seems perilous. The advent of the keyboard, coupled with the development of mobile phones and their ability to generate text messages, appear to be ushering us toward a pen free society.

Fountain Pens 1910-1940

Sometimes called a nib pen, fountain pens contain water-based ink in liquid form. Using a combination of the force of gravity coupled with capillary action, the average fountain pen needs very little pressure in order to write. The nib is the removable metal device that is attached to the bottom of a fountain pen into which the ink is drawn. Nibs come in various sizes depending on how thick or thin you want the ink. Many are made out of 14K gold.

There are various methods of re-filling vintage fountain pens with ink. Models requiring an eyedropper or syringe can be very messy as well as time consuming. Some fountain pens are fitted with a lever to suction in ink via the nib. Yet others have a removable cartridge filled with ink that snaps into place within the body of the pen.

Since the 10th century there have been many different attempts at creating a clean, efficient and reliable leak-proof pen, but nothing ever seemed to satisfy all the requirements. One inventive German gentleman, Daniel Schwenter, invented a double quill fountain pen whereby the inner quill chamber held the ink. There were other such attempts at perfecting the fountain pen that were recorded in both the USA and England over the years. However they all continued to suffer from one or more defects, making them unsuitable for use.

The progress to develop a reliable, clean and affordable fountain pen was slow. The main reason for this appears to be the lack of understanding of how capillary action and air pressure are both crucial in dispensing ink evenly. It was not until 1850 that patents for fountain pens started to pour in from all over the world. Yet, due to the continued difficulties, the fountain pen had still not been widely distributed and therefore remained unattainable to the ordinary man in the street.

Mr Duncan MacKinnon, a Canadian citizen residing in New York, is credited jointly with Alonzo T. Cross of Providence, Rhode Island, with producing fountain pens with a hollow nib. These pens are referred to as "stylographic" and are mostly used by draftsmen for technical drawings. Being a new development at the time, they were hugely popular during the period that fountain pens were still being perfected (1875-1885).

It was not until the 1880's when fountain pens were finally mass-produced. The market leader at this time in the USA was Waterman. Their close rival was Wirt, a company based in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The fountain pens produced during this period were generally filled by means of an eyedropper in a laborious and often messy fashion. It was not long before Waterman far surpassed Wirt in production.

Self-filling pens were developed around the turn of the century, and probably two of the most successful and well known were the Conklin "crescent-filler" and the Waterman "twist-filler". But demand for both these popular writing instruments was exceeded by the hugely successful Sheaffer lever filler fountain pen that was introduced around 1911. At about the same time, the Parker Company produced their "button-filler" system of ink delivery.

The need to earnestly address accidental leakage of ink was at hand. One of the first possible solutions to this dilemma was a retractable nib that "corked" the flow of ink, thus avoiding leakage. The most popular of these types of fountain pens was produced by Morris Moore of Boston. Ever competitive, Waterman was not to be outdone and in 1907 they produced a "safety fountain pen" that soon became exceptionally popular. Similar pens were produced by Swan and Parker - the Swan "Safety Screw-Cap Fountain Pen" and the Parker "Jack Knife Safety Pen".

The Pelikan Company of Germany acquired a patent for a modern piston filler fountain pen, which they produced in 1929. Eventually, celluloid barrels replaced hard rubber barrels, which allowed the manufacturers to create a wide range of colors. However manufacturers of writing instruments still continued to experiment with new systems of filling the fountain pen and before long the world was introduced to the very popular Parker "Duofold" and the Sheaffer "Lifetime Balance."

The two decades from 1940 until 1960 saw fountain pens still more popular than ballpoint pens, which were developed around 1945. While fountain pens continued to improve, ballpoint pens had replaced fountain pens as problematic. They too were prone to leaks and since they were relatively new to the market they were more costly.

Therefore fountain pens such as the "Eversharp Skyline" and the "Snorkel" were developed and launched during this period. At the same time, the Esterbrook J series of lever filled fountain pens, which offered interchangeable nibs, provided an instrument that was both inexpensive and reliable.

It was not until the 1960's that the use of ballpoint pens gradually increased and exceeded that of fountain pens for general use. Fountain pens still have their devotees but they are now more widely viewed as vintage collectibles rather than everyday writing instruments. Several high-end companies continue to market fountain pens but more as a status symbol than an everyday writing tool.

Mechanical Pencils

The mechanical pencil was first invented in 1822 by Sampson Mordan and Gabriel Riddle of England. In 1915, Hayakawa Tokuji who was the founder of Sharp developed his own mechanical pencil, which became quite popular in Japan. His pencil was called the Sharp Ever-Ready and examples of this pencil are almost impossible to find today. It is believed that not many of them ended up in the United States. Tokuji eventually got into the production of radios and the rest of course is history.

At the same time, a man named Charles Kerran from Illinois developed what was the first mass produced mechanical pencil called the Eversharp, not to be confused with the Sharp Ever-Ready. This pencil was very well received by the public. In 1915, Kerran struck a deal with the Wahl Adding Machine Company. Wahl had an interest in being in the pen business and this deal was their opening. Kerran signed a contract with Wahl because he did not have the adequate financial backing he needed to move forward with his product. Eventually Wahl forced Kerran out and at that point they stepped up production on the now famous Wahl Eversharp.

Over the years, these pencils were made with many different decorative patterns and from a number of different materials to include nickel silver, sterling, gold filled and 14K gold.

Ballpoint Pens

History tells us that many inventors dabbled in trying to produce the ideal ballpoint pen. But most sources credit the Hungarian Laszlo Biro with its invention. This gentleman, who was a newspaper editor by trade, fled abroad to escape Nazi Germany and patented his ballpoint pen in Argentina in 1943. There were several patents for other ballpoint pens before this but Biro's was the most efficient and reliable. It became a commercial icon of the 20th century.

The ballpoint pen was a huge advancement over that of the fountain pen, although we are sure there are a number of fountain pen aficionados who would beg to differ. The ballpoint pen has an internal container of ink that is delivered to the paper via a rolling ball in its tip. Ballpoint pens are inexpensive with a few exceptions, they need no maintenance, they are mostly re-fillable and quite clean to use. They still stand as the most popular instrument for everyday writing in the 21st century.

Covering the history of the pen would not be complete without mentioning the revolutionary BIC pen. In 1959, the BIC Company brought the first plastic disposable ballpoint pen to America and a very inexpensive as well as dependable pen was finally available to everyone at a cost of nineteen cents.

The Big Four

Waterman
Lewis Waterman from New York invented the capillary system using air to deliver ink to fountain pen nibs, which went on to be used throughout the world. This system allowed for even distribution of the ink.

After a bad experience with what he thought was a stylish and efficient fountain pen, Mr. Waterman decided that he should be the one to develop a superior and reliable product. In 1884 he obtained a patent for a writing instrument decorated with wood accents which he named "The Regular." By 1899 Mr. Waterman had opened his first factory in Montreal, and the range of Waterman pens available was extensive. Waterman pens were also hand made and guaranteed for 5 years.

When Lewis Waterman died in 1901 his nephew took over the business. He expanded it overseas and increased sales to more than 300,000 per year. Significant documents, such as the Treaty of Versailles, were signed with a solid gold Waterman fountain pen. Waterman writing instruments are highly collectible today and much sought after by fountain pen enthusiasts worldwide.

Wahl-Eversharp
Wahl-Eversharp was formed in 1915 when Wahl bought the Eversharp Pencil Company. Until 1917 they only produced mechanical pencils but after the acquisition of the Boston Fountain Pen Company in 1917 they produced a huge range of quality pens and pencils up until 1956. At that time, Wahl sold the writing instrument part of the company to Parker.

The gold chevron design of the Eversharp range of pens and pencils is famous and is viewed by collectors as the symbol of quality and craftsmanship. Many other companies have tried to emulate it over the years. Original Eversharp writing instruments are highly sought after by serious pen collectors.

Sheaffer
In 1907 Walter A. Sheaffer designed and later received a patent for a lever filling system. But it was not until 1912 that he used every penny he had to start the Sheaffer Pen Company. Although he only started out with a modest 7 employees, business was brisk and in 1913 the Sheaffer Pen Company was officially incorporated.

Ever the innovators, in 1922 Sheaffer produced a line of inks for use with its fountain pens called the "Sheaffer Skrip Ink". It was specifically designed to flow evenly. In the mid 1920's Sheaffer also produced a vivid jade green pen made from a material called "Radite." Up until this time, the majority of fountain pens were made of hard black rubber also called vulcanite.

Their colored pen line proved exceedingly popular and by 1925 at least 24% of the market had been captured by Sheaffer. The famous "White Dot" trademark was first used in 1924 on their range of Radite fountain pens. Today Sheaffer is owned by the BIC Corporation.

Parker
The founder of Parker Pens was George L. Parker who was a sales agent for the John Holland Pen Company before starting his own business. The first patent registered to Parker for a fountain pen was in 1889.

Any serious collector of pens will already be familiar with the "Lucky Curve" system that claimed it could actually suction excess ink back into the pen barrel when not in use. The Lucky Curve was adapted and used in various forms up until 1928.

Quink (quick drying ink) was another Parker development in 1931 that became well known worldwide. Use of this type of ink meant that users of fountain pens no longer had to worry about blotting their writing. This achievement ushered in the most popular and widely used model of fountain pen in history, the Parker 51.

The Parker Company was absorbed into other various high profile companies including Gillette in 1993. Some of the most collectibles models from this company in addition to the Parker 51 include the 1932 Vacumatic.

Other Pen Manufacturers

In addition to the big four manufacturers of writing instruments, there are others manufacturers that are quite popular with collectors today. They include Pelikan, Conklin, Mabie Todd, Montblanc and Swan.

Collecting Writing Instruments

Collecting vintage or antique writing instruments is a passion for many people. There are many collector pen clubs that the enthusiast may join to share their passion for vintage writing instruments.

Some collectors concentrate on antique and vintage fountain pens, others specialize in collecting fountain pens by type which can include cartridge, piston, converter, lever filler, button filler, safety pen, snorkel, capillary system, eyedropper, push filler, vacumatic, touch down and leverless. Some people only collect writing instruments from a specific manufacturer or maybe a certain decade or other time frame.

If you are a fledgling collector but are attracted to writing instruments in general, this segment of the collectibles and antiques market could be perfect for you. If you do your research and decide which area of the market is of interest to you, it is still possible to find inexpensive quality vintage and antique writing instruments at reasonable prices.

As always, knowledge is power and if you go to auctions, thrift shops and garage sales armed with the right information you can select the best possible specimens for your collection. You are sure to have an advantage over others who are less well informed.

Written by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
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