All Pens and Ephemera

Ever wonder what it would be like to walk into an old stationary shop or jewelry store where they sold pens and pencils in the 1920s? Our Sheaffer CB might give you a small taste, as it is still stickered and from a jewelry store that closed in the 1920s! No doubt they intended to sell it and then engrave it. This gold-filled pencil still works and looks brand new, aside from a hint of shop wear, which is pretty amazing for a 100-year-old pencil. Twist the top crown to advance and retract a 1.1mm lead. Pull out the crown to reveal a hardened, unused, original eraser with spare leads beneath it. 12.9cm.

Oversized Sheaffer Titan pencils seem common on this site, but they are rather uncommon in the wild. Here is a beautiful jade model that is in great working order. It has some scratches on the nose cone, light wear on the barrel and minimal wear on the topper. Maybe a touch of brassing on the pocket clip. The topper does not seem to want to separate from its inner mechanism, which is okay, given there doesn't sound as if there are any spare leads within. Twist the topper to advance and retract the 1.1mm lead that is already loaded into the pencil. 13.4cm.

The granddaddy of mechanical pencils in the 1920s was the Sheaffer Titan. Ideally matching the Oversized pens of its time, this vintage pencil is in excellent condition. Its 1.1mm lead propelling mechanism works very smoothly, advancing and retracting the lead. Under the gold-plated flat-top topper is a working replacement eraser and spare leads. Cosmetically, this pencils is looking great. There's one deep scratch hard to find on the barrel, a little brassing on the pocket clip and some small dimples on the topper. Otherwise, there's only some light wear. 13.3cm.

Here's one you don't see every day. This is an oversized Sheaffer Balance pencil with a separation point about a full centimeter below the cap band. The pencil is in great working order, loaded with a smaller-than-customary-for-this-era .9mm lead. It has a handsome black-and-pearl design. Unfortunately, there is general wear from use, brassing on the pocket clip and a small portion on the barrel that looks as if it was sanded down. Nothing remains of the original eraser. Nevertheless, it remains a great daily writer for everyday math, crosswords, sudoku and more. 14.6cm.

New Old Stock pencils from the 1940s that still have their original price sticker are always a treat. However, this poor Wahl-Eversharp 161-R Skyline pencil has a big crack near its clicker button. Our pencil still works great. The 1.1mm lead advance smoothly with a click, a still-rare early feature and advancement on mechanical pencils at that time. Under the button is a new, hardened old eraser and spare leads. The gold plating looks good. The only problem is that damned crack. 13.3cm.

Marine green is a desirable and less common design on the 1930s Sheaffer Balance line. Even rarer are the Sheaffer Autograph models! Sheaffer Autograph pencils have a solid 14k gold pocket clip and an extra-wide solid 14k gold band around the cap. Typically, those wide bands were engraved. This vintage pencil has no such engraving! Better, yet, it is in great working order. Twist the tail cap to advance or retract the 1.1mm lead. Pull of the tail cap to access the remains of an eraser and spare leads beneath it. Unfortunately, this pencil isn't perfect. To the right of the cap band are some dots deeply cut into the celluloid, that also has a 1/2-inch of flat spot, possibly where someone tried to polish the dots out. The remainder of the pencil has some blemishes, especially near the top of the tail cap with a bite mark and a few lines/scratches imprinted. Believe it or not, you really don't see it well unless you go looking for it, but, nevertheless, it is there. 13.2cm.

Parker advanced the efficiency and ease of using fountain pens when it created the Lucky Curve inkfeed. This is an early Parker Lucky Curve button filler from the very early 20th century. Click the headline for close-ups of the pen and nib. Notice the pen still has a slip cap and significant chocolate hazing of the black hard rubber (ebonite). We have not attempted to restore this pen. Notice how the threads of the blind cap by the button are missing. We feel that this rare older pen is likely too fragile to properly disassemble and put back together. Its 14k gold nib is a beautiful number 2 size that writes a very smooth medium line with a little flex. It also appears to have an early inkfeed. The pocket clip is an aftermarket clip made by the Rexall pharmacies. Slender and 14.1cm capped.

Didn't Shel Silverstein have a poem called, "Almost Perfect, but Not Quite"? That sums up our Conklin 40P. Nice, shiny black hard rubber. Deep, crisp chasing. Clear but a little uneven factory imprint. Fully restored with a new ink sac. You will even find that this vintage pen has a semi-flex nib that writes an extra-fine to 1mm line. Yet, if you look closely at the gold-plated crown on the cap, to the right of center is a big ol' dent where someone once dropped this magnificent old fountain pen. No cracks or other problems. 11.4cm capped.