Monday, March 4, 2013

Greek nib

This nib was surely made in New York, but bears an imprint in Greek: "H ΩPAIA" (the good/beautiful), the Greek flag, "EΛΛAΣ" (Greece), and "A. K." I have seen two examples of this nib to date, both in fancy eyedroppers from the first decade or so of the 20th century, one an Aikin Lambert, the other probably an A. A. Waterman. The first had a special commemorative enamel band, also in Greek, while the second was found on a Greek island.

Does anyone know anything more about these nibs? My guess is that they were made up by one of the big Manhattan nibmakers -- Aikin Lambert would be a prime candidate -- for some enterprising Greek or Greek-American who was buying fancy American fountain pens for resale in Greece. If so, "A. K." would likely be his initials.

UPDATE: Followup story here and here.