Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Waterman French instruction sheet

In a recent post we made mention of a French-market Waterman 20, chiefly because of its highly unusual feed, but also noteworthy in that this giant appears never to have been officially marketed in France. A neat bit of evidence for the absence of the giants from the French market is shown below; it is the second page of a French instruction sheet that probably dates to right around 1917-18, just after the numbering system for lever-fillers was altered, but early enough that the lever-filler could still be featured as a "new model" -- as it is presented on the opposite side of this sheet.
Although this sheet is too late to bear directly upon the 20 (the 20 is not listed in US Waterman catalogs of 1914 and 1918), it is notable that the repair parts listed (as well as the add-on clips) are all for pens no larger than 6-size, at a time when 8-size pens were standard offerings in the USA. Note, too, the add-on clips, both Clip-Cap style, and in snake form -- both distinctively European, and not to be found in contemporary US catalogs.

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