Pen books give ample coverage to Waterman's American production, but European-made pens and pencils have not been so thoroughly or systematically illustrated and discussed (a notable exception being the
Waterman Safety book by Dansi, Jacopini, and Verduci). This 9K gold English-market Waterman is an example of the sort of pen that leaves many collectors puzzled. Is that seal stone in the cap top original, or is it a jeweler's customization?
Waterman pens with seal-stone tops seem to have been most popular in Britain and France, though they are not at all common. In the USA they were special order items, with one shown in Waterman's 1908 catalog. Nearly all of these, however, were slip-cap eyedropper-filling pens (examples
here,
here, and
here); lever-fillers with seal tops are far scarcer.
David,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pen! i recently talked to Roger at Penopoly, and he shared with me that these Waterman's with bloodstone caps, are said to be jeweler overlay pens. I dont know much more than that, except this is a scarce pattern in 9k gold.
If Roger said that, he is mistaken. As noted in the article, they are illustrated in Waterman catalogs, and the English overlays all bear full London hallmarks with the Waterman maker's stamp.
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