A Waterman prototype surprise

Many years ago I acquired a group of prototype Waterman Hundred Year pens, all of first year design but most in colors that never made it into production. Recently I finally got around to cleaning them up for proper photographic documentation, and inside the pen shown above there was an interesting surprise.

There was actually a bit of a clue beforehand -- "LEW" and "X" and "I" scratched into the bottom of the feed. Plus of course the pen's completely nonstandard color, an opaque metallic blue.

Nonetheless, there was no anticipating this. Incidentally, several of the pens in this prototype group came with #7 keyhole-vent nibs. As pre-production examples, they might well have been put together before nibs with the Hundred Year imprint had become available.

And here is a more complete view of the feed. At some point I'll have to look to see if a patent application was filed. 

While some of the pens in this group are pristine, such as the light green metallic example shown above, most had been carried and used, including the blue pen. It was undoubtedly a working prototype and not just a material trial.

Waterman desk set discovery

Inkwells are not a collecting focus for me, particularly those from the 20th century. When this one popped up on eBay, however, I made sure to put in a bid -- and to save photos from the listing, just in case. As things turned out it now resides at my shop. But why my interest in this one?

In large part because it retains its original label, identifying it as the product of the Jennings Brothers Manufacturing Company ("Artware of Distinction") of Bridgeport, Connecticut. 

In larger part, however, because of its clear affiliation with the desk base shown below -- a piece that I don't recall seeing in a catalog or ad, though they are not so rare that I haven't seen a few over the years.

It is widely known that fountain pen makers outsourced all sorts of components, with desk set bases being one of the most obvious examples. Yet we don't always know who actually made what, so this is a particularly fortuitous discovery. Note that the construction is of base metal with a thick gilt bronze surface layer -- well preserved in the inkwell, but with much peeling and losses on the desk base version. The base came with a matching rocker blotter and a set of corner squares to be attached to a desk pad. There surely were other accessories available, though it has been so long since I've seen other ensembles, I no longer recall what other pieces they comprised.

Jennings Brothers also produced a wide range of figurines, often found as bookends. It will be instructive to see how many also appear on catalogued Waterman bases without attribution.

Waterman pens with emblems

  

Back in the later 1990s I bought a collection of Waterman pens with emblems that had been assembled by Jim Krause, an eminent watch, clock, and pen dealer. Most have long since been sold and though I photographed all of them, most of the images were not kept in high resolution form. They are nonetheless a valuable visual record and I am sharing them here, along with some better photos of other Waterman emblems that have passed through my hands more recently.

 

 

 

 

 

Waterman 1919 catalog, p. 49.

1925 Waterman catalog: Reference Library: Waterman – Pen Collectors of America