Sheaffer Desk Set - 1960s?

April 28, 2009

I have just received a black/pink/white marble base with ballpoint and fountain pen in gold electroplate made in USA. The base appears to have had a small plaque or name plate a some time in the past judging by a feint outline seen with a loupe.

The pens are I believe desk type Imperials.

The FP has a converter and a 14k 585 'v' cutout inlaid nib that suggests mid/late 1960s. The finish is parallel lines on the pens and smooth trumpets.

Does anyone have any idea on the model name /number and can you point me to any websites which have info on these more modern desksets?

The sticker on the FP says 'SHEAFFER cart med' and there is a sticker on the base saying 'Sheaffer' that can just be seen in the pictures.

The set has had very little use and the ballpoint refill is still writing.

The set was given to me identify and to sell on behalf of a friend however I would like to keep this one at least for a while so any indications of value would be welcome via P.M. in order that I can offer the giver some realistic compensation!

Cheers

Dave

P.S. Sorry about the photographs but I am not great at pen pictures!

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g297/Aislingean/targa/PICT0196.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g297/Aislingean/targa/PICT0197.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g297/Aislingean/targa/PICT0198.jpg

April 28, 2009

Nice set, I have one with the same pens, but a different color 'marbly" base. It has the same Sheaffer sticker on the front and has a paper sticker on the bottom that says NR3G. I would think its about late 60s to early 70s. Mine sits on my desk, an every day user for me. It will take a cartridge or a converter. The lable that is on the set that you have pictured would be of interest if we knew what it says. A photo of mine on my desk can be found here.

I think I paid about 15.00US on eBay 4 or 5 years ago.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...st&p=207878

April 28, 2009

Certainly looks like the same vintage set with a differing colour base.

I should have been shopping 5years ago by the sound of things!

All the label says is 'Sheaffer Cart Med' as I said in the original post.

Mine has no label on the underside.

Cheers

Dave

April 30, 2009

I am a little surprised at the lack of comment from other members!

Are these more modern desksets of such little interest?

Can someone at least tell me if I am correct to refer to these as 'Imperials'?

Does anyone have a means to date this set more accurately than my guess at the nib era?

Thanks all, in anticipation,

I remain,

yours,

Dave

April 30, 2009

Okay. Sheaffer names are pretty fluid and for someone as old and foggy as I, confusing.

There were a variety of inlaid nibs made under a variety of different names and even different physical models. The specific inlay you show is what I always referred to as the 'dunce cap' inlay. It was used on some later models that Sheaffer called Imperials but IIRC they were called 'Triumph Imperials' when they were cartridge filled and not touchdown.

Remember though I'm old and slow and so may well be wrong.

April 30, 2009

These gold plated desk pens were available until the late '90s, and I think this desk base was also available during the 1990s. Probably it was also available for years before, so it's hard to date exactly. Sheaffer had stopped putting the "Sheaffer" sticker on the front of the desk sets by the mid 1990s, I know that. Sheaffer came out with new Prelude desk pens and desk bases around 1997 but they didn't last too long and many were subsequently closed out online or in stores along with desk sets that looked like this.

The black plastic ("Lustre Black" finish) version of this same pen was called a "Triumph Desk Pen" on my desk set. It is made of 14K gold. The Triumph Imperials that were available about the same time had a different inlaid nib and were plated over stainless steel. This nib is like the nibs on the "Triumph" pens Sheaffer was making immediately before they brought out the "Triumph Imperial" line.

Somebody who used to work for Sheaffer needs to come out with a definitive reference book on 1970s, 1980s and 1990s models! Wouldn't that be nice?

Dave

May 1, 2009

These gold plated desk pens were available until the late '90s, and I think this desk base was also available during the 1990s.

Now I am totally confused ! .......[Whats new?]
Our esteemed leader Jim Mamoulides on his wonderful 'PenHero' site has an indepth article on inlaid nibs in which he categorically states that the gold inlaid small V cut out [Dunce's cap] nib was used 1965 to the mid 1970s.
Are we now to believe they were reintroduced or continued for another 20 years, or is it that desk sets were such slow sellers that retailers were still trying to sell twenty year old stock?

I know that there is the ambiguity in naming regards Imperials and that c/c pens are truly 'Triumph Imperials' but I am still no nearer to a model name for this set.
I still find it strange that any pen without the famous 'Triumph' nib should be referred to as a Triumph.
The lined gold finish has continued in many forms and I seem to recall a Targa with a similar finish so does anyone have a ref no. for this finish?

Somebody who used to work for Sheaffer needs to come out with a definitive reference book on 1970s, 1980s and 1990s models! Wouldn't that be nice?

Amen to that:Even a new book b the folks who know!
How about it, Jim, Andy, Roger? Is there room for a collaboration here?
Cheers!
Dave

Edited to correct the slight mis-quote of the Pen Hero article

Edited May 1, 2009 by Aislingean

May 1, 2009

The pens have a five (5) pointed crown where you are showing the gold electroplated engraving on the pens. That should date that set pretty closely, I would think.

May 1, 2009

Now I am totally confused ! .......[Whats new?]

Our esteemed leader Jim Mamoulides on his wonderful 'PenHero' site has an indepth article on inlaid nibs in which he categorically states that the gold inlaid small V cut out [Dunces cap] nib was used 1965-1970.

Are we now to believe they were reintroduced or continued for another 20 years, or is it that desk sets were such slow sellers that retailers were still trying to sell twenty year old stock?

Yup, I purchased several black plastic desk pens and received a few directly from Sheaffer c. 1996 that had nibs identical to this one.

All the Sheaffer confusion is part of what makes this so much fun!

Dave

May 1, 2009

The pens have a five (5) pointed crown where you are showing the gold electroplated engraving on the pens. That should date that set pretty closely, I would think.

I did not know that the crown varied with age.

I being used to UK conventions just assumed that it was a mark adopted by Sheaffer to indicate electroplate as opposed to goldfilled!

Do you have any details of how to date based on the imprint?

Dave

May 2, 2009

Our esteemed leader Jim Mamoulides on his wonderful 'PenHero' site has an indepth article on inlaid nibs in which he categorically states that the gold inlaid small V cut out [Dunce's cap] nib was used 1965 to the mid 1970s.
Are we now to believe they were reintroduced or continued for another 20 years, or is it that desk sets were such slow sellers that retailers were still trying to sell twenty year old stock?

I know that there is the ambiguity in naming regards Imperials and that c/c pens are truly 'Triumph Imperials' but I am still no nearer to a model name for this set.
I still find it strange that any pen without the famous 'Triumph' nib should be referred to as a Triumph.
The lined gold finish has continued in many forms and I seem to recall a Targa with a similar finish so does anyone have a ref no. for this finish?

Fortunately no one else is confused about Sheaffer's naming conventions.

Honestly, it often seems as though Sheaffer just put names in a hat, shook it and had someone reach in and pick a name. Even the very same model sometimes had several different names during its production life.

Just recently we were discussing one of the small, inlaid nib, cartridge converter Sheaffer pens that I have and the biggest difference is that it has the Lifetime engraved into the clip. I've never seen another one in the wild yet I received this one directly from Sheaffer as a replacement for an old wire fill pen they said they could no longer repair. Whether it was a prototype or a special pen they used to replace old lifetime pens or just another variation is totally open to question. No one seems to know.

Sorry but that is both the reality and attraction of collecting Sheaffer pens. Often the only way to determine what a particular pen was called is by looking it up in the catalog for the year of manufacture. Of course, you first need to know when it was made and Sheaffer never put manufacture dates on their pens that I know of. In addition, not every model made seems to have been listed in their catalogs.

The best answer is to just ink and enjoy.