Dunhill/Zerollo Two Pen, worth having repaired?

[SteveW]

Folks,

 

A few weeks ago I bought a bunch of Wearevers, mostly in parts pen condition. There was one odd pen in the batch though, a Dunhill "Two Pen". A quick inspection showed that indeed there are two nibs. A knob on the end seemed a logical way to control them, but the knob is jammed (didn't stop somebody from trying really hard though, they put a nice 1/4 inch crack into the base of the pen.

 

Some Googling brought me to a discussion on FPN Zerollo Two Pen thread.

 

Well, it's pretty clear that this pen takes the worst features of a safety and a matchstick-filler and crams them into one barrel. I'd have thought having two separate pens would have been cheaper and held lots more ink.

 

I also suspected that repairing one of these makes a triumph nib vac-fill repair look easy. I posted this on another board and David N confirmed that these things are quite the challenge.

 

But, on the other hand I am an engineer, and I can't help but be impressed by the complexity of this. It's a nutty design, but it is magnificient in its nuttiness.

 

This then begs some questions. Does anybody work on these? If so about what does a repair run? Mostly importantly does it pay to get it fixed or would it be good money after bad?

 

Thanks all.

 

 

Steve

[Gerry]

Steve,

 

Before either embarking on a DIY fix, or sending it out, it might be worth your while to enquire in a few other threads (perhaps even other boards) about the value of the pen. Since it was first mentioned in Pen History - why not post there - or link a post there to this one and see if there are any ideas of its value. Possibly another in Writing Instruments. Personally I don't know whether there are a lot of examples of this pen around, but for someone wanting to document the history, the restored pen plus a copy of the patent should fetch a few more dollars than what you paid for it.

 

Problem always is - the market is not full of buyers, so it's partly luck when a seller and buyer interested in the same thing meet. I know, I've got an early Eagle cartridge fountain pen - the first cartridge pen produced some say. Still, not much interest from collectors - not many collectors I can see... Bought it in exactly the same way you did, and it also has a flaw (damaged feed) that requires work.

 

Hope you have good luck with the value, otherwise - consider making it a feature of your collection. It still has the cachet of being a very unique pen regardless.

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[Gerry]

Steve,

 

Denis' post in Pen History re the Dunhill offers a little insight into the value of the pen - at least of a collectable in collectable shape. You might let that guide you a little on how to treat it.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...indpost&p=40408

 

Regards,

 

Gerry

[SteveW]

Gerry:

 

First of all, thanks for the replies. The general quiet has been a bit disheartening. 8)

 

I did see Denis' post, but as it lists an auction estimate, vs what the pen really went for I didn't want to get my hopes up. Even if cut in half due to condition it's a rather impressive figure for a pen found in a ziplock with a bunch of broken/melted Wearevers.

 

--SteveW

[Oxonian]

Hi Steve,

 

The general quiet has been in part due to most of us hurriedly looking up anything we can find on the beast, followed by thoughts of, 'some people have all the luck' and also thoughts like, ' keep quiet ,someone will know something about them, if I say anything someone might think I do'.

There might also be a small, a very small, amount of good natured envy at your good fortune along the lines of 'I wish I'd found something like that, lucky so and so'.

These double nib pens in any of their incarnations are unusual and uncommon enough to be the sort of things that most of us will only ever see in a book or if we go to the sort of pen auctions where the really strange/odd/expensive/interesting pens and pens that are a combination of these things are sold for the sort of money that causes the average pen ( I almost wrote nut's but thought that I'd better change it) enthusiast's bank manager to turn pale and the collectors spouse/partner or whatever to threaten divorce/separation/withdrawal of pleasures and priviledges or even perhaps go through with the varioius threats of bodily mayhem made the last time that said collector overspent. :ph34r:

 

Most people that see one close up and personal will look at it, scratch their heads , look at it again, shake their heads and wonder how, where and who made them and why. The people who have replied are the people who know their subject and study the backwaters of the history of pens for fun.

 

I hope you enjoy the pen and perhaps post a few photos of it showing it from the sort of angles that we rarely get to see without standing on our heads in front of a glass cabinet.

 

All the above is only my two pennies worth and probably not worth even that much. Best of luck with it whatever you decide to do, Cheers, John

[SteveW]

Thanks John, I was taking the silence to mean "some noobie with a $5 pen" <G>

 

Well, at least I have something to bring to the next LI Pen Club meeting.

[iangdawson]

I too have just acquired one of these pens (complete with box) whilst browsing junk shops. The mechanism is stiff (Perished inksacs?) Does anyone know of a UK repairer who can service it?

As for value:

One has recently sold on Ebay in the UK for just under £900 and an online retailer has sold one (not in working order) after advertising it for £1000.