Small pens - anyone?

[andyr7]

I'd be interested to know how many people on FPN profess to be small pen lovers (and no, before anybody says, I'm not looking for persons of short stature who like normal size pens)! So far, only Dillo, Carrie and Pthalo seem to admit they actually like really small pens through their various posts.

 

Though my first love is Conway Stewart Dinkies I have plenty of other small pens in my collection, some of which I've pictured here. To give you an idea of scale, the lengths of all the pens (as pictured with the caps posted) are around 115 mm.

 

The first group do have a strong CS connection, they are a group of 'Rosemary for Remembrance' pens from the mid 20s and these examples were certainly actually manufactured by CS. Rosemary pens were made by a number of British manufacturers and I understand a percentage of profits was used to help war widows. More than this I do not know, if anybody can add more detailed information about Rosemary pens in general, please do!

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/Rosemaries.jpg

 

Several of these pens feature a threaded end to the barrel to allow the cap to be posted securely, an excellent idea which is not often seen on small pens. The pens are for some reason marked on the cap rather than the barrel and feature a lever with a four-leaf clover design. The French Victory's pen pictured here also features the same design on the lever, which makes me wonder whether this pen is the French equivalent of the Rosemary.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/Victory.jpg

 

Next we have two Unique Baby pens from around the time of the launch of the Unique range in 1924. Both of these are noticably smaller in diameter than even the early CS Dinkies, which themselves increased further in diameter after the first few years of manufacture. First is a black chased vulcanite Unique 33 which also has a superb sterling silver accomodation clip fitted.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/Unique33.jpg

 

Second is this mottled vulcanite model (not marked but almost certainly a Unique) with a Widmers english solid silver overlay hallmarked for 1924.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/SilverUnique.jpg

 

Steve Hull tells me the early Unique pen bodies were probably bought in from France. The French connection continues with one of my favourites, this fabulous mottled vulcanite retractable baby safety pen, which is completely unmarked on the barrel but it was originally fitted with a damaged nib inscribed '18cts - Angleterre'.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/Babysafety.jpg

 

Back with the CS connection is this Dinkie which has obviously been made by CS for Burnham. These Burnham Dinkies are quite rare and usually appear in the standard CS materials, however this is in a very unusual and attractive material. The lever is marked with 'BP' in entwined capital letters but the barrel is unmarked.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/BurnhamDinkie.jpg

 

Finally, not actually a pen, is this handbag perfume dropper (marked Vanity Bag Perfume PEN). It works with a sac and a lever, just like a fountain pen! I was originally attracted by the material, which is the Conway Stewart material that was known as 'Jade green' and was available in the late 20s and early 30s.

 

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-2/1151750/perfume.jpg

 

So if anybody else has pictures of interesting small pens to post, let's see them here!

 

Andy

 

PS apologies for the dog hairs that have found their way onto the scanner bed in some of the pictures!

Edited July 11, 2006 by andyr7

[Dawn]

Hi Andy

 

You have some lovely pens there, thank you for sharing them with us.

 

I love small pens too, my latest buy is a Laban mini in oyster blue. Its such a pretty pen and writes beautifully :)9 .

 

Dawn

[kissing]

Though I do not actually collect small pens exclusively, I find them very cute and would pursue to buy more of them if my wallet allows . I really LOVE the look of that Laban Mini, Dawn. A cute little writing instrument that captures your attention

 

The only small fountain pens I have are these cheap "Smiggle" mini fountain pens which I did nib surgery on to turn into various shaped stubs

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0608_214910.jpg

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0608_215005.jpg

These cost me $2AU (US$1.50), but i fear they have been discontinued

Edited July 11, 2006 by kissing

[NG-Huy]

Well, small pens are sometimes nice to write with, especially when you have small hands ;p I have four of what you'd call very small pens (2 J-P Lépine and 2 Platinum), below my 2 Jean-Pierre Lépine:

 

http://www.lesreveurs.fr/hallo/G7/albums/userpics/10064/IMG_0988.jpg

 

http://www.lesreveurs.fr/hallo/G7/albums/userpics/10064/JP-L%C3%A9pine.jpg

 

Comparing an Attila to a Privilege for size:

 

http://www.lesreveurs.fr/hallo/G7/albums/userpics/10064/IMG_0971.jpg

[Phthalo]

Hi Andy,

 

Great pictures and commentary. The Rosemary pens are very interesting, and the Victory and Unique pens are gorgeous!

 

The three smallest fountain pens I do have are vintage, and going in size from largest to smallest, are:

 

- Waterman 452 1/2 V Silver Overlay, 3.5" / 90mm Capped, 4.8" / 123mm Posted.

- Salz Brothers Gold-Filled, 2.5" / 64 Capped, 3.3" / 86 Posted.

- Salz Brothers Celluloid, 2.2" / 58mm Capped, 3.0" / 78mm Posted.

 

I don't have any images to post now, but later I may take a group shot of a few of my small pens side-by-side.

 

Keep the small pen information coming.

 

(PS: I thought I would be all over CS Dinkies - Nope... haven't found a colour I've liked yet!)

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I have a bunch of smaller pens:

 

CS Dinkie 570

Pelikan M300

Aldo Domani FP

Waterman 3V Christmas

Waterman 3V Grey

Omas Princess Green Arco

Omas Princess Scarlet celluloid

Waterman 52 1/2 V

Speeno 1013

Sailor short pens

Pilot Short pens

 

I am always looking for more, but then non of the above pens are inked since all my ink is frozen. I am finishing up the ink in my left-over pens right now.

 

Dillon

[weepstah]

I don't have pics to put up (yet), but I have found to my surprise that smaller pens are fine to write with. This is helpful, since I am slowly (very slowly) trying to build up a collection of Parker Modernes, Premieres and other related depression era pens. The modernes are 4.5 inches long, and pretty thin as well. However, most of them come with very nice semiflex nibs and using them isn't an issue at all, provided I post the cap.

 

So, my bias on small pens isn't what it would have been a couple of years ago, and I certainly would consider them if they fit the type of pens I am looking for. btw, those Rosemary pens are fantastic, Andy.

[maxrhino]

Whilst not specifically looking for small pens I don't

hold their lack of size against them.

I only have the one so far.

It is a Wyvern Pixie which is a diminutive 107mm long.

I believe they were first made in 1949 which is only six years

before they ceased trading.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I seem to have picked up a fair number of ring-tops in the 4"-4 1/2" range, though I find anything shorter than 4" a bit too short. I will have to pull some pictures together.

 

Andy, it is always a pleasure to see photo's from your collection. Those are some beautiful pens. (though I must always pull up my bank account balance afterward and chant over and over again "I do not collect Conway Stewart").

 

MaxRhino, that is one cool Wyvern. I have really been meaning to add a Wyvern to my collection.

 

Here is one of my favorite small pens - my Baird-North Eydropper, from somewhere around 1910-1915.

 

John

[andyr7]

(PS: I thought I would be all over CS Dinkies - Nope... haven't found a colour I've liked yet!)

 

Pthalo, I really can't believe that (at least if you are including vintage Dinkies in your quest)! Give me a clue as to your tastes for colours or types of patterns and I'll try and find something in my collection to tickle your fancy and post a picture. It won't be for sale but I refuse to believe there's nothing there that meets your requirerments!

 

I once thought I might be into the Peter Pan pens as well but I decided some of them are just too girly for me!

 

It is a Wyvern Pixie which is a diminutive 107mm long

 

Maxrhino, your Wyvern set looks in great condition. I love to see price-stickered vintage pens. Interestingly, CS made a range of Pixie pens in the 20s, none of which were particularly small!

 

Here is one of my favorite small pens - my Baird-North Eydropper, from somewhere around 1910-1915

 

I like that one, too. Small eyedroppers seem to be quite hard to find, I've just bought a plain silver overlaid CS eyedropper (hallmarked 1919) which is about 4.5 ins with the lid on although I am expecting to sell that on as it doesn't particularly fit my collection. My interest was mostly in the makers of the overlay.

 

I have found to my surprise that smaller pens are fine to write with

Weepstah, I've been telling people this for years (see Carrie's recent posts on her newly acquired Dinkies in the CS forum)!

 

Being a cloistered vintage collector, I'm pleasantly surprised to see the variety of modern small pens available. I especially like the Laban in the picture posted by Dawn. I think the main difference generally is in the larger diameter of the modern pens, obviously relating to the ink capacity available. The smallest of those I pictured is probably the Victory, whose barrel diameter is only a shade over 7 mm at its largest point, while the Uniques are almost as small!

 

Keep the pictures coming!

 

Andy

[Judybug]

I had no idea there were so many small vintage pens! I've enjoyed reading about them.

 

If anyone is interest in a small, inexpensive, new pen - check out the Aldo Domani "Sorrento" at Office Depot. I bought it because I thought it was cute, but the cheap price made me wonder if I was buying junk - $20 for the fountain pen and a matching ball point.

 

But I was pleasantly surprised. I think most people would think it a dry writer - certainly not wet - but the ink flows well with no skipping. I think the nib has a little bit of a spring to it - but that might be my imagination. It uses short international cartridges. The pen set come in a red/orange, a bright blue, and classic black - all with gold trim. I bought the black.

 

There's only one negative thing about it - I find the cap snaps on really tight and is a little bit hard to get off. I'm hoping it will loosen up with use. It's a handy little pen that fits in that narrow little loopy pen holder on my planner.

 

Judybug

[HesNot]

I am always looking for more, but then non of the above pens are inked since all my ink is frozen. I am finishing up the ink in my left-over pens right now.

 

Dillon

Emphasis added by me - all your ink is frozen? I am a newbie but you can't throw something like that on the table and just leave it there! Is that a preservative measure, an experiment, ... something else?

 

Just interested in learning a bit more!

 

Anyway, small is a relative term I suppose but I do like the J size Esties which despite being the largest Esties are still pretty small and a little Sheaffer Craftsman lever filler has found its way into my pocket with regularity recently. Unlike a "51", a senior Duofold or even a Snorkel, they fit into shirt pockets neatly!

[Elaine]

I love small pens! A few of mine:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/elainepnj/Pens/Mabie_Todd.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/elainepnj/Pens/babypens.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/elainepnj/Pens/Welsh.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/elainepnj/Pens/NE%20Pen%20Show%202006/NEshoweverrite.jpg

[andyr7]

Elaine, can you identify the makers and models, for the uninitiated - thanks!

 

Andy

[Dillo]

I am always looking for more, but then non of the above pens are inked since all my ink is frozen. I am finishing up the ink in my left-over pens right now.

 

Dillon

Emphasis added by me - all your ink is frozen? I am a newbie but you can't throw something like that on the table and just leave it there! Is that a preservative measure, an experiment, ... something else?

 

Just interested in learning a bit more!

 

Anyway, small is a relative term I suppose but I do like the J size Esties which despite being the largest Esties are still pretty small and a little Sheaffer Craftsman lever filler has found its way into my pocket with regularity recently. Unlike a "51", a senior Duofold or even a Snorkel, they fit into shirt pockets neatly!

Hi,

 

Nothing leaks or flows when frozen.

 

Still waiting for someone to buy a pen FROM me FOR me.

 

Dillon

[philm]

Here are a few more vintage small pens. All are less than 4" capped

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/dcp_3123a.jpg

 

Top to bottom

 

Centrury Pen / Whitewater WI

Morrison #74

Eagle

 

and posted

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/dcp_3126a.jpg

 

and some Tuckaways

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/dcp_3200a.jpg

[wdyasq]

http://www.otherpower.com/images/scimages/284/little1.jpg

 

Brand unknown, gold nib - 3.10" unposted, 3.31 closed, 4.35 posted

 

Ron

[Ruaidhri]

My smallest - the Kika LE Sterling Silver (and it writes perfectly)

 

Boxed

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ruaidhri/KikaBoxed.jpg

 

Capped

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ruaidhri/KikaCappedRuler.jpg

 

Posted

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ruaidhri/KikaPostedRuler.jpg

 

Insides

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ruaidhri/KikaInsides.jpg

 

With Big Brother (CP5 Modern)

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ruaidhri/KikaandFriens.jpg

[fjf]

I have this pilot custom 98, 122 mm long:

 

http://ujuku.jpn.ph/KAIMONO/pen/pil_fk_1mr_dy.jpg

 

The color is actually less orange, more yellowish.

[amh210]

Some of my little guys

 

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2018/1589/1024/IMG_0068.jpg

 

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2018/1589/1024/IMG_0069.jpg

 

The camo combo is unknown.

The camo fp and pencil set are by Wearever.

The light green is an Epenco.

The black plastic is an Ambassador

The BCHR is a Pick

 

Andy