Iridium Point Pen Co.

[coolpenz]

Hi, all

 

Hoping someone can help me here... recently got a pen, your basic Big Red clone with a wider GF band. The clip notes "Iridium" and the letters IPCO. The lever also notes "iridium" OK, so so far, it looks like we're looking at a product of the Iridium Point Pen Co. But the barrel imprint notes, "manufactured by W. Snow Co, New York, and the gold nib is also marked Snow. Was there any correlation between the 2 companies? Thanks for any help!

[coolpenz]

Just bumping this in case someone with knowledge of this missed it first time around...

[nxn96]

A quick internet search found an "Iridium Point Pen" on penoply.com that looks much like the pen you describe. It probably doesn't tell you more than you've already figured out on your own, but it's worth looking at.

[steelblood]

You can find more infomation here:

http://edisonpen.com/page.cfm/IPGnibs2

 

Very nice article from president of the Edison Pen Company

Hope it help

[WanderingAuthor]

"Iridium" and "Iridium Point" are essentially meaningless. It is like looking at a power transformer, seeing the phrase "60 hz AC" and deciding that transformer must be made by "60 hz AC".

 

The important thing here is the marking on the barrel. W. Snow of New York would be the manufacturer - or at least you're supposed to think that (some "makers" bought parts from other manufacturers and stamped their own names on them...) - although many pen makers used nibs made by someone else. But the mark on the barrel is your starting point. "Iridium point" is a general descriptive term, like "steel nib" or "piston fill". Edited to add; and the fact that the nib is marked "Snow" as well really settles the matter that your pen is a Snow. What I do find odd is that you say it is a gold nib - and the term "iridium point" was usually used with steel nibs. I do wonder if the clip might be a "replacement" from another pen. Then again, the lever reads "Iridium", too. So you'd really have to find out more about W. Snow of New York to learn if these markings are usual or if you have a pen that has been repaired using parts from another, different pen.

Edited October 23, 2011 by WanderingAuthor

[Vintagepens]

"Iridium" and "Iridium Point" are essentially meaningless. It is like looking at a power transformer, seeing the phrase "60 hz AC" and deciding that transformer must be made by "60 hz AC".

 

I'm afraid you're a bit off on this. You are probably thinking of all the recently made pens with Chinese nibs marked "Iridium Point/Germany", and their rather less common American-made precursors, some of which do date back several decades. Nonetheless, when you are talking about American-made pens of the 1920s, you do not see such pens routinely marked "Iridium" or "Iridium Point" as a generic label. In this case, the markings denote a very specific brand -- Iridium Point Pen Co. -- about which, I'm afraid, I cannot say much more, since I've not made much of a study of the econobrands.

[WanderingAuthor]

I'm afraid you're a bit off on this. You are probably thinking of all the recently made pens with Chinese nibs marked "Iridium Point/Germany", and their rather less common American-made precursors, some of which do date back several decades. Nonetheless, when you are talking about American-made pens of the 1920s, you do not see such pens routinely marked "Iridium" or "Iridium Point" as a generic label. In this case, the markings denote a very specific brand -- Iridium Point Pen Co. -- about which, I'm afraid, I cannot say much more, since I've not made much of a study of the econobrands.

 

As far as I know, even in the 1920s, "iridium" was a generic, fairly inaccurate term for the tipping material used on nibs. I have heard of the Iridium Point Pen Co., although I never have figured out how you'd identify one... And in this case, with the barrel and the nib marked "Snow", I think it's pretty unlikely this would be one of theirs. Whether the clip and lever are original to the pen, and use the term generically, or whether these are replacements, perhaps even from the Iridium Point Pen Co., I can't say. But I'd find it strange if the Iridium Point people were to mark the barrels of their pens "W. Snow" and the nibs "Snow". I don't claim any special knowledge on this, but just the stated facts lead me to conclude "Snow" is the important name here.

 

Sadly, a search for /+Snow +"fountain pen"/ yields a number of results - for models by other manufacturers named "Snow", and /+Snow +"fountain pen" +"New York"/ is little better, although it does turn up a lyric by Bob Dylan...

[Brian Anderson]

I don't have much to add other than I do have one. It's a hair bigger than a Waterman 18, but the nib is much smaller, but is indeed marked Iridium Point Pen Co. NY. There is no marking on the barrel, at least not anymore anyway.

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/ippc.jpg

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/ippcnib.jpg

 

Cheers!

Brian

[Tweel]

I don't have much to add other than I do have one... marked Iridium Point Pen Co. NY.

The "hard" on your nib apparently doesn't refer to a lack of flex -- a "Hard Iridium Point Pen Co." turns up in some records from about 1911 through 1919:

 

Google results

 

BTW, at least one of the badly OCR'ed texts from archive.org can be found in image form on Google Books:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=yg4rAAAAYAAJ&dq=iridium%20point%20pen%20co.%20intitle%3AAnnual%20intitle%3Areport%20intitle%3Aof%20intitle%3Athe%20intitle%3AState%20intitle%3ABoard%20intitle%3Aof%20intitle%3AAssessors%20intitle%3Aof%20intitle%3Athe%20intitle%3AState%20intitle%3Aof%20intitle%3ANew%20intitle%3AJersey&pg=PA104#v=onepage&q=iridium%20point%20pen%20co.%20intitle:Annual%20intitle:report%20intitle:of%20intitle:the%20intitle:State%20intitle:Board%20intitle:of%20intitle:Assessors%20intitle:of%20intitle:the%20intitle:State%20intitle:of%20intitle:New%20intitle:Jersey&f=false