Some Old Indian Fountain Pen Brands

[shrujaya]

Thank you, Hari, for consistently supporting this 'post in progress'... your responses give a kind of roundedness to each pen...my knowledge of pens gets enhanced...after I read your response, I cross checked PLAZA with my Australian Sheaffer Imperial...remarkable!!...I must have seen this Imperial many times, but I couldn't make the connection with the PLAZA...I wish I had your gift of instant recall...

 

The next one coming up is also a similar looking pen...now that I know...

 

Thanks again, Hari...

 

Regards,

 

Jai

[shrujaya]

Now that I know from Hari the inspiration for the previous pen, PLAZA, I realised that I had another pen in the lot with similar features…it is a model of the brand called EVERLAST…since the name is similar to Eversharp, I did a bit of surfing and realised that there existed a pen company called Everlast Pen Company in the US which “made low end pens in the 40s and 50s”…but this pen doesn’t look like it was made in the US…the ‘REGD’ on the barrel is I think a typical Indian FP feature…I could be wrong though…

 

The pen has a bluish (teal?) plastic barrel and a gold coloured metal cap…it is a slip cap…no names on the cap or on the clip, but EVERLAST (REGD) is pressed on the barrel and the nib too has the brand name engraved on it along with TIPPED FINE…like I said earlier, this pen is similar to PLAZA when it comes to the cap end and the barrel end…both are squarish…Hari responded to PLAZA and said that the shape and features of PLAZA are inspired by Sheaffer Imperial…so, now I know where the squarish ends of this pen too comes from…here are some pictures…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Everlast1.jpg

EVERLAST capped

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Everlast2.jpg

EVERLAST uncapped

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Everlast3.jpg

Nib with brand name

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Everlast4.jpg

Brand name on barrel

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Everlast6.jpg

The squarish ends…

 

 

Here are some group photos of PLAZA, EVERLAST, and my Sheaffer Imperial…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/All3combo1.jpg

All capped…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/All3combo2.jpg

Clip angles…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/All3combo3.jpg

Cap ends…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/All3combo4.jpg

Barrel ends…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/All3combo5.jpg

Sections and nibs…

 

 

Thanks for looking...

 

Regards,

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Very interesting Jai. The Everlast looks to be a cross between the Sheaffer Imperial and the Parker VS(section and the clutch ring)

 

Best

Hari

[shrujaya]

Thanks Hari…I don’t want to keep praising you for the selfless way in which you keep sharing your knowledge about fountain pens on this post and elsewhere too…time and again you have taken pens that seemed obscure towards the light of recognition…and in the process enhanced our knowledge as well as appreciation of them…here is one more FP to tickle your grey cells…

 

The pen under review here is again different from the ones described before…for one, it is an ebonite FP and it came as a pleasant surprise when I realised that it was an ebonite FP only recently…I was taking photos of this pen and I was unscrewing the section and maybe the slight resistance I encountered suggested that it was not the usual plastic FP and I thought I should smell and decide…it IS ebonite…and, then this pen doesn’t have an obvious name, only a ‘P’ on the clip…nothing on the cap, nothing on the barrel…and the nib has ‘MHATRE’ and ‘WRITER’ engraved on it…so, I don’t know by what name to call this pen…is it an ebonite PLATO? Can’t say…my good friend Hari would have some answers…

 

The other straightforward features are…it is a screw cap, ED filler…and yes, it is black in colour!! A nice black, in fact…and it has a very beautiful arrow clip…and as usual, here are the pictures…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Pmhatre1.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Pmhatre2.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Pmhatre3.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Pmhatre4.jpg

 

Thanks for looking...

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Dear Jai, The "writer" from Mhatre was a very popular inexpensive pen, even as far as in Madras in the late 50s-60s. My mother had told me about how they used to buy a writer "pena" (the Tamil word for a pen) at the start of the school year for a grand sum of one rupee from the neighbourhood grocer.

 

She also told me an interesting anecdote, it seems the grocer used to sell a fill of ink for 3 or 5 paise. So the kids would go to the shop on the way to school and get the grocer to fill their one and only pen with a 5 paise dose of ink. If the ink ran out in the middle of school, a drop of water on the nib would last a couple of pages more. Those were the hard days.

 

Best

Hari

[shrujaya]

Hari...how very coincidental that you should mention the Chennai connection to Mhatre Writer...a gentleman named C G Bhargav responded recently to my PLAZA post on my blog and said that he has been living in Chennai for the past 50 years and he says (I quote from his response)..."and I remember Writer (I think in later years it was known as Mhatre Writer or something like that)"...

 

I remember the hard days...to some extent...but the price for a dose of ink in my Camlin had gone up to 25 paise when I was going to school in Mangalore during the late seventies/early eighties...I don't remember having a bottle of ink at home...

 

So, is this a complete Mhatre Writer 'pena'... here are some lines from the song 'New York Nagaram' from "Sillinnu Oru Kathal"...the second line has the typical tamil word 'pena' for pen...just remembered this line when you mentioned the word...

 

naat kuribil nooru thadavai

unthan peyarai ezhthum enn pena..

Ezhuthiyathum yerumbu moika.

Peyarum aanathenna then-na…

 

I am still intrigued by the P on the clip...

 

I am pleased that this post is invoking some nostalgia...thanks for that, Hari...

 

Regards,

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Pena le "mai" ooti ezhudu.

 

Mai is the Tamil word for ink, it also the word for Kohl which is made by collecting the finest soot, the traditional India ink is also soot based. This is for the general audience, You are more fluent in Tamil than me Jai.

 

 

 

 

I am still intrigued by the P on the clip...

 

 

We know that Plato was a Mhatre brand, maybe they used some common parts.

Edited June 12, 2012 by hari317

[shrujaya]

This pen had nothing going for it when I saw it first…the cap band was discoloured…the clip was tarnished and one could barely see the name on it…VENUS…there were battle scars on the barrel and cap…a crack here, a chip there, a scratch somewhere else…I opened the cap and saw that it had a unique nib…a nib with an arrow engraved on it…I remember to have seen a picture of a similar kind of nib on the web while browsing…I couldn’t remember exactly which pen had a similar kind of nib…anyway, this was something unique for me and so I made up my mind to pick this pen up…the nib also has the name SANGAVI engraved on it…and the slit on the nib hadn’t been done properly, doesn’t divide the arrow equally into two…and extends slightly beyond the hole..I opened the section and was surprised to see that the pen had an aerometric filler…I didn’t expect this…this was again unusual because most Indian plastic FPs are ED fillers…once I brought all these pens home, I opened this pen up for a closer inspection…the nib had GOLD PLATED engraved on it below SANGAVI and that part had disappeared into the section…the sac in the aerometric filler had dried and disintegrated…lots of cracks…pieces had fallen off…total mess there…and the filler press-er had ‘Made in Japan’ pressed on it…

 

Then I browsed around and discovered that Parker had designed arrow engraved nibs and used them for Duofolds and Vacumatics … so, there had to be an inspiration…now, what do I call this pen? VENUS? SANGAVI? And where does ‘Made in Japan’ come in? Here are some pictures…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus1.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus2.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus3.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus4.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus5.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/Venus6.jpg

 

Thanks for looking...

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Hi Jai, it's me again. Look up the "English Duofold Maxima". This pen is a dead ringer.

Hari

[shrujaya]

Hari…I thought only the nib was inspired from Parker Vacumatic…now you tell me that there is a whole pen that this pen was inspired from…thanks for the info…

 

Now…this, the last FPen being showcased in this thread, has no visible name…but I call it the Duofold type Ebonite FP…the Duofold design is something I fall for again and again and I think this will go on till I manage to get the Lucky Curve Big Red…till then I will keep going after pens that are inspired by that legendary fountain pen…so, it was a non-issue as far as selecting this pen was concerned… needless to say, the pen is made of ebonite…and has a flat cap top and a flat barrel end…the only piece of metal is the clip and it is badly tarnished…but it is a design after my heart…the ball clip… the nib has ALLOY STEEL FINE imprinted on it…and this was the only pen that I inked from this lot so far…

 

Here are some pics…

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/D-foldtypeEb-FP1.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/D-foldtypeEb-FP2.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/D-foldtypeEb-FP3.jpg

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn280/bambli_mass/D-foldtypeEb-FP4.jpg

 

This has been some journey…stared in September 2011 and showcasing around 13 fountain pens…thanks, folks, for visiting this thread and I am happy that many FPNers showed interest in Old Indian Fountain Pen brands and responded warmly and commented on the various brands that I was able to display here…

 

Regards,

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Nice pen, how big is it as compared to the Advocate?

 

The clip can be nicely shined up using the sunshine cloth.

 

Best

Hari

[sanyalsoumitra]

Good day gentlemen,

these were some really nice pens. Yesterday I got hold of some more thanks to Dr. Madhav Paranjape of Pune who was kind enough to let me have a part of his collection. These are all 45+ years old and very well preserved vintage Indian pens, I am sure you would like them. And perhaps you can give some more insight in way of comments. I am not able to post photos due to exhausted disc space, hence I am posting the liks below. Kindly view and give your valued comments.

 

Warm regards

Soumitra

 

 

 

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-ventage-pen-doric-small.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-maatre-writer-lever.html

 

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-plato-55.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-wilson-large-duofold.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/invian-vintage-pen-airmail-transparent.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-pilot-eye-drpper.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-sharp.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-sulekha-large.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-sapre-extra-long.html

 

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-wilson-dark-walnut.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-doric-eyedropper.html

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-panther-66.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-zeeper.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-doric.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/indian-vintage-pen-sulekha-lever-filled.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-adler.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indain-pen-rolex-celluloid-eye.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-wilson-celluloid_1.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/today-i-received-30-vintage-indian-pens.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-indian-pen-wilson-celluloid.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-chelpark-pen-moti.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-ebonite-pen.html

 

http://soumitrapencollections.blogspot.in/2013/12/vintage-wilson-coronet.html

Edited December 1, 2013 by sanyalsoumitra

[amk]

I seem to remember OLYMPIC was made in Varanasi originally.

[sanyalsoumitra]

I  have found an old vintage Indian pen called  Warner. This is very similar to Hero 616. Fully functional and excellent smooth nib.

The chrome on the cap has slight wear marks.Paid Rs 250/- to Kolkata Pen hospital. Can someone tell me more about this pen and its makers ? Here are the photo links.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[indfpens]

Hi shrujaya. Amazing post! I am from bombay and would love some of these pens. I actually would not mind coming to hyderabad. Can you PM me your email address so we can get in touch?

[mhguda]

Fantastic resource, sanyalsoumitra! Will you be offering [some of] these pens for sale, or is it just eyecandy? I have not yet seen them all but those I have seen look very good...

[Oldtimer]

On one of my wanderings in my city Hyderabad a few months back I saw a small stationery shop, actually very small, more like a hole in the wall, but the shop was stuffed with books, ledgers, ball pens, and other kinds of stationery items. I hoped to find some fountain pens and I was not disappointed. The owner showed me a big box full of fountain pens, but it was more fountain pen parts than fountain pens though, and the few pens that were whole were very old ones. There were names of old Indian brands that I didn’t know existed (not that I know all the brands!!) and the metal on some of these were discoloured, sometimes rusted, but the insides, especially the nibs looked good and the feeders too. And some of the nibs were unique; some were open nibs, some were semi- hooded. I selected the good ones and bought them, at least for posterity’s sake and for documenting & cataloguing them. I had bought similar old brands from various other places too. I don’t want to do a full blown post with all these pens; instead, I would like this post to be a work-in-progress kind of post for all the old brands that I have. I want to keep posting pics of one brand at a time, once a week or so. For some brands I have more than one kind of pen, and for some there is only pen. For starters, here is a brand called PARKO…I don’t think there is any doubt about the inspiration for the brand name…at least the body of one of the three PARKO pens that I got looks like the legendary Parker Vacumatic…there is a broad cap band on each, and if looked closely, one can see the passage of time in the tarnish…the material looks like celluloid, but I think it is not...though I felt I detected a faint smell of camphor, it could also be wishful smelling…I don’t know how old these pens are, but my guess is they are more than 40 years old…the outer design could well be a thin sheet of plastic covered over a plastic body, because one can see the joints where the two ends come together…all the nibs have PARKO imprinted on them; and the barrels too have PARKO along with ‘leakproof’ printed on them…all these three are ED fillers and are NOS pens…I don't know when I'd ink them or whether I'd ink them at all, if I did then I'd know whether they are really 'leakproof'... Greetings,

I remember using PRESIDENT geometry box in 80's as a school boy in north east India. I am wondering if the same company produced PRESIDENT pens.

Best

DL

I have seen the PARKO nib in apparently new hand-made pens by checking nibs on zoom. They are advertised, at least some of them as "sweet flex" although i don't know if they were intended to be flex. I will bid on one to check upon arrival if they are flexy at all, since they go on the cheap side. They could be great finds.