My Oddball Collecting....

January 3, 2015

So far I have a Remington, and an Underwood in my collection of vintage pens, and am currently closely watching a Winchester and a Packard. For some reason these pens appeal to me simply because of their brand names. I know they have no connection to what made those names famous (well, Remington and Underwood both made typewriters). These pens are most likely all 3rd tier pens and all of them are cool, to me. They have nice coloring/marbling (the Remington's plunger even has the same black and red marbling as the pens cap and body), most are syringe fill and often similar to one another in style. I like this part of my collection though and hope to grow it as I find other familiar names not associated with writing instruments, in fountain pen form. I also have a few no name pens that fit into this collection because of the coloring of the pens.

While I'm an Estie collector at heart, I really enjoy finding these rare, yet quite cheap oddballs to add to my vintage collection.

When I get a couple more in the stable, I'll post a group pic.

January 3, 2015

At pen shows these are great finds, some of the materials are stunning and the prices are usually very good. Now you need to get hooked on these same brands with combos!

January 3, 2015

Combos just don't do it for me, for some reason I have an aversion to them. I acquired a couple in auctions with numerous pens sold as parts groups and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. Not even sure why but I actually dislike them.

I would love to go to a pen show someday and look for these types of pens, but being in Lincoln NE and being a dialysis patient makes traveling a bit more difficult than jumping in the truck and driving to Chicago* for a weekend. Not saying it can't be done it just takes more planning. Actually flying would probably be cheaper, but then I'd need a hotel and transportation when I get there. If I drove I could crash out for a few hours after a day at the show, and drive back that night.

*Chicago is about as far as I could go for a weekend pen show.

March 9, 2015

I just added a little red ringtop Eclipse to my small collection of obscurities. An early one, from the nib and lever. It has a stub nib, so I'm looking forward to writing with it.