Unknown Warranted Fountain Pen With No Markings

[tjt7a]

I went to an antique store this past weekend and found this pen on sale. I was intrigued by its size (it's almost exactly as long as a Kaweco Al-sport when capped), the 14K gold nib, and a body in near-perfect condition.

 

The pen was being sold for $15 because the tines were sprung; one of the tines was overlapping the other. I managed to bring the price down to $12, and left the store with a project.

 

After a few minutes of adjustments, I was able to unspring the tines and write with the pen. The flex is strong with this one! Being my first full flex pen, I was impressed by the line variation I could squeeze out. The ink keeps up for the most part.

 

 

After getting the pen to write, I wanted to know what kind of pen it was. It looks like an early 1900s pen with full-flex. The nib says "Warranted 14KT.", and it looks like a real gold flex nib.

 

The feed also looks real, because its a very simple ebonite feed with a few channels carved into it; no fins, nothing fancy.

 

What threw me off was the distinct lack of filling mechanism (i filled it by removing the nib and feed and dropping the ink into the barrel), any written logo or name on the barrel or cap, any clip, or any other metal components. The plastic body also feels modern. I'm not sure if I would be able to tell the difference between a modern counterfeit and an antique pen, though.

 

Does anyone have any information about this pen?

[ehemem]

Are you sure that the pen is plastic and not chased hard rubber/ebonite? Looks like it is an early 20th century evedropper to me.

[SuperNib44]

The shape and chasing on the barrel looks like an early Moore to me.

[deepak23]

Are you sure that the pen is plastic and not chased hard rubber/ebonite? Looks like it is an early 20th century evedropper to me.

+1

Definitely ebonite. Eveñ the feed seems to be ebonite.

[tjt7a]

Thanks everyone! I've never owned an ebonite pen, but the feed, barrel and cap seem to be made of the same material. If it is a Moore fountain pen, I wonder why there's no indication on the body.

[Polanova]

Nice find!

The nib is a 14K gold one

There were a lot of lower tier pens which were not branded at that time (which doesn`t necessarily mean that they weren`t god pens).

Sometimes the lettering is too worn out/rubbed away to be legible.

[Randal6393]

Would say you got a real piece of history. The pen looks as if it may be BCHR -- B(?) C(?) Hard Rubber. And, yes, the feed is probably ebonite. I am not sure what (if any) the difference is between BCHR and ebonite (also a hard rubber). But, AFAIK, there is (was) a site that sold many very early pens, many of which were BCHR. The first fountain pens were BCHR and date to well before 1900. I have seen dates as late as 1920 to 1930 on BCHR pens, many eyedropper, as that was the first filling system.

 

I'm hoping that one of the more-knowledgeable pen sellers will chime in with a few comments.

 

Enjoy,

[Cob]

Yes,

Black Chased Hard Rubber. Hard rubber is variously known also as Ebonite or Vulcanite, not Bakelite! I have had quite a few unmarked old BCHR pens. It was explained to me that many of the smaller brands sub-contracted the work, and when things were a bit slack, the sub-contractors would run off a few to keep the pot boiling so to speak.

If the OP likes his pen - and I think he does - he should get himself a pipette - here in England I bought five for just £4.49 with free postage.

Here's a snap of an unbranded BCHR eye-dropper that came recently with some other pens and the pipette is included in the picture, conveniently for the purposes of this thread!

Rgds

Cob

Edited January 29, 2015 by Cob

[SuperNib44]

Yes,

Black Chased Hard Rubber. Hard rubber is variously known also as Ebonite or Vulcanite, not Bakelite! I have had quite a few unmarked old BCHR pens. It was explained to me that many of the smaller brands sub-contracted the work, and when things were a bit slack, the sub-contractors would run off a few to keep the pot boiling so to speak.

If the OP likes his pen - and I think he does - he should get himself a pipette - here in England I bought five for just £4.49 with free postage.

Here's a snap of an unbranded BCHR eye-dropper that came recently with some other pens and the pipette is included in the picture, conveniently for the purposes of this thread!

Rgds

Cob

What a great little pen? What kind of ink is that? It looks kind of like American Blue, but darker.

[Cob]

What a great little pen? What kind of ink is that? It looks kind of like American Blue, but darker.

Hullo.

 

The ink is a little "quieter" in the picture than in life. It is Pelikan Edelstein Topaz.

 

Rgds

 

Cob

[SuperNib44]

Thanks.