The Mascot...what Is It?

[PaulS]

it would seem that the earlier comments suggesting a date of 1940 may well have been speculative, and in view of the absence of a Registration No. it could prove very time consuming to search all of the CLASS I (metal) Registered design records at Kew - so that route on the back burner for the time being, but will give it some thought. In fact I'm supposed to be there this week to check glass records (CLASS III), but a virus has got the better of me.

Have to say that in my ignorance I wasn't remotely aware that Sterling pens (in the U.K.), without hallmarks, was a common occurrence - perhaps as you say the assay office turned a blind eye thinking that pens somehow didn't warrant their time in checking or were too small a fry to bother with.

 

As for the cap 'ring', I'm fairly new to pen collecting, but from what I can see in the books you need to go back to mid 1930 for this practice to be commonplace, and remember this is a fountain pen and not a pencil, but perhaps this is one reason to consider the date as earlier than 1940.

The fact that the tooling for this model was set up to include the word REGISTERED, suggests there was at least some serious intention to lodge this design with the authorities, even if this ultimately came to nothing. Perhaps the Board of Trade looked at the factory drawing and considered the design lacked originality, and so refused the applicant a No. There must have been zillions of f.ps. with rings at the end of their caps (or should that be noses ).

[pennymann]

Hi Paul,

I too have a virus , YUK.

The " registered " mark would have been applied by a press tool punch or by hand on a lathe. The number you mention would normally have been on the clip. As there is no clip there is no number.

You are correct about the rings. Certainly 1930's through to the 1950's when clips became the norm.

Lets call them rings, noses refer to the pencil tips.

I have just had a quick look at my collection and it looks like the brand "mascot" is the registered trade mark.

I hope this helps .

I do not think the Assay Office would turn a blind eye. I'm fairly confident that they were made under the rules of the time.

YOL made pencils with a thin skin of silver over base metal. These were stamped sterling silver but with no HM at all.

You can find pencils marked rolled silver which is not allowed now. The rules change sometimes. Clips and caps would be marked but around the 70's or 80's it was dropped and now only the barrels over a certain weight have to be HM.

[sidthecat]

If memory serves, the dealer had another of these pens in gold for quite a bit more money. There's more images on the listing, and it seems to have the same markings as the silver one, except that they pertain to 9K gold. Here's their picture of it:

 

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by sidthecat

[sidthecat]

Some more information: the pen was described as having a "telescoping fill" so I started trying to figure out what that means.

 

The nib and section, I discovered, unscrews, and the barrel is made with an inner and outer sleeve, finely machined. The outer sleeve pulls out and, presumably, creates suction. I'm not sure if it's designed to draw ink through the nib, but that would make sense. The knob on the end may simply be a knob. The pen needs a cleaning; when I opened it a small quantity of ink dust drifted out.

 

The somewhat enigmatic markings, and what Pennyman said about machining the screws suggests that these pens might not have gone into production. Perhaps these two pens were prototypes. If I had that kind of money I'd buy the gold one to keep them together, but I was very lucky to get the silver chap.

 

Here's a picture of the separate bits:

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by sidthecat

[pennymann]

Hi

I'm afraid this is all alien to me. Never seen them. I think the inner and outer tubes could be the filling mechanism.

Just wash it out with cold water and with the nib unit screwed in try and draw ink up by closing the tubes up.

Just read your post again and I think you are on the right track.

They could very well be prototypes that never went into production. That would explain why my father did not know about them. The management would visit other companies who would make one up as a sample and it was declined for some reason.

They would not make a sample one out of gold though , too expensive.

The mystery continues

[sidthecat]

I'm going to send it to Mr. Minuskin - it needs tidying up and perhaps he can persuade it to fill.

 

This is fun.

[northlodge]

As requested, I will point out the following link

 

A knowledgeable collector, so worth a read

[sidthecat]

It's an exact description of my pen. And now I know how to fill it...yippie!

 

Thanks, Northlodge.

[pennymann]

the mystery is solved . Thanks to Northlodge for that link to Andyr. Its filled a gap in my knowledge .

My father started work at Edward Baker around 1929 so these must have been discontinued before then because he never mentioned them.

I can get back to normal now !

[sidthecat]

When Mr. Minuskin finishes doing his voodoo, I'll furnish an update on its writing qualities.

[Lexus77]

Well, since this made a lot of people so excited here, I thought I might give this thread another kick.
Because it seems I'm a lucky man. I found this unique looking fountain pen on an auction site, and I won it, for 20 bucks. While reasearching (before buying) I stumbled on this thread, which describes exactly the pen I was bidding on.
It's not in as great a condition as the other pen in this thread is, but I'm sure it's the same fountain pen, and at this price, I'd buy it just for the 'novelty' value in it. Besides, I've alway loved silver. So, at this price, even if it's a horrible writer, I can't go really wrong, can I?
Anyway, here are some pictures:





As you can see, especially the section and feed aren't in a really good shape, but I'm going to research if and how this could be fixed. As far as the silver goes, it looks like it might be a bit dented, or it might just be a trick of the light. Silver I can fix myself, having been a jewelry designer for some years. As far as the section and feed go... well, they don't need to be in mint condition. But, if I can't improve these myself, I might consider sending them to someone who can.
Anyway, I can't wait untill the mailman brings me my little treasure, probably some time next week.

[Erik Dalton]

Great find! And an eye dropper at that. Beautiful pen, enjoy it.

[Lexus77]

Great find! And an eye dropper at that. Beautiful pen, enjoy it.

Thanks!

 

But.... a bit of disappointment...

It arrived in the mail today, and so I started enthusiastically 'exploring' my new pen. Of course, the telescoping thing at the back was completely frozen, as can be expected, but before trying to fix that, I decided I wanted to fill it. So... when trying to unscrew the black vulcanite section... it broke... A completely clean break, the black outer piece came off, the piece that is screwed inside the barrel is still inside. Off course, at this price, it's not a giant financial loss, but still, I would love to be able to add this to my collection.

So, does anybody have any tips on how to repair this? Or, perhaps just how to replace it by something else that fits, so at least it works again? Any solution will do, I guess. I prefer to keep it original of course, but I'd rather have it non-original and working than original and broken.

[PaulS]

tut tut - impatience and no heat It might be worth trying a slot head screwdriver - after heating the area containing the original broken stub of the section - and pushing downward whilst turning anti-clockwise. It's possible also to make opposing shallow slots in the broken vulcanite stub which might accommodate the screwdriver blade, which will give extra grip when turning. The alternative of drilling out destroys the remaining stub, which might be stuck back on provided if comes out clean, and might also damage the barrel threads.

But remember dry heat.

Edited April 25, 2017 by PaulS

[Lexus77]

tut tut - impatience and no heat It might be worth trying a slot head screwdriver - after heating the area containing the original broken stub of the section - and pushing downward whilst turning anti-clockwise. It's possible also to make opposing shallow slots in the broken vulcanite stub which might accommodate the screwdriver blade, which will give extra grip when turning. The alternative of drilling out destroys the remaining stub, which might be stuck back on provided if comes out clean, and might also damage the barrel threads.

But remember dry heat.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try this.

Didn't take much force to break this, though... seems like the material has become quite brittle after all these years.

[pennymann]

Hi,

How are you getting on with your pen ?

What a shame the nib unit broke but I'm not surprised . Even if you get the stub out you will probably find it hard to get a replacement.. The previous post regarding removing the stub is right but I would soak it in warm water for a bit. You might be able to glue it but it will not be very strong.

Since I Iast posted on this I have seen an old advertisement in a collectors book which said the Mascot range included fountain pens so I am still amazed that I had never heard anything about this pen .

Anyway , as we used to say in the trade when things go wrong you will just have to enjoy looking at it.

Best of luck.