Really Old Dip Pen Nibs. How To Recognize Them, Where To Find Them?

August 31, 2017

I love fountain pens and write with them daily because of the feel. I also like using old things because they are old.

I want to get some really old pens to write with. More than 100 years old. I have some old safety and eye dropper pens that might be around that old but I would really like some dip pens from the 19th century.

I see some 1800s dip pens online that are very fancy, made with precious materials. These are out of my budget. Am I wrong in thinking that there must have been less fancy (and less expensive) pens at the end of the 19th century, that could perhaps still be found for a relatively low price?

I have hundreds of dip pen nibs. They are from before WWII but I have no way to date them. Maybe I already have some from the 1800s. Is there any set of characteristics I could look for to see if some of the ones I have might be early?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

August 31, 2017

The vast majority of the dip pens (I'm talking steel dip pens, gold is another whole topic of which I know little) you find today date from the late 'teens to 1950. The reason you find mostly these is because that is when people bought a box, or two, or nibs and then ended up getting a fountain pen and put away the nibs, soon to be forgotten. Or they come from old stock that could no longer be sold once the 20's came along and fountain pens became more dependable and, more importantly, cheaper.

You can find some dip pen nibs from the 19th-century. There are only a couple of ways you can know you have a nib from that early period.

1. It was made by a company that went out of business before 1900 (like Washington Medallion Pen Co)

2. You find it in the box and the box has information, like an address, which dates it to an earlier period

3. You have an Esterbrook.

If the latter, what you're going to look for is the imprint on the nib. If the imprint says "Esterbrook" without the "R." and without "Made in USA" on it, it may well come from the 19th-century. By 1898 they started using the "R. Esterbrook & Co's" imprint. Later they dropped the " 's " and by the time they dropped the "R" they were already putting "Made in USA" on the nib. (or Made in England for the rarer English-made nibs)

There's nothing magical about the 19th-century for steel nibs. The golden age of steel pens was from about 1860-1920. It wasn't until closer to 1930 or so when quality began to go down with some brands. (Eagle, I'm looking at you!) Before that, steel pens were made pretty much the same way as the 19th-century with maybe less hand-work to grind the nibs.

If you have any brand from the US and it has a careful grinding across the nib then it could well be from before the 19-teens. British pens kept the very labor-intensive hand-grinding much later than in the US. Very few nibs from WWI and after carry this grinding, or it's more perfunctory. And a double grind (along the axis and across it, in different places on the nib) on a US pen is most definitely from the 19th-century or is a very special production pen of the very early 20th-century. Last year I purchased a whole box of R. Esterbrook & Co's #11 Albata pens. These are extremely rare, very fine and flexible and though the imprint and box imply late 'teens, the double grind makes it feel much more like an earlier pen, and is the only one from this period that's been found.

For your dip pen nibs, feel free to PM me with a description (and of course pictures are always wonderful) and I can let you know if I can tell you anything about them. I've got almost 500 different types of dip pen nibs, predominantly US makes, and so have seen an awful lot of what's out there. I've also done some research into several of the early pen makers in the US. If what you have is not US, I might be of less help.

Andrew

August 31, 2017

Thank you so much for this extremely helpful reply. This is more information than I had been able to find in a week of Google searches.

August 31, 2017

Yeah, there's not much out there. It's taken me a few years to find this info.

September 1, 2017

I got bit by the dip pen bug when I found a treasure (a huge gold Mabie Todd nib) in a collection of nibs I'd purchased on eBay. Since then I've gotten a handful of these old darlings and they're a treat to use. If you're careful and patient you can still get your hands on one for under a C-note. The gold nibs are very special, so I'd encourage you to try a couple if you have a chance.

September 2, 2017

I see some 1800s dip pens online that are very fancy, made with precious materials. These are out of my budget. Am I wrong in thinking that there must have been less fancy (and less expensive) pens at the end of the 19th century, that could perhaps still be found for a relatively low price.

If you focus on the smallest sizes, particularly the No.1, it is not hard to find inexpensive but attractive examples of 19th century gold dip pens on eBay and elsewhere. The small dip pens tend to get overlooked because they don't have the monster flex that people crave, because they need more frequent dipping than the larger sizes, and because the holders are very slim compared to modern fountain pens. Nevertheless, they can give a lot of pleasure and a real sense of connection with the past. Look out for ventless nibs by leading makers of the period such as Aikin Lambert, Mabie Todd, Leroy Fairchild, John Holland and William Hicks.

September 2, 2017

I have several hundred vintage dip pen nibs of about a hundred varieties. I learned a few things in this discussion today. I generally use mine for art. Thanks.

September 2, 2017

I have several hundred vintage dip pen nibs of about a hundred varieties. I learned a few things in this discussion today. I generally use mine for art. Thanks.

And aren't they fun? Each one can have a slightly different writing experience.