Hello, first post here, hoping to find some information about a somewhat ornate mother of pearl and silver(?) dip pen.

[BSHadley]

Hello all and thank you in advance for your time here. I have a mother of pearl dip pen with a Spencerian number 3 nib in it which I bought a few years back at a local garage sale. It’s about 6 or 7 inches long, appears to be made of mother of pearl and sterling silver and ends in an ornate floral motif with a silver back. I can’t find any makers marks or forge marks on the silver parts of the pen. The pen came in a worn out black case, but one which seems to have been quite nice when it was new.
 

At this point the only information I have comes from the Spencerian nib which seems to be from around the turn of the century. That and a note which came with the pen that reads “I think this pen belonged to my mother” ~Elsie. The woman I bought the pen from was in her early 70s and said that Elsie was her mother. Which seems to track with the turn of the century nib.

 

Hopefully one of the experts on this forum will see this and know more information about this pen. It rights fairly smoothly still, I am a total amateur but I enjoy drawing and the qualities of this pen are quite nice for fairly fine line work. Anyway thanks again for any help identifying this and helping me shed a bit more light on this pen’s history.

[Grayspoole]

What a lovely dip pen! I can’t identify the manufacturer for you, but I have a couple of observations…

 

The silver parts would probably polish up beautifully—use a jeweler’s polishing cloth or fine silver polish.

 

The Spencerian nib is easily changed and/or replaced. It is not an integral part of the pen and was probably not sold with it. 

[BSHadley]

14 hours ago, Grayspoole said:

What a lovely dip pen! I can’t identify the manufacturer for you, but I have a couple of observations…

 

The silver parts would probably polish up beautifully—use a jeweler’s polishing cloth or fine silver polish.

 

The Spencerian nib is easily changed and/or replaced. It is not an integral part of the pen and was probably not sold with it. 

Thanks so much, it definitely struck me when I first found it. To think so much artistry used to go into a pen in those days. And thanks for the information. If you had to guess would you say the pen predates the nib?  Also I had thought about polishing it in the past, but was hesitant since I heard that removing patina can change an item’s value as an antique. I intend to hang on to this for the time being but I’d hate to find out later that my attempt at cleaning had hurt it’s value as an antique.

[Grayspoole]

I’m not an antiques expert, but tarnish on silver is not the same as patina on a wood. Gently and properly polishing a silver item should not affect its value..

 

Not sure if the date of the Spencerian nib is the same as the pen—it’s probably close though. What is the number on the nib? I couldn’t tell from the photo.

[dipper]

In the mid 19th century, items such as your ornate silver & mother-of-pearl piece were known as "pen holders" and the part that we now call a nib was then known as a "pen".

 

Here is a more humble example of a "pen holder". If you zoom in, to view the text on the metal clip part of this example, the old meanings become clear.

 

A "pen holder" could be manufactured by any skilled artisan. (I make them myself out of hardwood scraps for my own use.) So tracking down the date and maker of your ornate pen holder could be very difficult. The design and materials could be described as art-nouveau style, consistent with an 1890-1910 date.

 

On the other hand, the part that we now call a "nib" was manufactured by specialist companies, (E.g. Joseph Gillott, who also made the holder pictured above - in the UK).

https://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/joseph-gillott-metallic-pen-maker-birmingham/

 

Your nib-part, marked "Spencerian" suggests an American manufacturer. There are collectors of these items - originally known as "pens", so it may be possible to track down that part by the text and numbers stamped into it. These "pens" were disposable items though. The tips wore-out, or got bent, or went rusty. Even today, a "G-nib" is sold in a box of 5 or 10 nibs for that reason.

https://www.jetpens.com/Zebra-Comic-Pen-Nib-G-Model-Chrome-Pack-of-10/pd/4195

So the ornate handle is probably very much older than the nib currently fitted into it.