Curious nib in brass container

[Bill Hayhow]

I have the object pictured below, a 2" brass container marked "Buffalo NY" and "The Bismarck" and containing what appears to be a nib, in a material like ebonite or bakelite.  I researched "The Bismarck" in "Buffalo" and found very little.  Nor have I found any similar objects - I'm probably just missing an apt description for it.  I would appreciate any help in identification.  Thank you.

[inkstainedruth]

Well the nib part appears to maybe also fit the other way round in the container (the container becoming the pen holder to write with.

There is, apparently, a Bismarck Street in Buffalo, NY, but it appears to be a residential neighborhood -- not a place where there would be a hotel or office building or apartment building by that name.  Wondering if there was (in the past) some hotel or business by that name in Buffalo (not in that neighborhood) -- or some boat that sailed on the Great Lakes or Niagara River, which got named for the ship that was sunk during WWI.  Or maybe something like the name of a train (I'm now ear worming the old song "City of New Orleans").

The nib itself is very odd. Looks like someone cut and molded a piece of plastic to make a replacement nib for the original (metal?  quill?) nib.  

Mind you, this is mostly conjecture on my part, since I wasn't able to find anything concrete, any more than you were....  Sorry I can't be of more help.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

It is cool.

[Bill Hayhow]

Thank you Ruth - indeed the cap and nib do fit back into the holder to form a longer pen.  AND, where the nib slides into the cap, I found "GERMANY" stamped in the metal.  If we're talking Germany, "The Bismarck" was a mighty German warship at the start of WWII.  But I can find no relationship of the ship to Buffalo NY. 

Also, the base of the nib is tightly wrapped around a small dowel that together fit snuggly into the cap.  If this was a replacement for a prior nib, the replacement was done very well.

 

A Google Lens search turned up a few 'pencil holders' containing a small pencil rather than a nib.

Edited November 20, 2023 by Bill Hayhow

[Doc Dan]

I think it is a dip pen made in the late 1800's to early 1900's. By whom it was made, I have no idea. It is novel in that the nib fits into the handle for transport and keeps ink off of one's clothing. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

My hasty and ill-informed opinion: the 'quill' was added later by a do-it-yourself type, after the original pen or pencil point was lost.

[Junebe]

Nice object.

 

I have no information to offer but agree with Inkstainedruth and Sailor Kenshin that the nib was added later.

 

Apart from a pen or a pencil, originally it could also have been a travel watercolour brush.

[Sailor Kenshin]

50 minutes ago, Junebe said:

Nice object.

 

I have no information to offer but agree with Inkstainedruth and Sailor Kenshin that the nib was added later.

 

Apart from a pen or a pencil, originally it could also have been a travel watercolour brush.

 

Ah, yes, of course!  Now that would be cool.

[inkstainedruth]

Agreed!  The artist in me approves of the concept!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Doc Dan]

https://missmustardseed.com/antique-travel-dip-pens-pencils/

 

 

This is the concept. Sometimes they have rings, other times whistles, or other things on them. The nib unit fits into the handle, then one takes it out, fits the back of the nib unit to the handle and has a full sized pen, or at least a longer one. 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

Very cool!

[Penguincollector]

10 hours ago, Doc Dan said:

https://missmustardseed.com/antique-travel-dip-pens-pencils/

 

 

This is the concept. Sometimes they have rings, other times whistles, or other things on them. The nib unit fits into the handle, then one takes it out, fits the back of the nib unit to the handle and has a full sized pen, or at least a longer one. 

 

  That is really cool!  Miss Mustard Seed sounds like our kind of people.

[inkstainedruth]

Agreed.  Wondering if the OP sent her the photos posted here Miss Mustard Seed might be able to give more info about the manufacturer, or at least point him at someone who could provide some.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sailor Kenshin]

I just realized I have a modern version, aluminum or steel, that came with a small traveling paint set.

[bsenn]

I have the exact same thing, less the BISMARK and BUFFALO (mine does have GERMANY around the ferrule). The body is not magnetic. The nib appears substantially similar to the OP's so those are likely original, if a bit odd.

Brian

 

[BrassRatt]

What y'all are calliing the "nib" seems highly strange and somewhat doubtful.  

 

Of what material is it made?  Is it flexible?  The OP said "like ebonite or bakelite", but those are pretty stiff, usually.  

 

White ebonite in thin sheets that roll up is an unfamiliar odd combination, and white Bakelite wasn't that common either (I think).  One would expect a nib made of either material to be machined or carved or filed from solid, rather than a rolled-up sheet.  

 

Also, there is no visible sign of ink on the "nib", as there might be in a newly-discovered old pen. 

 

Have either of the owners tried to write with the object?  Or cleaned the "nib" aggressively? 

 

Can we get more info about the whitish material inside the object that so teasingly suggests a nib shape? 

 

[gone]

I'm not sure it is a writing instrument. It could be intended to remove unwanted substances from orifices. 
 

I wouldn't lick it. 

[Doc Dan]

Posted above is a collector who has such pens. They are dip pens meant for safe travel. 

[gone]

4 hours ago, Doc Dan said:

Posted above is a collector who has such pens. They are dip pens meant for safe travel. 

All the pens pictured in that collection have proper nibs. This has something with no tines, no obvious tip and no obvious signs of ink staining. I am not convinced they are the same thing. 
 

Apart from pens, I have seen other things, various types of brush as examples, packaged for travel in this way. 

[Doc Dan]

To me it looks like a quill pen in plastic or other material. I can honestly say that I don't know, but it does look like that. Maybe it is a coke spoon. 😆