What Waterman fountain pen do I have here?

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Well, my in laws came across this Waterman's fountain pen and gave it to me.

 

I'd like to know what it is and what year, or range of years, it's from.

 

I also would like to know what it's made of. It's a vintage pen and I know that some are made of things that will not like to soak in water. It doesn't feel like hard rubber at all, but it could be something else that I wouldn't want to soak for a week.

 

This is my first attempt at photographing a fountain pen with the brand new digital camera, and I'm not doing so well with it. I can barely show the general look of the pen and cap, and I can't get anything but a blurry mess when I try to photograph the nib. I didn't even try to catch the imprints.

 

Speaking of which, the imprints say:

 

Patented Aug. 9, 1906

Waterman's Ideal Fontain - [and logo]

Pen Canada Feb. 9, 1909

 

The pen itself is about 4.75" long and capped it's 5.0625" which is 5 and one sixteenth inches.

 

I'm probably the only one here who doesn't know what this one is. The pen had obviously been left by its original owner with what looks to have been a full sac of ink because there's dried out ink all over the nib and the inside of the cap is really full of evidence of that too.

 

The nib says, "Waterman's Ideal 14 KT. Canada."

 

Speaking of the cap, it's got four holes in it! They all appear to be OEM holes because they're all round and the same size, so I don't think that the owner just gouged three new holes in the cap or anything.

 

I'm not very familiar at all with vintage fountain pens, I'm usually scrabbling to pick up cheap modern ones and hoping they'll work well for me, so I'm wondering about getting this one working and maybe using it. Thanks for any advice or help.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Cherish those in-laws! I can't help a lot with the ID, apart from suggesting a look at the base for numbers. The few Watermanseses I have seem to be big on cap-vents, so I shouldn't worry about that.

[gregamckinney]

Are your in-laws adopting?

 

Playing a bit with one of your pix, this appears to be a Waterman 52V in Rose Ripple HR- a VERY special, quite uncommon pen.

 

http://gergyor.com/images/mystery_waterman_2b.jpg

 

You should not soak this pen, particularly in warm/hot water as it will oxidize the HR. If you are planning to have it restored for use,

send it to a trused professional.

 

I've seen these sell on ebay between 350 and 500 dollars. The Rose Ripple HR was also used in the larger, even less common, 94.

 

Congratulations on this wonderful gift.

 

Best regards, greg

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Cherish those in-laws! I can't help a lot with the ID, apart from suggesting a look at the base for numbers. The few Watermanseses I have seem to be big on cap-vents, so I shouldn't worry about that.

Okay, thanks. It was odd when I realized that there are 4 vent holes in that cap. And I guess I do like my in-laws. Of course they give me whatever fountain pens show up at the church rummage sales and they're in another country, so I guess it's pretty easy to like them.

 

Are your in-laws adopting?

 

Playing a bit with one of your pix, this appears to be a Waterman 52V in Rose Ripple HR- a VERY special, quite uncommon pen.

 

http://gergyor.com/images/mystery_waterman_2b.jpg

Thanks, Greg. And thanks for fixing the photograph. The computer with an old version of Photoshop on it is down and all I could do with what I've got on this old computer was crop the photograph. It's also the first time I've posted a picture here on FPN, so I didn't realize it would be so large and so dark!

 

I hadn't thought that the fountain pen was HR. I'm glad I didn't assume that it was a plastic that could take the soaking!

 

On the end it has a number but part of it I just can't read. It's either "9?" or "?6" because I can't tell if the easily read number is a 9 or a 6. Would you know when this fountain pen might have been made?

 

You should not soak this pen, particularly in warm/hot water as it will oxidize the HR. If you are planning to have it restored for use,

send it to a trused professional.

Oh, that's going to take some money I don't have. But I guess I'd better put this pen away and save pennies for repairs some time in the future.

 

I've seen these sell on ebay between 350 and 500 dollars. The Rose Ripple HR was also used in the larger, even less common, 94.

 

Congratulations on this wonderful gift.

Oh good grief. I guess that means I'll never be taking this one out with me. I'm too worried about loss to take one of the Waterman Phileas' that I bought for $22.95 each a couple of years ago out of the house!

 

Well, thanks and I guess I'll have to start asking around about the repairs.

 

edited: because the first time I replied it posted before I'd gotten very far!

Edited August 28, 2007 by Ink Stained Wretch

[Glenn-SC]

Beautiful pen!

 

Congratulations!

[gregamckinney]

Hi Ernst Bitterman,

 

I don't have my reference material with me- it is all in boxes in preparation for a move. I was assuming this is a 52V since I thought the 94 would be larger than the dimensions you cite. It it possible that the number on the bottom is a 5? If it is definitely a 9 or 6, then this could be a 94. Someone more knowledgeable than I am should be able to tell you for sure. Can you see a number on the nib (either a 2 or a 4)?

 

If the pen has no damage, and just needs a cleaning and resaccing, the cost will be fairly reasonable. If I had a rose ripple in my collection, I might hesitate to take it out of the house, but I would use it as often as I could.

Enjoy it.

 

Best, greg

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I don't have my reference material with me- it is all in boxes in preparation for a move. I was assuming this is a 52V since I thought the 94 would be larger than the dimensions you cite. It it possible that the number on the bottom is a 5? If it is definitely a 9 or 6, then this could be a 94. Someone more knowledgeable than I am should be able to tell you for sure. Can you see a number on the nib (either a 2 or a 4)?

I've looked at it again with brighter lighting and higher magnification and the number is definitely "94." I don't see any number at all on the nib, other than the "14 KT." mark.

 

So I guess that you've identified it, thanks. Do you know when it might have been made?

 

If the pen has no damage, and just needs a cleaning and resaccing, the cost will be fairly reasonable. If I had a rose ripple in my collection, I might hesitate to take it out of the house, but I would use it as often as I could.

Enjoy it.

Yeah, I guess I won't try to fix it up myself .

[Ghost Plane]

If they get tired of sending old fountain pens to you, I'm up for adoption.

[HLeopold]

I don't have my reference material with me- it is all in boxes in preparation for a move. I was assuming this is a 52V since I thought the 94 would be larger than the dimensions you cite. It it possible that the number on the bottom is a 5? If it is definitely a 9 or 6, then this could be a 94. Someone more knowledgeable than I am should be able to tell you for sure. Can you see a number on the nib (either a 2 or a 4)?

I've looked at it again with brighter lighting and higher magnification and the number is definitely "94." I don't see any number at all on the nib, other than the "14 KT." mark.

 

So I guess that you've identified it, thanks. Do you know when it might have been made?

 

If the pen has no damage, and just needs a cleaning and resaccing, the cost will be fairly reasonable. If I had a rose ripple in my collection, I might hesitate to take it out of the house, but I would use it as often as I could.

Enjoy it.

Yeah, I guess I won't try to fix it up myself .

 

Early 1930’s. There abouts any way.

 

Very nice pen. When you get it fixed up with a new sac and a bit of clean-up use it, Whatever nib it has it should be a great writer as long as it is in good repair. Diane has a little Waterman 52 1/2V blue-green ripple that was her grandfathers’ pen, I did a minor clean up on it and than inked it up for her. (I didn’t need to replace the sac, so far it seems to be quite flexible and in good repair.) I want the big brother to it, the 52 in the same color ripple. Hey, turn about is fair play, I turned her on to Waterman pens, before this one turned up suddenly 3 years after she knew it had been tossed out in the trash after her mothers death, she turned me on to Parker 51’s. I haven’t yet, quite, perverted her to liking old Conklin crescents or combos, but I shall prevail, some day.

[HLeopold]

If they get tired of sending old fountain pens to you, I'm up for adoption.

 

Me too! Howdy, Sister. Now who do we flip for the next great pen? How about we flip the moat monster, heads I get first pick, tails you do?

[Ghost Plane]

How many heads to a monster? :hmm1: I wrassle 'gators down here, so it might be interesting