Inkless Fountain Pen ?

[antoniosz]

"INKLESS FOUNTAIN PEN CO. 800 N. Hillside Ave., Des Mpines, Iowa. The new Inkless Fountain Pen, the twentieth century wonder; never leaks or spills. With this pen there is no more use for the ink bottle. Agents wanted for this new proposition. Experience unnecessary. It takes everybody by storm; exclusive territory; write today." From the The Handbook of Private Schools By Porter Sargent Published by P. Sargent., 1916

 

Any info?

Edited October 24, 2008 by antoniosz

[Titivillus]

No but that does sound very interesting

 

K

[inkypete]

All fountain pens are inkless at some stage.

[Titivillus]

All fountain pens are inkless at some stage.

 

 

And some people seem bent on keeping them that way as well :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

[antoniosz]

I am guessing it has something to do with ink pellets. But this is a wild guess.

[Philip1209]

Maybe a pencil? possibly a mechanical one?

[MYU]

Is this what you're talking about?

 

http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/metal_pen.jpg

[shadowsforbars]

It seems like an oxymoron to me.

[Philip1209]

Is this what you're talking about?

 

http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/metal_pen.jpg

 

That's really cool; I've never heard of that before.

[antoniosz]

THis is cute but it is not a fountain pen

 

Is this what you're talking about?

 

http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatalog/metal_pen.jpg

 

[rhr]

You're right, it's not a pen. It's a "metallic pencil". Patent 1,501,745.

 

But how about this one? Patent 1,230,149.

 

And even better, Patent 1,000,319.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

Edited October 24, 2008 by rhr

[Skooky]

Hmm... the second one, I've heard of. The first one seems, well, kinda preposterous. But both very interesting nonetheless.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I wonder if this was the world's first disposable fountain pen.

[MYU]

THis is cute but it is not a fountain pen

As Shadowsforbars pointed out, if it's inkless, it can't be a fountain pen! (There would have to be some kind of fluid, in order for there to be a "fountain"). Given the date of 1916, they'd not heard of any other kind of pen instrument other than a pencil. So maybe they really just meant to say "inkless pen".

Edited October 29, 2008 by MYU

[antoniosz]

It most probably is a pen with solid ink to be dissolved with water (hence you dont need ink, you need water)

An interesting idea that can be traced as far back as Patent 193071 (1877) or earlier.

Edited October 29, 2008 by antoniosz

[rhr]

It most probably is a pen with solid ink to be dissolved with water

That may be so, since the ad copy says, "With this pen there is no more use for the ink bottle", but it also says, that this "twentieth century wonder never leaks or spills". That implies no liquid whatsoever.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

 

[ignatz49]

Could this have been a scam, pure and simple, to get someone to mail you a dollar?

[Johnny Appleseed]

It most probably is a pen with solid ink to be dissolved with water

That may be so, since the ad copy says, "With this pen there is no more use for the ink bottle", but it also says, that this "twentieth century wonder never leaks or spills". That implies no liquid whatsoever.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

 

Glad this came back up. I would not assume that the claim "Twentieth century wonder never leaks or spills" means no-liquid at all. Non-leakable was a common claim for pens with inner-cap arrangements, removable safeties, etc. This could easily be that sort of hype.

 

Alternatively, maybe it was some sort of ink-sponge?

 

Could this have been a scam, pure and simple, to get someone to mail you a dollar?

 

Well, there were such things - there were a couple of Fountain pen pyramid schemes that were busted around 1914 or so. But more likely this was an actual product. There were scads of little fly-by-night pen companies at this time.

 

John

 

[rhr]

So it turns out it's not exactly a scam, just a novelty item. I looked through the rest of the links in Google Books and found these items.

 

The Assembly Herald

v. 15, 1909

By Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly

Page 640

"Inkless Fountain Pen Company. 800 Hillside Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa."

[The "Inkless Fountain Pen" first appeared around 1909.]

 

System, The Magazine of Business

v. 23, 1913

by Arch Wilkinson Shaw

"This proposition is 18-karat. Money back if not as represented. Agents' profit 200 per cent. Send for agency today. Don't wait."

[Only 18 karat? Well, that's at least 75% good. ;~) ]

 

Bulletin

v. 28, 1914

by American Newspaper Publishers Association

Page 495

"We are advised that our belief that the Inkless Fountain Pen Co. is another trade name used by John J. Cavanaugh is evidently correct."

[He was just a huckster, not a scam artist.]

 

Hunter, Trader, Trapper

v. 45, 1922

Page 153

"The new Inkless Fountain Pen, the twentieth century wonder; never leaks or spills; with this pen no more use for the Ink bottle; sample pen 50¢."

[still new and in business in the 1920s and 30s.]

 

Popular Science

vol. 131, no. 4, Oct 1937

Page 18

Published by Bonnier Corporation

An ad for Johnson Smith & Co., Detroit, Mich., Our Latest Catalogue, listing 5000 novelties, 600 pages, 3500 illustrations, including "novelties, joke articles, puzzles, magic tricks" and "10¢ & 25¢ Books, Movie Machines, Inkless Fountain Pen, 50¢ Slide Rule, Pipes, Cowboy Lariat & Supplies, Wigs, Bugles, Harmonicas, All Wave Radio ($1.55)", and a coin-operated machine, "Insert a coin, and out comes a candy bar".

[if someone can find a copy of this catalogue, there's a 7 out of 10 chance that the pen is illustrated there.]

 

George Kovalenko.

 

[Silvermink]

INKLESS FOUNTAIN PEN

 

Mmm, contradiction in terms.