World-Wide Pen Club Blog

Rare Waterman Ink bottles

Blog by Max Davis , March 2010

Hunting for rare ink bottles is fun, today I will show you some Waterman Ink

bottles that are superb. One of the best bottles I found is this bottle made

  c.1910 with full original label.

Waterman also made wooden travel cases around  this period (1896-1906)

each being unique as they differ slightly from each other.

This is the ink bottle to match.

This metal case was made in 1892, you can read the

date of the imprint on top of the metal case.

The ink bottle inside has its glass eyedropper , this is as rare as it comes!

You can read more about this ink bottle in the new Waterman book  " Waterman Past and Present.The First Six Decades"

Around 1890 ink bottles were now made with pen rests, it seems that Waterman were the first to make these type of glass bottles. This ink bottle with pen rest was made in 1890 (page 174 in the book)

This is a example of  a copper cap Waterman was making, these copper caps came in all different shapes and  the labels would differ too.

Glass ink bottles also started to have different paper labels and  imprints on the base of the glass, you

find more examples on the website Ref w0023 or read more about it on page 175 in my new book.

"Waterman Past and Present. First Six Decades"

Here are 3 examples of  different marked ink bottles

You can see and read the imprint around the diameter of the bottle .

This bottle is named the Desk Top Bottle and was made in the USA

If we compare the ink bottles, the first image , has no imprint around the diameter of the bottle and the label differs.

And if you look at the last ink bottle ,you can see the

change in shape and the base of the glass is also different.

The book mentioned in the blog is available for purchase here http//www.watermanbook.com

This 240 page book consists of 1783 images and host the most valuable information out there. 

For only £50 + shipping ( we ship world-wide)

To see the full collection on waterman bottles  go to http.//www.vintagewatermanpens.co.uk

All ink bottles are for sale on this website.

or for more info please email watermanbook@gmail.com

hope you enjoyed the blog

Kind regards, Max.

Waterman Accommodating Clip

By Max Davis

Years ago before the stand pen clip was made, the Accommodating were the only clips that you could find.

Waterman Made different Accommodating Clips, one such pen was a Silver Clip, with the Ideal imprint in the center of the globe.

Waterman made a plain clip with waterman imprint on the band.

Rare 18K Sold Gold made in France

These were made in different Sizes and here is a GFT Plated Clip

This is a Rare English Waterman Clip with English Hall Mark and Globe imprint where the ideal is in the center of the globe.

Both the pens & the clip are English Hallmarked w5239, w5240

Yes there were lots of Generic clips made for pens that work just as well, but it is nice to have the waterman clip on the old waterman eyedropper pen.

Safety Pens Made by Conway Stewart

By Max Davis
1917-1922
As of today these are the only known numbers.

Conway Stewart Safety

In Black Hard Rubber
#10, #11, #12, #14 ,#15, #19
Also in Red Mottle Hard Rubber
10M,  11M, 12M, 15M

There may be lots of other numbers, but so far no other

information has come up. Conway Stewart also made

Gold Starry Safety Pens

Gold Starry

Here are some of them, if you have a safety pen that is different from the models I have here, please send a picture and info to the blog contact@wwpenclub.com

Conway Stewart made a super reare Dinky Safety Pen

WATERMAN'S #7 RIPPLE DESK SET USED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH

A pen with a Royal History,
by Max Davis.
This waterman's #7 ripple fountain pen desk set was
last used by H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II during her Canadian Tour.

In 2003 the pen was used to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her coronation (1953-2003).
My good friend Michael owned an antique shop for 12 years and was well known for his fountain pen collection which he used to display in his shop.

When Queen Elizabeth signed the guest register at Christ Church cathedral the pen had to work perfectly, so he was contacted and asked to provide a pen and proudly did so!

There were lots of media and press in attendance at the signing
and he was interviewed by local newspaper reporters and television crews.

Later an article appeared in the local paper with her majesty signing the guest
register with the pen.












The pen dates to 1927 and is in excellent working condition.
If you would like to see this and other desk sets take a look here.

Parker Limited Editions

By Sam Hettiarachchi

 For some at least one of the greatest pleasures is to own something exceptional and rare. These objects of desire include writing instruments. Over the last three decades rare pieces of writing instruments have fetched record prices at auctions. These pieces varied from giants to miniatures and on most occasions writing jewels belonging to the first three decades of the history of fountain pens, commencing 1884, the year Lewis Edson Waterman was granted the famous patent. Some of these pieces may have been produced in hundreds but currently only a few remain available. In this respect by creating a Limited Edition it is possible to create a rarity and the object is sought after by collectors. On some occasions writing instruments have become limited editions because material used for their production is so rare, while on other occasions the manufacturers limit the production to create the artificial rarity

 Those who have researched the history of fountain pens will acknowledge that the Parker Pen Company which has gifted so many firsts to the industry introduced the Limited Edition concept in 1965 by producing their classic Parker 75- Spanish Treasure- made from silver recovered from the treasure fleet of Philip V of Spain which sank in 1715 off Bahamas (4821 sets). In 1972, HMS Queen Elizabeth was produced from the salvaged brass of the ship which sank in 1972 in Hong Kong (5000 pens). In 1976, The Bicentennial American was made of pewter with a piece of wood from the hall of Independence embedded on the top of the cap (10,000 pens). The pieces were certainly Limited Editions because of the rarity of the materials used for their production.

 Having captured the depths of the ocean Parker embarked on tracking man’s achievements in conquering outer space. From the mid 60’s George Parker, the grand son of the founder spearheaded the production of special pens which celebrated America’s journey to space. It is reported that 250 ball point pens were made of the sterling silver check ball point with the button made from the Atlas rocket which boosted John Glen into space on 20th January 1962. These pens were made as gifts and were not available for sale. They captured well the prevailing mood of conquering outer space.

 In addition Parker also made four complete Parker 75 pens Space Pens (1968) made from precious fragment of the booster rocket. John Glenn and President Johnson were the proud owners of two of the pens and the other two ended up in the archives. One of these came up for sale at the British Auction House of Bonhams and Brooks on 23rd February 2001 and fetched a price of UKP 13,500 under the watchful eyes of Alexander Crum Ewing and Julie D’Arcy-Evans, the pen experts.

 At the same auction another unique Parker 75, the Moon Pen (1972) produced in honour of landing on the moon was produced for President Nixon to be taken for the historic visit to China. These pens had a gold panel containing moon dust from Apollo 15. The dust had been acquired by John Gibb, Military Sales Manager of the company. It is believed two were gifted to high ranking Government officials in China and another retained by the President himself. It has been the usual practice of the company to retain a piece for its archives and in addition to produce a reserve. This unique pen fetched UKP 16,000.

 In modern times almost all the treaties relating to Nuclear Arms Reduction were signed with Parker pens, mostly with Parker 75s. The set used to sign the SALT Agreement by Presidents Bush (Senior) and Gorbachev in July 1991 is a classical example of rare masterpieces. Parker pens have dominated global events of importance and it is not surprising that the company used the following for their advertisements. ‘The pen most often chosen to record history has also been known to make it’

 With Parker 75, the company introduced Limited Editions to the world of writing instruments, limited in the true sense of the word because there were produced or contained very rare material. ‘Limited Edition Pens’ have now gained universal recognition and remain limited due to several reasons including the tedious methods of production or due to the prerogative of the producer itself.

Reference - Fine and Rare Vintage Fountain Pens and Pencils and Dunhill Lighters
Bonhams and Brooks, 23, February, 2001.

Acknowledgement - The pictures which appear have been scanned from the said catalogue and are gratefully acknowledged. Catalogues produced by Bonhams and Brooks are excellent reference material for researchers of writing instruments.


          Space Pen 1968                                                                  Moon Pen 1972