Mabie Todd Dip No. 4, Original Box

[Iso*]

Okay, so I have never posted in this forum before, so this shall be my magnum opus of sorts.

So recently, I have acquired a dip pen.. though it may not be a fountain pen necessarily, but I thought it merited some degree of discussion. I think it also would be pretty nice to have a discussion on the early parts of the company too, since I think this pen is pretty darn aged.

 

I got this monster off of the bay for a mere 30.49 shipped. Its probably the most insane find I have ever found. Ivory handle (likely), estimated 14kt gold nib (wet noodle), a gold filled trim, combined with its original box... its breathtaking to be a sumgai (possibly).

http://i.imgur.com/pnxxjJh.jpg

 

Here is the first picture I would like to show - its the nib! I took it out of the holder and gave it a gentle polish, as well as a cleanup. There was some old, ancient ink on this thing. I must say, I have never used a wet noodle before, but if this is more flexible than most of my steel pen nibs, that must mean something. It can even outflex a Principal EF, with downstrokes pushing over 3mm - but I wouldn't flex it that much. Plus, its pretty hard to keep dipping after every single 3mm shade.

 

It has iridium too! (or at least some sort of derivative that appears silvery and is very hard)

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http://i.imgur.com/UihwZ6I.jpg

 

Here's the second image! It is the dip pen in its original felt box... a very thin and modest size of box. The box is really, really tattered and fading, but nonetheless, it appears to be the original box, since the pen fits snugly, roughly. there is a few millimetres to spare in the box, and the pen doesn't jostle around too much, if at all.

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http://i.imgur.com/rEmgvEK.jpg

 

Here's a nice look at the filligree/chasing or whatever is put onto this pen. Even after a good polish, the colour still is intact. Its probably GFT, which is also pretty great. The handle appears to be some sort of ivory or bone, not too sure, but the pen feels very light overall, perhaps under 15g, but since I am in school, I don't have access to my precision balance.

 

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http://i.imgur.com/rsQEJPn.jpg

 

Perhaps one of the most interest things to see initially is the branding of the box. Although the clasp is near obsolete because the box is so tattered, the top can really toss around and the pen may fall out. It is imprinted EDWARD TODD - GOLD PENS - NEW YORK. This might be a useful aid in dating the age of this pen; I have never seen a branding of this company that included the name EDWARD, though he is indeed the TODD in Mabie Todd.

 

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http://i.imgur.com/6EJCFS2.jpg

 

Here is a brief writing sample! I demonstrate its flexibility briefly - it is shown here flexing to 1.5 mm, which is usually how much pressure I apply on most of my ornamental shades. Most of the time, using an Esterbrook 356, my shades barely push past 1 mm. Even with a principal EF, most of my shades are very thin... I have a very light hand, I think.

 

Since the pen does not have a breather hole or eye, it drops down huge amounts of ink, and force-feathers even some of my better made papers. It takes a considerable amount of time to dry for every shade that it produces.

 

Anyways, has anyone seen dip pens of this sort often? I know these come up on ebay from time to time, but how much are they actually worth? The last time I saw someone post this type of pen on ebay, I remember it going over 800 dollars, though it was probably even more flexible than mine. (rob morrison)

Edited September 27, 2014 by Iso*