some Tulip history?

August 23, 2009

I recently won a Coral Tulip, advertised as a bit under 5" long (hoping that the seller doesn't consider a half inch to be "a bit"). I've read through this forum, and I noticed David I made reference to a longer tulip clip being more desireable, etc. Most of the ones that are on Ebay now (a couple of discolored Jade Tulip Clips and a BCHR one on buy-it-now) are all 4.5"

I got a 1929 catalog off of Bill Acker's site, and there is only one size listed. Its suggested that these are smaller pens (meant for students - "Can easily clip to your notebook") and it covers the spectrum of all the colors of Wahl at the time. But there is no reference to a larger version of it.

Of course, I only have one year of catalog, so I am sure variations exist. When were the 5" tulips made? Are they that scarce?

Do I understand it correctly that one of the downsides of not having a gold seal, besides the warrantee, was that these pens did not have interchangeable nibs?

Marc

August 23, 2009

I recently won a Coral Tulip, advertised as a bit under 5" long (hoping that the seller doesn't consider a half inch to be "a bit"). I've read through this forum, and I noticed David I made reference to a longer tulip clip being more desireable, etc. Most of the ones that are on Ebay now (a couple of discolored Jade Tulip Clips and a BCHR one on buy-it-now) are all 4.5"

I got a 1929 catalog off of Bill Acker's site, and there is only one size listed. Its suggested that these are smaller pens (meant for students - "Can easily clip to your notebook") and it covers the spectrum of all the colors of Wahl at the time. But there is no reference to a larger version of it.

Of course, I only have one year of catalog, so I am sure variations exist. When were the 5" tulips made? Are they that scarce?

Do I understand it correctly that one of the downsides of not having a gold seal, besides the warrantee, was that these pens did not have interchangeable nibs?

Marc

The smaller tulip clips pens were 4/38" caped and 7/16" barrel diameter and have a #2 nib, the larger tulip clips are 1/2" in barrel diameter and between 4 7/8 and 5" and have a #4 nib. (important to remember that these pens were hand made and some variation in length did happen.

The pens were made from 1927 through 1929/30. Important to note that there were no Wahl or Wahl-Eversharp pens in plastic prior to 1927. Here's a photo of a tray of mine that shows the difference in sizes;

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a75/wahlnut/P8230153.jpg

The one's that are more desirable (from a value or scarcity point of view are the ones in the middle of course.

Syd

Edited August 23, 2009 by Wahlnut

August 23, 2009

What a collection!!!

(read GREED)

August 23, 2009

Syd,

The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" fits here perfectly. Thanks so much for the picture. However, what struck me the most was what you said - that the pens were handmade and there is variation between the lengths.

Since there isn't much variation in lengths between the various personal point pens, can I infer that those pens weren't made by hand but the longer Tulips were? Does that mean that these longer Tulips were something like bespoke and made-to-order? It would sort of explain why you have a single gold seal. It would also explain why they weren't in the catalog and they are so scarce.

Marc

August 23, 2009

Syd,

The phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" fits here perfectly. Thanks so much for the picture. However, what struck me the most was what you said - that the pens were handmade and there is variation between the lengths.

Since there isn't much variation in lengths between the various personal point pens, can I infer that those pens weren't made by hand but the longer Tulips were? Does that mean that these longer Tulips were something like bespoke and made-to-order? It would sort of explain why you have a single gold seal. It would also explain why they weren't in the catalog and they are so scarce.

Marc

As is always, in cases where there is little information to go on, it is all too easy to speculate almost anything that fits the situation at hand. Like the old tale about the sightless people trying to describe an elephant by touch. One who feels the leg says confidently that an elephant is like a tree, and yet one who fells the ear says it is like a big leaf, the trunk , a hose etc. etc. So it goes with pen "forensics" which some of us indulge in as if in doing so we can infer what was really going through the minds and hands of, in this case, the Wahl and or Eversharp company. While you will see some minor variation in length of survivor pens today and especially in the photo I posted, I was perhaps a little to all-encompassing in my comment about hand made. While some of the variation we see in length today, is a matter of minor human variation in the "handmade process" there was a standard and there was probably some form of quality control that determined what degree of allowable variance was permitted (I have an old company directory that shows such a group within the company), it was not always perfectly controlled (meaning that new in box examples will usually be with 1/16" of each other). But probably another significant factor as to length in the photo submitted is that today, due to residue, mis-matched caps and barrels ( as in not the same pieces that were fitted at the factory) not all caps screw on completely, some shrinkage has occurred to one material more than another etc.

I do see as much as 1/16"in length variation among the Personal Point flat tops . The black plastic end pieces vary a lot in thickness. If you go on the very limited sample of pens in my picture, you could draw all kinds of conclusions only part of which might be true, but the speculation in trying to "re-create" the world of Wahl is tantalizing, and for those of us who do not like incomplete, unfinished stories, not to try to make sense of what we see is unsettling. Oh, and about the gold seal black and pearl pen, I have no idea what is going on there. While it could be a one of a kind, I doubt it. It could just as easily be a latter day repair job where a soldier clip cap needed a clip replacement and the repair person had none and lathed down the sap end to accept the tulip clip. The cap may have been where broken and there was a gold seal cap floating around and it could be nade to be OK with the tulip clip so as to match the barrel. The barrel of that pen in the photo has no barrel tassie trim ring that gold seals had, so it may be a correct tulip clip barrel and clip on a modified gold seal cap. See how slippery the slope is? In the the end it is what it is and its all that it is and I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

Syd

Edited August 23, 2009 by Wahlnut