Jump to content

Mabie Todd Swan SM 205/86


Okami

Recommended Posts

I'd like to share my blog post on the Mabie Todd Swan SM 205/86.

 

Please see the full post with photos and links here: Featured Pen - Mabie Todd Swan SM 205/86. Following is the text of the post:

 

The following information is taken from David Nishimura's website, Vintage Pens and Writing Equipment:

 

"One of the longest-lived makers of writing equipment, Mabie Todd was a firm whose partners' involvement in gold nib and pencil manufacture dated back to the 1840s; Mabie, Todd & Co. itself was established in 1860 in New York City.

 

The company was reformed as Mabie Todd & Bard in 1873, and continued to offer a wide range of top quality pens, pencils, and accessories of innovative design. Their first fountain pen, the Calligraphic, was introduced around 1878, utilizing the patents of pen inventor William W. Stewart. Production of "Swan" fountain pens appears to have begun by 1890; Swan overlay eyedroppers were among the most beautiful and ornate pens of their era. Mabie, Todd & Bard reverted to Mabie, Todd & Co. around 1907, when it was incorporated in the state of New York.

 

Export to Great Britain began early, and a London office was opened in 1884. Manufacture of pens in Britain appears to have begun around 1909; in 1914, Mabie, Todd & Co, Limited, was established as a British firm, which at the beginning of 1915acquired all Mabie Todd assets outside of the USA. Manufacture continued in the USA until the late 1930s, with quality and production volume declining sharply towards the end. Meanwhile, the British Mabie Todd firm went from success to success, and the Swan was widely advertised outside the USA as "the pen of the British Empire." Although the company initially prospered in the immediate postwar period, production ceased before the end of the '50s -- another casualty of the ballpoint era.

 

There has been much confusion about the relation of Edward Todd to Mabie Todd. Edward Todd was one of the original partners of Mabie, Todd & Co.; he left the firm in 1868 and set up on his own a few years later.

 

This profile depends heavily upon David Moak's original research, which is now available on CD-ROM here; his digital book corrects the many misconceptions that have long circulated about this pioneering company and the men who ran it."

 

I'm going to leave you with the above and photos of this pen. It is one of my absolute favorites.

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." ~ Ben Williams

 

My social media sites Via Gravatar

 

Join Pen Collectors of America

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 0
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Okami

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...