[B] Take a close look at this advertisement from Wahl - Eversharp. Tell me what you see. Look closely at the pens, take a look at the description(s). Look at the date on the Ad. What conclusions do you draw from this item about the use of the label "Equi-Poised" as right or wrong for these pens.



You can zoom in on this picture to see it better. I put it up on Photobucket, which does not carry a lot of definition, but I think you can see what I am driving at. If you need a higher resolution image of this ad, go to

http://www.geocities.com/syd_jud/equipoised1930gspp.jpg

Sorry for the mystery, but I don't have a ton of time tonight to write an epistle on this and thought I would "lay it out there" at least tonight.

Syd the Wahlnut

Thanks for posting. I am sure "important" Wahl gurus are taking notice
In the mean time, less knowleable admirers of Wahl (like myself) are looking forward to your complete book

What I see is text showing Equi-Poised as correct. However, it is possible, given the constrained space in which the text blocks appear, that the model description is hyphenated for the same reason as the brand name (Ever-sharp). If this is the case, then instead of two hyphenated words, the model description would be EquiPoised, a single intercapped word. Do you have any ads that show the model description on a single line?

Richard,
Take a look at my latest post. You will see the name on one line in a few places there. Thanks for noticing.
Syd

I see the name on one line in the third set down on the right-hand side, and it is written Equi-Poised - or at least is appears to be, as it is not very clear.

I don't know enough about Wahl pens, and have not seen enough, to know what this is specifically supposed to show. My knowledge of the Equi-Poised issue comes from David Nishimura's website and a few posts on Lion and Pen. I know there was a question as to whether the style described as a "round pen with pointy ends" is an Equi-Poised or not, and David N. seems to feel that is not an Equi-Poised (or Equipoised). However, the two pens at the bottom look to be the classic tapered Equi-Poised design.

However, I am curious about the shape of the 2nd one down on the left - the black-and-pearl. It looks rounded and tapered, but comes through rather blurry in the picture, and doesn't seem to say Equi-Poised or EquiPoised anywhere in the description?

Anyway Syd, thank you for sharing this with us here on FPN.

John

I have a much higher resolution spread on both Pentrace and on Lion and Pen. The lion and Pen has a little more information and it is written better. Go there for a better look. The pen and pencil set you menton on the left are the lady version of the Equi-Poised. The whole point of the article was to demonstrate that the round gold seal pens that you were quotiong David Nishimura's comments about are indeed Equi-Poised after all, and these articles and ads seem to prove that.
Syd

The pen for which I demand more evidence before accepting as an Equi-Poised is the retrofitted Signature, cylindrical but for the added, tapering, ends. So far, no one has even come up with a catalog listing or advertisement for it.

The classic Equi-Poised I discuss as follows:



I have not yet incorporated a reference to your ad find in that Pen Profile, but I daresay there is nothing in the passage above that requires correction.

David,
The whole purpose of the essay was to nail down the correct name for the Equi-Poised pens WITH the gold seal that began in 1930 and ran at least through 1932 (the ones with 4 cap bands (one end band and the 3 cap-lip bands with the center band being the Rhomboid pattern) and the roller clip, which up to now were in dispute. Mission accomplished as far as I am concerned.
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Many of these very pens, identical in every respect did continued in production beyond 1932. Now at least we can nail down the beginning of the run as Equi-Poised. Generally I am OK now that Equi-Poised can refer to them as well as the non-gold seal models you mention. The Gold Seal ones are the same pen in every respect before and after 1932. However, it is true that in 1932, the smaller, non-gold seal pens were the only pens shown in that one catalog with the Equi-Poised name. So from a purely technical point of view the 1932 and beyond pens that walked and quacked like a duck may have been called a goose by Wahl.

Now, The later models with the different cap bands and the different clip you may also be referring to (the ones with 2 gold cap lip bands and the later Doric style pocket clip) which are "outliers" to the main focus of my essay, have been identified loosely as "Round Dorics" by those who focus on the pocket clip and as "Equi-Poised" by those who focus on the shape of the cap and barrel ends. As you rightly point out, these remain to be positively identified.

I have written 10 pages on the broader Equi-Poised issue from 1929 to 1932. There-in lie many insights to Wahl's naming and branding "culture" and a reliable pattern in their merchandizing in this regard. And it did not start with Equi-Poised pens it goes way back to 1918-20 and how they transitioned from Boston models and numbers to models of their own and then to "replacement" models for their top of the line pens without damaging the sale-ability of their dealers remaining old stock inventories. Wahl wrote chapters on the topic in their own dealer literature to re-assure the dealers that they could count on Wahl not to hurt them when the new models came out. It goes a long way in helping us understand their style naming philosophy.

Syd

For the full picto-essay go to: http://www.lionandpen.com/ Look for: Wahl Equi-Poised Pens in the Pens Past section