Call 'em transitional or call 'em half-balance, the 1930's cellulloid Sheaffer with Balance cap and Flat-bottom barrel variably has perplexed and charmed collectors.

This one I shot at the Ohio Pen Show in 2005. It appears to pack "later" styling cues vs the catalog-described mix from around 1930.

Neat pen.
regards
david

The half balance (transitional what? didn't transition into anything) was in the 1930 catalogue which was the last full catalogue until 1935. I don't think it is much of a strech to think dealers sometimes asked for pens from the catalogue and were supplied same. The 1932 price sheet does not support half balances but, we know flattops were in production well into the mid 30's making a half balance an easy accomodation item if a dealer/customer wanted one.

Roger W.

Ahhh,

transition |tran?zi sh ?n; -?si sh ?n| noun the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another

In this case, bridging a gap between an era dominated by flat tops n' bottoms (no silicone implants in those days, nosireee) and an era dominated by cone heads and torpedo tushes. That all three styles (counting the transitional) were produced in parallel at least for a bit (and maybe for more than a bit) does not obviate the observation.

Still, the jargon is not the thrust of the post.

I don't disagree with your hypothesis as to origin of pen. Also, while i'm not a pro-from-dover at Sheaffer trim evolution, i suspect the flat ball clip dates this to later than 1932. What i do find interesting about this pen, is the scarcity of halfies with this trim and with this variant of color- the usually-crisp and seamed black and pearl seeming to be a "late" variant, based at least on my observation/recollection.

regards

d

The flat end makes it look a bit 'unbalanced' to me (excuse the pun), but I love the colour and it looks in great condition, just somehow looks wrong with a flat end.

It may look unbalanced, but in my hand it feels grand. I had the pleasure of checking one out recently, the cylindrical body makes for a larger pen and that means that many with large hands may find it more comfortable.

I really liked the one I had my hands on, but the price was way too high and it would have needed some fairly expensive work done on it before it would have been usable. (Nib needed straightening, plus at least one lip crack.) $300 was way too expensive to even think about. But it was a pretty pen and comfortable as well.

Thanks for sharing the pic.

The pen looks like it's made from rolled celluoid (>>>seam in the pattern) and not from a solid block (>>> no seam) like most of the Pearl & Black Sheaffer's I've seen?

While it is clear that the sriped pens have been made from rolled celluloid only very few marbled colors turn up not being made from a solid block (I have a strange late clip/feed/section Standard Balance in rolled Marine Green Marbled celluliod).

Cheers

Michael

Which marbled colors are always made from a solid block?

--Daniel

Terrier???

Heck, this is more of a terrier...



d

...don't know if there are any ?!

At least we know that Marine Green and Black Pearl are not always made from a solid block.

I have a few vintage Balance in Grey Marble, Black and Pearl, Marine Green, Grey Marble with red veines and Jade Green which have no visable seam (a seam would be visable in those kond of patterns) and also seen lots which are made like this as well.

Of course "not always" as an exception ALWAYS proves the rule :-)

I was just wondering why or when Sheaffer decited to use rolled celluloid instead of using solid blocks.

Maybe they used up their stocks of marbled celluloid using the same production methods after the introduction of the striped materials understanding that rolling the material was much more cost-effective producing less left overs but also making the pens more prone to crack at the seam.

Cheers

Michael

I may have misunderstood you -- you wrote, "only very few marbled colors turn up not being made from a solid block", from which I inferred that you were saying that most of the marbled colors were only made from a solid block.


Note that marbled piston filler pens' barrels were typically made from helically-wrapped sheet, and caps of pens with both filler styles are found with helically-wrapped sheet construction as well.

--Daniel

No, you didn't misunderstood; I thought that "normally" marbled pens have been made from solid blocks.



The pen shown above and my Marine Green Balance have a straight, visable seam where the marbled pattern stops in one line and a different one begins. I cannot spot this on the other marbled Balance pens I have - maybe I need to look muuuuch closer ?! Can one spot the helical seam on those models?

Still leaves the question open why some pens have a straight and others have the helical construction.

I really need to inspect my marbled colored balance pens closer...


Do you think any of the marbled colors have been turned from solid blocks at all?

Cheers

Michael

David,
Such beautiful pens in such a pretty picture. I should be ashamed to associate the monstrosity below ---if only by a thread, with such refined company, but my curiosity as usual trumps good sense. I have two questions, if I may impose upon you (or anybody else who would be). One: Is the aforementioned a transitional model as well, or just another one of my teratological specimens? Two: while I have your attention, the nib goes with the pen, but it's no monster. Could you tell me what cut it is? I looked at the examples under nibs on Richard Binder's site, but was unable to conclude which category this one belonged to.
Many thanks,
Oliver
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Oliver;

First off shame on David for using the colloquial - it is a half-balance, there is absolutely nothing transitional about it. Second, unless I badly miss my mark, your barrel is not a Sheaffer barrel. It is blunted (which only approaches a Sheaffer Junior of the early 30's - OK same period if it were) and the lever looks totally wrong to me. Does it say Sheaffer on the side?

Roger W.

It says nothing. Which, of course, is strong evidence, I imagine, that it isn't a Sheaffer though equiped with Sheaffer parts.
Oliver

Oliver;

Exactly. Also, do you see how it bulges out around the fulcrum of the lever? Typically the mark of an inferior product. Also, the lever on a sheaffer was a tapered bar and switched to a tapered U shape that still looks like a tapered bar so there is no definition to the end of the lever which is pronounced in your barrel. Nice cap!

Roger W.

Thanks, Roger, for the clarifications, I'm going to take a look at some levers later on this evening, and see if I can imprint the information in my brain. Yes, it is a nice cap, but the nicest thing about the pen is it's nib, the tip of which I included in my original post. Perhaps you'd like to tell me what cut it is: italic?

Oliver;

All I can say about the nib is that it was interesting and atypical of what I normally see. I'm close to being a pure collector, I use maybe 10-12 of my pens a year (out of 700+). Some nibs I'll notice such as shorthand snorkels - they've a special mark on the barrel. Snorks often have point codes as well. Early nibs for me usually show that they are manifold or flex as far as the nib cut they're mostly mediums so I don't notice. Yours is interesting though, hopefully a nibmiester like Richard drops in.

Roger W.

Nah, it's a transitional, even if it's not... except that it is.

Criminy, next he'll be telling us there is no Golden Web.

hehehehehe.

d

Some useful info, save that for sake of clarity i note that Sheaffers can bulge too.

I done got some bulgin' Sheaffer's even with manufacturer's barrel stamp

Come to think of it, i am gettin' some barrel bulge too.... OFF TO THE GYM!!!!!!

d

David;

OK, i shouldn't say Sheaffer's can't bulge but they don't bulge as obviously as this one.

Now on to your "Golden Web" is that a James Bond movie? Golden Brown is what Sheaffer called their brown striated model so I'm not sure you know what you are talking about (I've seen it happen even to you ).

Transitional means transitioned from-to something. Flattops, half-balances (catalogue calls them that) and balances all exist in the 1930 catalogue so there is no transition as they exist similtaneously.

Roger W.

Sigh. I wish it did -- we likely would never have had the misleading label "Transitional" created. "Half-Balance" is a recent formulation that I've tried to popularize with modest success.

Enjoy the debate; I suspect David was trolling for it, but he won't catch the fish he was angling for.

--Daniel

Sounds like this discussion is floundering. Shame to get distracted by red herrings.

I would venture the guess that the Transitional was so named even before collectors had any catalog showing the pen. Perhaps why folks seemed to argue if the pen even was real... never mind what to call it.

d

Daniel and David;

Damn, I'm getting caught up in our own hype. I think half balance is a fine short cut to "Flat barrel end with Balance cap". Still, transitional is just wrong as there is no transition. If there was a period where they cut over from the flattop to the balance with some half measure I'd not have an argument but, that just did not happen - it is factually incorrect.

Roger W.

See earlier post. Era-bridger is transitional, even if overlap happens.

That said, i don't dislike half-balance either, though it is a bit formal. "Halfie" has a warmer and fuzzier ring to it.

As in, 'I got this here jade green halfie up for auction".

On next loop home will have to post pic of my two halfies. Little ones i fear but... killer color.

d

David;

Don't see your bridge nor overlap on the half balance - similtaneous, yes. Flattops overlap balances and halfies are just another offering as balances came into the mix. I see where half-balances are offered in this overlap period but, in this case, they are so incidental to it that calling them transitional overblows the part they play in the period. It would be interesting to know what Sheaffer thinking was on these "Flat barrel end with Balance cap". They were not advertised and are only handled in the 1930 catalogue. Like your halfie very much though.

Roger W.

Flat-top had twenty year+ run. Balance had 12-ish year run. One catalog shows both at the fulcrum as one gave way in catalogs to the other. The transitional packed in features of that which came before and that which would follow.

I respect your right to disagree

regards
d

David;

I see your point but, I think it gives the half balance much more importance than it had if it is called "transitional". Certainly your definition works at a certain level but fails if you define transitional as a bridge in and of itself. This piece, in my mind, seems more like a compromise offering in case the full balance failed to impress but, one was willing to give a lesser version a try. Certainly, not the "best of both worlds" or "a taste of the old and new" or anything of the sort. Rather than "transitional" I'd be much more likely to call it "compromise". Again, what was Sheaffer thinking on this as it is purely auxillary to flattops going to balances as it makes up a minor portion of the 1930 catalogue and no advertising in 1929 going forward when balances were advertised.

Roger W.

Hmmm... The Sheaffer Compromise.

I can handle it.

d

Here's another example to add into the mix.
I can't add to the debate on nomenclature (Half Balance works for me).

Clear late features of this pen are:
- the clip style (post 1934),
- the imprint (one that consistently appears on later production pens);
- and the material is one that I would associate with some of the later style Jade Balances and Flat tops in my collection.

I think Roger is right in that as 'Half Balances' were shown in the latest dealer catalogue (ie 1930) and therefore Sheaffer felt obligated to fulfil orders for the pens until the 1935 catalogue.



The smaller white dot and its placement are an interesting feature.

Nice pen.

I don't know that manufacturers felt obligated to provide that which was in a five year old catalog. Mind you, they might've had other reasons to produce a given pen, and i cannot rule out that they felt obligated, but the world seems full of companies who- when asked for out of production piece shown in a catalog- respond, "sorry, we no longer make that one".

regards

david

David;

Five years here is a rare situation for Sheaffer as the last full catalogeue was 1930 until the 1935 catalogue. There is reason to believe that the only other intervening factors are brochures and sales reps. So if someone ordered a half balance, so what, the cap and barrel were still in production and no problem what-so-ever to supply. It is not a situation of "sorry, we no longer make that one." It also does not preclude dealers and/or sales reps from knowing that this was a prior combination and making the switch of parts on their own. To know for sure the barrel would have to have the original "A" code sticker for half-balances. Barring that, I think it impossible to rule out even late half balance pens as being factory production unless some specific memo comes to light precluding this option.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

I am aware of the catalogue gap and indeed do not rule out the possiblity that this gap and your view of it explain "late" Flat Tops and Halfies. I accept that your hypothesis to explain these pens has merit.

Accepting the merit of a hypothesis, though, is not to take it as given.

By no means do i rule out originality of late halfies. It seemed to me that Daniel was not fond of that notion, though i could be mistaken in that, and no doubt he can clarify his own views better than can I.

I just keep open mind that other reasons can be in play for "late" pens, than a lack of desire to make a new catalogue in throes of the Depression. Indeed, a company so hard up that it perhaps opted not to generate new paper, would seem to me to be less likely to maintain old lines of pens when they could consolidate and cite, "sorry out of stock". Still, i get into tricky terrain, not being familiar as you are with Sheaffer, but for example i've never seen a blue-black marble Balance with "1935" trim, assuming i have the trim evolution straight.

Can I propose a better hypothesis for late Halfie or for late Flat Top? Maybe not. Or maybe. Idunno.

My general feeling is that "late" Flatties and Halfies are found well less often than are catalog-correct earlier styles. That does not affect your model or other models i 'spose.

So, perhaps the late pens represent factory repair stock? "Late" date code and sometimes late style Parker Vacs have been speculated to represent such late parts replacement/repairs. SEnd back your white dot flatty in 1936 and get a late style flattie from stock. Cannot prove this of course. And, yes, i know there are non-WD late flatties too.

INteresting stuff.

d

My long-range x-ray vision tells me there might be a surprise inside that pen.

Take a look at the inner cap using as strong a light as you have, and let us know what you see.

--Daniel

David;

Halfies from 1930 no doubt, halfies with stickers with the "A" code certainly, anything else could be correct or could be made up. So late halfies can't be ruled out but, doesn't make them correct either without a sticker "A" code. I merely propose there is some rational for their existance. Your theory of halfies exchanged for new halfies in repair is yet another possible option.

Rger W.

To a degree we parse. No matter. What means, "Correct"?

Late "anything" (flat top or halfie) is not proven "correct" even with striped inner cap, if correct means catalog illustrated and freshly for sale. Clearly we have no catalogs. Even price sticker on such a pen is not absolute proof, though strongly supportive.

Late seeming flatties could just be repairs. Does anyone have Sheaffer literature as to when Sheaffer first encountered striped plastic? Absenting that, striped inner caps "could" date to 1930, just Sheaffer didn't opt to make whole pens out of 'em for 6 more years. Go "prove" otherwise ;-)

I concur that finding late-style halfie with price sticker would be very strong evidence for late production of halfie.

But, here is my formal (for now- heh) stance on halfies of late styling.

1) We have no catalogue data to support late Flat Tops.

2) We know Halfies were produced along Flat Top and Balances

3) It is not unreasonable that whatever led Sheaffer to produce late style (even post 1935, based on a rehash of Daniels X-ray eye implication above, iirtr) flattops also led to late halfie

4) While not impossible, seems unlikely a 1935 or 1938 dealer would be willing to break up a Flat Top and Balance in "late" style to make a halfie, leaving him with an "anti-halfie" left over.

5) We still don't know why late pens were produced. TO honor an old catalogue is possible, not proven. Repairs under warranty also possible. No doubt other things possible.


d

Hi Daniel,

Indeed, your x-ray vision may prove to be correct.
I just shone a light down the cap and there does seem to be faint evidence of striations on the inner cap material.

Too much dried, caked ink and lack of eye focus (it's late here in the UK) to be certain.
I'll give the cap a thorough clean and take a look in proper daylight tomorrow and report back.
I feel you might be right Daniel.

This could pont to this pen being post 1936 manufacture (as per the striated material first being launched in that years catalogue).

Any comments on the small white dot?
I looked up your Penannt article "connecting the dots" but didn't pick up any pointers in that one.
I have seen smaller dots on later pens with Radius clips.

I am working on a chronology of dot sizes/locations as part of the never-ending Grand Balance Project, but I'm not ready to make any pronouncements. I will say that this dot size/location is unusual in combination with the curvaceous flat-ball clip, and also that the high small dot is often seen on caps found on barrels of Canadian manufacture.

--Daniel

Well my jade half-balance barrel indicates that it is a USA produced pen.

Thanks for posting the picture of the Canadian Balance. Clearly those guys followed a different convention (for what could be a multitude of reasons) by putting earlier clips (including WASP style) on later produced pens.
If it helps your research, then I have several radius clipped OS pens in most of the striated colours that sport a smaller white dot located higher on the cap.
They are all US manufacture. In fact, the white dot is generally a little smaller on all pens from about 1936 onwards.

The late production Black & Pearl on the left of this photo indicates that all Balance style caps similar to the one on my jade half balance didn't exclusively carry the small white dot.



As promised, I cleaned out the cap on my late-featured jade half balance this evening and your long range X-ray vision was indeed as sharp as I thought it might be. The inner cap is made from the golden brown striated material which first appeared in the 1936 catalogue.

So, what conclusions are you drawing from this?

I wish you'd get a move on with the Grand Balance project.
We need to bring some order to these minor areas of chaos.

I saw that, though mismatches happen, and cap oddities are sometimes associated with apparent Canadian manufacture.


Certainly. I was referring to the presence of high small dots on caps with pre-'radius' clips.


Oh, there's no doubt about that; I've probably seen thousands of examples. The high dot is an exception.


Nothing terribly profound. That variety of jade celluloid is often associated with inner caps of striated material, so I had a hunch. I have a jade (full) balance with a Carmine inner cap, in fact (first appearance in the mid-1939 catalog). One of the many small mysteries to puzzle the Sheaffer maven...


Oh, I'm getting a move on...there's just so much to cover, even just within the Balance era. Anybody want to publish a really thick book?

--Daniel

Daniel,

I know I'd be in line to buy one! I've still got a print out of some info you gave me on half balances many years ago, early in my collecting days!

If you are ever looking for more examples of Canadian pens that may be slightly different let me know, not that I have or no of examples for sale but I'm sure I could certainly send you off a raft of pictures if you requested some. Being in Canada, we do see more of them then many of those north of the boarder.

Pearce.

I'd buy the book Daniel!!

Toying with the notion.

d

I've seen late Jade Balances made from straight-seamed rolled sheet as well.

--Daniel

Great Looking Pen.

Perhaps the copywrite notation is a bit over the top?