Hi All,

Found an interesting Snorkel like pen with Sheaffer nib (but no feed) to boot on Ebay - Snorkel like Pen. I was wondering if it is a genuine Snorkel like pen made by Sheaffer R&D (proof of concept prototype perhaps) or a result of some one's experiment in trying to understand how the Snorkel works. Looking at the effort gone into it, seems like the work of a serious mind.

Whilst this niche is not my focus, the pen appears to be an 1800's victorian push-pencil/ dip-pen. It has nothing to do with Sheaffer save for being fitted with a more than marginally later nib by that maker.

regards

david

That is not a Snorkel. The tube that protrudes from the barrel is a retractibly mechanical pencil, and the pen is a dip-pen. As David said, these were usually from the victorian era and pre-date Sheaffer considerably, though I have seen advertisements for similar items that almost overlap with Sheaffer (1915 roughly).

Note the imprint "Mabie's Patent, Oct. 3, 1854." While it most likely does not date to 1854 (that being the patent date, not the production date) I suspect it is from the mid-late 1800s. I am not sure I have all the dates down for the Mabie-Todd company (vs Edward Todd and the other combination), but I would suspect this is a Mabie-Todd?

John

Interesting that it says "Snorkel works good", isn't it? Like its some kind of catch phrase... like one of those "Vintage Sheaffer Parker Fountain Pen" that's a Wearever.

Tim
(My hair isn't gray, it's turning vintage...)