Interesting (?) Skyline Demi

[Univer]

Hello All,

 

How nice to have a forum for these interesting pens! Thanks to everyone who helped to make it a reality. I plan to be an attentive student here - I have a lot to learn.

 

By way of joining in the grand opening festivities, I'm posting photos of a Skyline Demi that seems (to my admittedly inexpert eye) to be interesting. I like the combination of gold-filled derby, the narrow "extra" band just beneath it, and the wide cap band; against the black, I find it a very elegant design.

 

The second photo shows (I hope) the visulated section. The nib is a "banner" style, with moderate flex.

 

Anyway - probably a common version, but I haven't seen another example.

 

Looking forward to the lively discussions to come!

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

Edited November 27, 2006 by Univer

[Richard]

Yuor pen is dirt common, they're all over the place, you'd be hard pressed to get $10.00 for it from anybody who knows anything about Skylines.

 

 

(Oops, wiping away drool, darn, I blew my cover!)

 

What a fascinating pen! I myself have never before seen one with the extra band in the cap like that -- it's at least uncommon and quite possibly outright rare. Congratulations on owning it!

 

Wanna sell it...?

[Wahlnut]

Your Demi is quite unusual and a very nice find! Funny how many variations we keep finding that up to when found were nowhere to be seen in any of the surviving manufacturer's literature. This situation is not limited to Wahl-Eversharp's Skylines. Seems to run throughout the company production history. There must have been SOMEONE who had to approve the making of these variants, but when and why? A mystery. Given how smart your looks, you would think they could have sold a bunch of them. And if they actually did, where did they all go?

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Syd the Wahlnut

[Univer]

Thank you, gentlemen, for the kind words.

 

Richard, thank you - my inclination is to hang onto this one for the time being. That said, I'm in the process of winnowing out some pens for sale, and one never knows. I'll be more than happy to let you know if I decide to part with the Demi.

 

Syd, am I right in inferring that this specific variant is new to you as well?

 

For what it's worth, I enthusiastically agree that this is a fabulous design: sort of "formal" Art Deco - perfect for the pocket of a shawl-collar dinner jacket. I think it would have been absolutely stunning in a full-size (or an Executive!) version. If W-E did make more of these, I'd love to see 'em.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[DWL]

Man thats fantastic & a completly new one one me as well. I've seen the wide band models a couple of times before but never one with the secondary "derby band" so to speak. I Really like the way it sets off the GF derby.

 

Ok Binder!

 

It's gloves off & formal challenge time.

 

I'll indian leg wrestle ya' for the rights to buy it if he ever totally loses his mind & decides to let it go. :blink: :ph34r:

 

:bunny1: Dennis :bunny1:

[Richard]

Ok Binder!

 

[snip]

 

I'll indian leg wrestle ya' for the rights to buy it if he ever totally loses his mind & decides to let it go.

Be warned: I cheat. :ph34r: And besides, your hands are too big for a dinky little bit of a pen like a Skyline Demi.

 

I'm thinkin' that pen would make a delightful contrast with the bottom of th Skyline line, as exemplified by this Demi:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/trunc_clip_skyline.jpg

 

I enthusiastically agree that this is a fabulous design: sort of "formal" Art Deco - perfect for the pocket of a shawl-collar dinner jacket.

The really amusing thing about that is that you're right, it does have a very strong sense of Art Deco -- but the Skyline is anything but an Art Deco pen. By 1941, Art Deco was moribund; the world wanted streamlining, and that's what Henry Dreyfuss gave them with the Skyline by taking a tip from his own earlier sheathing design for the NYCRR's Twentieth Century Limited.

 

Of course we all know about Eversharp's next attempt at a flagship pen, the Art Deco design of the Fifth Avenue. Sorry, Charlie, retro was not yet fashionable. :bonk:

Edited December 1, 2006 by Richard

[david i]

Lacking literature on hand, i observe that some lines of Skyline appear with three trim levels: Plastic derby and bandless cap, Gold Filled Derby and thin gold filled band, Gold Filled Derby and Wide Gold Filled Band (the highest line of the three).

 

Certainly this works on the Moire pens (have to show some pics) and might apply to some of the more conventional plastics too.

 

I've a nice GF Derby/Wide Band pen lying around somewhere. have to shoot it.

 

david

[Univer]

No wrestling, please. To paraphrase Groucho in Horsefeathers: There'll be no diving for this pen!

 

For what it's worth, I sometimes feel that Wahl design seems to straddle two (or more) styles. The Doric is arguably the most "Art Deco" pen of all, yet it has a certain Classical severity as well. The Skyline is streamlined enough to double as a 40s hood ornament, but it can also evoke Art Deco associations. And the Fifth Avenue...well, let's just agree that it's hard to look forward and backward at the same time.

 

That said, all of those pens are truly beautiful designs. So maybe a little bit of stylistic confusion isn't such a bad thing.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon