Very Old Esterbrook Display Case

[peajay]

i just bought an old oak counter display case and im curious about its age and other things about it. the display case is in amazing condition and its full of brand new nibs and the inside drawer is also full of new un-opened boxes of nibs it also came with a really big old glass bottle of old ink and and old esterbrook ink well with and esterbrook pen of some sort in it.. ill post a pic of it in a second..ill also post a better pic when i get home.. thank you!!

[peajay]

im an artist and im also excited to try to draw with this stuff..is that possible?

[ticoun]

WOW! a full Esterbrook dip pen display! the desk set is a 444 Dipless (dip-less than a dip pen! ). the dipless is essentially a dip pen with a feed under the nib, acting as a huge reservoir.

[peajay]

Any idea what year the display is from? What I do know is that the old man that owned it had a publishing place that's been in business since 1868

And his great grandfather opened it and his grandpa is the one who bought this back in the day. The glass and case are in amazing condition

[ticoun]

late 1800's to the early 1900's i guess, as nibs are still referred to as pens.

[peajay]

This is the pen it came with. . . No model name it just says esterrook on it and the ink well

[peajay]

The pis didn't post let me try again

[peajay]

Pen

[peajay]

This is the ink it came with and its still usable I'm surprised its not dried up I tried it out it writes good

drawing with it is goin to take some getting used too!

[peajay]

Better pic of everything.

[peajay]

Does anyone know what kind of pen this is?

[jbb]

The pen looks like a dip-less dip pen.

 

Which numbers of dip pen nibs did you get? Esterbrook dip nibs are lots of fun to write with. One thing you should know (since you're new to this) is that never-before-used dip nibs often have an invisible protective coating that needs to be washed off before the nib will write properly. Otherwise your ink will blob.

Edited November 18, 2011 by jbb

[peajay]

That would explain the blobbing. . I was wondering a out that I've been very accurate with the pressure I've been writing with

(I'm a tattoo artist hand control is what I do for a living) thanks for the tip. . . One sec ill post what nibs I have. . .

[jbb]

That would explain the blobbing. . I was wondering a out that I've been very accurate with the pressure I've been writing with

(I'm a tattoo artist hand control is what I do for a living) thanks for the tip. . . One sec ill post what nibs I have. . .

I personally pass my nibs quickly through a candle flame to remove the coating but there are those who do not approve of that practice for some reason.

[peajay]

I have. . . 942,896,910,556,968,788,668,899,442,048,940,922,902

[peajay]

What type of coating is on it? Wax based plastic based?

[jbb]

What type of coating is on it? Wax based plastic based?

I don't know but I've always assumed it was some sort of oil.

[peajay]

What other ways besides using a candle is there to remove the coating?

[jbb]

What other ways besides using a candle is there to remove the coating?

Washing and then drying the nibs works. BTW, steel dip pen nibs will rust. They were also considered disposable and after a while they will stop writing nicely -- they'll snag and the like -- and you'll need to use a fresh one. That's why nibs were sold in boxes of 144.

Edited November 18, 2011 by jbb

[peajay]

That would explain why there was a lil sign by it that said 5cents each hahaha