Rarest Sheaffer.

[wekiva98]

By request, here are the balance demonstrator (with a snorkel demonstrator for comparison) and the solid-gold balance set. Had a picture of the balance set but it took me a while to dig out the demonstrators for a quick photo. As I said, I'm still looking for an early flattop in mottled rubber. I'm also still looking for nice gold-filled flattops, which may be the favorite part of my Sheaffer collection.

 

Edited December 26, 2011 by wekiva98

[sexauerw]

Here are the rarest Sheaffer pens in my collection. From left to right:

Triumph Imperial Masterpiece. 18K body, cap, clip, blind cap and nib. Made in England. I don't know how many of these were made.

Targa Vannerie Masterpiece set, model 1097. FP and BP. 18K body, cap, clip tassie and nib. Made in France. According to Lambrou in FPOTW only 10 sets were made, but other sources say that perhaps a few more were made later.

Targa Palissandre de Rio, model 1050. Body and cap made of cocobolo wood. Made in France. Only a "few" made.

Targa "Fred - Force 10", model 1090. Very limited production. Made in France.

Targa Leather-Look, no model number assigned. Made in USA. Only a "handful" made.

Targa Laqué Spiral Ivoire, Harrod's of London Special Edition model 1083, 100 made. The fountain pen has no markings to indicate country of origin, but the ballpoint is marked "Made in England".

 

Note that Sheaffer seemed to have problems in coordinating model number assignment between its factories in various countries. This led to the same number being used for two or sometimes even three different pens. Model 1050 was used for the slim metallic gray pen called Quicksilver in addition to being used for the Palissandre de Rio; while 1083 was used for the more common Black Spiral as well as for the white one shown here.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j66/sexauerw/RareSheafferPens.jpg

Edited December 26, 2011 by sexauerw

[Koyote]

God, Bill, you have an incredible collection! I have but one Targa, but I do love it.

[blueboy]

Greetings from the UK!

 

I'm sorry to say that none of the pens in my (pitiful) collection would come anywhere near the description of rare !

 

However, I am entranced by the Lady Sheaffer Skripserts, particularly those in the well known illustration from Pen World, August, 1994. Would anyone agree that the CX Matelasse is rare? Apart from the Pen World illustration, and an almost certain imposter on eBay, I have never seen any other depiction of this pen anywhere.

 

At the minute I have 17 of the 19 pens in the Pen World picture, along with 5 matching pencils. Still looking for the XX and the Matelasse.

 

I know some people think the Ladies are not worth thinking about but I love them !!! Sorry about the standard of the pics, I used my phone for convenience.

 

 

 

[DrPJM1]

Thanks everyone for making this such an interesting thread.

 

Wekiva: Is that an OS Balance Demonstrator?

[wekiva98]

Wekiva: Is that an OS Balance Demonstrator?

 

Yes it is. Here is another photo of it with a couple other big pens, plus a standard-size balance in black for comparison.

 

Edited December 26, 2011 by wekiva98

[kirchh]

Here are a few of the less-common OS Balances mentioned in this thread. This was taken a while ago; I may have added or subtracted a couple here or there since then:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Sheaffer_OS_Roseglows_and_Demos_2.jpg

 

--Daniel

[Rick Krantz]

Geez... I picked up something I thought was somewhat rare today, but after reading this thread, and seeing the 8 size mottled sheaffers, I just don't know. I got a #8 sheaffer with nickel clip, and lever, with a self filing nib in Bchr. It is superb, chasing is great, color is great, I just need to get the #8 nib retipped. I would say, that the rare came out in the thread. I think early sheaffer stuff is greatly underappreciated. You seldom see it. They write real nice. The pens are solid, and quality items. I will try to get a few shots up later tonight. I just picked this pen up today.

[79spitfire]

Can't help it! I've been watching this thread for a few days, so for your snickering pleasure, is my 'rarest' Sheaffers:

 

 

Starting from the right, the black flattop is a 'student special' with a flexable nib, Personalized "Ann Miller" (I sometimes wonder if it is the actress/dancer, likely not but it's my fantasy!)

 

The next is my gold overlay, also known as 'the pen that started it all' in the 'draped chasing' pattern. It has the early 'Sheaffer-Clip' imprint.

 

The next is my 5-30 secretary pen, unfortunately not pristine, the ends are notched and the cap is split. It does write well, however the nib is typical in that it is a stiff 'shorthand type' nib.

 

The next is my Ebonized pearl OS lever-filler. Unfortunately it is personalized, but otherwise has very little wear.

 

Next is my Red Veined Grey Pearl Sheaffer JR. It's a transitional flat-top, with the tapered ends that flatten out. It too is personalized, but has little to no wear on it.

 

The next is a Grey Perl Balance, likely not very rare! It is a very early Vac-fil having the early style nut, flat (no finger) feed and a rubber coated rod in pristine condition. This was my first Vac-fil home restore, and it works very well

 

The last is my Carmine Vac-fil military clip, lifetime. I grabbed it because I understood the lifetime military clips to be rare (feather touch being more common) and the pen it self has very little wear. It has the gold plated clip and band that are made from silver, due to it's not being a 'war resource' at the time!

 

I'm sure many of the 'hard core' collectors will get a laugh! (especially about the personalized pens) but they make me happy and the flex nib student is a treat to write with. (It's not as flexable as my #2 Waterman's but is easier to control.)

 

(sorry about the crappy pic... Santa didn't get me a camera! I'll have to hunt the 'closeout specials later this week.... :roflmho: )

Edited December 27, 2011 by 79spitfire

[DrPJM1]

I had only seen the OS Demo on David Nishimura's site, so imagine my surprise when wekiva98 and Dan showed theirs. Paint me green with envy.

 

Dan: All OS but one non-Lifetime?

[Roger W.]

Spitfire;

 

"The next is my 5-30 secretary pen, unfortunately not pristine, the ends are notched and the cap is split. It does write well, however the nib is typical in that it is a stiff 'shorthand type' nib."

 

Just to be clear a 5-30 has absolutely nothing to do with "Secretary". For that matter Secretary's are red and these are coral.

 

 

"Next is my Red Veined Grey Pearl Sheaffer JR. It's a transitional flat-top, with the tapered ends that flatten out. It too is personalized, but has little to no wear on it."

 

These are not "transitional" in any sense.

 

 

"I'm sure many of the 'hard core' collectors will get a laugh! (especially about the personalized pens) but they make me happy and the flex nib student is a treat to write with. (It's not as flexable as my #2 Waterman's but is easier to control.)"

 

Nothing wrong with personalized pens. I have many examples as that is likely the only way to find a particular model. I like your group.

 

Roger W.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Roger W.

[kirchh]

I had only seen the OS Demo on David Nishimura's site, so imagine my surprise when wekiva98 and Dan showed theirs. Paint me green with envy.

 

Dan: All OS but one non-Lifetime?

All OS, all White-Dotted. One dot has faded -- look closely and you'll see it.

 

--Daniel

[Vintagepens]

Just for the record, the great iconic modern Sheaffer rarities must be the PFMs above level V, Autographs excluded. That is, PFMs with gold filled cap and barrel; solid gold cap; and solid gold cap and barrel.

 

Survival rate of the earliest Sheaffers also means there are a number of extremely rare models from the first decade or so.

[DrPJM1]

Dan:

I can barely see a faint circular outline on the top demo pen.

 

David N:

Please post pics for our education and enjoyment.

So what would you call these pens that have been posted? Rare, infrequent, scarce, uncommon, unusual?

[kirchh]

Here's another OS Balance demo; this one has the later "radius" clip:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Sheaffer_OS_Balance_Demo_Closed.jpg

 

--Daniel

[Happy Harry]

Just for the record, the great iconic modern Sheaffer rarities must be the PFMs above level V, Autographs excluded. That is, PFMs with gold filled cap and barrel; solid gold cap; and solid gold cap and barrel.

 

Survival rate of the earliest Sheaffers also means there are a number of extremely rare models from the first decade or so.

 

I believe the solid gold PFM was done by S.J.Rose (London) on order from Sheaffer U.K.and it's rumored to have been 100 pieces. One is known to have been sold at auction, the rest are most likely still with the original owners(or family) who probably don't need the 4 or 5 figure sum of money one might bring. I'm unsure if any photo would exist bar the auction catalog or Sheaffer literature. At some point in the future I would assume more will surface, then the "rarity" decreases.

[DrPJM1]

Here's another OS Balance demo; this one has the later "radius" clip:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Sheaffer_OS_Balance_Demo_Closed.jpg

 

--Daniel

 

Looks like the OS Demonstrators were made in 1333-35?

[kirchh]

Looks like the OS Demonstrators were made in 1[9]33-35?

Well, the parallel non-demonstrator models would date to about '34-'36 for flat-ball clip examples, and '36-early '40s for "radius" clip versions (all dates are on the catalog calendar, so to speak, which may not correspond exactly to the real calendar).

 

--Daniel

[79spitfire]

Spitfire;

 

"The next is my 5-30 secretary pen, unfortunately not pristine, the ends are notched and the cap is split. It does write well, however the nib is typical in that it is a stiff 'shorthand type' nib."

 

Just to be clear a 5-30 has absolutely nothing to do with "Secretary". For that matter Secretary's are red and these are coral.

 

 

"Next is my Red Veined Grey Pearl Sheaffer JR. It's a transitional flat-top, with the tapered ends that flatten out. It too is personalized, but has little to no wear on it."

 

These are not "transitional" in any sense.

 

 

"I'm sure many of the 'hard core' collectors will get a laugh! (especially about the personalized pens) but they make me happy and the flex nib student is a treat to write with. (It's not as flexable as my #2 Waterman's but is easier to control.)"

 

Nothing wrong with personalized pens. I have many examples as that is likely the only way to find a particular model. I like your group.

 

Roger W.

Thanks Roger. At least you didn't pop all my fantasies!

 

I can't remember where but I've heard the 'tapered flat tops' were a transitional design. *sigh*

[Vintagepens]

I believe the solid gold PFM was done by S.J.Rose (London) on order from Sheaffer U.K.and it's rumored to have been 100 pieces.

 

The Rose PFMs were 9K, I think; I've seen or had dealings with a few of them over the years. I've heard the 100 figure before, but also speculation that they were not popular and that it was possible that either the contract wasn't completely filled or that some were scrapped unsold.

 

Quite apart from these were the American-made high-number PFMs, none of which made it into even limited production. Where they are now, I don't know -- they used to be held by Sheaffer, as I recall.