Two Crazy Lots At Auction

March 11, 2014

okay, i got a bit crazy again and went all in for two lots of assorted pens and pen parts in two separate auctions online.

one of them, from the US, cost me next to nothing—$20 for the lot, including free shipping. the lot includes an intriguing wooden pen (no, it’s not one of those big and pricey 1980s german wooden parkers, but it does seem to have a clip and its maker took the trouble of turning the butt so that the cap should post; might be an interesting bit of folk art); and some vintage caps and barrels, and a box of pencils, nibs, etc.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/USPens_zps051e0105.jpg

the other lot, from the UK, is costing me quite a bit—around 5 C's when auction premium, taxes, and shipping are all added up, but i’m hoping there’ll be some pens there that will all make it worth it. i had only one smallish and grainy pic to go by, and i could see a green sheaffer touchdown (maybe), a blue conway stewart set, what could be a parker 61 (or a DJ 51, hard to tell from just the barrel end, but i’ll keep my expectations low and say a 61), maybe a blue parker 21, an english duofold, a silver pencil,and a gold-filled pen i can’t make out, nothing special.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/UKPens_zps3ebc1ad7.jpg

but then, in the foreground, is this fat woodgrain pen with what looks to be a wide gold band. this, of course, is what i’m basically paying for, and i don’t even know what it is, although it vaguely resembles a swan eternal 48 that i already have; it also seems to have a gold ring around the top of the cap. in any case, i’m a sucker for vintage woodgrain, so if this is a complete pen, with all the parts in there and a good nib and no cracks, i’d be in pen heaven. there’s a swan box in the background and a parker one as well (can’t make out what the blue one is) and i don’t know if there are still pens in them, but i’ll assume they’re empty.

it’s going to be a long month waiting for these pens to come in. meanwhile, speculations are welcome--tell me what you see! (isn’t gambling an exhilarating—and a terrible—thing?)

March 11, 2014

that fully golden pen looks like a sheaffer snorkel.

Edited March 11, 2014 by hari317

March 13, 2014

I'm actually very interested in the wooden one, just love the colour... can you post more pictures of it, please?

Edited March 13, 2014 by andybiotic

March 13, 2014

Hope your wishes are fufilled

paul

March 13, 2014

Thanks, folks. We'll find out in a couple of weeks, as the lots wing their way to me. I'll take good shots of both to clear up the mystery.

March 30, 2014

okay, so the pens have arrived at my sister's place in virginia, and she's taken some good photos of them. some ups and downs, but on the whole i'm pleased, and my investment should be covered. no great sumgai finds here, but a decent collection, i think, of some early and mid-century pens and pencils.

here's the lot:

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/photo1_zpsacc474ca.jpg

and here are the pens, uncapped:

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/photo2_zps2b95dee7.jpg

after consulting with my sister and having her examine the pens more closely, i've established that the pens are:

1. a green sheaffer snorkel

2. a platignum ensign (aerometric filler)

3. a conway stewart dinkie 550 set

4. a swan eternal 44 (E644B) in RMHR with a #6 nib

5. a black UK duofold missing its clip and cap jewel

6. a GF sheaffer snorkel

7. a UK parker 61 with an aerometric filler

8. a black UK duofold, aerometric, with a 25 nib

9. a blue parker 51 aerometric with a broad nib

further comments and observations:

the big swan is of course the piece de resistance; maybe a bit of a letdown in that it's only a 44 instead of a 48, but still in fairly good shape--all there, no chips or missing parts, with some brassing on the gold plating.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/photo3_zps7f068426.jpg

i'd been hoping for at least a 46, but the E644B is a nice variant of the 44, about which you can read more here.

the two sheaffer snorkels seem to be in very good shape; the snorkels come out and retract smoothly, although of course i'll need to check if they fill up properly. no nicks or dings, should clean up nicely.

the CS dinkie set is a sweetie. very clean. the parker 61 is also very clean and something of a novelty for me. i hadn't expected an aerometric filler:

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/photo_zpse04936e9.jpg

the 61 seems to have a broad nib so that's good, but there's a small chip in the section of the 51 near the nib so i might have to look for another section or whole casing for this.

i'll get all these when i see my sister next month; can't wait to see and to clean and fix them up! will probably be reselling some pens to help recover costs, but will surely hold on to the swan eternal and the 61, and maybe the GF snorkel.