Review: The " Swan " Pen/ The Fountain Pen Used By Professor James Moriarty Revisited

July 12, 2014

There is a site,with few collection could explain some of your questions.
http://vintageflex.com/MabieTodd.html

I just find there pens for sale and all of them newer looking than my pen. Did I miss something?

Cepasaccus

July 13, 2014

Cepasaccus,

Hi,I find 2 of your pen's feed in front nib are almost same length,with what I see in the http://vintageflex.com/MabieTodd.html pens for sale,such as Mabie Todd & Bard "Swan" 1880's,"Swan" 1503 and "Swan" 1500.And as the "Swan" 1880's,which made in mid of 1880's,if is true,it subvert http://www.fountainpen.it/Swan article by saying "The name Swan was introduce as a trademark since about 1890..."

The feed in front nib of my pen are shorter than yours,still,I don't know what is the distinct of feed's length.Maybe it had been modify before,and I haven't disassemble the pen yet,just afraid of couldn't restructure it.

Best regards.

July 13, 2014

I am not sure what feed this 1880s pen has. The end is not visible and there is no silver wire. So the dating might be correct, or not. They gave no reason for this. And there is sticking something from the other pen part. Is it part of the feed?

I once carefully removed the feed from such a pen. It went well until nearly the end, then I had two parts in my hand as suddenly the lower feed tonge broke off. So I cannot really recommend disassembling such a feed.

Cepasaccus

July 14, 2014

Cepasaccus,

Thanks for advices,it helps me a lot indeed.

Best regards.

November 1, 2014

I recently bought an identical Mabie Todd & Co. Chatelaine like NathanLow's one (btw excellent story and review!). The same printing on the barrel, the same crowns and band. The seller dated it "1912, in original box". Surprise: the original box was a Mabie Todd & Bard one! I supposed the box could be one from the stock used by the manufacturer after 1907, or, maybe, a reseller replacement. Logically, in both cases, the FP could be dated early 1912, probably 1908-9. Reading Cepassacus' posts, my indecision regarding the dating is now bigger. In any case, I like the Chatelaine MT a lot.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Alex2014

November 1, 2014

This is my oldest Mabie Todd with this patent date of 1877 for which I could not find any suitable patent. It has an excellent nib. Writing with it feels like painting. When I got it it was full of dried up ink. I poured it out, filled in new ink and it wrote.

Cepasaccus

November 1, 2014

This is my oldest Mabie Todd with this patent date of 1877 for which I could not find any suitable patent. It has an excellent nib. Writing with it feels like painting. When I got it it was full of dried up ink. I poured it out, filled in new ink and it wrote.

Cepasaccus

Chapeau bas ! The oldest adds for such an over/under feed in Moak's book date from 1895. The only patent of Mabie in 1877 I found here. As for Swan FP's, it seems (see David Nishimura's site) that they are based on William W. Stewart's patent from 1878 (here)

Edited November 1, 2014 by Alex2014

November 2, 2014

I have looked through all the US patents. There is no patent (submitted or issued) from 9th of August 1877 related to fountain pens. As issue date it is not even possible. The patents you have shown are from about the correct time from the correct persons, but IMHO it does not look from the pictures, that they are related to this fountain pen. The first related patent from the correct persons is US426692 from 1890 (submitted 1889) which shows the feed with silver wire.

So I have a few dates relevant to this pen:

- 1877-08-09: Patent date imprint

- 1884: Date provided by websites regarding the fountain pen production start of Mabie Todd and also the opening of their UK office. (I do have this pen from the UK.)

- 1889/1890: Related patent submission and issue date.

- 1895: Date provided by websites as introduction of the Swan trademark.

Cepasaccus

November 3, 2014

And btb. this pen is kinda oversize. Capped it is 17 cm long, posted nearly 20 cm.

November 15, 2014

I got recently this Mabie Todd & Bard, 3012. The imprint on the barrel is

THE SWAN PEN

PAT. FEB 8 81 FEB 21 82 MAR 6 88

MABIE TODD & BARD NEW YORK

The box is marked MABIE TODD & BARD as well, although there is an over print (a golden pen) with MABIE TODD & Co, probably a later over print. I cannot but suppose that the FP was manufactured just before the name of the brand was changed in 1907. The user instructions inside the box mention the FP was sold by the London office, 93 Cheapside.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Alex2014

November 15, 2014

The 3012 is a very nice pen. It is not expensive, the cap can seal the pen quite well (if it has no air holes) and, most of all, the nibs are excellent.

The &Co. seems to have been used in parallel with &Bard. So I would not to much emphasis on this.