Aikin Lambert Taper Cap Eyedropper Filler (With Photos)

[Alex2014]

I got recently an early BHR Aikin-Lambert taper cap eyedropper filler (from the late 1900s) with a gold filled Chased pattern repoussé Half overlay. The fountain pen came in excellent condition, with two elegant initials engraved on the barrel indicia. For the pictures bellow, I used a vintage post envelope illustrated with the drawing of the building from Manhattan where the famous jewellers had their shop in the era.[1]

 

 

The fountain pen is 141 mm (5 ⁹/₁₆ in) long when capped and 173 mm (6 ¹³/₁₆ in) when posted. It is a slender ED, with a diameter of only 8 mm, and it weighs no more than 8 gr. For sure, it is a delicate pen. The cap is 60 mm long and has four vent holes (two pairs of two antipodal holes).

 

The overlay, like my other Aikin Lambert ED’s, is not marked. There were some jewelers in New York who produced such gold filled Chased pattern repoussé overlay, common in the era.[2] A taper cap ED with an identical pattern and indicia appears also in Baird-North Co. 1909 catalogue[3], a jewelry house moved from Massachusetts to Providence[4], Rhode Island, that produced spare parts for Waterman, Wirt, Conklin and many other pen makers. I would be glad if someone more familiar than me with the history of the fountain pens could offer details about the manufacturer of the overlay.

The ED has “an uncommon but characteristically”[5] Aikin-Lambert & Co extra fine #1 nib with a round hole not connected to the slit, medium flex. The feed is a narrow keel-shaped one.

 

 

Included below is a writing sample (not very calligraphic ) on Rhodia paper (80 g/m²) using Diamine Twilight:

 

For a comparison, the following photo presents three different Aikin Lambert ED’s. From left to right:

(1) straight cap ED with silver overlay (c.1895);

(2) straight cap ED with gold filled overlay (c.1902);

(3) taper cap ED with gold filled overlay (c.1910).

 

All three seem to me being real works of art.

 

 

[1] http://kamakurapen.com/Manhattan/ManhattanList.html/.

[2] I.e. see “George W. Heath & Co.” on David Nishimura’s blog.

[3] Available as an extract on the site of Pen Collectors of America here. The pen appears under the number 6723. The document was archived including the names of Wirt and A-L in the title, although I did not succeed in finding which overlays were made for Aikin-Lambert. A similar pattern was produced by Baird-North Co. for Wirt (number 6641) with a slightly different indicia.

[4] About Baird-North Co., see Johnny Appleseed, “The Pens of the Baird-North Company” on www.fountainpennetwork.com. The author posted all the catalogues of the company from 1898 to 1933.

[5] David Nishimura, www.vintagepens.com, August 1^st, 2015.

Edited August 9, 2015 by Alex2014