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Is This One A Root Beer?


inkstainedruth

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I stuck my nose in a local-ish antiques mall last week, and spotted an Esterbrook SJ that looked a little different from the other Esties in my stash. I got a couple of photos taken of in on Sunday (in comparison with a couple of Js that I'm pretty sure are copper) and am throwing them up for more experienced folks to tell me whether or not it's a Root Beer -- it certainly is a darker color from the other two pens.

The first image came out sort of weird (that's really a white napkin that it's on), so I saved the image as a duplicate, and played around with color-correcting the image somewhat (the napkin is actually white, but the un-corrected image makes it look blue-tinged, so I'm posting both versions).

fpn_1443425511__img_0318.jpg

fpn_1443425552__img_0318_color_corrected

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • mmg122

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Sigh. Yes -- I've already asked the moderators to pull two of them.

I hate technology.... :angry: I keep having to explain to people that I have fountain pens that are 65+ years old that only needed to be flushed out well and they just WORK. Computers? Not so much (I spent an hour on the phone with Apple Sunday night trying to reset my iPhone password because I can't get the new IOS to load (the backup email is my husband's, and I don't have the password to THAT). I don't remember the stupid answers to the stupid security questions, because I never USE them ("What do you use for buying stuff on iTunes or downloading apps?" "I DON'T....") Now in a few hours Apple will be calling me back because I really don't think it should take 6 hours for them to send email verifying that I'm who I say I am. I've gotten two different verification notices and no info as to how to contact Apple Tech Support to say "Yup, the verification code is [ ]"

And then this.... :wallbash:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: The one consolation is that while I had my phone hooked up to the laptop to download the photos from the phone, I had the power cable hooked up, and that seems to have charged my phone's battery....

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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ISR,

 

IMO, at the least cap of the first pen and the 3rd pen are Coppers. The SJ looks like a RB to me. I don't know why but IMO, SJ RB's are much more prevalent that J RB's. I think there's even Less RB LJ's than J's.

 

I'm not quite sure What's Going On with the barrel of the first pen...

 

The color correcting you are speaking of is the White Balance correction, it corrects based on the type of light the pic is taken in.

 

That is one of the best points about the Google Picasa editing (besides it being Free), it has a 1 button color correction.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited by OcalaFlGuy
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I'm not sure if it's a root beer or not but it sure is a beauty. I know some older Esties (30's) were much darker brown and less marbled than the typical copper. Nice find, Ruth!

 

Don't imagine you'd like to sell it?

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After browsing the intertubes, I found these stunning root beer examples. Sure looks like you scored a good one! Props again, Ruth. They sure are beautiful pens.

post-36725-0-93336500-1443465410.jpeg

post-36725-0-82164500-1443465424.jpeg

post-36725-0-93385300-1443465454.jpeg

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As I understand, "rootbeer" is NOT an Esterbrook color, it is copper. The different shades of copper is the result of manufacturing variations as they mix the ingredients to make the cap and barrel and how the material aged/faded.

 

If you are collecting color variations, I would grab it.

 

So what shade of copper is rootbeer, and what what are the other shades of copper called ?

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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AC12...correct. Root beer is just a dark variation of copper. Although I'm sure there are many gradations, I guess it's up to the Borg to decide if any individual copper pen qualifies as root beer.

 

BTW...I get crazy when some members refer to this color as "root beer float"...just sayin'.

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AC12...correct. Root beer is just a dark variation of copper. Although I'm sure there are many gradations, I guess it's up to the Borg to decide if any individual copper pen qualifies as root beer.

 

BTW...I get crazy when some members refer to this color as "root beer float"...just sayin'.

 

 

Then you'd hate me....I've had enough varieties of "dubonnet red" to morph them into Merlot, Vampire, and one truly gorgeous deep DEEP red (just ask jdlizard).

The "silver" can go from a deep gray with striking black streaking to one I just listed as nearly pewter, or 50 shades of gray...

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@ mmg122 -- No, sorry, not at the moment. It definitely has a dead sac, for one thing. I've paid less for SJs, but I've also paid more (the black SJ with the 9128 nib was a bit more, and the green with the borked 9128 nib was a LOT more...).

@ OcalaFlGuy -- Yeah, dunno. Noticed that when I when to take the photos. The bulk of my Esties were off of Ebay, including both the Coppers (the only ones in the wild were the RB, both the black SJs, and one of the blue ones. I presume that there was just discoloration between the barrel and cap (the place where I got the Cedar Blure 51 Vac last year had an Epenco in the same case with HORRIBLE fading and discoloration on the barrel -- much worse that on this pen; and much more noticeable because it was a fairly big pen to boot).

@gweimer1 -- LoL on the descriptions of the red variants. But you know the drill -- pix or it didn't happen.... :lol: I really want to see the difference between "Merlot" and "Vampire"! I have a couple of reds (well, technically I'm giving one to my husband and he picked the red J :angry:) and I think the J and SJs are pretty much the same red.

Now all I need is one of the really dark blue ones (cobalt?). Preferably with a nib I *don't* have already.... B) Had not seen any dark greys -- mine are both more in the pewter range. And I think I've seen pictures of some that look sort of violet (but couldn't tell if that was really just a variety of either blue or grey).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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This one is even more gorgeous and deep than the J that ScienceChick has, and hers is just luscious.

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b170/gweimer/Ebay%202015/Esterbrook_SJ_Burgundy_1555G_6_zps7tjc8otg.jpg

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BTW...I get crazy when some members refer to this color as "root beer float"...just sayin'.

 

Copper looks, well like Copper.

RB looks like well, RB, Brown.

 

I have seen Coppers with wide enough streaks of Root Beer to make for a genuine ID conundrum. Copper was still the most prominent color though.

 

Speaking of Root Beer Float...Would you settle for Copper Beer?

 

I sold a Copper once with those really wide RB streaks in it. I also had a primo RB cap. I gave the option on Fleabay for the buyer to pay a bit more for the extra cap.

 

Anyway, I called the Copper w/RB cap The Copper Beer option in the Fleabay listing. ;) That combo looked pretty neat IMO.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/274460-anyone-care-for-a-nice-frosty-mug-of-copper-beer-pics-added/

 

 

PHOTO_20140918_175623.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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These are my current copper Esties and demonstrate the wide gradation of color found in the wild. The two on the right are the darkest ones I have. You'll notice the second from the right is a bandless Estie. It's been my experience that the bandless ones usually have a highly saturated color. As you may suspect, copper is my favorite Estie color.

post-36725-0-50279700-1443493719_thumb.jpeg

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This one is even more gorgeous and deep than the J that ScienceChick has, and hers is just luscious.

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b170/gweimer/Ebay%202015/Esterbrook_SJ_Burgundy_1555G_6_zps7tjc8otg.jpg

Great color!! I've never seen a red as dark as that. A real keeper!

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Copper looks, well like Copper.

RB looks like well, RB, Brown.

 

I have seen Coppers with wide enough streaks of Root Beer to make for a genuine ID conundrum. Copper was still the most prominent color though.

 

Speaking of Root Beer Float...Would you settle for Copper Beer?

 

I sold a Copper once with those really wide RB streaks in it. I also had a primo RB cap. I gave the option on Fleabay for the buyer to pay a bit more for the extra cap.

 

 

 

Anyway, I called the Copper w/RB cap The Copper Beer option in the Fleabay listing. ;) That combo looked pretty neat IMO.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/274460-anyone-care-for-a-nice-frosty-mug-of-copper-beer-pics-added/

 

 

PHOTO_20140918_175623.jpg

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

Beautiful pen, Bruce. I can live with Copper Beer. It's the "float" part that hits me like nails on a chalk board.

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This one is even more gorgeous and deep than the J that ScienceChick has, and hers is just luscious.

Yes, it is. I love my Vampire Red J!

Life's too short to use crappy pens.  -carlos.q

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That's a pretty color. But no way am i gonna pay more for a pen with a 1xxx nib than I did for the pen with the 9788 nib (which, IIRC, was one of the coppers in the photos of the Root Beer SJ...).

Also, I sort of promised my husband I wasn't going to buy myself a pen for my birthday. Instead I'm going with something silly and kinda stupid and completely frivolous -- going to try to get me a genuine 1960s vintage small sized "rat fink" if I can find one that's not too pricy. I had one when I was a kid and got nostalgic a year or two back. The thing cost maybe a dime or a quarter out of a gumball machine back when I was little. Saw a ring that was metallic gold colored plastic with the rat fink as the "stone" in metallic silver colored plastic go for more than ten buck US this afternoon; and there's one on Ebay now that actually has brush whiskers currently listed as a BiN for more than twice that.... :o (Not going for that one, BTW -- the whiskers on one side look as if they're been partially chewed off....) Trying to find a color I like at a reasonable price with the thing not looking too mangled or that it came out of the mold with too much flashing attached to it. And no, I don't want one of the bigger sized ones from the 1980s (keychains sold at car shows), or the yucky t-shirts or the things you mount on your car. Or the "Martian" rat finks (which have antennae...).

It will go on my desk next to the gold small Pelikan pen stand, and the replica [modern] mini Gumby and Pokey, and the small plush Grumpy Cat that I bought right before finding those sumgai 51s last year.

Besides -- I gotta start saving for the Ohio Pen Show.... :thumbup:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting issues

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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