Vintage Conway Stewart: Model And Date, Anyone?

[stephanos]

I bought this vintage Conway Stewart model at an antiques market late last year and have done some work on it since. I'm very pleased with the way it looks and writes now.

 

But I have no idea of the model or dates of production. Can anyone help?

 

I was going to upload some pictures using the Attach Files option at the bottom of the text box (as I have in previous posts), but when I try, I get the message, "uploading is not allowed". So I'm going to try using the Upload option instead. I hope this means that you'll be able to see pictures at the end of this post.

 

Here is the description in the meantime (measurements are approximate, subject to measurement error).

 

The nib has a heart-shaped breather and is marked, "Duro," "Conway Stewart" and "14ct gold." It puts down a fine line by modern standards and is very responsive to pressure, making for a pleasant and expressive writing experience. The feed looks like ebonite to me; whatever it is made of, it ensures a good flow of ink to make for a juicy (but not gushing) writer.

 

The pen is a deep mottled green, lever-filler, with gold-coloured furniture (gold-plated, I presume). The extremities of the pen (end of barrel and finial) and the section are black. Capped it's 130mm long. Posted it's about 163mm long.

 

The section is a tiny bit short for my liking, so I tend to hold the pen at or just below the threads (which are not sharp and do not bother me). The section has a lip at the end, which I like. Maximum section girth is 10.5mm.

 

The base of the barrel is flat enough that I can stand the pen upright. The barrel itself is fairly straight, tapering off somewhat at either end.

 

The imprint (which is still crisp), reads, "The Conway Stewart" along the length of the barrel. Horizontally, near the base of the barrel, you can also make out "Made in England" - this marking is not as crisp, and it is covered when you post the pen (it posts securely).

 

The cap has one band, and the clip provides another band between the green of the cap and the black finial, which is dome-shaped.

 

So that's it. Any help gratefully received.

 

Pictures (I hope):

 

Top of cap, showing finial

 

 

Pen plus hand-written description

 

 

End of barrel

 

 

Cap with band

 

 

Nib and section shown

 

 

Imprint

[johnmc2]

Assuming the Duro nib is original to the pen, my first impression is that it's a 45. Very similar to the 55 but with one band. I have one in black, they are very nicely-shaped pens. I think the single band was a result of wartime austerity. Stephen Hull dates the 45 from 1943-6

[stephanos]

Impossible to tell whether the nib is original, but on balance I think it probably is. So I'll work on the assumption that it s in fact a model 45, subject to correction.

 

Thank you very much!

[peterg]

Could be either a 45 or 286 with a replacement Duro nib. Not much between them and they were both known as 'The Conway Stewart'. Unusual, but by no means uncommon, for there not to be a number below the name.

 

Can't remember seeing a 45 with 'Made in England' around the base.

 

My 286 is 12.59 od on the clip ring. The 45 is a little wider at 14.4 mm.

Edited January 10, 2016 by peterg

[stephanos]

Now I'm confused. The pen I have is 13.1mm on the clip ring and 13.7mm on the cap band. So it must be a different model altogether. Whatever the model is, it's a lovely pen. I just like knowing the details.

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board...

[northlodge]

Where did you purchase the pen?

 

I also initially thought it a CS45, but if purchased abroad then it might well be something entirely different.

[peterg]

An alternative would be the 759 which, guess what?, was also The Conway Stewart in some versions.

 

Sorry, I don't have one to hand to give a measurement.

[northlodge]

An alternative would be the 759 which, guess what?, was also The Conway Stewart in some versions.

 

Sorry, I don't have one to hand to give a measurement.

Smaller and I have not seen one with a Duro nib.

[stephanos]

I bought it in England. It came in its box.

My feeling - given where I bought it and given the chat I had with the seller - is that it had been bought, used by one owner, and was now being sold as part of the process of an estate clearance. That's the story I tell myself about it anyway; I could well be wrong. The feed was a little clogged up, the nib needed a little work, and the sac needed replacing, but the condition of the pen was otherwise pretty good (I've done nothing to the outside of the pen, so what you see in the pictures is how it looked when I got it).

[peterg]

Just measured up a 55 which is probably dimensionally the same as a 45 and it was 13.02 on the clip ring and 13.78 on the cap ring so I think it is a 45

[Freddy]

For your consideration a great source of information re Conway Stewart pens

 

the Conway Stewart Encyclopedia by Jonathan Donahaye { rip }.....

http://jonathandonahaye.conwaystewart.info/

 

Your pen looks to my eye to be a number 45 with a weak imprint { number

is absent }.....with correct nib. I referenced the site and it appears

to be a 45..................................................................................................

http://jonathandonahaye.conwaystewart.info/csbook/page1.htm#cs45

 

Fred

[northlodge]

A word of caution on this site Freddy as many seem to assume that if it is in the book of Numbers it must be true....

 

The site has not been updated for the best part of a decade, whilst a great deal of additional knowledge has been acquired since then (including a superb book by Steve Hull).

 

One small example: look up the CS 444, (it was sort of corrected in Nov 2005), now see this ebay listing:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201504190344?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

[Freddy]

A word of caution on this site Freddy as many seem to assume that if it is in the book of Numbers it must be true.... The site has not been updated for the best part of a decade, whilst a great deal of additional knowledge has been acquired since then (including a superb book by Steve Hull). One small example: look up the CS 444, (it was sort of corrected in Nov 2005), now see this ebay listing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201504190344?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

 

 

 

I make no assumptions....the pen in question

is a 45..is it not....Re the site I make no presumptions.......

And I have read the book...............................................

 

Your friend and mine,

 

Fred

[stephanos]

Thank you very much for going out of your way to check the details. So it is a 45 after all; good to know.