Help Id A Tiny Swan

[pen tom]

I recently bought a very small Mabie Todd Swan. It is entirely gold color. It is 3 1/4 inches, 8.25 cm capped. I have a small sub-collection of vest-size Waterman and a few other brands so I thought this would be a nice fit. I was able to pull the section and there is what appears to be a fairly new sac. Everything looks like a normal pen , just tiny.

 

I have attached a few pictures.

 

Printed on the nib is Mabie Todd & Co, NY and 1

Printed on the lower barrel is Swan Pen Mabie Todd New York Made in U.S.A.

 

I only have 1 other Swan, so I don't know much about the brand. If anyone has any ideas of what this tiny pen is, I would appreciate the knowledge.

 

 

[Cob]

That looks to be a lovely little pen; I'll bet that Marc or Greenie will be able to tell you all about it. And I'll bet that it will write beautifully.

 

You should research Swans: they were the best!

 

Cob

[Greenie]

(Marc is a great fount of knowledge, but as a rule he told me that he does not collect metal pens. He knows so much about the plastics, how they were made, who made them, etc. Really fascinating to those of us who love these early celluloid pens, especially the ones from New York, usually made in New Jersey... But I digress!)

 

That tiny size is the same length as the "baby Wahl" with the #zero nib. Interesting.

 

Honestly, I was not aware of this tiny sized Swan metal pen. I don't have any of the Swan metal ring tops, but the same era BHR ring tops are longer and wider. Thanks for sharing!

 

The Swan metal pens are from the 1920s (maybe 1919 thru the 20s). There were quite a few patterns, and no one has been able to locate a source for any of the names of these patterns. The names are therefore "notional" by collectors. The body is all metal, and has an inner metal sleeve that seems to be soldered to the barrel at the threads. The lever is held by a C clip set in a groove in the inner metal sleeve. The section is hard rubber with overlay. The "ladder feed" is typical of the pen, so your feed looks just fine.

 

Information seems to be scant, as not much more is stated in the Moak book, and the "insides" are described based on my repair of these pens.

 

If you have any specific questions, fire away! Maybe someone has an answer!

[sidthecat]

I have a couple of gold Swan ringtops and they're great writers, but this one's so wee!

Nice find.

[pen tom]

It is tiny. One thing that I don't like is that the cap does not post. So I have this short pen that is kind of hard to write with since it does not post.

[Greenie]

The Baby Wahl pens post OK. Is the cap lip on your Baby Swan just out of round? I can hardly use the Baby Wahl even posted - fun, but my hand starts to cramp up.... I can't imagine being able to use a pen this size without posting the cap.

[pen tom]

The Baby Wahl pens post OK. Is the cap lip on your Baby Swan just out of round? I can hardly use the Baby Wahl even posted - fun, but my hand starts to cramp up.... I can't imagine being able to use a pen this size without posting the cap.

Its not out of round. I guess it can kind of post a wee bit. Then it pulls apart with a slight suction pop.

[Greenie]

Its not out of round. I guess it can kind of post a wee bit. Then it pulls apart with a slight suction pop.

That seems about right to me. The full sized pens only post about 5 mm and come off with a "pop". I think that what you have is all that it ever did.