Chicago Pen Show Report

[Brian Anderson]

I'm back from Chicago and what a show it was! Lately I'm only a single day show go-er (but have done multiple days in the past), so I can't attest to all the excitement people talk about who are there for the entire weekend. Anyway, I left my house just before 6:00 am Saturday morning, had all my stuff ready to go and started driving. I got to the hotel quite easily this year with little problems. I usually miss the exit and end up driving to O'hare, but I got it right this year.

 

When I got in, the doors had just opened as it was 9:00. I was surprised to not see as many dealers set up as I had in the past, but they quickly arrived and filled up all the tables. My first stop is always the same, stop by Joel and Sherrel's table (Ink-Pen), say hi, drop off some pens for repair and then peruse the floor. Last year I was quite disappointed with what I saw, and actually only came home with one pen. This year, I took a different approach, realizing that for me to find an esterbrook at the show I don't have is almost impossible, so I came looking for HR pens, and maybe an overlay of some sort.

 

Well, as can be expected, lots and lots and lots of pens. So much so that I often forgot where I saw one pen, and whether I had talked to a particular dealer or not. I had a great time talking with all the folks this year, and everyone was very nice to speak with. That's the benefit of going on Saturday, dealers aren't as rushed as they can be on a Sunday.

 

Anyway, on to pens. First order of business is to look for Esterbrook marked eyedropper pens. Once I deduced there weren't any to be found (at least I hope I didn't miss any), I started with the second objective, parts and HR. I had brought almost twenty pens I needed parts for. I managed to grab a 51 vac beater for parts, but unfortunately, when I got home, found the filler to be broken. Oh well, the jewel and hood were in good shape, so my pen is almost complete.

 

Next up was a find on "parts row" Well, actually it was about two dealers over three or four tables sitting next to each other who had boat loads of parts. I spotted a BCHR Diamond Point eyedropper pen with two gold filled bands. No nib, no clip, but since Diamond Point made such a big deal about the "Safety Clip" I felt it might be obtainable at some point. It's an eyedropper anyway, so all I needed was a nib and it would be functional. Fine enough by me, so I picked it up. A while later I'm talking with Stuart Hawkinson who is also a long time Esterbrook collector, and I'm showing him the pen and where the clip used to be (you could see the discoloration of the hard rubber under where the clip was). We chat for quite a while, he shows me a tool he made to remove clutch rings from a 51 cap, and then watch as he removes dents from a cap, then places it all back together again. Very neat tool, wish I had one, but they are quite expensive. I'm about to leave when I spot this interesting clip on a pen on his table. I pick up the pen and see it is a BHR Lady duofold (which I was looking for a nib for) and, what's that? A Diamond Point Safety Clip on it! I show it to Stuart and tell him I have to have this. he looks at it for a second, determines it will be easy to remove and clean up the cap, and gives it to me, even installing on my cap to the very position the original was! I'm not sure how common these are, but I'm almost positive I don't recall seeing that clip on any other pen at the show. Unbelievable! Once I had that I decided I needed to finish it off and get it a warranted #2 nib. I managed to find one after a short while (not as easy as one would suspect, as #2 warranted nibs can be found in all sorts of sizes), but told the dealer, I'd only buy it if I knew it would fit. Not only did this dealer remove the nib from the section it was in, but installed it in my pen to make sure it would fit correctly. It was a perfect fit! I don't know if the original clip would have been nickel or gold plated, but I figured this was about as close as I was going to get for a while!

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/dppc0050.jpg

 

and the cool clip:

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/dppc0050clip.jpg

 

Next pen was found completely on a fluke in another parts box. A Black Lined Hard Rubber Wearever. I've wanted one of these for a while, but never bothered to actually look for one. I don't believe they are very common, as when I was looking only managed to ever find one on ebay. Anyway, this one had some bulging at the lever box, and needed help, but for $10 I couldn't go wrong, and now have an example for my collection:

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/wear0050.jpg

 

Next up was the big purchase of the day. I had been looking at sterling and gold filled Waterman overlays all day, trying to compare prices and find a good deal. I had seen either a 552 or 554 (can't remember which, and don't remember if it was an LEC model or not) that was going for $450. I couldn't believe it, but this dealer had plenty of Waterman, so perhaps the price was reduced because of some dents in the overlay. I don't know, all I knew was if I bought it, I was going home immediately, so I passed. Probably should have bought it, I know, as some can go in the $1000 range. Anyway, while I was interested in a 452 (looked last year too), I was torn between two pens at one dealers table. A Nice looking 452, and an even prettier 0552 1/2 LEC in the Pansy Panel. Price difference between the two was about $30, and I found the full GF overlay too pretty. Oh that and the nice broad nib it had. "Reba" came to me with a later feed, but also the original feed and an extra section, so I suppose one day I'll swap them out, but for now, I'll just admire her as is.

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/wman0200.jpg

 

Feeling satiated I made a few last rounds to see if there were any other lesser priced pens I might add to the mix when I stumbled upon a very nice man from Dallas who had some nice pens at his table. This pen I know nothing about, but despite it having some issues, spoke to me. Oh, and the price was right!

 

http://www.esterbrook.net/collection/usfp0100.jpg

 

Pen is marked "U.S. Fountain Pen Company NY 18 KT Filled 1/10". Clip is marked "Victor" - not sure if this is original or a replacement, but suspect a replacement perhaps, and nib is marked "Paul W. Johnson Mansfield Mass. No.2" It has what looks to be a fairly decent repair on a bad crack which runs through the barrel threads, and appears to be stable enough to use carefully. The overlay is in really decent shape, only a tiny ding in one spot with some minor brassing here and there. As I stood there admiring the pen, but contemplating on the stability and value of such a pen with such a nasty crack, the price dropped, and out came the money to compensate.

 

I picked up some ink and cartridges and had a nice chat with Sam from Pendemonium as well. After that, I decided if I was buying any other pen it was going to put me beyond my budget, so I packed up and went home.

 

All in all I was very pleased with my four keepers. Chatting with old pen friends is always fun, and I got to meet some new people as well. Every year, the experience just seems to get better! If you haven't gone and you live within reasonable driving distance, you need to go!

 

Best-

Brian

[jpolaski]

Sounds like a great show. I'm trying to get to DC for my first. I missed the New England show, and I'll be ****** if I'm going to miss that one too.

 

 

Congrats on the finds. Looks like some great pens in there.

[aunt rebecca]

hi,

for everyone who wants to go to the dc show--get your room reservations at the show rate NOW!!!

ask for a tower room.

thursday, friday are great pre-show days--lots of selling and shmoozing.

buy a week-end pass.

 

it's the tysons corner sheraton.

 

look up the dates on susan wirth's site--or someone here can post it.

 

i'm going, but my niece tells me when!

 

:ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

 

[BillTheEditor]

Was the nice man from Dallas Lowell or was it Presnall?

[kenny]

This year's Chicago Pen Show was my first pen show. Only went Sunday. I THOUGHT I knew what to expect from reading on these sites and the recommendations on Richard's site (I THINK that is where I saw it).

 

There were pens. And pens. And pens. And pens. And pens. And more pens. It was pen overload time.

 

I spent more than I anticipated, but am happy with the purchases.

 

Mrs. Kenny picked up a surprise for me--the vermeil MB Agatha Christie at a MUCH (and I mean MUCH) lower price than the vendor had initially asked. (My wife is quite the negotiator!)

 

I picked up a replacement nib for my Esterbrook. I got a couple new modern pens from the Fountain Pen Hospital people and a Vanishing Point for Mrs. Kenny. And a bunch of ink from Pendemonium. My ink addiction is worse than my pen addiction.

 

However, the sheer number of pens on display just made my head spin. I don't see how anyone could see them all!

 

 

[kenny]

I got to the hotel quite easily this year with little problems. I usually miss the exit and end up driving to O'hare, but I got it right this year.

 

It CAN be confusing there. Some of the exits are close together and you have to cross to the other side of the expressway at times. There's also construction in the area. I went to high school about a 1/2 mile away from the hotel, and even I got tricked into the wrong exit! (In my defense, it was dark because I went up late Saturday night and the construction faked me out).