Sheaffer Snorkel, Fern Green 1957-C1959

[PenHero]

Hi, folks!

 

At the Washington, D.C. Pen Show, I was able to get a Snorkel color that so far has been elusive to me: Fern Green. I also had the amazing good fortune to not get just one, but two!

 

Part of the reason I wanted a Fern was to be able to show the color variations side by side, like this:

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/SheafferSnorkelGreens01.jpg

 

Above is a Fern Green Valiant, Sage Green Admiral, and Pastel Green Statesman, left to right.

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/SheafferSnorkelGreens02.jpg

 

Above is a Pastel Green Sentinel, Sage Green Sovereign, and Fern Green Sentinel, left to right.

 

Valiant, Sentinel, and Crest Snorkel models were available in Fern Green, so I was able to get two of them. Swap a gold fill cap on one and I would have a Crest if I wanted. Yes, they all have color matching sections.

 

Interestingly enough, I've seen quite a few Sage Green pens being offered as Fern Green, and side by side there is no mistaking them. If you don't have any reference point in the wild, Fern Green is an avocado color.

 

I'll be posting a Sheaffer greens update this coming weekend on PenHero.com.

 

Thanks!

[inkstainedruth]

Wow, that Fern Green is a really nice color. I can see why you'd want one even if you *weren't* trying to do a side by side comparison. I don't have any really interesting colors -- 2 black (Valiant and Statesman), one grey (Valiant) and one (Statesman) that I *think* is Aqua Blue.

I saw a green Snorkel last fall in the place I ended getting the black Statesman with the factory stub nib, but i recall it being a very dark green -- not like any of the ones in your photos. I couldn't really afford to buy both pens; the green one had a 14K nib, so it cost more, but it looked like a boring F nib. So even though I already had a black Snorkel, I opted for the less expensive but way more cool Palladium Silver factory stub.

Thanks for posting the photos. I love how I always learn something new every time I log on.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[PenHero]

Hi, Ruth,

 

Thanks for the comments! BTW, there are only three greens, so if you saw a dark one, it was probably Pastel Green.

[Brian-McQueen]

Congrats on the Fern find!

 

I was lucky enough to find 3 NOS Fern barrels some time ago. In the same breath, however, I was unlucky enough to find ONLY the barrels... no sections, no caps. Since then I have been fortunate to find 2 sections, but still no caps. I would like to have at least one Fern cap, since one of the barrels is chalk-marked Valiant.

 

Ruth, maybe the dark green one you saw was a TMTD, not a Snorkel?

Edited August 18, 2016 by BrianMcQueen

[davefoe]

Love that fern green as well. Wish we had some interesting colors in the pen world of today!

[PenHero]

Ruth, maybe the dark green one you saw was a TMTD, not a Snorkel?

 

 

I agree - the Evergreen Green of the fat Touchdown and the TM Touchdown would be a dark green. I'll dig up and post a photo.

[rff000]

Here's a Cadet in a similar green color. The only trouble is if I slightly adjust the exposure, the color seems to change.http://i64.tinypic.com/13z3ard.jpg

[PenHero]

Here's a Cadet in a similar green color. The only trouble is if I slightly adjust the exposure, the color seems to change.

 

 

The Cadet was made in Sage Green, the same color as the Sage Green Snorkels above. It's hard to get images exactly the same in internet postings, with different cameras, lighting, etc. Nice pen!

[inkstainedruth]

Congrats on the Fern find!

 

I was lucky enough to find 3 NOS Fern barrels some time ago. In the same breath, however, I was unlucky enough to find ONLY the barrels... no sections, no caps. Since then I have been fortunate to find 2 sections, but still no caps. I would like to have at least one Fern cap, since one of the barrels is chalk-marked Valiant.

 

Ruth, maybe the dark green one you saw was a TMTD, not a Snorkel?

 

Nope, it was definitely a Snorkel. I looked at the nib and feed.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ernst Bitterman]

It's hard to get images exactly the same in internet postings, with different cameras, lighting, etc. Nice pen!

 

By hard, you mean "very nearly impossible". I'm pretty sure this is Pastel Green, but the camera isn't entirely convinced:

 

Did they do a Pastel Sage?

[PenHero]

Hi, folks,

Just finished the Sheaffer Snorkel Fern Green article.

Fern Green was one of 32 "new" Sheaffer colors introduced starting in 1956, according to the 1962 Sheaffer's Service Manual. Many references date Snorkels with the nine new Snorkel colors of Burgundy (new), Fiesta Red, Vermillion, Mandarin Orange, Sage Green, Fern Green, Peacock Blue, Periwinkle Blue and Buckskin Tan starting in 1956, based on that data point. The other key new thing for Sheaffer Snorkels was the addition of nib sections that matched the color of the cap and barrel. Out with black sections! With no Sheaffer catalog or price list available showing the new colors in the 1956 model year, the only other reference point would be advertising, and the advertisements tell a different story.

You can read more in the article!

Here is the link to the article on the Fern Green Snorkels:

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferSnorkelFernGreen.htm

Should anyone have Sheaffer catalogs, price lists, dated company information that shows the specific dates each of the “new” colors were introduced, I would love to see them!

Thanks!

[Brian-McQueen]

Jim, I like the article but you should probably mention in it that Peacock and Mandarin never had matching sections, and half the Fiestas I've seen also don't.

[PenHero]

Yep I intend to update the color match section part of the article.

[Happy Harry]

A lot of Ferns show up with black sections too, I wonder if the color made the section less durable or some came that way. Mine has a black section but I thought it looked better than the sage that came with it !!

[3rdlakerobert]

Jim,

Thank you for another fascinating article and photos on Sheaffer pens. The Snorkels have been pens of special interest for me since I was a kid. I never had one, or even got to try one, but I was intrigued whenever I saw the advertising.

 

I've been collecting them now for a while and recently acquired a Fern Green pen and pencil set myself. I think it's my favorite color, though all the new colors that Sheaffer brought out in 1957 (thanks for that info) I think are especially nice. I have a question though about your last bullet point on the Fern Green pens under the head Identification guide and feaatures:

 

• Each model had a matching pencil and ballpoint

I've never seen a Snorkel ballpoint in one of the new colors, or a threesome, and I'd wondered if Sheaffer might have have discontinued them. I note that text in the advertisement you reproduce in your article says that there is an ensemble available consisting of the pen and pencil. No mention there of a ballpoint.

 

I believe the ballpoint pens that Sheaffer supplied with the Snorkel threesomes were called "Feathertouch" ballpoints and were pushbutton types or "clickers." I bellieve they were in the threesome ensembles available in the old colors, and I have examples of Burgundy, Black, and Pastel Blue. I also have one in Pastel Blue in an original Sheaffer cardboard box that was a stand-alone product, as opposed to part of the Snorkel ensemble.

 

So I'm wondering if you can document your statement that the Fern Green snorkels were available with matching pencil and ballpoint.

 

Thanks again!

 

Robert

[inkstainedruth]

Well, I just picked up what I *think* is a Pastel Green Snorkel Admiral. Sorry, I haven't had time to get pix of it yet. I will try to get photos uploaded, but it might not be till next week (I'm traveling and internet access has been somewhat random). But looking at the chart on (bleep).com, it's pretty clearly an Admiral, and at the photos that were posted at the beginning of this thread, I'd say *probably* Pastel Green, since that's the color that most seems to match what I have.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[TSherbs]

Love the color. Is this a thin pen? How wide is the section on these?

[need4news]

This color looks pastel on my iPhone but clearly sage-y irl.

[inkstainedruth]

I was showing the new Snorkel to a friend yesterday who uses FPs but I don't think she'll ever go the vintage route (at least she's finally gotten past the "Oh, you have to *only* use the brand of ink that is the same as the pen brand" stage). I said that it appears to be Pastel Green -- and her reaction was "But that's NOT pastel!" I told her "Yeah, but that's the name Sheaffer gave that color...."

I'm also really starting to think that the one I passed on last fall (when I bought the black Statesman with the factory stub nib instead), was probably also Pastel Green.

Oh, just noticed that for some strange reason my post from a couple of days ago did something weird with the URL. It did NOT originally say (bleep).com.... Honest. Maybe if I say it was David Isaacson's site? Will that make it past the moderators okay?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ray-Vigo]

The Fern is almost more a late '60s-70s type color. Those more earthy tones were popular in those years. The '50s are usually associated with pastel and louder colors. The Sage and Pastel are definitely a 1950s-type thing. I'm still partial to Persian Blue and Evergreen from the Touchdown pens though. Nice pictures.