John Holland Jewel Inlaid Pearl And Black Stripe C. 1937-1939

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks!

It's always great to uncover out something new and be able update your understanding. I found some pricing and catalog material on a pen I first wrote about in 2003, the John Holland Jewel Inlaid Pearl and Black Stripe. I was finally able to see the name of the model, the pricing, a better fix on the date, though there is still a lot more to know!

I can't update the pictures in the article other than to re-size and brighten them up as that pen is not only long gone, but I had heard that it suffered heat stroke from being shipped in the hot summer and turned into a banana.

http://penhero.com/Temp/JohnHolland_1280_07.jpg

The John Holland company claimed to be America's first gold nib company, established in 1841 and the first company to make a portable fountain pen in 1869. John Holland also experimented with many filling systems, including the unusual hatchet filler. The Cincinnati, Ohio company was primarily known for its high quality Jewel brand nibs. This particular pen is a late 1930s pen with alternating inlaid pearl and black on the cap and barrel. The company was in bad financial straits in the 1930s, so examples can be found with no imprints or logos with the only distinguishing factor being the Jewel nib. These are uncommon pens from a smaller, regional maker and this model could reasonably be called rare.

Read more about this pen in our updated article here:

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/JohnHolland/JohnHollandJewel.htm

Thanks!

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks!

This is a John Holland Jewel Inlaid Pearl and Black Stripe ringtop pen c. 1937-1938. The pen barrel and cap appear to each be made from three separate pieces that are probably glued together. The two end sections of the cap and barrel are a rounded solid black plastic. The center is a tube of alternating wide black and narrow faux mother of pearl strips and given the name, the pearl elements may be inlaid. It was offered as a full size clip pen, a ringtop, as shown, and as a ringtop with a clip. It has a Number 2 size 14 karat gold nib marked "JOHN" over "HOLLAND" over "CIN. O." and is 4 1/2 inches long capped, 5 1/2 inches long with the cap posted on the end of the barrel. Retail price was $6.40, and the matching pencil was $4.50.

http://penhero.com/Temp/JohnHollandRingtop_1280_18.jpg

I've been able to find a bit more information about the John Holland Jewel Inlaid Pearl and Black Stripe pens and updated the article on PenHero.com. You can read more here:

John Holland Jewel Inlaid Pearl and Black Stripe c. 1937-1939

Thanks!