London 716

[Beechwood]

The organge Duofold lookalike in the pic below was bought at a recent pen show, I shouldnt have bought it for a number of reasons one of which was that I forgot that caveat emptor still applied at pen shows, I expect vendors to reveal problems rather than wait for them to be discovered when the buyer gets home, I wont make that newbie mistake again.

 

Anyway, thats my problem.

 

The maker is shown as London 716, an odd name and one I am not familiar with - anyone know anything about the brand?

 

They have obviously seen the 20s Duofold and thought they would have some market share, it is actually quite well made and as good as most Parker Duofolds of the period that I have owned.

 

I have search for the name and found one other for sale but that is all.

 

Any information about the company would be gratefully received.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Beechwood

[barriep]

I checked the bible: Stephen Hull's "The English Pen Industry 1875-1975". There is The London Pen Co. founded in 1891 and it would perhaps be possible for a pen to be branded "London" and model "716". Except that this company appears to have gone out of business (or been bought up) in 1911 -1912. And the design and material of your pen would be at least 10 years later. So, sorry, no help! Perhaps the pen was made by another maker like Conway Stewart for a retailer or stationer or even an event.

[Beechwood]

Thanks for looking Barriep.

 

Rosspens.com have a similar pen for sale.

 

It is not impossible to suppose that it could have been made in London, Ontario. There is no Made in England mark on the pen that might have been expected and the pen is not listed by Stephen as a UK manufacturer of this 20s/30s pen.

 

Interestingly, there is a Masonic Lodge in London, Ontario which is Ionic Lodge 716.

 

The nib on the Rosspens pen is a Warranted, mine has been changed for a better but nameless nib so no clues there.

 

Once again Barriep, I appreciate you giving this some thought and looking at the reference book.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Beechwood

[Beechwood]

The more I think about this the more I come to the conclusion that this is in the wrong section, having assumed that this pen was a British made pen.

 

I think that it is an American made Parker for the masonic lodge 716 in London Ontario

 

Apologies to all.

 

I will see if there is a better place to submit.

[northlodge]

IIRC London, Canada has an active pen community, one with their own website. Might be worth asking on there;

 

http://londonpenclub.com/

 

 

also, don't feel lonely about getting a dud at the last London Pen Show, I came home and found a repaired crack on a MHR pen. The light is not too great at the venue so such issues can be missed. Of course the vendor will be given a wide berth at future events

[Beechwood]

Thanks for the advice Northlodge, I have also sent off an email to the Lodge itself, if they want the pen for their archives they are welcome to it.

 

As you say, the vendor will be given a wide berth, once bitten etc....

Edited May 2, 2017 by Beechwood

[Beechwood]

Just been told about the history of this pen, sorry it is in the wrong section of FPN.

 

This was part of the Danish production of Parker along with Miller and Hoover.

 

Just finished a light restoration, pen has grown a clip.