Prince's Protean Fountain Pen

[AAAndrew]

Stumbled on this interesting bit of ephemera. Thought some here might enjoy it.

 

It's from the Library Company of Philadelphia's online collection.

 

Prince's Protean Fountain Pen instructions

https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A38251

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A38412

 

 

 

There are some other interesting pieces in their collection. Worth a look. But these were the only ones I found related to fountain pens.

 

Andrew

[dogpoet]

Specially designed to use purple ink?

[Pickwick]

I notice the pen had been given excellent reviews, A.G.Pomeroy stating that he'd been using the pen for two years with satisfaction. Thank you for posting a unique advertisement, surprising that if the pen was proving successful how it disappeared into the mists of time.

[Tweel]

I see items every so often about Prince's Protean, here and elsewhere. Here's an article about it by Ron Dutcher on Pentrace:

 

http://newpentrace.net/penbase/Data_Returns/full_articlee426.html?id=455

 

Rev. Prince was one of the first people I came across, back when my fountain pen use was developing into a hobby, with some claim to being one of the inventors of the fountain pen.

[rwilsonedn]

Would 1855 be among the earliest patents for a self-filling pen? And do we have any idea when it went into production? I see the ad is hand-dated 1866, but given the testimonials the pen must have been on the market for some time already.

ron

[AAAndrew]

It was in production at least as early as 1857. Here's an ad from an 1857 directory of NYC.

 

The patent in the UK is

Fountain Pens (Communicated by Newell A. Prince)

Patent # 410

24 Feb. 1855

 

Not sure of the earliest patents, but in 1819 in the UK, one John Sheffer, Church-street, Black-Friers Road, Surry, a water-proof silk, linen and leather manufacturer patented an "Instrument for writing, "Pennographic, or writing instrument" (self-supplying pen)" according to the subject matter index. It's British patent 4389, from 8 July 1819.

 

Also in the UK, an "Apparatus for writing, 'Self-supplying pen'," patent 5517, 4 July 1827 by George Poulton.

 

And in 1832, a UK patent uses the term "fountain pen" which back them usually indicated a dip nib with some form of cage or attachment that allows the pen to hold more ink.

"Fountain Pens" patent 6288, 26 July 1832, John Jacob Barker, Late of Sheffield, now in Birmingham, improvements in fountain pens