Paul Wirt Pens Photo Thread

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks,

I've only seen a few Paul Wirt pens, but had the opportunity to see several of them at a recent pen show. Thought I would start a new thread on these pens and see if we could get more photos posted. Please add yours here!

This is a Paul Wirt spiral chased black hard rubber eyedropper fountain pen c. 1901-1902. Paul Wirt claimed to be the largest pen manufacturer in the late 1800s, including an 1889 advertisement stating the company had made 350,000 pens, more than all other makes combined. Like many early eyedropper pens, this one is quite long at 6 3/8 inches and designed with a posting point on the end of the barrel for the short cap. The barrel is stamped PAUL E. WIRT PAT FEB. - 85, a reference to the February 3, 1885 patent, number 311554. The feed rests on the top of the nib, as shown, a design called an overfeed. It has a paddle shaped projection extending from the back of the overfeed, probably an improvement to compete with Parker's Lucky Curve feed. Overfeeds were used by many pen makers but were not as reliable as underfeeds and were being phased out in the early 1900s. Paul Wirt patented a modern underfeed design in 1902 and began to switch production thereafter.

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/PaulWirtEyedropper_1280_01a.jpg

Thanks!

[DanDeM]

The Spring 2015 issue of Pennant carried an article I wrote titled Identical Wirts, or are they?. It talked about two RMHR ED pens that differed in size by a few centimeters. The difference grew as the caps were removed. One had a slip cap and the other, shorter pen had a screw cap. (You can read it in the PCA archives)

Screw caps were the first attempt to deliver a non-leaking ED pen, followed quickly by a number of complicated devices from Aurora, Moore and Waterman that retracted the nib onto a seal thereby providing a Safety so that the pen would not leak when carried.

From a users point of view, screw caps were probably a welcome but annoying improvement. A slip cap is just so much easier to remove. The additional steps of safety provided by Waterman et.al, of having to extend the nib before using it and then retracting the nib before capping it (or badly damaging it) was likely even more annoying. But still, judging by the number of specimens we still see today, these Safety Pens were eagerly manufactured.

Wirt took a different approach that required no internal moving parts. While asking the user to do nothing more than unscrewing the cap, the pen still promised sealed, non-leaking Safety when carried.

He accomplished this with nothing more than a gold under- feed, and a rod housed within the cap. When the cap was screwed into place, the rod pressed under the feed, into the section and sealed the flow of ink. Apparently not made in great number, in the last ten years I’ve seen three. One being sold by David Nishimura (identical to the pen I used for the article), another in BCHR sold by Rick Kranz before I could get to it, (Kranz didn’t know what he had, priced it for a note, not even a song), and finally this little Vest Pocket that doesn’t show in any of Wirt’s catalogs or advertisements.

A small pen, only 4.0 inches, it has the same imprint used on the longer pen shown in the article…

Paul E. Wirt Fountain Pen
Bloomsburg, PA U.S.A.
Pat’d April 7, 1903

…even though he had not applied for a Safety patent until Oct. 31, 1908. (It was awarded on Dec. 13, 1910)

Cannot be more pleased to have this in the Wirt cache.

And this final shot that attempts to show the receptacle in the section that accepts the rod in the cap to form a seal.

[PenHero]

Cannot be more pleased to have this in the Wirt cache.

 

 

What a nice find! Will have to look up the article. Thanks!

[DanDeM]

 

What a nice find! Will have to look up the article. Thanks!

 

Here is an ad that illustrates the innards.

 

[DanDeM]

Just for the bling of it, a taper cap snail repousse ED.

The cap is marked:

Paul Wirt Pat. Feb 83

That would make this pen 135 years old. But it carries a ventless nib and a slot feed, which if memory serves was not patented by Wirt until 1904.



Here is another treatment, in full snail repousse.

 

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks,

This is a Paul Wirt lever fill fountain pen in blue green marbled celluloid c. late 1920s. Paul Wirt was awarded two lever fill patents, one in 1920 and the one used on this pen appears to be the May 31, 1921 patent. With the introduction of Sheaffer Black and Jade Green Radite celluloid pens in 1924, many pen companies began to switch to celluloid from hard rubber as the preferred cap and barrel material. Those points and the flat ended cylinder shape of the 4 7/16 inch long pen likely dates the pen to the late 1920s. The barrel is stamped PAUL E. WIRT FOUNTAIN PEN over BLOOMSBURG, PA. U.S.A. The 14 karat gold nib, stamped WIRT over No1, has no vent hole, instead the feed has a vent slot underneath. The clip is stamped WIRT and all trim is gold plated. More streamlined Paul Wirt lever fill pens can be found with 1930s era celluloids. Paul Wirt sold his share of the company in 1925 and the company continued into the Depression years as the Paul Wirt Pen Company before going out of business.

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/PaulWirtLeverFill_1280_01.jpg

Thanks!

[PenHero]

Just for the bling of it, a taper cap snail repousse ED.

 

The cap is marked:

 

Paul Wirt Pat. Feb 83

 

That would make this pen 135 years old. But it carries a ventless nib and a slot feed, which if memory serves was not patented by Wirt until 1904.

 

Here is another treatment, in full snail repousse.

 

Very nice!!

[DanDeM]

This illustrates Wirt’s success as a businessman, a post card picture of his home.

Clearly a prominent figure in Bloomsburg.

 

 

Some more bling from this Master pen maker when he was approaching the peak of his output.

It carries a gold, ventless, number 3 nib with a solid under-feed and is a full six inches long.

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by DanDeM

[PenHero]

Hi, Folks!

 

This is a Paul Wirt lever fill fountain pen in green marbled celluloid c. mid 1930s. This 4 7/16 inch long Paul Wirt pen abandons the Wirt patent lever design for a more conventional design. The cap top and barrel end are peaked, a nod to the streamlining of the 1930s. The clip continues the earlier Wirt style. The feed is a conventional type, not the Wirt bottom vented type, though it may be a replacement as is the Sheaffer nib. The celluloid is a wrap design seen on many mid to late 1930s pens. The barrel is stamped PAUL E. WIRT FOUNTAIN PEN over BLOOMSBURG, PA. U.S.A. Paul Wirt sold his share of the company in 1925 and the company continued into the Depression years as the Paul Wirt Pen Company before going out of business.

 

http://www.penhero.com/Temp/PaulWirtLeverFill_1280_02.jpg

 

Thanks!

[shalitha33]

Paul e Wirt pens with one, two and three line imprints. Oldest i have is the one with the single line imprint.

 

 

This pen has a rather wired filling system. it contains a piston and a rod that can move independently of each other, piston is locked to the rod to fill the pen and then unlocked from the rod to push the rod back in without moving the piston.

 

 

Sadly all these pens were some what destroyed while shipping . All of them have their barrels bent and the single line imprint pen has its nib broken and feed snapped in half . Although the shipping company is offering a full refund of the shipping cost and declared value, I am unlikely going to take it as it involves handing them all the pens.