Champion/southern Pen Company?

[PDW]

I've just revived a pen made, so the clip claims, by Champion. The lever says Made in USA. The pen seems a typical late 1930s/early 1940s small type - blue patterned celluloid, gold-plated (thinly!) clip, three-ring cap band and lever. The nib says, from tip to base, (I think) 'Southern Pen Co', 'Du<A>ll' and 'Made in ??'

 

Can anyone shed a light on the history of the company/companies involved?

 

BTW the pen writes very nicely with a nice slight tooth (although it scratches outside the fairly large sweet spot), and the colour harmonises beautifully with Diamine Twilight .

Edited April 25, 2011 by PDW

[jar]

Southern Pen Company was one of the Petersburg, Va fountain pen companies along with Arnold and Edison and several others. They were primarily assemblers and the parts themselves may have come from Wearever as well as other manufacturers. They are often really pretty pens and many also work nicely.

[welch]

Jar, how do you know about these second-tier (or third) pen companies? I know Arnold from Petersburg, but there were others?

 

(I have a few good-looking Arnolds from the '30s...and a few badly-made later Arnolds. Is the company still in business, making advertising pens?)

[jar]

Jar, how do you know about these second-tier (or third) pen companies? I know Arnold from Petersburg, but there were others?

 

(I have a few good-looking Arnolds from the '30s...and a few badly-made later Arnolds. Is the company still in business, making advertising pens?)

 

I was born in Peterspatch...

 

I smell

You smell

We all smell

Hopewell.

 

Petersburg was a major center for second and third tier pens, and the people involved often seem to have moved between companies, created brands, kinda like kissin cousins.

 

There were some really beautiful pens coming out of there, really pretty celluloid. I don't think any were ever total manufacturers that I know of, more assemblers and outsourcing things like nibs. They also did a lot of branded pens, Arnold probably had a half dozen or so sub brands.