Who Made The John Bull Pens ?

[grandmia]

 

Who made The John Bull pens ? I think they were made by Thomas De La Rue & Co.Does any one know ? You can see a John Bull eyedropper pen by clicking on My Link above.

[northlodge]

 

Who made The John Bull pens ? I think they were made by Thomas De La Rue & Co.Does any one know ? You can see a John Bull eyedropper pen by clicking on My Link above.

 

 

 

 

The JB Pen must have been available over a period of almost 30 years, and has been spotted in many shapes and styles.

 

I have heard claims that DLR, Conway Stewart, and Mabie Todd were all involved, and it is quite possible that they all were. However, the evidence of other such brands ( Chatsworth, Rufford, Seal, etc) would suggest contracts were with only ever with one or two manufacturers across this kind of time frame. I have always considered CS & MT to be the most likely partners for John Bull, but for the earliest models there were any number of smaller manufacturers capable of producing such a pen.

 

 

 

[red52ripple]

As Northlodge says, there's quite a variety in John Bull pens, both in appearance and build quality. I recently had a late twenties John Bull that showed a striking resemblance to the Conway Stewart output of that time and I would be prepared to consider that CS actually made that one. For the rest, it's anybody's guess.

 

Regards

[Go Strangely]

I have a John Bull No2 which has a 14ct Conway Stewart nib and whilst this could obviously be a replacement it is perhaps an indicator of manufacturer.

 

Paul

[grandmia]

Hi everyone...Thanks for your input,but i think the plot thickens... :hmm1:

[red52ripple]

I have a John Bull No2 which has a 14ct Conway Stewart nib and whilst this could obviously be a replacement it is perhaps an indicator of manufacturer.

 

 

I don't think it's very likely that a Conway Stewart nib in anything other than a Conway Stewart pen is original. The pens that CS made for other companies were fitted with warranted 14ct nibs or in the case of the Seal pen with a "WHS" engraved nib.

Regards,

[Happy Harry]

Wondered the same myself, always seemed well made. CS was a suspect, interestingly neither MT or DLR crossed my mind as major players although the variation says others had to be in the mix I'd always assumed an unknown second tier maker as the major player as the style seemed fairly "generic".

[Bigsby]

I have found a John Bull eyedropper pen. I found it on a flee market in Belgium. The funny thing is however, that it has a French inscription on the screw cap. It says "le merle blanc".

Could this be a John Bull pen made by Mabie Todd for the French Market?

And does anybody know why a English brand, changes the name blackbird to "le merle blanc" for the French but still calls it a "John Bull D.L. Screwcap" on the barrel?

[Inkysloth]

I have found a John Bull eyedropper pen. I found it on a flee market in Belgium. The funny thing is however, that it has a French inscription on the screw cap. It says "le merle blanc".

Could this be a John Bull pen made by Mabie Todd for the French Market?

And does anybody know why a English brand, changes the name blackbird to "le merle blanc" for the French but still calls it a "John Bull D.L. Screwcap" on the barrel?

It sounds more like someone replaced the cap at some point with a fitting but mismatched cap.

[terim]

We have a John Bull BCHR lever filler with a CS #3 shorthand nib on it. The JBP logo on the lever tab is stylized and looks a lot like the CS lever imprint.