Jump to content

Walker Davison Eyedropper


Pickwick

Recommended Posts

I have just acquired this ebonite eyedropper and restored it. The nib is marked: Walker Davison and Co Mansfield. There is no maker information on the barrel. The nib is a fine one and no flex to it. Researching the web I did find a listing For Walker Davison Mansfield Illinois, but no information whether the company made fountain pens

 

Researching FPN I found a mention of this maker but no history.

 

Anyone who has knowledge about the origins of this company would be much appreciated.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 11
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Pickwick

    6

  • Roger W.

    3

  • rhr

    1

  • Jeff L

    1

I've found a Massachusetts company incorporated in 1917 by that name in Mansfield, MA. Does the pen say it is Illinois (which does also have a Mansfield)?

 

Roger W.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've found a Massachusetts company incorporated in 1917 by that name in Mansfield, MA. Does the pen say it is Illinois (which does also have a Mansfield)?

 

Roger W.

Thanks for your reply. The only engraving is on the nib, and doesn't give the state There is nothing on the barrel at all. Was the company you found in MA making pens?

 

Appreciated your research.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your reply. The only engraving is on the nib, and doesn't give the state There is nothing on the barrel at all. Was the company you found in MA making pens?

 

Appreciated your research.

Well, they could have been making pens - just said they were incorporated and some basic financials. Though a company of that name and in the right town circa 1917 would be good for eyedroppers.

 

AHA! OK, found 'em. Bankruptcy 1920 reported in the Jewelers Circular May 5, 1920. Maker of gold pens (means nibs so they must have been known for nibs primarily and not pens). So if they incorporated in 1917 and the bankruptcy case was being reopened in 1920 they were very short lived.

 

Roger W.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks Roger W.This is a well made pen, but it looks as though being short lived they were trying to compete with the major manufacturers who by then were well established in the business.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walker Davison is believed to be related to Paul Johnson of the Bay State Gold Pen Company of Mansfield, which also sold pens under Bay State Pen.

 

Bay State Gold Pen Co made nibs for many of the northeast companies like DeWitt-LaFrance. Some Walker Davison have DeWitt-LaFrance parts. Paul Johnson also used DeWitt-LaFrance for Bay State Pen.

 

As DeWitt-LaFrance made parts for Carter, Walker Davison and Bay State Pen are of interest to Carter collectors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walker Davison is believed to be related to Paul Johnson of the Bay State Gold Pen Company of Mansfield, which also sold pens under Bay State Pen.

 

Bay State Gold Pen Co made nibs for many of the northeast companies like DeWitt-LaFrance. Some Walker Davison have DeWitt-LaFrance parts. Paul Johnson also used DeWitt-LaFrance for Bay State Pen.

 

As DeWitt-LaFrance made parts for Carter, Walker Davison and Bay State Pen are of interest to Carter collectors.

Thanks Jeff L for adding another piece of useful information. It's Appreciated very much. I've been collecting these types of fountain pens over the past couple of months.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walker Davison and Co., later Walker & Davison, was actually a co-partnership between John T. Davison and a guy named Walker, who I haven't been able to identify by given name, yet. Roger, does his name appear on the bankruptcy report? Their business started in the 1890s, and as Jeff said, they got their gold nibs from Bay State Gold Pen Co. before they started making their own, and De Witt-La France made their pen parts for them. Davison received a patent in 1905 for a button filler, the patent that was purchased by Parker and used on their Jack Knife Lucky Curve and Duofold pens. Davison's patent lists his address in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1905, so the company must have moved to Mansfield, Mass., at a later date, perhaps to be closer to their sources of production.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

:ninja:

Edited by rhr

rhrpen(at)gmail.com

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walker Davison and Co., later Walker & Davison, was actually a co-partnership between John T. Davison and a guy named Walker, who I haven't been able to identify by given name, yet. Roger, does his name appear on the bankruptcy report? Their business started in the 1890s, and as Jeff said, they got their gold nibs from Bay State Gold Pen Co. before they started making their own, and De Witt-La France made their pen parts for them. Davison received a patent in 1905 for a button filler, the patent that was purchased by Parker and used on their Jack Knife Lucky Curve and Duofold pens. Davison's patent lists his address in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1905, so the company must have moved to Mansfield, Mass., at a later date, perhaps to be closer to their sources of production.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

:ninja:

Many thanks for your further research which helps in identifying this pen's makers.

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Walker Davison and Co., later Walker & Davison, was actually a co-partnership between John T. Davison and a guy named Walker, who I haven't been able to identify by given name, yet. Roger, does his name appear on the bankruptcy report? Their business started in the 1890s, and as Jeff said, they got their gold nibs from Bay State Gold Pen Co. before they started making their own, and De Witt-La France made their pen parts for them. Davison received a patent in 1905 for a button filler, the patent that was purchased by Parker and used on their Jack Knife Lucky Curve and Duofold pens. Davison's patent lists his address in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1905, so the company must have moved to Mansfield, Mass., at a later date, perhaps to be closer to their sources of production.

 

George Kovalenko.

 

:ninja:

George;

 

The short bit I gave is what I got - the listing in the Jeweler's Circular not the report itself. I'm glad this topic got more replies as it looked the type to be DOA (Dead on Arrival) but, with the Carter tie in Pickwick got some good info.

 

Roger W.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roger W, Jeff L and rhr, Your researches have been very valuable in putting this jigsaw puzzle together. Your research is much appreciated.

 

Many thanks

They came as a boon, and a blessing to men,
The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverley pen

Sincerely yours,

Pickwick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Walker Davison and Co., later Walker & Davison, was actually a co-partnership between John T. Davison and a guy named Walker, who I haven't been able to identify by given name, yet.

 

The guy in question was Philip S. Walker, who served as treasurer of the company and was listed among the individuals in debt when the company filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 1917, less than two years after they were incorporated on January 24, 1916.

Edited by Richard

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...