Bayard Safety Circa 1920

[betweenthelens]

I received my 1920s Bayard Safety a couple of days ago and after inking it last night, I realized it will need a new seal as it's leaking from the end. Still, it's a gorgeous pen and in pretty much pristine condition otherwise. It came with the original box and information sheet, too.

 

I used old newspaper, from Sept. 1920, discovered under carpeting the other day at the Vanderbilt mansion here in Hyde Park. I was photographing furnishings in the dining room and the curators called me into the "reception room" to have a look at the papers, which were found as the staff were rolling back the carpet to clean the flooring.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

**Please excuse the debris, evident on the pen's black surface. The newspapers are disintegrating rapidly into dust and I'll be throwing them out after I photograph a few noteworthy pieces.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_95902_zpsd0f647a7.jpg

The pen with nib exposed.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9592_zps7cf4d2ba.jpg

The box and pen with nib withdrawn.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9593_zps77ac7069.jpg

Information sheet accompanying pen.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9620_zps8f47e532.jpg

"Bayard Safety"

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9623_zpsfb5105e0.jpg

Beautiful pattern

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9634_zps9f476ebf.jpg

18ct nib with the crossed nibs design and the E and F on either side

The E and F denote the earliest of Bayards after Parisian bookseller Etienne Forbin, founder of the Bayard line.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9636_zpsc90651ed.jpg

Feed

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9642_zps1c2d406d.jpg

The emerging nib reminds me of the Stipula Samurai's retractable nib.

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_9655_zpse60eec29.jpg

The beautiful cap

Edited January 31, 2014 by betweenthelens

[Ghost Plane]

Wow! Talk about fabulous condition! Looks brand new. Nice touch with the papers. It might have travelled in time straight to you!

[betweenthelens]

Wow! Talk about fabulous condition! Looks brand new. Nice touch with the papers. It might have travelled in time straight to you!

You're such a romantic! I love that thought. Thank you for the compliment.

[Edwaroth]

Beauty of a pen. Let us know how it writes when all is fixed. Really does look like passed through a time gateway to reach you...Maybe you owned it before?

[betweenthelens]

Beauty of a pen. Let us know how it writes when all is fixed. Really does look like passed through a time gateway to reach you...Maybe you owned it before?

Thank you so much, Ed. Hope you're well. If I did own the Bayard before, I never used it as it appears untouched. I do believe in synchronicity and the interrelatedness of all things and I think there's something to the age of the fountain pen and the discovery of the papers from 1920 on the same day the pen arrived in the mail.

[wastelanded]

What a gorgeous pen. And a lovely looking nib on it. I hope we will see a writing sample when the seal is fixed.

[betweenthelens]

What a gorgeous pen. And a lovely looking nib on it. I hope we will see a writing sample when the seal is fixed.

Thank you so much. I will definitely post a writing sample once I fix the seal.

PS I love your Haydn quote.

Edited February 7, 2014 by betweenthelens

[amk]

So the earlier nibs are EF? And the later ones I think are PF for Panici Freres? It's a lovely pen.

[Ghost Plane]

Thought about what ink you'll put in it?

[betweenthelens]

So the earlier nibs are EF? And the later ones I think are PF for Panici Freres? It's a lovely pen.

Thank you! Yes, the EF nibs are the earliest, denoting the Parisian bookseller who founded the Bayard line, Etienne Forbin.

 

Thought about what ink you'll put in it?

Well, I inked it with Waterman Florida Blue for a test run, only to find it dribbling out of the end because of the seal. Any suggestions would be welcome. I did recently see a review of Montblanc Leonardo Red Chalk on here and I think it would be a nice match for this pen. Opinions?

Edited February 8, 2014 by betweenthelens

[Ghost Plane]

Perhaps a Sepia or "antique" shade of ink?

[betweenthelens]

Perhaps a Sepia or "antique" shade of ink?

That's what I'm thinking as well. I may start with the Red Chalk. This will motivate me to fix the seal.

[betweenthelens]

Some new photos-

Just received my Bayard Safety yesterday. I'd sent it to Jim Baer, framebaer on here, to repair. He also worked some kind of magic on the nib and WOW. I inked it with Montblanc Red Chalk, what I'd intended to do for some time, and it's a semi-wet and flex-y writer. If you look closely, you can see the ink in the well, and I'm just so amazed that it works as it's supposed to, even given its age- a testament to how well-made it is (and how well Jim can repair these pens, too!) When the nib is retracted, the pen is filled with an eyedropper. Once the nib is exposed, nothing leaks and the pen writes perfectly well. I've used my Nakabayashi notebook to write a quote from one of my favorite philosophers and you can see how well the ink shades with this pen. Thanks for looking!

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_1491_zps3a01e5bf.jpg

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_1498_zps8d3cbca3.jpg

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_1499_zps6836ed79.jpg

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_1492_zps29b58962.jpg

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_1502_zps6b2b7b96.jpg

Edited April 17, 2014 by betweenthelens

[shuuemura]

Wow! Beautiful pen and gorgeous photography! Thanks for sharing this pen with us!

[betweenthelens]

Wow! Beautiful pen and gorgeous photography! Thanks for sharing this pen with us!

Thanks so much! So glad you've enjoyed this thread.

[Ghost Plane]

Nice to see it in action at last.

[betweenthelens]

Thanks, Ghost Plane! It's nice to be able to use it.

[Sblakers]

Wow! Congrats on getting her up and running. Beautiful pen!!

[betweenthelens]

Wow! Congrats on getting her up and running. Beautiful pen!!

Thanks so much!

[rwilsonedn]

It must be a great feeling to find an artefact that was once important to the craftsmen who made it, and almost a century later to bring it into a new relationship with a restorer and with an owner who loves it. Connection across time, I suppose. Not to mention that it is a beautiful pen! Congratulations.

ron