Gregory Fount-O-Ink

[ljbike]

I think these are supposed to be desk dip pens to go along with the ink wells the company made, but I have one that seems to be a safety --eye dropper. It has a breather hole in the barrel which would probably leak if laid down.

 

Am curious about the history of these pens, and if it really is a safety. There seems to be very little info on the web except for the sale of the ink wells.

[dwattsjr]

I acquired a Fount-O-Ink single pen set - sans the ink bottle upended inside - in the mid-1970s. In my case, the pen itself is definitely a dip pen only that fits snugly into the inkwell opening. I have been able to locate five patents by Carey G. Gregory - presumeably the inventor of the Fount-O-Ink and founder of the Gregory Ink Co. - that show some of the variant ideas. I have yet to find anything substantial on Gregory or the company itself other than that it was located in Los Angeles.

[ljbike]

Thank you for the info. It's odd that a company that had done so well could simply disappear and leave such a little trace of history.

[Roger W.]

From the patents it looks like the company goes back to around 1936 when Carey G. Gregory patented the reservoir desk set and several design patents for the same. The company was the Gregory Fount-o-ink Company and they were located at 2652 Pasadena Ave., LA. References to their sets can be found in 1950. Seems to have ran for several years anyway. Sheaffer was in the reservoir game by 1941 though, I don't think reservoir sets ever did that well for anybody and that seems to be their only game. A few items have been on EBay all less than $100. I didn't come across any advertising so there probably wasn't enough done to boost company sales. They did file a copyright in 1938 so some advertising must have gone along with it. This can all be Googled in a few minutes.

 

Roger W.

[ljbike]

Thank you, Roger. I think it was mentioned on one of the many ink blogs --not here-- that the pens were a side line. That the primary business was furniture, office supplies or something like that. Can't really recall where I read it though.

BYW: I like your avatar.

[philm]

I would think that Fred Krinke would know quite a bit about them. I have attached a link below to a Yelp page with contact information, though I do not know if it is current. He also has a Facebook page, and I follow him, and he is active.

 

Fred Krinke

 

For the sake of those that don't have any Fount-o-Ink stuff, here is a photo of a nib (which I have in a Golden Rule Fountain Pen - these seem to be paired together at times), as well as a Bottle, which is discussed above by ljbike, dwattsjr, and Roger above:

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/DSC_0008_2.jpg

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/inks/DSC_0035-1.jpg

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/inks/DSC_0036.jpg

 

Phil

[PaFitch]

Esterbrook did very well with their dipless sets. They are easy to find, mostly reasonable in price, and great to have on a desk (grab the pen and write).

[ljbike]

Thanks for the input. will try to get in contact with Krinke.

I do have a couple desk sets. They are very handy.