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Got Lucky On A Swan


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So I saw an auction for a NY Mabie Todd Swan - a gold ringtop, but the photos were so bad you couldn't tell anything about the pen.

So what one does in the circumstances is ask the seller about the nib (of course). The answer prompted me to bid on the thing, and it just arrived. What a treasure for fifty bucks! Very heavy for its size so I think it's solid gold. Very handsome chasing, and a wonderfully flexy #2 nib.

I bought it with my fingers crossed, and I'm very pleased.post-118146-0-00119700-1435444857_thumb.jpg

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Sid,

 

I think that you have been very fortunate indeed.

 

A great buy, well done.

 

Is there any model number on the pen? I presume that it is a New York one?

 

Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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Ooooh. Very nice. Great deal. Ringtops can be a fantastic bargain as they often have more flexible nibs and fewer people like them so the prices can be lower. But this one looks like a steal.

 

Congrats and thanks for sharing! I look forward to finding out more about it.

 

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It's marked on the end: ""The Swan Pen" Mabie Todd & Co. New York - Made in U.S.A." The nib's marked "Mabie Todd & Co. N.Y." and a "2". I think there's a "14 K" mark under all that.

 

The design seems to have been popular; I've seen a few examples online. Mauricio had one...here's a better picture of the design:

post-118146-0-22820000-1435616491.jpg

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It's marked on the end: ""The Swan Pen" Mabie Todd & Co. New York - Made in U.S.A." The nib's marked "Mabie Todd & Co. N.Y." and a "2". I think there's a "14 K" mark under all that.

 

The design seems to have been popular; I've seen a few examples online. Mauricio had one...here's a better picture of the design:

It's in glorious condition and seems to have had very little use by the look of it.

 

I have a rolled gold full-size model, a New York one, probably about the same age as yours, but mine has a sort of barleycorn pattern. It's lost a bit of plating at the end of the barrel but looks fine with a polish!

 

The nib like yours is marked Mabie Todd & Co NY 2. It's a super flexible nib; I am a tremendous fan of MT NY nibs, I have had only one dud (a 2 in a 242/52 lapis) out of quite a number. The stubs are wonderful too.

 

I am waiting on a circa 1920 self filler with a NY 3 nib; my fingers are crossed!

 

Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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It's a wonderful writer - Swans are (you should pardon me) the (bleep)!

 

The tetons!

Edited by sidthecat
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The above picture is not of my pen - it's a twin that's been kept in a slightly better home. The chasing is the same, though, and the nib is very similar.

 

I can only credit it to blind luck, as the pictures were profoundly uninformative.

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Indeed!

 

No-one could possibly deny that Mabie Todd knew more than a thing or two about nibs and in particular, making them!

 

Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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OK - I don't pay that much attention to whether or not my MT pens are New York or English made. Well, only a little.

 

And that is why we (or at least I) need a Mabie Todd Forum.

 

Or, we can just tell everyone to post all MT posts in the GB forum, since it is "the pen of the British Empire" even on some of the American ones!

 

And, yes, Swans are the bomb. Great quality, beautiful, and consistently good writers. Shame that the Eternals have nails for nibs.

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OK - I don't pay that much attention to whether or not my MT pens are New York or English made. Well, only a little.

 

And that is why we (or at least I) need a Mabie Todd Forum.

 

Or, we can just tell everyone to post all MT posts in the GB forum, since it is "the pen of the British Empire" even on some of the American ones!

 

And, yes, Swans are the bomb. Great quality, beautiful, and consistently good writers. Shame that the Eternals have nails for nibs.

 

I agree of course as I did when you started the thread on this very point. I suppose it is up to we MT devotees to keep the profile up by posting constantly about these wonderful pens.

 

As for the Eternals, I have just one and being designed to be "Eternal" it is of course very rigid just like the CS Duro and Sheaffer Lifetime. In fact in its way it writes beautifully and the funny thing is that no matter how long I leave it - inked - it starts immediately.

 

This is of course an attractive quality; I just wish it were a broad stub - but of course that would have been no good for use with carbon papers!

 

Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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