Onoto De La Rue Silver Pen

[Carrie]

Can anyone tell me anything about this pen?

It's got an Onoto De La Rue number 3 nib and the pen itself is silver hallmarked to 1936 and stamped DLR Ltd. Piston filler. The cap is missing its clip and some sort of cap band.

[Cob]

That is an unusual Onoto - being all silver covered.

 

It would appear to be a 5123; the No 3 nib and date would be in accord with this. I like the early Onoto 3s & 4s.

 

Here's a snap of a "lapis" 5123 I had which appears to be of identical length to your pen:

 

 

If the pen does not fill, then the silver overlay on the filler knob may make the repair quite tricky.

 

I have no suggestions about the clip which I presume was probably of silver.

 

Best wishes

 

Cob

[Carrie]

I've not been able to find anything like it searching online. I found one all silver one, but it didn't match this one. Possible model number might help.

I know nothing about early Onotos, I was given this by a friend. It's had a hard life, the photos don't show just how bashed the cap is.

[WhiteStarPens]

Now that is quite a find!

It reminds me of something I've seen before...

There's a similar picture of an Onoto owned by King George VI, on page 106 of Andreas Lambrou's 'Fountain Pens', published by Southeys.

With that in mind, I'd say that what you have is perhaps a special order, though I'm no expert.

If you manage to get to the London Pen Show I'm sure someone there will be able to help you. For instance, I bumped into Steve Hull (author of some of the greatest books on fountain pens) and we had a conversation about a no number Onoto I had. So, if you're looking for an excuse to go, there's one!

Also, if you're looking to get it restored, I can personally recommend Peter Twydle. He really lives up to his moniker, The Pen Wizard, and I'm sure he'll point you in the right direction even if he's at a loss.

Of course, there are others who can help you, but I must respectfully put forward these two names, out of gratitude for their help with some of my vintage pens.

I hope that all goes well with your fantastic looking pen and maybe we'll see a post-restoration post in the future?

Kind Regards,

WSP

p.s Despite my best efforts, I am unable to upload the photo, so perhaps someone with a bit more skill and luck, who owns a similar copy, could do what I couldn't.

Edited February 11, 2019 by WhiteStarPens

[WhiteStarPens]

Bingo!

[como]

Very unusual indeed. Thanks for sharing! Makes me want to go back to Steve Hull’s book to look all over again :-)

[Carrie]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't got the Lambrou book, so thanks for sharing that photo. It certainly does look very similar.

I need to get in touch with Peter Twydle anyway as one of my Vacs needs repair, so I can also ask him about doing this pen.

Sadly I don't think I'll be able to get to a pen show this year as it's not looking like our mainland trip to Lancashire will coincide with the Northern Show.