imperial Interesting Frankenpen from europe

[GlennNevill]

The cap is German from Imperial Pen company.  But they never made lever fillers.  The barrel labeled Rikkers and Eton is most likely Dutch made by one of those companies.  I have no details as to the association of Rikkers or Eton.  Anyone that knows something about these companies would love to hear more.  I am reposting this in the European forum.

 

So Myk Daigle sent this to me as a practice repair pen. The plating on the clip was gone, covered in verdigris as was the lever. It used to have a metal band on the cap lip, but that is long gone. It looked like it had gone through a war and on careful examination we found writing on the cap and the barrel. The cap reads "Imperial" 1943. The barrel end reads "Rikker" Eton Fountain Pen.

The nib reads:

"Warranted"

Ptes IRIDIUM

INOXYDABLE.

Inoxydable is French for Stainless.

 

It has a nice feed, a very corroded nib on the back side, but the tipping is still good and it flexes very nicely. (Nib most likely stainless steel plated with gold)

Anyone familiar with these pen companies, I would love to hear details.

Repair consisted of a thorough cleaning, polishing with micromesh and some metal de-corroder to clean up the clip and lever.

 

Comments please.

[Nethermark]

Rikkers was a Dutch office supply company who also imported fountain pens, primarily from Germany. It is very unlikely they manufactured the pen themselves. Eton probably is one of their trademarks. It was quite customary for Dutch pen companies to procure pens from Germany but give them an English trademark. Another example of this are the Merlin pens that are quite common in the Netherlands

[GlennNevill]

Many thanks for that information.  I am new to pens and have a lot to learn.

 

[dennis_f]

 

Unrelated question, but what ink is that?  I love that colour.

 

Great job on bringing the pen back to life!

D

[GlennNevill]

That is my go to color, Waterman Harmonious Green

 

[Wil D]

Imperial FPs were made during WW2, by this company: Imperial (Gerlach, Pardubice, 1940-45, German owner of confiscated Brod factory)

 

In the spring of 1940 the J. BROD factory in Bohemia was taken by Alfred Gerlach, the owner of the Imperial FP company from Leipzig in Germany. He installed himself in Pardubice and with help of another german Mr. Bezner runned the factory. They produced their own pens, huge variety of piston fillers and button fillers.

in 1941 they have built another factory site in Pardubice center, but in this new place no FPs were produced. The original Brod factory was fully operational and never stopped to produce FPs. In 1944/5 it suffered some damage during an US air raid.

Another twist came right after the war when the Imperial factory was nationalised as it was German property. Mr Bezner  was successful to run away during first days in May 1945. Alfred Gerlach was not that lucky and was arrested and set in prison in Přelouč town nearby Pardubice. The factory was immediately given an emergency management and in May 1945 they get their first big contract: fountain pens for the Red Army officers. This contract was fulfilled in September 1945. The factory was exclusively working on this Red Army contract for 3 months. According to archives files, the factory produced 7500 pens/week in may 1945. The company had changed its status into cooperative ltd. in 1946, the owners were the employees. They officially used the Imperial trademark and they added the "Penco" trademark, their pens were branded with Penco or Pardubice Coat of Arms logo early 1946. After 1950 it used Penco only, the Imperial name disappeared from official documents. The Penco cooperative ltd. existed until mid 1950´s when it was partly integrated into Centropen (ex P&LCo.) facilities in Pardubice.

[RedPie]

Excellent information! Thank you @Wil D

[Wil D]

1 hour ago, RedPie said:

Excellent information! Thank you @Wil D

You are welcome. I had to find this out when I got myself an Imperial.

[grayautumnday]

On 2/15/2021 at 11:14 AM, GlennNevill said:

The cap is German from Imperial Pen company.  But they never made lever fillers.  The barrel labeled Rikkers and Eton is most likely Dutch made by one of those companies.  I have no details as to the association of Rikkers or Eton.  Anyone that knows something about these companies would love to hear more.  I am reposting this in the European forum.

 

So Myk Daigle sent this to me as a practice repair pen. The plating on the clip was gone, covered in verdigris as was the lever. It used to have a metal band on the cap lip, but that is long gone. It looked like it had gone through a war and on careful examination we found writing on the cap and the barrel. The cap reads "Imperial" 1943. The barrel end reads "Rikker" Eton Fountain Pen.

The nib reads:

"Warranted"

Ptes IRIDIUM

INOXYDABLE.

Inoxydable is French for Stainless.

 

It has a nice feed, a very corroded nib on the back side, but the tipping is still good and it flexes very nicely. (Nib most likely stainless steel plated with gold)

Anyone familiar with these pen companies, I would love to hear details.

Repair consisted of a thorough cleaning, polishing with micromesh and some metal de-corroder to clean up the clip and lever.

 

Comments please.

This is so cool, and your photos are amazing!

 

I found this on a search of Myk's name. Since I've read that he's not accepting repair work, I'm trying to figure out what online stores/brands are reputable for me to restock easy and medium gold solder paste.
 

When I last did soft metal brazing and forging (~2005), there used to be 3-4 brick & mortar jewelry fabrication suppliers in my area (Seattle WA USA) but now they're all gone.
 

Reading reviews of jeweler's supplies for sale online, it's clear to me that the market is flooded with counterfeit products. I'm not about to pay 80% gold solder paste prices only to get something that's going to mess up a nib I'm trying to repair.

 

I also need to find heat sink gel to protect nib tines, and have been unsuccessful finding a product designed for use with small torch work.

 

I feel really lucky, though, that a silver/gold re-plating business that's been around since the early 1900s (Zapff Silversmiths) is located close to where I live. I just confirmed that they're able and willing to replate nibs.

 

 Anyway sorry to babble off topuc, thank you for posting this!