The Mordan Safety Pen

[shalitha33]

Recently got this pen and i know next to nothing about it :(. 

Its labelled The Mordan Safety pen on the barrel and F.Mordan London on the nib.

 

I'm not sure if this feed is original to the pen though as it is very short.

 

 

Pen is too short to be used unposted. It posts really solidly though.

 

 

Only reference to an address I could find is as :
F Mordan & co, Albion Works, 326 City Road, London , E.C.

They also seems to have made ink under the name Azuryte (Blue Black), a form of a powdered ink and gold pens (dip pens).

https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/deb07a44-4407-4e64-8838-f4c336e5eeae

 

There is also a reference to Francis Mordan being the son of Sampson Mordan I and the brother of Sampson Mordan II. I unfortunately cant locate this reference anymore. 

I have seen 2 or 3 few pens before this in ebay with the name "Royal" but other than that have no clue about this company or about the other pens they made.

 

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[andyr7]

There's not too much to add, your information is all correct as far as it goes!

 

Francis Mordan was born in 1817, and he formed his first company with Thomas Hyde. This later became F Mordan & Co when Hyde retired. Francis himself died in 1868, but the firm continued for many years under several different managements, with the same name and still at the Albion Works address in City Road. Although initially being noted as gold pen makers, the company gradually evolved to be a more general manufacturing stationer, producing a range of inks, sealing wax, gums etc. alongside the original gold pens, and later fountain pens. I have a nice bottle of their gum! This bottle featured in one of the pictures my photographer friend Neal took for my book about the Conway Stewart Dinkie, and he posted the picture on FPN here

 

I have recently borrowed a few near mint and boxed F Mordan pens (for photography for my new book), all rather earlier than yours. These are 'The Azuryte Fountain Pen' (as the name of their ink), 'The Albion Fountain Pen' and two tiny  'Mordan' No. 0 stylos. I would guess your pen dates to c1912, the term Safety just referring to the screw cap as opposed to the earlier slip caps. Given the excellent general condition of the pen, and the fact that it still has its original nib, I see no reason to assume the feed is not original.

 

The company was still trading at least up to the start of WWI, but the name wasn't finally struck off the Companies' Register until 1963.

 

Andy

[shalitha33]

@andyr7 Thank you for the info