Waterman ID (Bluestreak?)

[MrBodie]

Hello,

 

I recently got gifted this Waterman's Pencil and Fountain Pen set. It belonged to my grandfather and no one knows exactly what type of pen set it is. I only just found out that it had blue streaks on it when I took a picture and could only find a similar pen online of the American Bluestreak pen but it had the wrong band on it. I am struggling finding any exact make of this pen set. I am not experienced with the history of these pens and I was hoping one of you could be able to help me.

 

They have the following written on it:

Pen Barrel: WATERMAN'S over MADE IN IDEAL CANADA over FOUNTAIN PEN

Pen Cap: WATERMAN'S over MADE IN CANADA

Nib: WATERMAN'S over IDEAL over 14KT. over CANADA

 

Pencil Cap: WATERMAN'S over MADE IN CANADA

 

Thank you for any of your assistance!

Edit: Forgot the uncapped photo!

Edited February 3, 2023 by MrBodie

[shalitha33]

I am no waterman expert and im also not sure about pens of this era, sorry :(. 

Its possibly from late 30s to early 40s and might be related to 511c. 

[I-am-not-really-here]

Possibly, a 513J or 5116.  

[shalitha33]

When it comes to 5xx pens I have no idea what I am talking about. :(.

I was under the impression that the 4 digit numbers like 5116 are for ink-vue pens with the ink-vue lever with the link in the middle? Although I am probably mistaken here. 

Also is it possible to get a pic of the barrel with the cap removed? does it have the ink window?

I'm not sure what each of the letter suffixes means when it comes for 5xx pens  such as C , D, J. I think D is the button filler but couldn't find any reference  numbering prior to this point is clear with catalogs showing which is which. 

[MrBodie]

Thank you all for such quick messages! I'm trying to take in all these different number types as fast as I can. I knew there were lots of pens in the world but when you're looking for a specific one...

 

@shalitha33Oops! I made an edit to my original post with the picture. I swore I added that one in. No window on mine.

 

I received an email from Waterman today and they told me "I suppose that it is Waterman 5116, which was manufactured in Canada, but unfortunately we do not have such old documents".

 

Everything that you all have suggested have been so similar and ones I have never even came across yet. It seems like there were really limited Canadian versions. How far does this rabbit hole go?

[shalitha33]

There is an Advert in ebay from 1941 and it illustrates the pen (although with an ink-view lever drawn in the wrong place) I'm guessing the artist mixed up the standard ever with the ink view one as its not in the right place for the ink-view one. Year is likely going top be 1941 or 1940 based on what's there on ebay Adverts. Color is probably coper perl set and price originally is probably $11.30. Note all the "probably". I have no clue if this is correct or not. 

On the other hand waterman would know better than any of us. if they say its 5116 it has to be 5116. It is they that made this thing to begin with. 

Edited February 3, 2023 by shalitha33
Edit: Advert mentions a transparent ink window :(

[MrBodie]

Got some updates.

 

First of all, I got the pen up and running. The original ink sac was completely caked on the inside of the barrel and cleaned it out. Thankfully the lever bar was in good condition still. I put a temporary nib on it for the mean time because the gold nib was bent (beyond my own repair skills). I got a new ink sac (size 18) and it fits into the Barrel perfectly and a good hold on the Section.

I had to dig through some archived newspapers that had any mention of Waterman and Blue Streak. The Blue Streak was advertised with a couple other sets in December for 1938 as a Christmas special. Seems like it was a one off type thing. It was posted a decent amount more in Edmonton and Calgary (Vancouver, too) newspapers compared to the eastern side of Canada. It sparsely got advertisements the following two years within those western cities. There were very little advertisements in the other eastern provinces newspapers, if at all.

 

The set was sold for $8.50 and I saw a couple individual stores were selling just the pen for $5.

 

I left some of the photos that y'all might find interesting.

 

Thanks for all the help everyone. I didn't want to leave you with nothing so I was planning on coming back for a final post. I feel like this is as far as I'm going to find about the history of the pen and pencil. Unfortunately, the deceased don't respond to the Ouija board to find out more. This was a fun adventure.