Antique pen help please

[Endalaus]

Hello all. A while ago I realised that my collection contains at least 1 pen from most decades in the 20th and 21st centuries, with a few gaps. I started filling those gaps, and now the collection has pens from the 1890s to the current day. Except for 1900-1909.

 

I’m struggling to find an iconic pen to aim for from that decade. I hunted down a Conklin crescent, but it turned out to be from 1898 (probably, it’s a ‘pen of Theseus’),  so it added a decade rather than filling the gap. I’ve tried to find interesting pens from each period. Can anyone recommend one from the first decade of the 20th century?

[SpecTP]

waterman safety

[kestrel]

Conklin Crescent S series.  Most were made from 1905-1907.  S2s pop up on eBay with some regularity and I have seen S1 and S4 models once each.  They are nice pens and mine all have very nice nibs.  Look for pens with no clip and a slip cap.  If buying online and the description doesn't mention any markings ask the seller to look for an S followed by a number at the end of the barrel away from the nib.

Happy Hunting.

[Endalaus]

Thanks very much, I’m tempted by both of the pens suggested, I’ll keep trawling eBay. 

[kestrel]

@EndalausI thought I would send you a little more to tempt you.  First, an S4 with an Estie J for comparison

And this is the family.  First, capped, from top to bottom S4, S3, S2, and 10 special.  The 10 Special was roughly the same girth as the S1 and was made after 1907.

Finally, the same pens in the same order with the caps removed so you can see the nibs and sections.  They are all very good writers.

Again, Happy Hunting.

 

[Endalaus]

Thank you very much, that’s a great help

[GlenV]

There were a lot of really great pens from that decade in addition to Conklin that would be cool. The majority were eyedropper pens like LE Waterman and Wirt, some self fillers like Conklin, sleeve fillers and other pens from Sterling, AA Waterman, among other cool pens.  Safety pens from several manufacturers ( didn’t Moore pens start during that time?) It would take some effort to be sure that it is from the time frame you’re looking for.  How did you confirm your Conklin was earlier? I think the early style Conklin were made into that time. 

[kestrel]

On 5/20/2024 at 6:47 PM, Endalaus said:

Hello all. A while ago I realised that my collection contains at least 1 pen from most decades in the 20th and 21st centuries, with a few gaps. I started filling those gaps, and now the collection has pens from the 1890s to the current day. Except for 1900-1909.

 

I’m struggling to find an iconic pen to aim for from that decade. I hunted down a Conklin crescent, but it turned out to be from 1898 (probably, it’s a ‘pen of Theseus’),  so it added a decade rather than filling the gap. I’ve tried to find interesting pens from each period. Can anyone recommend one from the first decade of the 20th century?

If you can post a picture of your 1898 pen I might be able to give you some more information on it.  My references indicate that the classic Conklin crescent filler like the ones in my S series pens above did not appear until late 1901.  Before that the filling mechanism looked like the dorsal fin on a sailfish without a hole for a locking ring.

[Scrawler]

Have you considered Onoto the Pen? The vacuum filler was first made in 1907 and was sufficiently iconic at that time that during WWI Winston Churchill wrote to his family asking them to find one for him.