Eclipse Fountain Pen & Pencil Company

[Johnny Appleseed]

Not necessarily spying Robert - but certainly watching some of the same auctions. For some reason I thought that Eclipse/Keene would have been bid up way more than it did - I didn't bid on it because I figured it would go way over my budget. I should have given you a little more competition after all. Just goes to show you that you never know what the auction is going to do.

 

see you on the bay.

 

John

Edited December 8, 2005 by Johnny Appleseed

[robertaia]

I was surprised it went that cheap as well. There's red flattop on ebay now. It's probably at tht top of it's price range now. I would be surprised if it ran up much farther. But like you say, you never know what these auctions will do.

Robert

[Johnny Appleseed]

Alas - over my price range at the moment. I guess it will be a while before I get to be a serious collector.

 

Sigh . . .

 

John

[robertaia]

I'm amazed, blown away!!!

It went for $271. AMAZING, and I wasn't one of the more banded models.

I have one just like it except mine has a cap that is smooth from the clip to the open end. That one had a very small reveal, to small for a band, about an 1/8 from the open end. I didn't pay half that much. Maybe the brand is beginning to get noticed.

I've always felt that their large oversized pens, filigrees and gold filled pens, in good shape, weren't appreciated the way they should be.

Robert

[Johnny Appleseed]

Well I just added a Safety model in BCHR with Eclipse on the lever and "Safety" on the clip. take a look here for the ebay auction, until I get a photo posted.

 

It does seem that these are getting more attention. See what posting photos of your collection did!

 

On the other hand, a red-mottled version went for $49 last week (the minimum bid) and there is a Gold overlay like the one I posted above with a Buy it Now for $55 currently on Ebay.

 

But the one that sets me to drooling is the overlay in this lot:

4 pen lot with eclipse..

 

Time to start selling off some Waterman's, I guess. . .

 

John

Edited December 21, 2005 by Johnny Appleseed

[robertaia]

Hey Johnny:

I haven't been on in a while. A very Nice Safety/Keene pen. Did you id on the overlay in the 4 lots?

What is your ebay handle? Mine is the same as here.

I have aquired a couple more that I need to post a pic or two of. I'll try and do that in the next week or so.

It appears the site has been updated. Do we still post pics here or in the photographs of pens section?

Robertaia

[Johnny Appleseed]

Hi Robert,

 

I was just thinking about this post and going through your posts. Photographs can go either here or in the Photographs section, but because we have this topic going on Eclipse, I would put them here - easier for people to find the info.

 

I have added a Marxton and an all-metal Eclipse to my collection, as well as a big black flat-top that I believe is Eclipse - but it has no clip to confirm. I'll post when I get a chance.

 

Quite a snipe-fest between you and John over that eyedropper, BTW.

 

There is an item that just appeared on E-bay from a seller in Germany. It is a total overlay Eclipse with both a hole for a ring-top loop and a clip. The clip looks correct as well - at least I think. Take a look - have you ever seen anything like this?

 

1920 Very Rare ECLIPSE 14 K GOLD FILLED Fountain Pen on Ebay

 

Look forward to seeing more pictures when you get a chance!

 

 

John

 

PS - My ebay handle is Ragweed-99

Edited February 10, 2006 by Johnny Appleseed

[robertaia]

Johnny:

Yes, ol' John beat me out on the eyedropper, the rat.

Ragweed-99, I've seen your handle on a couple of pens that I've been watching in the past. I can't recall if we ahve bid against each other.

I also aquired a red Marxston recently. I will definity need to get a couple of pics on the site.

I ran across Steven Overbury the other day. He won a pen and I emailed him and asked if he was the same person that wrote the Eclipse article in 1993. He replied that he was and is living in Japan. He uses his full name as his ebay handle.

By the way, I spoke with John about 2 weeks ago. He has submitted the rough draft of his Eclipse article to pen world. They are thinking about doing it in 3 parts. Hopefully, I will get to Houston soon and have them photgraph my pens, he has told me he wants to use a few.

robertaia

[Johnny Appleseed]

Yes - Steven Overbury has made some appearances on Lion and Pen recently, and I emailed him about that article. Do you have a copy? I know I need to pony up a membership in the WES one of these days, but I've spent too much on pens recently . Alas, I've also gotten interested in Wilrites (less common, but they seem to sell for less) and Good Service, so my focus is a little dilute.

 

I think saw that red Marxton - and I think I was pleased to see it go to good hands. When I see these get out of my price range, it's nice to see you or John (what's his last name?) turn up as the winner. You have outbid me at least once - but I bid really low (overextended again).

 

I look forward to seeing the Pen World series. It's great to have more information about any of these older 2nd tier pens, and more photos. I will try to get my meager few up soon.

 

BTW - 1 of the Eclipses, and the Marxton I have both have missing j-bars - is that pretty common?

 

Take care, and look forward to the pics.

 

 

John

[robertaia]

Johnny

Sorry for the delay. I've been so busy and I still owe you a few pics.

 

I do have a copy of the Overbury article and I'll be glad to send you a copy. Email me at roberta@aktexas.com and give me a mailing address.

 

I haven't experienced the missing j-bar problem that you refer to. I have taken some pens apart and removed the j-bar and find it so weak that it will break at the bend. So, I've had to replace a few because of that.

 

UPDATE: John Roede and I are meeting in Houston on March 14th and 15th at Pen World to have them photograph our Eclipse Pens. I'll find out the time frame for the upcoming article.

[david i]

I had the great opportunity to photograph that huge collection of Eclipse pens shown couple pages back, except each pen was shot alone and is digitally montageable (sp?). Unfortunately i have not yet edited the pictures from last year's Miami show, where the pics were shot. Soon i hope. That pen shoot was the highlight of the Miami show.

 

 

Here is one pic done from that bunch- the overlay on green plastic

 

http://removed.xyz/penteech/eclipsegreenoverlay50per.jpg

 

and here is a shot that makes a pretty good case for what most collectors were comfortable with already- that Eclipse pens can properly come with Warranted (not marked, "eclipse") nibs

 

http://removed.xyz/penteech/eclipsewarrantednibproof.jpg

 

 

 

regards

 

david

[robertaia]

David:

Thanks for sharing the photographs and the kind words.

You're to kind, sir.

If you are the Miami Show this year I'll bring a couple of new ones to add to your archives.

Robert

[Johnny Appleseed]

A link to Antonios Eclipse - Here

 

A beautiful blue Eclipse with a super-flex nib, and Antonios fantastic flex writing hand to show it off.

 

John

Edited March 28, 2006 by Johnny Appleseed

[robertaia]

Thanks Johnny.

A very link with some wonderful handwriting and a beautiful pen.

 

ECLIPSE UPDATE:

I was at Pen World on the 15th of this month and meet the infamous John Roede. Pen World photographed our pens that wil be used in the upcoming Eclipse article. Look for it to be a 2 part series focusing on the American side of th company. It should be in the May/June issue. There will be another article on their sub-brands. I'n not sure if this will run consceutively or not.

The phootgraphs were taken by none other that Glen Bowen. It was a fun day and a new experience for me to see how the "magic" happens.

Robert

[Maja]

Thanks Johnny.

A very link with some wonderful handwriting and a beautiful pen.

 

ECLIPSE UPDATE:

I was at Pen World on the 15th of this month and meet the infamous John Roede. Pen World photographed our pens that wil be used in the upcoming Eclipse article. Look for it to be a 2 part series focusing on the American side of th company. It should be in the May/June issue. There will be another article on their sub-brands. I'n not sure if this will run consceutively or not.

The phootgraphs were taken by none other that Glen Bowen. It was a fun day and a new experience for me to see how the "magic" happens.

Robert

Thanks, Johnny....and thanks, Robert for the info on the upcoming "Pen World" article.

I am looking forward to reading it when it comes out Keep the Eclipse info coming, gentlemen (and ladies )!!

[robertaia]

Hi All:

I just returned from the Chicago Show with some very unusual Eclipse pens and wanted to post some pics for y'all.

 

Has the way we attach files changed? Before, I just went to the folder and picked the picks I wanted to post and clicked on the pics. These are on our office server.

Can anyone educate me?

Robert

[robertaia]

Hi all:

I wanted to tell everyone that I received the advance July issue of Pen World magazine last week.

The first in a series of articles on Eclipse Pen and Pencil Comapny is included.

It features the pens of John Roede and yours truly. John has done a great job of research and writing the article. I think you'll enjoy them.

Also, because of this topic and the threads posted here, I was contacted several weeks ago by the grandson of David Klein, Marx Finstone's brother-in-law. He has shared a treaure trove of information, some new, on the family and company. I was certainly surprised but more than that, he found me on this forum.

 

Let's keep this topic going.

Robert

PS. I now know how to post pics. I just haven't had the time.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Since this thread has been quiet for a while I thought I would post a picture of the current state of my Eclipse collection.

 

The two big red pens on the left are Keene's, which I am particularly pleased with.

 

It's a small collection, but I like it. Between Robert here, John Roede, Marquezdeborba and nextfool Eclipse's generally end up out of my league, but I'll pick up one or two when I can.

 

John Roede's article in Pen World is quite good, with a lot of really interesting background on the company, and some great pictures.

 

And Robert, where are the long-promised pictures of your new aquisitions?

 

John

[robertaia]

John:

You're getting the bug bad my boy.

 

Thank you John. A very nice collection! I especially like the blue/bronze Maxton and the red striped Marxton. I have 3 Eclipse in the red striped, differnet banding. Now we know that they probably made all brands in all colors. Ah, the quest goes on.

 

Yes, I've been lazy and haven't posted any pics of my new pens. I must get busy on that!

 

I'm glad you liked the article. I received the advance copy of the September issue last week and it should be out in a couple of weeks. There are two articles in it - The Fall of Eclipse and What Else did Eclipse Make?

 

I don't know if I told y'all but I got an email from a Russell Klein (David Klein's grandson) in late May. He found me because of the thread here on FPN. He has confirmed a lot of Roede's research. For example, He confirmed that David Klein and Marx were brother-in-laws. John could never find where Marx had a sister. He didn't, they married sister's. He lives in New York and is friend with some of Tulley's relatives. He shared a lot of information and documents of agreements, settlements, etc. on the company after Finstone's death. I thought that was neat that he contacted me.

 

Hey Everyone - Let's see pictures of other collections.

Robert

[robertaia]

Sorry,

Red striped Park Row, Still very nice.

Robert