Unusual Sheaffer Wasp pens

[Johnny Appleseed]

Calling a lever-filler a "Vacuum Fil" makes a certain logical sense, as well as marketing sense.

 

Calling a lever-filled pen a "Cartridge Pen" as Sheaffer also did, makes less sense. . .

 

John

[kirchh]

Why did they make lever fillers called Vacuum-Fills?

Sheaffer's initial marketing response to Parker's Vacumatic-type pens was to claim it was inferior to Sheaffer's lever pens, but nonetheless to offer a vacuum-filling pen as a sub-brand -- the Vacuum-Fil (and at a seemingly predatory price level). They then attempted to dilute the term "vacuum" or to broaden its umbrella sufficiently to include the lever-filler -- Sheaffer's flagship filling system. This campaign included explaining that lever-fillers used a vacuum as well as having both piston and lever-fillers in the Vacuum-Fil line. Piston fillers were then added to the Sheaffer line proper, and ads declared, "These fine pens are one-stroke vacuum-fillers, whether the lever or visible-barrel types." For a time, Sheaffer then avoided applying the word "vacuum" exclusively with their piston-fillers, employing "visible barrel" or just "visible" (there are just a couple of out-of-the-way uses of "Vacuum-Fil" in the '35 catalog). Later ads seem to have downplayed the term "vacuum", but emphasized the "one-stroke" filling of either system -- an implicit contrast to the Vacumatic's multiple-stroke filling. By the '36 catalog, Sheaffer changed course a bit and used "Visulated" to mean lever-filler and "Vacuum" or "Vacuum-Fil" for the piston-filler. (Contrary to popular belief, "Visulated" was not an adjective Sheaffer applied to the section meaning "having a transparent area"; that is, Sheaffer would not say a pen had a Visulated section.)

 

--Daniel

 

I speculate that VACUUM might have preceded VACUUM-FIL for Sheaffer.

 

d

Lay out the evidence/reasoning and we'll see if that can be strengthened/weakened.

 

--Daniel

[david i]

Why did they make lever fillers called Vacuum-Fills?

Sheaffer's initial marketing response to Parker's Vacumatic-type pens was to claim it was inferior to Sheaffer's lever pens, but nonetheless to offer a vacuum-filling pen as a sub-brand -- the Vacuum-Fil (and at a seemingly predatory price level). They then attempted to dilute the term "vacuum" or to broaden its umbrella sufficiently to include the lever-filler -- Sheaffer's flagship filling system. This campaign included explaining that lever-fillers used a vacuum as well as having both piston and lever-fillers in the Vacuum-Fil line. Piston fillers were then added to the Sheaffer line proper, and ads declared, "These fine pens are one-stroke vacuum-fillers, whether the lever or visible-barrel types." For a time, Sheaffer then avoided applying the word "vacuum" exclusively with their piston-fillers, employing "visible barrel" or just "visible" (there are just a couple of out-of-the-way uses of "Vacuum-Fil" in the '35 catalog). Later ads seem to have downplayed the term "vacuum", but emphasized the "one-stroke" filling of either system -- an implicit contrast to the Vacumatic's multiple-stroke filling. By the '36 catalog, Sheaffer changed course a bit and used "Visulated" to mean lever-filler and "Vacuum" or "Vacuum-Fil" for the piston-filler. (Contrary to popular belief, "Visulated" was not an adjective Sheaffer applied to the section meaning "having a transparent area"; that is, Sheaffer would not say a pen had a Visulated section.)

 

--Daniel

 

I speculate that VACUUM might have preceded VACUUM-FIL for Sheaffer.

 

d

Lay out the evidence/reasoning and we'll see if that can be strengthened/weakened.

 

--Daniel

 

Evidence would be such a... strong... term for the underpinnings to my speculation.

 

I will preface with a caveat; the null hypothesis lurking in the background to any of my speculations is that some of the "evolutionary" model names actually were parallel production.

 

Anway...

 

Based loosely on existing ads (which I can pull, am comfortable citing, but which are not in front of me), pens with the name "vacuum" on them (Vacuum and Vacuum-fil) appear around 1934-1935

 

WASP appears in ads (perhaps not only from these dates, of course) 1936-1940.

 

I thus observe/assert/speculate that WASP pens are later production than those marked just Vacuum or Vacuum-Fil

 

I speculate that UNIVER perhaps precedes (perhaps, again, overlapping) Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil as Univer, unlike all the other names in this chat, appear in rather early form, such as flat-top style. Yes, i do recognize that flat top styling persisted into the late 1930's Too, i've never seen a Univer with plunger-filler, although clearly this does not exclude production during the plunger era, given that I have Univer in at least one plastic seen still- i think- on pens still catalogued by 1936 (lahn pattern), though that final observation indicates persistence of plastic, not necessarily persistance of label to that late date.

 

One can hypothesize a sequence (again, overlap and parallel production not excluded) of Univer---> Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil---> WASP

 

Of course, there are WASPs with further markings (not sure all had more markings, but off hand I do believe so) giving us WASP VACUUM-FIL (just to keep things interesting), WASP ADDIPOINT (low end), WASP CLIPPER. At least some of the WASP VACUUM-FIL pens share plastic with some Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil pens (and maybe Univer) particularly your Birdseye (nearly everyone else's Screamer) pens, although in some cases trim varies a bit from one to the other name. WASP VACUUM FILL is gone by the time of the ads for the "circuit-board" pattern pens advertised by 1938.

 

I have a recently acquired pile of Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil ads- not in front of me- in which one cites "Introducing the new VACUUM" pen, i think with a 1934 code. I speculate (assuming I recall the ad properly) that "Introduce" favors a new appearance of pen of that general sort. Had the pen been running in public already as Vacuum-Fil for a year, it would be odd (though not unheard of, I s'pose) for Sheaffer to roll out an introduction of what was just a name change from VACUUM to VACUUM-FIL. Argues (not conclusively) that Vacuum is an earlier label.

 

Edit.. of course if i misremember that ad and it cites "introducing the Vacuum-Fil" well, then...

 

regards

 

David

Edited January 13, 2009 by david i

[kirchh]

I have a recently acquired pile of Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil ads- not in front of me- in which one cites "Introducing the new VACUUM" pen, i think with a 1934 code. I speculate (assuming I recall the ad properly) that "Introduce" favors a new appearance of pen of that general sort. Had the pen been running in public already as Vacuum-Fil for a year, it would be odd (though not unheard of, I s'pose) for Sheaffer to roll out an introduction of what was just a name change from VACUUM to VACUUM-FIL. Argues (not conclusively) that Vacuum is an earlier label.

 

Edit.. of course if i misremember that ad and it cites "introducing the Vacuum-Fil" well, then...

 

regards

 

David

Well, as the speculation seems to hinge on the wording of that ad, I think it best to wait on further analysis until you can post it.

 

--Daniel

[david i]

Addendum.

 

Eschewing poor memory for facts, I just dived into my 350 pen ads.

 

The Sat Eve Post copy I have (undated photocopy) cites at top of ad

 

 

THE VACUUM New Pen Marvel

 

but at bottom does cite The Vacuum-Fil Pen co. Ft Madison, IA

 

 

So, both names appear in same ad.

 

Another ad does cite "NEW PEN SENSATION: ONE-STROKE VACUUM-FIL PEN".

 

My april 1936 ad which shows typical green marble plunger filler of the Vacuum Ilk now labels the pen a WASP (and yah, "new" WASP) but at bottom cites the Vacum-Fil Pen co. All subsequent ads (Nov 36 onward) cite the WASP PEn Co. at bottom. Certainly makes case for use of "new" just for name changes not just for new pens.

 

Ah well. Good excuse for me to review my ads.

 

-d

 

Edited January 13, 2009 by david i

[RevAaron]

By the '36 catalog, Sheaffer changed course a bit and used "Visulated" to mean lever-filler and "Vacuum" or "Vacuum-Fil" for the piston-filler. (Contrary to popular belief, "Visulated" was not an adjective Sheaffer applied to the section meaning "having a transparent area"; that is, Sheaffer would not say a pen had a Visulated section.)

 

Were they selling lever-fillers that lacked a transparent section area being sold as Visulated? Or were all of their lever-fillers equipped with a section that had a transparent are by that point?

[kirchh]

By the '36 catalog, Sheaffer changed course a bit and used "Visulated" to mean lever-filler and "Vacuum" or "Vacuum-Fil" for the piston-filler. (Contrary to popular belief, "Visulated" was not an adjective Sheaffer applied to the section meaning "having a transparent area"; that is, Sheaffer would not say a pen had a Visulated section.)

Were they selling lever-fillers that lacked a transparent section area being sold as Visulated? Or were all of their lever-fillers equipped with a section that had a transparent are by that point?

The latter. "Visulated" is formed from "Visible" and "Insulated"; there is a visible ink supply (the transparent section), which was important as that was a major selling point of the Vacumatic, and insulated construction -- the fact that ink was not held directly in the barrel, but rather in a sac, insulated the reservoir from temperature changes that could cause problems with ink flow/blotting. "Visible to the Last Drop -- Insulated for Perfect Flow."

 

--Daniel

Edited January 13, 2009 by kirchh

[Univer]

...snip...

I speculate that UNIVER perhaps precedes (perhaps, again, overlapping) Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil as Univer, unlike all the other names in this chat, appear in rather early form, such as flat-top style. Yes, i do recognize that flat top styling persisted into the late 1930's Too, i've never seen a Univer with plunger-filler, although clearly this does not exclude production during the plunger era, given that I have Univer in at least one plastic seen still- i think- on pens still catalogued by 1936 (lahn pattern), though that final observation indicates persistence of plastic, not necessarily persistance of label to that late date.

...snip...

I think the inference that Univer precedes (and very likely overlaps) the other sub-brands cited is reasonably safe. The principal styling details of the Univer flattops - feeds, section profile, clip design - is consistent with 1920s "mainline" Sheaffer flattop production. (I'm thinking here, mainly, of the black, jade and black-and-pearl Radite pens, as opposed to the black-and-cream.) In addition, the existence of the Univer 7-40 nib (not sure it's been established that that's a model name) seen on these pens suggests, to my mind, production roughly contemporaneous with the "mainline" Sheaffer 7-30. If I remember correctly, the 7-30 was introduced at the end of the 1920s.

 

With respect to the lahn-pattern Univers: I'm not sure I fully understand the final qualification. The examples I've seen are basically dead ringers for the WASP/Vacuum-Fil imprinted lahn pens, but with a simple "UNIVER" imprint. If you're using the term "label" to mean "brand," then I'm not sure what more, above and beyond an appropriately imprinted pen, you would need to establish the persistence of the brand into a time period coextensive with the production period of the lahn WASPs. Is your point simply that one can't conclusively infer, from the existence of the lahn Univers, that these examples were produced in 1936 (as opposed to earlier in the lahn WASP production period)?

 

Actually, the fact that the "UNIVER" imprint on the lahn pens lacks the usual additional detail seen on earlier Univer imprints (company address, etc.), together with the fact that there don't seem to be any other Univer models/patterns from this period, has sometimes made me wonder whether these lahn pens represent a single run of pens hurriedly imprinted "UNIVER" to meet some specific exigency: to keep the trademark alive, or to satisfy a particular customer order. Pure speculation, I freely concede. (I don't mean to suggest that there was a continuum of "UNIVER" imprints from the flattops through the lahn pens; I've never seen a barrel imprint on what I take to be the middle-period Univers - the longer rounded-end pens seen in the Waterman "onyx" and "turquoise" celluloid, among others, as well as the shorter marbled pens that have the look of being made of imperfectly colored celluloid.)

...snip...

One can hypothesize a sequence (again, overlap and parallel production not excluded) of Univer---> Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil---> WASP

 

Of course, there are WASPs with further markings (not sure all had more markings, but off hand I do believe so) giving us WASP VACUUM-FIL (just to keep things interesting), WASP ADDIPOINT (low end), WASP CLIPPER. At least some of the WASP VACUUM-FIL pens share plastic with some Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil pens (and maybe Univer) particularly your Birdseye (nearly everyone else's Screamer) pens, although in some cases trim varies a bit from one to the other name. WASP VACUUM FILL is gone by the time of the ads for the "circuit-board" pattern pens advertised by 1938.

...snip...

Have you seen a Univer in the "birdseye" pattern - or, for that matter, any WASP plastic other than the lahn pattern? (Not suggesting that you explicitly say that you have, but I want to make sure I'm reading this passage correctly.)

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

Edited January 13, 2009 by Univer

[david i]

With respect to the lahn-pattern Univers: I'm not sure I fully understand the final qualification. The examples I've seen are basically dead ringers for the WASP/Vacuum-Fil imprinted lahn pens, but with a simple "UNIVER" imprint.

 

Jon

 

Based on my admittedly limited exposure to Lahn, and yes I probably need to pull the tray, the Univer has a lined clip, at least some of the Vacuum/Vacuum-Fil have unlined clip.

 

If you're using the term "label" to mean "brand," then I'm not sure what more, above and beyond an appropriately imprinted pen, you would need to establish the persistence of the brand into a time period coextensive with the production period of the lahn WASPs. Is your point simply that one can't conclusively infer, from the existence of the lahn Univers, that these examples were produced in 1936 (as opposed to earlier in the lahn WASP production period)?

 

What I don't know is whether the Univer stamp pesisted to 1936 because Lahn plastic is catalogued in 1936 and because Lahn's are known with Univer stamp, or if Lahn plastic was used for, say, 5 years through a succession name/label/brand/imprints.

Have you seen a Univer in the "birdseye" pattern - or, for that matter, any WASP plastic other than the lahn pattern? (Not suggesting that you explicitly say that you have, but I want to make sure I'm reading this passage correctly.)

 

Offhand no. Though I probably need to review my Screamer tray.

 

regards

 

d

[Univer]

Thanks, David.

 

For what it's worth, I seem to recall that my lahn Univers have the unlined clips. I'll try to get to the cabinet and confirm this evening.

 

Point taken re: production dates - that's what I thought you meant. I also can't imagine a reliable way to locate the Univers more precisely within the lahn-production timespan.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[kirchh]

Thanks, David.

 

For what it's worth, I seem to recall that my lahn Univers have the unlined clips. I'll try to get to the cabinet and confirm this evening.

 

Point taken re: production dates - that's what I thought you meant. I also can't imagine a reliable way to locate the Univers more precisely within the lahn-production timespan.

My Lahn Univer has an unlined clip.

 

What is the Lahn production timespan?

 

--Daniel

Edited January 13, 2009 by kirchh

[david i]

Thanks, David.

 

For what it's worth, I seem to recall that my lahn Univers have the unlined clips. I'll try to get to the cabinet and confirm this evening.

 

Point taken re: production dates - that's what I thought you meant. I also can't imagine a reliable way to locate the Univers more precisely within the lahn-production timespan.

My Lahn Univer has an unlined clip.

 

What is the Lahn production timespan?

 

--Daniel

 

I believe we don't know. I have perhaps the only known ad showing the Lahn pattern with that pattern named, from 1938, shown as tiny image on a page of circuitboard pens, almost an afterthought. That is but a snapshot.

 

d

Edited January 13, 2009 by david i

[kirchh]

Thanks, David.

 

For what it's worth, I seem to recall that my lahn Univers have the unlined clips. I'll try to get to the cabinet and confirm this evening.

 

Point taken re: production dates - that's what I thought you meant. I also can't imagine a reliable way to locate the Univers more precisely within the lahn-production timespan.

My Lahn Univer has an unlined clip.

 

What is the Lahn production timespan?

 

--Daniel

 

I believe we don't know. I have perhaps the only known ad showing the Lahn pattern with that pattern named, from 1938, shown as tiny image on a page of circuitboard pens, almost an afterthought. That is but a snapshot.

 

d

So we have 1936 and 1938 data points, yes?

 

--Daniel

[david i]

Thanks, David.

 

For what it's worth, I seem to recall that my lahn Univers have the unlined clips. I'll try to get to the cabinet and confirm this evening.

 

Point taken re: production dates - that's what I thought you meant. I also can't imagine a reliable way to locate the Univers more precisely within the lahn-production timespan.

My Lahn Univer has an unlined clip.

 

What is the Lahn production timespan?

 

--Daniel

 

I believe we don't know. I have perhaps the only known ad showing the Lahn pattern with that pattern named, from 1938, shown as tiny image on a page of circuitboard pens, almost an afterthought. That is but a snapshot.

 

d

So we have 1936 and 1938 data points, yes?

 

--Daniel

 

I'm not aware of a 1936 Lahn ad. You have info?

 

d

[kirchh]

So we have 1936 and 1938 data points, yes?

 

--Daniel

 

I'm not aware of a 1936 Lahn ad. You have info?

 

d

You'd written,

 

What I don't know is whether the Univer stamp pesisted to 1936 because Lahn plastic is catalogued in 1936

--Daniel

[david i]

So we have 1936 and 1938 data points, yes?

 

--Daniel

 

I'm not aware of a 1936 Lahn ad. You have info?

 

d

You'd written,

 

What I don't know is whether the Univer stamp pesisted to 1936 because Lahn plastic is catalogued in 1936

--Daniel

 

Oh. I typed the wrong date. At least probably.

 

OK. Pulled the ad. I pencil dated it on arrival "1938" and noted it was from a wholesale catalogue. I'd picked up the ad on ebay and the date was conveyed to me by the seller.

 

 

 

-d

Edited January 13, 2009 by david i

[Univer]

Hi,

 

Checking in, as promised: my two lahn Univers have unlined clips.

 

In terms of dating the lahn pens: do you reckon there's any evidentiary value in the absence of the lahn pattern from the 1935/1936 "proofs" that dealers were encouraged to put in their windows? Obviously, these proofs didn't show the entire model range, so it could well be that the lahn pattern, while not shown, was in production during those years.

 

One possibly interesting detail I noticed for the first time: the "Vacuum" brand name does show up on the 1936 proof, on a tube of pencil leads.

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[kirchh]

Speaking of unusual Sheaffer sub-brands, here's a Vacuum-Fill that is quite interesting:

 

http://home.comcast.net/~kirchh/Misc/Vacuum-Fil_Vacumatic_Knockoff_On_Patent_4.jpg

 

That's Parker's design patent for the Vacumatic-style ringed plastic pen in the background.

 

--Daniel

Edited January 26, 2009 by kirchh