Selsdon Fountain Pen

[Nick ragtag]

Hi Guys.

 

Just picked up a Selsdon (UK) fp at an antique centre. It's a push button filler fitted with a fine italic nib. Has a rather unusual clear plastic feed but works well. Anyone know any history to Selsdon? Only reference I can find is that they were getting into trouble for not paying their copyright dues in 1958. Did they have a link to Wyvern?

 

Any info greatly recieved.

 

Many thanx

 

Nick

[shrieku]

I realise my reply is over 2 years since the topic was posted. I still thought it would be good to have all info in one place.

 

I was interested in a Selsdon pen posted on eBay recently and that prompted me to google it. I found some info on the pen.

 

My link

 

Just in case the site goes Kaput, let me reproduce the info on it below

 

Not exactly rare but by no means common, Selsdon pens don’t attract a lot of attention when they do appear. They’re not without their points of interest, though.

 

The most commonly seen Selsdon is a late forties pen, quite large, with a straight barrel and a curved stepped clip. It can appear with either a warranted 14ct nib or a plated one, and I suspect that the company had no nib-making facility of their own, but bought them in.

 

The other Selsdon that appears quite frequently has a strong resemblance to the Eversharp Skyline, with its tapered barrel and domed cap. Again, this appears to be a nineteen-forties pen.

 

These designs were not exactly inspired, and the execution was not quite in the first rank either. The pens would be without interest were it not for the plastic they are made from. I can’t identify what it is, except to say that it is heavier and more dense than celluloid, and appears to have been machined from the rod rather than moulded. I haven’t seen anything quite like it elsewhere. It has lasted well, without the barrel distortion one sees on some other economy pens of the period.

 

Selsdon made a number of commemorative pens for the 1953 coronation, both fountain pens and ballpoints. Unlike the earlier pens, which were invariably black, some of these pens were produced in attractive, colourful patterns. Boxed pen and pencil sets were also on offer.

 

In 1958 the company faced court action over unpaid copyright fees relating to a mechanical pencil, and later that year the company accounts were questioned, giving rise to another court case which changed the role of company auditors. That, I think, was the end of the production of Selsdon pens.

[shrieku]

The problem with copyright fees seems was due to the Auditor's fault. It was a landmark case of sorts in defining the responsibility of an Auditor. It has as such been quoted in many legal sites and also in Indian lawbooks!(based on weblinks). The case is referred to as "Fomento (Sterling Area) Ltd. v Selsdon Fountain Pen Co. Ltd. (1958)"