High quality writing instruments have been around for centuries and continue to exist, from the first pencil in 1584, for the penalty, to the reign of the fountain pen from 1925 to 1940.
These high quality and highly functional writing instruments were being made around the world in beautiful styles and with an elegance and class not previously seen in a writing instrument.
Pens initials were not effective in providing a consistent and even supply of ink. You have a lot of ink blots that caused or very little which caused skips.
In 1870 Waterman developed a 3 channel feed which meant the ink flow was controlled during writing, making the pen an instrument of choice as a portable writing. Today collectors refer to these sentences as dropper, because of how they were fulfilled.
Eyedropper pens leaked because the caps did not fit really secure and the joint became worn through use, so in 1907 Waterman came up with a solution. He worked as a tube of lipstick, with a barrel that twisted and a point that could retract into the barrel. It was called the safety pen. These pens was very popular in the 1920s.
Parker and Sheaffer developed their own advancements; Parker with the button filler and lever filler, and Sheaffer with similar systems, which included what was called a blind cap.
During the war of the pen market continued to grow at an incredible pace. Pens were made from ebonite or vulcanite, which was a hard rubber material that was very easy to work. Pens were decorated with engravings, swirls of color, wood grain, color and even spotted. Black was the most popular base color but sometimes other colors were produced, especially red. The high quality pens had 14k solid gold points and gold pocket clips.
Men's pens were had a clip where they were a little smaller and had a ring top so they could be attached to a chain, a vest pocket or a watch chain.
But competition was fierce and quality writing instruments were everywhere, in order to maintain the competitiveness of manufacturers were forced to produce a pen that had fashion appeal. Then came the Duofold pen as with its striking red, orange Bakelite, tortoise shell and horn.
Sheaffer introduced a line of pens in 1924 that were made from celluloid which were an instant hit, even if they were expensive. Within five years they were selling off the 1st. Celluloid was available in unlimited colors and patterns that made it perfect for the times and Art Deco styles.
Many of the pen manufacturers ran into trouble during the 1930s but Parker, Wahl-Eversharp, Waterman, and Sheaffer all kept their heads above water and Parker did especially well.
In 1932 Parker introduced a vacuum filler system which eliminated the need for a bag of paint. Parker continued to work towards innovations and in 1941 introduced the fast drying ink Parker Superchrome which required some design changes to your pen.
Sheaffer created two filling systems, the touchdown and snorkel which remained popular in the 1960s. In fact, only recently have been reintroduced into the market. Waterman introduced the disposable cartridge for the fountain pen and perfected during the Second World War. But the final achievement in fountain pens belong to Parker who in 1956 introduced the capillary filling system.
High quality writing instruments have been demanded by civilization for centuries. It is interesting to follow the changes in design that have occurred over the centuries and which we once considered high quality, compared to what we now consider writing instruments of high quality.
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