Leverless Gold Fill Overlay | Stock number: 5238 |
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Fine to medium nib, Leverless fill system. |
£248.00 |
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Price: £248.00 | |
This vintage fountain pen was made in England by Mabie, Todd & Co. Limited under the “Swan” brand name around 1933. It is made of hard rubber with alternating panels of plain and chased gold fill overlay. It is an example of their “leverless” model, the pen fills by twisting the ribbed knob at the end of the barrel – twisting one way expels the air from the sac and twisting the other way allows the ink to enter the sac. It proved quite a popular filling system at the time. There is very minor age wear to the cap with slightly more to the barrel where the chasing has smoothed due to handling over the years. Normally Swan leverless overlays suffer from quite a lot of gold fill wear on the barrel knob and also at the neck of the section, in this particular instance this is not the case and condition is therefore good. The fine to medium pointed nib states “Swan No.2 14ct Mabie Todd & Co. Ltd” there is also the “Swan” logo on the back of the feed. The turning knob at the bottom of the barrel states “”Swan” Pen Mabie Todd & Co. Ltd Made in England” The cap ball ended clip carries the “Swan” logo. It is a slim elegant pen measuring 13.6cm with cap on and 16.7cm with cap on barrel end. The added advantage of this particular example is that it comes with its original tan leather covered box, in good external order, with gold tooling around the edge and a strong clasp. You will see from the photograph that the interior does have some ink stain and age wear on the lid but the fact that it carries the “Swan” branding is some consolation. A good example of its type suitable to add to a vintage fountain pen collection and also one which will provide many more years of service as an everyday writer. All fountain pens are professionally serviced by Vintage Fountain Pens Inc. unless otherwise stated and bench tested prior to offering for sale. A further inspection is carried out before despatch. Filling instructions will be sent with your order. | |
Swan SF230 | Stock number: 1532 |
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Very Fine nib, Lever fill system. |
Sold |
This elegant “Swan” vintage fountain pen was made in England by Mabie Todd & Co. Ltd around 1925. It is made of hard rubber rather than the plastic which was used for later fountain pens. Hard rubber fountain pens were upgraded for the more discerning customer by the addition of gold fill and other decoration. In this instance two gold fill bands were added to the pen barrel at time of manufacture and one to the cap top. It has the added attraction of a woodgrain hard rubber insert on the cap lip just underneath the gold fill cap band and also on the cap crown. The model is a Swan “SF230” this particular pen could be purchased with our without a clip. This is the clipless model. An advertisement depicting this clipless model can be found on p.194 of the book “Mabie in America” by David L.Moak.
The nib is a very fine point Swan No.2 which states “Swan 2 14ct Mabie Todd & Co.Ltd Made in England”. The section text states “Swan’s SF2”. The barrel imprint states “Swan self-filling pen Mabie Todd & Co. Ltd Made in England” and has the “Swan” logo. Around the bottom of the barrel it states “230 C S-F”. This stylish vintage fountain pen measures 14cm with cap on and 17.6cm with cap on barrel end – a long slim pen. As it is slim it will not accommodate a broad ink sac which means that you may need to refill it more often than a wider pen. This is to some extent offset by the very fine nib setting less ink down on the paper for each letter. There is some brassing to the gold fill trim and wear to the trim at the cap crown however overall it is in good condition. Suitable for everyday use, if you prefer a fine nib, or to add to a collection it is a fine example of a fountain pen of the period. All fountain pens are professionally serviced by Vintage Fountain Pens Inc. unless stated otherwise and bench tested prior to offering for sale. A further inspection is carried out before despatch. A gift box is available free of charge on request and filling instructions will be sent with your order. | |
Prices shown include delivery to a UK address. The additional cost for delivery to a non-UK address will be shown when you check out.