Christopher writes:
"Most of us who were in prep school in the late 1950s and/or very early 1960s will remember our local drug or convenience store selling the likes of Esterbrook pens. Just such a familiar brand and products that were next to bullet proof. A pen in those days for a student was definitely a necessity. Face it, you needed a pen to take notes in class, write your exams and, possibly, if you were mischievous, flick ink out of your pen all over the back of the student that sat in front of you. And believe me, these student writing instruments were up for the task. Still, and on the more serious side of the equation, Esterbrook made good quality, versatile and, as mentioned, hardy products. In the earliest days, we were equipped with a bottle of ink to fill our pens but, as time moved forward, the ink cartridge more or less took over. Gone was the messy ink on fingers (more or less) and somehow the pens seemed to fare better. But let us take a look at what I have brought to the table..."
(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)
"This time, I am featuring an in-store rack pen card from the late 1950s, one you would commonly see at a local drug or convenience store on a countertop or floor product rack. In this case, the card sports an Esterbrook fountain pen complete with a separate group of 7 Esterbrook ink cartridges. The general make up of this rack card is quite attractive and catchy. Finished in a light blue with white text, and red also with white text for the selling point and to catch the buyer's eye. There is also a white area at the bottom that has both the blue and red for the text colour. It is, in fact, a very well laid out card.
But what about the product it is housing? Well, at first glance, one would just have to say that this is a typical Esterbrook fountain pen. But, in fact, it isn't since the nib carries no Esterbrook number code and the pen's cap has a very wide banding and also has chased vertical lines, neither of which are to be found on the standard Esterbrook fountain pen from the late 1950s. While the barrel is an attractive blue, this pen sports a black grip section and steel Esterbrook nib backed up with a responsible feed and covered with a chrome plated cap. It should be noted that the nib and feed are securely held in a screw-in unit which allows for a vast assortment of interchangeable nibs. This pen has a lever filler mechanism which works extremely well and, being contained in clear plastic on the rack card, it is absolutely mint and never has been used. The condition of the card is also very fine overall and ready to hang on the wall, which I intend to do in my pen workshop to admire and enjoy. Truly a nice piece for any vintage pen collection."
Our thanks to Christopher for sharing his review (and some school-days memories of using fountain pens 😊). For more information on the Esterbrook CX-100, you check out this page about it:
https://www.esterbrook.net/cx100.shtml
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