Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 38

René recently acquired two vintage fountain pens made by the same pen company, but in different countries. Can you guess the two countries? (Hint: one is the United States)

(all photos courtesy René ~ click on images to enlarge)

"The Two Eagles: I present to you, two pens made by the Eagle Pen Company. Specifically, they were made by a (sort of?) subsidiary of the Eagle Pen Company, Epenco (which stands for, well, Eagle Pen Company).

Eagle started in New York in 1856 and eventually had branches all over the world, including England and Canada. They made several very early innovations in design and pen engineering, including the first cartridge pen (the cartridges were made of glass), which didn't quite take off at the time. Eventually it was taken in by the Koh-i-noor company, and was later transformed into the company we know now as Berol."

"The Epenco branch was created for the the Depression era market, just as Parker's Safford Fifth Avenue and Sheaffer's WASP lines were, and were made in many beautiful materials. The nibs were often (always?) steel, but are good performers."

"These two are two of my newest Epenco acquisitions, and, in the spirit of the Canada Day and the American Independence Day, one was made in New York, and the other in Canada, both from the 30s. The grey one is the American, in a lovely swirly pattern with an elegant cap ring. The blue one is the Canadian, also with a similar swirly material, but with gold-coloured trimming. The gold trimming against the blue swirl makes a very attractive combination in the hand I can't stop looking at, while the American grey pen makes for a sleek, elegant writer."

"So, in the interest of international relations, Happy Independence/Canada Days to you all!"

Our thanks to René for sharing more of his newest purchases with us! VPC members---please keep those photos of your new acquisitions coming!!