Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 323

A few days ago, we featured a vintage Wearever fountain pen recently acquired by Christopher. Today, we're featuring another pen by the same maker that he recently acquired:

Christopher: "The name Wearever, amongst vintage pen collectors, has most running the other way. I remember well my first experience with them going back to my prep school days in the mid 1950s. The reality with this brand of writing instruments was that they were cheap enough to buy, but tended to leak. Turning the clock forward to more current times, as a vintage pen collector I was warned that investing in Wearever pens was not a wise move and that they were definitely on the lowest rung of the third tier pen ladder. So, as time went by, whenever I came across a pen with the Wearever branding, I avoided it like the plague.

Then, at a pen club meeting, one of the members, David Moffatt told me about an exception. He related that the Wearever Company did actually make one particular model which stood out as not a bad pen. The Pacemaker had a number of very credible features, the best of which was a 14K gold nib. So taken with David’s enlightenment that I set my sights on acquiring one of these Pacemakers, but along the way I discovered that there were several other Wearever models, which also had better than steel nibs."

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

 

"It was Rene, another pen club member, who further enriched my knowledge of these upper-end Wearever pens, since he was quite taken with them as well. There was the Zenith which looked toward Parker for its design and also had a 14K gold nib. And the Deluxe, which had a steel reinforced casing around yet another Wearever 14K smaller gold nib. But this brings me to a most current score at my end. Yet another Wearever model - ‘The Supreme’. At least I think this is a Wearever Supreme, but with a few interesting differences. The pen is quite large posting at all of 6 ¼ inches and even capped it measures an inch shorter. The overall finish is a high luster black plastic, finished at each end with white bands. The cap clip is typical of Wearever, but with a flat arrow at its end. The cap also sports quite a wide and nicely detailed ring, and this pen is a lever filler that takes a fair bit of ink in a No.20 rubber ink sack.

But I have saved the best for last, because atop a rather substantial grip section is another one of Wearever’s steel reinforced casing 14K gold nibs. And this nib, may I add, is larger than the one also steel encased in the Wearever Deluxe. Finally, I will happily add that unlike the previous reports I had got on most, if not all, of the Wearever nibs, steel or otherwise, this gold point is a fine smooth writer. Definitely a wonderful addition to my vintage pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for sharing his latest find (and his enthusiasm for vintage pens) with us!