Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 444

As promised, here's the lovely vintage American fountain pen that Christopher recently acquired....

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

(text by Christopher)

"It was my understanding that the Conklin Pen Company was one of the bigger pen producers in its day. They were also noteworthy for their product quality and, in particular, a groundbreaking filling system for their fountain pens. But I will have to admit, having just picked up one of their sub brands-- the ‘All American’ -- that the Conklin quality was right across the board. Unlike the Conklin Crescent filler of their earlier days, this All American has a neat little lever filler located further down on its barrel. The finish--sort of a red and pearl Harris Tweed--is, to my mind, outstanding, as is the quality of the plastic that repeats itself on the cap. The overall design of this pen is an attractive substantial cigar shape, which sits well in the hand when the pen is posted. Back to the cap, which sports a 14K Gold Filled double banding and is topped off with one superbly engineered spring pivoting 14K Gold filled clip. By applying a bit of finger pressure on the top of this clip, the bottom comes away from its seating so one can easily slide the pen safely into a breast pocket. This clip also has a patent number imprinted vertically down it’ length Pat.No.1267575, as does the short lever filler No.1561590.

Under the cap, a black grip section supports a very long and narrow feed which in turn supports an amazingly flexible 14K solid Gold nib branded ‘All American’. When restoring and servicing this pen, having knocked out the nib and feed for cleaning, I noted that as flexy as the nib is, the overall length was quite short. Still, can I complain, since the pen is such a good writer. Saying all this, I cannot put this fine vintage pen down and, with it inked, will use it for the rest of this week before adding it to my collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for his review. If any of our pen club members have any recent pen-related acquisitions they'd like to share on this blog, please send them in and I'll post them here!