(please click on images to enlarge)
Christopher writes:
"In order to paint a true picture of the Waterman’s Ideal No.7, one has to go back to 1915 when the company released a rather substantial black hard chased rubber lever filler that they branded suitably the No.15PSF. The branding related in part to the nib which, in fact, was a Waterman Ideal No.5 nib in size, while the PSF (which could be found on the lever) referred to Patented Self Filler. As with a lot of Waterman pens at the time (and ongoing), the branding in full also appeared on the flat end of the barrel. In 1917, Waterman revised their product numbering system and as with the Waterman’s Ideal No. 12 becoming the Waterman's Ideal No. 52, the Waterman’s Ideal 15 became the Waterman’s Ideal No. 55.
In 1927, one year after the company had introduced a number of coloured vulcanized rubber finishes, the company decided to go full tilt into the advertising marketplace with several of their pens. The pens selected were the Waterman’s Ideal No.5 and the Waterman’s Ideal No.7. They also gave these two pens some very special features. Since the pen I am focusing on --which has just come into my collection-- is a Watermen’s Ideal No.7, I will leave the No.5 for another time. Actually, I had been after the likes of one for quite some time and managed to score a seemly ‘old store stock’ very fine example, which had never been inked. But on with the description...
This fine Waterman hails from 1928. The earlier models can be easily recognized due to the absence of white cap banding on top and on the bottom of a coloured middle band which denotes the type of nib being carried in the pen. Personally, I like these with the white cap bands since they tend to accentuate the middle coloured band which, to my mind, is kind of lost on the earlier Ideal No.7s.
So, back in the day you really could tell what kind of nib you were
getting by just checking out this coloured cap banding. But this was
further substantiated right on the nib.
In my pen’s case, the word ‘Red’ at the top indicates that I have a Standard general writing medium flex nib. And to my absolute delight, I believe that the Waterman Company understated the flex because, to my mind, it would be more than expected in any vintage pen collector’s hand. This No.5 nib is of good size with a ‘Key Hole’ instead of the regular round breather hole and, being an Aikin Lambert product, is of outstanding quality.
The general make up of the pen is the Waterman ‘Red Ripple’ and that includes the grip section, which is more than adequate. The Waterman ‘Spoon Feed’ (seen above) is also in vulcanized red rubber and goes well with the rest of the pen. Plus, I can use the word "substantial" regarding the overall length of the pen, which posts at a full 7 1/16 inches but caps back to a breast pocked size of 5 ½ inches. The fittings are 14K Gold filled and the clip is the typical Waterman’s Ideal ball ended one succoured with two similarly finished rivets. At the bottom of the cap, there is a good sized gold filled banding, which definitely protects the vulcanized rubber finish at this open end of the cap, from cracking and chipping. I believe that the Waterman company’s sticking with the hard rubber over the beautiful coloured plastic that their competitors were using, had to explain their entry into the advertising marketplace with quality, quality, quality and innovation. To my mind, with both their Ideal No.5 and larger No.7, it truly worked.
In closing, my advice to any vintage pen collector, especially those collecting Waterman pens, is to dive in with this one, since it is moving up regularly in price. Ironically, back in the day, the Waterman’s Ideal No. 7 sold for $7.00."
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