Christopher writes: "When it comes to small in the world of vintage writing instruments, most seasoned pen collectors think of the Salz Bros' line of ‘Peter Pan’ pens. But turning the clock back even further, there is one outstanding example of small pen craftsmanship, and it has to be ‘The Pet’ by the Aikin Lambert company.
Aikin Lambert was duly founded in 1867 by James Cornelius Aikin in partnership with Henry A Lambert in New York City. The company, in turn, employed an extremely skilled pen maker, Mr. John B Shea, who became in time a business partner of the firm and even later the Vice President of Aikin Lambert. J C Aikin & Co. originally was a top end quality New York jeweller who delved into the manufacturing of gold "pens" (referred to as "nibs" today), barrels for retractable ‘Safety’ pens and mechanical pencils, but the company masthead and branding in turn changed to Aikin, Lambert & Co. when Henry Lambert joined as a co-partner. During the years that followed, the company reincorporated under a new banner of Aikin, Lambert & Co. Ltd in the Spring of 1889. Subsequently, in 1902 the L E Waterman company took over and reorganized the Aikin Lambert operation. At that time, the name was changed yet again to Aikin-Lambert Co. The history behind this relationship between Waterman and Aikin Lambert, in turn, lead to the latter supplying Waterman with finely ground, jewellery quality gold nibs, barrels for retractable safety pens and a full range of mechanical pencils for Waterman. This relationship blossomed and continued until Aikin Lambert was assimilated by the Waterman company."
"So, now with a bit of the history covered, I will return to the likes of this tiny little black vulcanized rubber fountain pen. First off, let me relate that when I say tiny I can definitely vouch for the capped size as only 2 1/2 inches, and posted --with a stretch-- you might be lucky to get 2 3/4. Saying that, rocketing out of an equally tiny section, which is a wee bit challenging to grip, is the most beautifully crafted miniature 14K gold nib, which actually writes quite reasonably with a fair bit of flex. This is an eye dropper filler pen which sports a 14K gold short ribbon ring in a small raised mount atop the flat surface of the closed end of the cap. In closing, I would have to admit that this tiny item is truly a real treasure and worthy of becoming part of my vintage pen collection."
Christopher--thank you for the pen history lesson, and for sharing this adorable vintage treasure with us!
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