Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 571

One more vintage review from Christopher! 😄

 He writes:

"Waterman pens, in general, have always impressed me and seem to have a serious focus on what writing instruments are all about. When the company reached the early 1930s, this focus was definitely prime and although their pens had moved away from colourful vulcanized ripple, the dazzling colours of the plastic finish on their pens and pencils turned many a head back in the day.”

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

“Case in point, this impressive 1933 vintage set, finished in a mottled grey and pearl with red flecks and brilliant silver fittings. The 94-model design, having stood the test of time, sits well in hand and at the same time, with the fountain pen posted, is perfectly balanced to write with effectively. Posting at a full 6 ½ inches, but capping back for the pocket at 5 inches exactly. Still, it is the girth of this model at 0.47 inches, which is most impressive and, in turn, sets it apart from other Waterman models, The cap has an attractive matching stacked quad disc top with a beautiful chased pattern banding. Above, well attached, is a tapered, rounded topped flat ball ended clip. The barrel supports a typical Waterman boxed lever filler, while the bottom is flat but carries the Waterman model numbering code of 94. No mistaking this pen for any vintage pen enthusiast! 

At the business end, a substantial jet-black grip section sports both a black feed and a super impressive Waterman Ideal 14k Gold nib, Waterman colour coded red for General writing medium flex, with the pen's point of origin, Canada, proudly noted below. I should mention that this pen is an outstanding writer. And I think it is right to say that the flexible nib lays down the ink in a most responsible and consistent fashion. The matching mechanical pencil is an equally good writer and matches the fountain pen for good balance in the hand and super design. The mechanism works well and I should add that the condition of both writing instruments is very fine to near mint overall. Needless to say, this outstanding example of what the Waterman company was famous for in the early 1930s will definitely become part of my vintage pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for the review! Don't forget that our next meeting will be held on Saturday August 22nd at the Vancouver Pen Shop from 6:30pm to ?? All info in this post!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 569

Christopher's back with another review--this time it's a vintage Waterman fountain pen and pencil set!

He writes:
"To properly visit this set's history, one must turn the clock back to the period just after World War II...While most pen companies were in a state of recovery, Waterman and its pen works were moving forward with amazing grace. There was no faltering in product quality or reliable consistency of materials used. The long era for vulcanized rubber had been suitably replaced with vividly coloured plastics. But, as had always been the company's interest from day one, the business end of each and every Waterman pen had a finely ground and jewelry crafted 14K gold (often flexible) nib. Still, it cannot be ignored that over and above all these strengths, the Waterman company was operating at a financial loss which, in time, halted their North American production, with Waterman products being then moved on to the Jif Waterman works in France.

But, for the time, being let us take a careful look at this lovely late 1940s Waterman pen and pencil set...

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

 The matching finish on both writing instruments is a brilliant scarlet intertwined with jet black and complemented with silver fittings. The effect, to my mind, is both tasteful and at the same time quite elegant. While the pencil has a good working mechanism to extend the lead for writing, the fountain pen sports a fine number 2 Ideal Waterman 14K gold nib that comes with more than adequate flex. This nib is secured a black grip section well-housed in a short barrel that features the typical Waterman boxed lever filler. When I say short, this lady's pen posts at a full 5 ¼ inches, but caps back for her purse at a responsible 4 ¼ inches. Admittedly, I was very much taken with this set the minute I laid eyes on it; subsequently, it will become a go-to part of my vintage pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for sending in this review of a lovely vintage set! 

A few photos from our July meeting

We had a good turnout for our July meeting, held at the Renfrew branch of the Vancouver Public Library on Thursday July 16; I counted at least 34 people in attendance, including newcomers Chris, Daphne, and Sam L! It was just a casual get-together with lots of pen, ink and statoinery chats going on, so I had a bit of time to take a few photos of the items our members brought to show others....

(photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

That's Andrii's new Enigma notebook by Taroko (with fountain-pen-friendly Tomoe River paper) and a Waterman 'Hemisphere' fountain pen he got from a pen friend.

Andrii told me that when he got it, the pen wouldn't write, so he removed the feed and discovered it was inserted incorrectly at some point; apparently, the feed is keyed (but very subtly so) and has to be put into the section at exactly the right orientation or the incorrect nib-feed alignment won't allow for the ink to flow. Well done, Andrii!

Stuart's brand-new Sheaffer '300' "Coffee Edition" in Matt Brown with Regal Brown Trims.

From Sheaffer's official website: "This beautiful pen features a rich dark coffee brown hue, accented with a refined cup and heart emblem on the cap." 😊 Stuart recently bought the pen from the Vancouver Pen Shop downtown. Sheaffer was sold to William Penn (an Indian luxury writing instruments retailer) in 2022 and it's good to see its new owners coming out with cool new stuff like this special edition fountain pen.

Jerred recently acquired a red and black marbled Filcao 'Columbia' fountain pen, shown above next to its larger counterpart, the Filcao 'Atlantica' "Lapis". The 'Columbia' model came out in 2004 and was followed by the 'Atlantica'; both pens use a button-filling mechanism. Jerred did a nice review of the 'Atlantica' on our club's website a few years back (posted here).

One of our newer members, Richard P, brought two lovely Pelikan fountain pens he recently acquired--the M200 'Orange Delight' and a M205 'Star Ruby'!

(I took this photo on the hood of my car, in the library parking lot, after the meeting lol)

I purchased the beautiful Galen Leather x NOCK Lookout pen case in Deep Cognac (part of their Legacy Collection) from Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery earlier this month, and I love it! The leather is supple and gorgeous-looking, and the inside of the case is lined with silk.

The three fountain pens I had inside the case are (left to right) a wonderful Stipula fountain pen with a Titanium nib that I bought from Mark & Sharon (in our pen club) of PenDen.ca, a Levenger 'Plumpster' in "Tides" resin, and a Narwhal (Nahvalur) Voyage Cult Pens exclusive (made specially for the well-known UK retailer) that I got from a dear pen friend (that you so much, Bonnie! 🙌)

Our thanks to everyone who came to our July meeting at the Renfrew VPL branch this month!
Information about our August meeting is in this post: https://www.vancouverpenclub.com/2026/07/august-2026-meeting-meet-up-at.html

(~Blog post by Maja~)

March meeting pics!

We had a good turnout for our March meeting (held on the 19th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library) with thirty members in attendance, including six (!) newcomers - Chris, David M, Geoff, Kyle, Lemo and Mariana. There was no topic/theme for this month's meeting, but it was a good opportunity to chat about pens/inks/stationery in a casual setting with tables and chairs (thank you, VPL!). Quite a few members did bring some new acquisitions to show each other....

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

...starting with Stuart, who recently acquired this vintage Parker 'Jotter' first-year (1954) stainless steel "Flighter" ballpoint (the dating is based on its "trough clip", which was replaced by Parker's famous Arrow clip in later years). The ballpoint sports an advertisement for a corticosteroid cream/ointment called Aristocort^®. What a cool find!

Another nice vintage find of Stuart's -- a "Forest Green" Parker '51' Demi fountain pen (which is resting on a Moleskine planner I got from Paul at the meeting--thank you, Paul!) ... 

A couple of new acquisitions of my own---a maroon Sailor 1911 Profit Standard 21 (which came with a 21k gold nib) fountain pen, and a cute Esterbrook 'Peanuts' pouch (with Charlie Brown's sister Sally on it) that I got from Amy H (thank you so much, Amy! :)

Though he's a massive fan of vintage fountain pens, Grant told me he's enjoying using this modern Esterbrook 'Camden Composition' fountain pen in “Back to School Black”. Grant won the pen in the door prize draws held during at our February meeting at the Vancouver Pen Shop (prizes generously donated by our awesome Pen Shop hosts :)

The speckled pattern on the 'Camden Composition" pens (which also came in the “Spring Break Fluorescent Green" colour) was inspired by the famous Composition notebooks. These durable cloth-bound notebooks (which lie flat -- a nice feature) have been used for over a century by students and artists, and are still going strong.

A vintage Sheaffer double-desk set recently purchased by Paul. It has a handsome clock in the base and two different writing instruments--a Sheaffer Touchdown-filler fountain pen (with a so-called "dolphin nib"), and a ballpoint.

And here are two modern pens Paul purchased--Waterman 'Allure' fountain pens in "Pastel Yellow" & "Pastel Pink". Paul said he got them from a local London Drugs store for under $40 CAD each (looks like they're currently selling for $29.99 + tax).

Back to vintage -- a handsome black German-made 'Mercedes' fountain pen owned by Dominique. I love the fine chased design on the cap and barrel :)

Lyndon's Pilot Custom 912 FA nib fountain pen (on the left) and Allan's new Junlai '930' fountain pen...

The nibs are both interesting, but for different reasons--the Pilot (left) has a 14K gold nib with side cuts to increase its flexiness. while the Junlai came with a huge #9 size steel nib!

One last photo from the meeting---a closeup of the nib on Sheila's Pelikan '481' fountain pen, a model which was the predecessor of the famous Pelikan 'M200' model. The '481' was only made from 1983-1985 and lacks the Pelikan logo on the cap top -- early 481s had the logo underneath the blind cap, while later ones didn't have any logo on the body. Excellent information on this Pelikan model (and many more models) at https://www.pelikan-collectibles.com/en/Pelikan/index.html

Many thanks to all who came to our March meeting! Information about our April meeting will be posted on our website before the end of this month :)

(~blog post by Maja~)

Photos from our January 2026 meeting

Our first pen club meeting of 2026 was held on Thursday January 15th at the Renfrew branch of the Vancouver Public Library with 40 members in attendance, including six newcomers (Cindy, Elle, Enkay, James Y, Joe, and Samuel)!

The format of this month's meeting was a casual "show & tell", and the topic was "Newest Pen-Related Acquisitions". I think the two-minutes-per-person show & tell time limit moved things along nicely and gave us extra time to chat amongst ourselves after show & tell was over. Many thanks to Amy, Mark, Paul and Sheila for the door prizes they generously donated (3D-printed ink vial holder, wooden pen display case, Crocodile fountain pen set, hardbound books, Platinum Carbon Black ink), which were won by James Y, Shona, Mindy, Kerwin, and Samuel respectively! 👏

It was a busy meeting, however, I did remember to take some photos for our blog, so here they are...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge) The meeting was very well-attended (more people arrived after this photo was taken!) and we saw a multitude of new acquisitions brought in by our members, such as ...

(Above, left to right) Liz R's TWSBI Eco 'Cosmos' fountain pen, Vladan's two Stabilo 'Grow' fountain pens (Beech (Blueberry Blue) and Oak (Moss Green)), Liz's TWSBI '580 ALR' Caribbean w/ Onyx (a special edition which came out in November 2024), Stuart's new-style MUJI aluminum fountain pen, two vintage Waterman C/F fountain pens,  his Sheaffer Imperial Triumph, and Jinhao X450 in matte black. 

Some cool facts about the Stabilo 'Grow' model (taken from its Amazon listing): 
The Stabilo 'Grow' is a climate neutral product (saving approximately 70 percent CO2 emissions in raw material compared to a filler made of conventional plastic; the remaining CO2 emissions are compensated by a certified climate project) with a shaft (barrel) made from 100% FSC-certified wood from Germany, an ergonomic grip made from almost 100% renewable raw materials, and a cap made of conventional plastic partially replaced with natural fibres (sunflower seed shells). The renewable raw materials used are waste products from the food and paper industry and therefore ethically harmless. 

(Above, top to bottom) Fred's black Pilot 'Custom 74' fountain pen (with a BB nib Architect grind done by CY of Tokyo Station Pens), Asifa's new red Jinhao '20' fountain pen and Jerred's light green Online 'Icone' model resting on Aumbrine's ink swatches (and lovely calligraphy) ...

A close-up of the Online 'Icone' fountain pen (which includes a stylus tip).... 

(Above, left to right) Stuart's Otto Hutt 02 sterling silver fountain pen, Vladan's Stabilo 'Grow' Plum Red (Cherry) fountain pen, an elegant vintage Lady Sheaffer "White Tulle" set belonging to Jerred, Yang's dazzling Benu 'Euphoria' "Vibrant Summer" fountain pen (a Cult Pens exclusive), and a beautiful Montegrappa rollerball owned by Aumbrine. Kai's new Akkerman "Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen" (Blue-Green) ink is in the upper left corner of the photo. 

(Above, top to bottom) Aumbrine's maroon Sailor fountain pen, and then a mystery pen I'm trying to identify (lol), Aumbrine's Visconti 'Rembrandt' "Khaki Green Ops" fountain pen, and Asifa's Jinhao '20' glittery clear demonstrator with rose gold trim (a limited edition). Several of our members (Asifa, Amy, Allan, Mindy, and myself) brought their new Jinhao 20s for the topic; due to its low price, it's quickly become a very popular fountain pen (and it's available in a large variety of colours!).

(Above) James D's handsome Springfield Pens fountain pen (with a modified Architect nib done by fellow VPCer Jerred) resting on Liz R's colourful ink swatches...

(Above, top to bottom) A wonderful four-pen cloth case handmade for me by fellow VPC member Amy (thank you again, Amy! 😊 ), my new Asvine C80 in "Galaxy" (which comes with a #8 size steel nib), a Springfield Pens fountain pen (in an unnamed poly-resin material) that I recently acquired from its pen maker (Anson), my Champagne Pink Pilot 'Decimo' and my new limited edition "Ice Blue" Jinhao 20 with rose gold trim (the Pilot Decimo isn't new, but I brought it in to show its similarity to its clone, the Jinhao 20 :)

(Above) Sheila's brand-new (she did a quick unboxing during her "show & tell"😂 ) Pelikan 'M300' fountain pen in Pelikan's classic striped green. The M300 is the smallest model in the Pelikan Souverän lineup, but it's as beautiful as its larger counterparts...

(Above) Last but not least, that's Phil's brand-new Springfield Pens fountain pen in Inlace Acrylester material. The pen is a 'Robin' model that was handmade by Anson and finished the day of our meeting!

Thank you to everyone who came to our January meeting, whether you brought anything to show or not; you brought yourselves -- that's the main thing! 😀 I had fun at the meeting, and I hope you did, too. Information about our February meeting will be posted very soon!

(~ blog post by Maja ~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 557

Thought we'd close out 2025 with some of Christopher's newest reviews! Here's the latest addition to his Waterman 100 Year writing instrument collection...

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

He writes:
"The Waterman company was innovative in their approach to pen and mechanical pencil design at the outset of the 1930s. So much so, in fact, that the finish of a new line of their pen and pencils branded 100-year (relating to the warranty) was simply exquisite! Finished in transparent coloured Lucite plastic, supplied by the Dupont corporation, the design department at Waterman rendered this fashionable line of pens and pencils in an Art Deco style. Add to this, lateral ribbing on caps and barrel and a fine Waterman 14K Gold nib installed in an adequate section, and there was no amount of 'Wow' which could describe the Waterman 100 Year fountain pen. And to tie the pen with the pencil, decorative banding was the order of the day. Saying all this, Waterman 100-year pens and pencils are not exactly common in the wild. In fact, and to be quite frank, the Lucite used in a lot of cases was far from stable and prone to fatigue and -with it - crystallization. So to find a flawless Waterman 100-Year pen or pencil these days can be both a challenge and costly.

But what of this 100-Year pen and pencil I am featuring? Well, in a way, it is not a true set for several very good reasons. First off, the mechanical pencil is a late first-year production, while the fountain was brought to bear a year later. Secondly, the first-year production pencil is a standard sized model, while the fountain pen is a lady's model. Still, what I think really ties these two writing instruments together and in essence makes them a set, is their very attractive 14K gold filled banding, their matching horizontally ribbed finish, stunning transparent blue colour, and the identical personalization on the banding. My educated guess, would be that they were in fact bought at the same time as a set to be used accordingly.

The lady's pen, like the mechanical pencil is in stunning near mint condition. It is a lever filler, and the barrel sports the typical Waterman 'Boxed' lever. The pen has an adequate grip section that firmly support a superb Waterman Ideal 14K Gold, 100-Year marked super flexy nib. The cap also has both the model and company branding inscribed near the banding, but just above the top end of the horizontal ribbing. What just puts the icing on the cake with this fine pen, is its vibrant jewel like blue transparency. A definite feature of the Lucite plastic incorporated in the manufacturing. The standard sized 100-Year pencil matches the pen in its blue transparency and condition and, in turn, is a magnificent writing piece. But, being a late first year model, it does not have the 100 Year model inscribed on the cap. That came with the second year as such. All in all, Waterman treasures to be favoured and they. in turn. will be a wonderful addition to my vintage pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for the photo & write up!

Photos from November meeting at Buchan's!

Many thanks to the good folks at Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery for hosting our November meeting at their lovely store last month (November 20th, to be exact)! There were refreshments, great prizes, lots of fountain pen eye candy to look at, and the company of our amazing pen club members (and guests), so I think everyone had a good time 😊 Sherman took some photos during the meeting (thank you, Sherman!), so in case you couldn't make it, here's what you missed...

(pics courtesy of Sherman, except where noted ~ click on images to enlarge) "Selfie King" Sherman with (left to right) Linda N, Carmen L and David L.

All smiles! (left to right: Lawrence C, myself/Maja, Nathan, Andrii and Sherman)

Door prize time! That's Buchan's staffer Yugo (who's also in our club :) in the black hoodie recording the prize draws; Yugo made a really nice short video about our meeting and posted it on Buchan's Instagram ➡️ here ⬅️ (thanks so much, Yugo!)

Everyone checking their door prize tickets ... 

Amy H. (above) won one of five Leuchtturm1917 Drehgriffel Nr.1 "Mix & Match" ballpoint door prizes and got to create her own pen (with Paul --in cap--looking on) ! The separate components (barrel, end cap & nose cone) were in the box of Leuchtturm parts shown above, as well as the ("Parker-style") ballpoint/gel pen refills the pens take. The Drehgriffel Nr.1 "Mix & Match" ballpoints aren't sold in stores or online, but the nice thing about the versions you *can* buy is that they come in a multitude of colours :) Our thanks to Leuchtturm1917 Canada for donating the ballpoints! 👍

Grant (who was kind enough to call out the winning numbers--thank you, Grant!) was one of two winners of a stilform pen! Rumi won the other stilform pen, and Stuart was one of two winners of a bottle of Stilform fountain pen ink, a new product Buchan's is now carrying in their store. Congratulations to everyone who won a stilform or Leuchtturm door prize! 👏

From stilform's website:
"stilform is a design studio based in Hamburg, which is operated by Christoph Bohrer and Martin Wagner. It was founded in 2013 and creates high-end office products and pens. Always with the focus on creating visually appealing products with clear lines and esthetic form language, attributes like emotions, function and innovation are of utmost importance in the design process.

All parts are from high-grade titanium or aluminium. The superb materials are well known for the extremely high durability and exceptional light weight. The unique magnetic mechanism makes it easy to open and close the pen in just one movement.
Stilform received the Design Award in 2019 and 2021."

I also won one of the Leuchtturm ballpoints! (that's Asifa on the far left of the photo, Renz --who came all the way from Winnipeg!-- on the far right of the pic, and Buchan's owner Inna in the bright blue top)

A quick shot of me assembling my custom Leuchtturm1917 ballpoint (Liz R and Amy are also in the pic; apologies for not identifying everyone in the photos--it was a packed house!). There were a ton of possible colour combinations, but I immediately knew which combo I wanted -- orange ("Rising Sun" colour) barrel with black end cap & black nose cone! It's not my first Leuchtturm Drehgriffel Nr.1 ballpoint (I bought my first one at Nikaido) but I've always loved the weight and balance of these capless & clipless German-designed pens, which are made of precision-milled aluminium and brass.

Buchan's also had a "Guess the Inks" contest where you had to identify a set of mystery ink swatches! Linda N and Carmen L both got 6/12 correct (that's my photo of the answer key above), and each won a bottle of Ferris Wheel Press ink---bravo! 👏   Thank you to Sheila L of Buchan's (Sheila is also in our pen club :)  for putting the quiz together!

Sherman brought a few pens to the meeting to show our fellow members (and somehow managed to colour-coordinate them with the lovely Christmas card--in the upper left corner above-- he got from Mark & Sharon at PenDen.ca lol)

Sherman's classy Cleo Skribent Classic Gold Bordeaux fountain pen....

....his Rhodia scRipt ballpoint made of brushed aluminum.....

...and his handsome vintage Waterman '52V' Red Ripple fountain pen!

Above: My mini haul from Buchan's---my prize (and prized, LOL!) Leuchtturm1917 Drehgriffel Nr. 1 ballpoint resting on a Leuchtturm1917 A6 Forest Green Notepad (debossed with my name on it), and a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku "Shin-kai" ink (** Buchan's has complimentary in-store debossing with Leuchtturm notebook purchase until the end of the year! **)

It might not look busy in my photo above, but I counted over 65 people (at least 60 members & guests plus a few folks I didn't recognize) in attendance! Thank you to everyone who came to our November meeting at Buchan's!!

Our warmest thanks to Buchan's owner Inna for her generosity, store manager Irena, and everyone at Buchan's for their great customer service and warm hospitality! 🙏

Buchan's is located at 2141 West 41st Avenue in Vancouver, BC and they're open Mon-Sat: 10:00 am - 6:30pm and Sunday: 11:00am - 5:00pm for your shopping convenience. Official web store at https://www.buchanst.com/

(** Update--more photos from our meeting at Buchan's were later posted here)

(~blog post by Maja~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 556

Another review, courtesy of Christopher!

He writes:
"As a long-standing vintage pen collector, I have grown to realize that it is not always the larger writing instruments which can be most favoured. In fact, while out and about, running across this fine early 1920s Waterman's 50s series pen and mechanical pencil set which I am featuring, well, it had me stopping dead in my tracks. May I relate that the very smart and wise development of the Waterman 50s series, that first saw the light of day in 1917, was brought about with the development and introduction of the Waterman's new and innovative 'Boxed' lever filler. Oh, sure the Sheaffer company took the lead with this newly introduced filling mechanism in 1908, but with Waterman surrounding it in a protective box, as far as I am concerned, it just added up to a better lever filler final solution. Also, with Waterman's hanging the inside pressure bar off the inside end of this lever filler, it equaled a more substantial method of putting an even amount of pressure on the inside ink sack, to fill and remove ink from the pen. It also added to the longevity of the pressure bar life span, which, in a lot of cases, I find intact with the vintage Waterman pens I am restoring and servicing." 

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

"But in turn, I think the real focus here should be on the make-up of the writing instruments in this set. First of all, the Waterman numbering code, found on the end of this fountain pen, is 52 ½ V, which indicates an overall small size, but this can also be applied to the mechanical pencil as part of this fine set. Still, there are a number of very good reasons why these two items (pen and pencil) relate. While the fountain is finished in a 'mottled woodgrain' on its cap and barrel, the pencil leans toward the Waterman red 'Ripple' in its finish. But this is further complemented by the grip section on the fountain pen, which is a matching Waterman red ripple. And to top off this relationship, both pen and pencil sport similar 14K Gold filled cap banding. Finally, and comparably, both writing instruments have a matching chatelaine ring atop their caps.

The fountain pen, being a 52 model, sports the Waterman boxed lever filler in keeping with the Waterman coding number 5 and in turn, on an early Waterman 'Spoon' feed, a small but rather impressive super flexy Waterman Number 2 (relating to the final digit of the Waterman number coding) 14K sold Gold, Ideal nib. As for dating, this lovely little set, with the mixture of finishes, has its production Circa 1925. Strangely, I have found that a good number of vintage pen enthusiasts tend to feel that the small size of this Waterman model does not lend itself to perfect penmanship. To this, I would have to differ, in that if a Waterman 52 ½V fountain pen is posted, it sits extremely well balanced in the hand. To this end, the fountain pen here measures posted, 5 ¼ inches, with another small bit for the chatelaine. Admittedly the mechanical pencil, as a mate to this fountain pen is a shade on the small size but, like the pen, works just fine. It duly measures 3 ¾ inches, with once again and matching the fountain pen, a short bit more for the chatelaine ring. Personally, I am just thrilled with this nice little Waterman set, which will become a noteworthy part of my vintage pen collection in the Waterman department."

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 555

How's this for a coincidence? Today's review is part 555... and the pen featured in the review is a Waterman '555' model! 😮 (cue 'Twilight Zone' music...)

This review is courtesy of Christopher (thank you, Christopher!):

(above: Waterman company offices and factory, Montreal, Quebec)
 
Christopher writes:

"Waterman was always prime throughout their history in the United States, but there were pens produced in Canada which truly stood alone. One such number was the Waterman 555. It came to life in the late 1940s, shortly after World War two, blessed with an outstanding finish, a super gold nib and the age-old and famous Waterman boxed lever filler. But let me be more specific in regard to yet another lovely Waterman pen that came my way." 

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

"The Waterman 555 was a pen product made in Canada at the Waterman plant in Montreal. The quality use of plastic in regard to this pen is enough to take one's breath away, Finished in a rich combination of browns and pearl mottled luster, the surface is further accented with vertical midnight blue lines. The effect pops, and in adding the 14K Gold filled fittings (which include a triple --wide with two outside-- banding), if this isn't a winner, I will eat my hat! Actually, this beautiful cap banding is reminiscent of the Waterman 100-year line of pens, which were not that distant in their production. The cap clip is that smart almost business-like application, with the Waterman branding featured vertically down the center. Underneath this cap is a matching grip section, which to my mind leads the eye on to an outstanding 14K Gold No.5 nib, as indicated by the first numeral of the pen's Waterman branding. The only other feature, other than this pen taking a lion's share of ink, is the end of the barrel being attractively stepped. As for measurements, this fine pen measures 6 ½ inches posted but caps back to a even 5 inches for pocket or purse. The question remains; will this amazing treasure go on to become part of my vintage pen collection? Well, the answer just has to be yes!"