Pen World Volume 4, No. 2, p. 11, had a neat schematic which I keep handy that described most of the varieties of Skylines along with the production timeline for them. The Skylines with the short clips, i.e., didn't go over the top of the derby, were called "Thrifts". The short clip models with the plain caps were produced (or at least introduced) in 1941/1942 and the Thrifts with the ribbed caps in 1945.
SNIP
Best,
Pat
Hi again Pat,
My concern with presentations such as the PWI-- and I leave others open to concern about my work in similar setting, no worries-- is that lacking cited sources (even if the source is "hey, this is my best guess"), we often are reading an author's interpretation rather than about manufacturer's original intent. Find some non over-the-top clips on low-ilne seeming models, maybe one with a price sticker indicating cheaper price than other Skylines known to the author, and-- voila-- we have "Skyline Thrifts", perhaps even lifting a bit the also inexact nomenclature from Parker's "Thrift" pens. Or... maybe not. I have not seen the article and have not checked thus to see if it is sourced, but this is a chronic concern.
Indeed, in the posts above, I had shown a Modern Stripe "Skyline" that I thought had a low-line Streamliner (non Skyline) clip. In an earlier thread (and reproduced above) Richard opined that the clip on the Modern STripe pen was not from Streamliner, and he offered that third clip that extends above the washer ring, but which does not cover the entire derby... the first of that clip I've seen.
So... I did a bit of research and came up with some information from the 1947 Wahl repair manual. I offer caveat that after-the-fact repair manuals by the big pen makers are notorious for mangling original terms for pens, so it is possible this 1947 Info does not reflect original nomenclature, but, iirc, Wahl still was wrapping up Skyline around 1947, so this paper at least is not ten years after the fact or some such, as are 1948 Parker manuals, which often misdescribe 1930's Vacumatic models.
Per this paper, Richard is in error claiming the short-clip Modern Stripe Skyline I showed does not have a Streamliner clip, and your Thrifts appear to be Streamliners. What the significance is of RIchard's intermediate clip... I do not know. And, of course, this 1947 paper does not preclude some of the pens the PWI article calls "Skyline Thrifts" having been so labelled earlier in the 1940's.
Note, too, the pens with ribbed caps.
And, from above, that Modern Stripe pen with an ebay screen grab showing apparently the
Streamliner clip
Per RIchard: Umm, I'm certainly willing to be proven wrong, but I've been under the impression that this pen
is a Streamliner. I believe it was Syd who so identified it for me, but again I could be misremembering my source. So, umm, got some primary source for "your" Streamliner?
regards
David