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Burnham 65

Started by Hugh, Oct 05 2010 03:39 AM

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#1 Hugh

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Posted 05 October 2010 - 03:39 AM


Had this for a while, not that easy to find
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The "other" 65, made to compete directly with the Conway Stewart 60. This is a "worse for wear" one..these came in both lever and button fill.

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Generally Burnham are second tier with some colourful plastics, getting close in that respect to Conway but I haven't seen Burnhams in herringbone or "cracked ice". The high end models are pretty good, the 65 models being the pick. Most Burnham gold nibs seem to be good quality.

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Hugh
Hugh Cordingley

#2 Wardok

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Posted 05 October 2010 - 10:33 PM

I really like those older Burnhams - more the button fillers than the lever fillers - and you can get some very pretty and unusual patterns that seem to be unique to Burnham. The later ones such as your second 65 leave me cold although I don't think I've seen a wide band model before and it really does look like a CS60 (or 27?) competitor. Unfortunately the older ones are quite rare while the more modern ones are fairly common. They also seem to have a bit of a shrinkage problem leading to loose or missing cap bands so if one comes up on E-bay probably safer to pass on it (and leave it to me).

#3 Hugh

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Posted 06 October 2010 - 10:58 AM

I really like those older Burnhams - more the button fillers than the lever fillers - and you can get some very pretty and unusual patterns that seem to be unique to Burnham. The later ones such as your second 65 leave me cold although I don't think I've seen a wide band model before and it really does look like a CS60 (or 27?) competitor. Unfortunately the older ones are quite rare while the more modern ones are fairly common. They also seem to have a bit of a shrinkage problem leading to loose or missing cap bands so if one comes up on E-bay probably safer to pass on it (and leave it to me).


The second "65" is also a substantial pen and as such more a CS60 size than a CS 27 ( which is a personal favorite of mine). It's also some 1/2 inch shorter when posted , this makes the first "65" an impressive pen when posted, but also makes the second better balanced when in use. To me the second "65" is a better user pen , but not as impressive!! Either way both are well made pens on par with the offering from most other high quality British makers (IMO). Burnhams re-use of model numbers is a problem in knowing "what your buying", as I found out when I bought my daughter a "55"....what I got was not what I expected....it was a "55" but a "near the end" one...a cheap plastic pen ...at least the nib was gold. To me it appears Burnhams in general are becoming more difficult to find , maybe with the exception of the steel nibbed ones like the "48". It may be different "in the field" but my location really limits me to ebay. Don't worry, I'll leave 'em to youPosted Image

Regards
Hugh


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#4 akiva gordon

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Posted 08 March 2011 - 07:42 PM

Burnham did make "cracked ice" and herringbone patterned pens similar to Conways in fact several early burnhams are thought to have been made by CS for Burnham. The famous "harlequin pattern appears in Conway, burnham and national security (British Carborundum) pens.

#5 AndyR

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Posted 08 March 2011 - 11:18 PM

Burnham did make "cracked ice" and herringbone patterned pens similar to Conways in fact several early burnhams are thought to have been made by CS for Burnham. The famous "harlequin pattern appears in Conway, burnham and national security (British Carborundum) pens.

I've never seen any firm evidence for CS making pens for Burnham, though they did buy the materials and clips from the same companies and no doubt copied each other's styles. Some people think the Burnham 'Dinkies' were made by CS but this is unlikely given the way CS defended the Dinkie trademark. Similarly for National Security, even though some of the earliest Rosemary 'Dinkies' may just conceivably have been made by CS, most would have been made by Henry Stark, Son & Hamilton. The 'harlequin' casein material you refer to (known as the 'J' material to CS) was also used by Jewel and in Bristow's 'Tiny Dot' pens and it was one of the first widely available patterned caseins, c. 1924.

Andy

#6 Hugh

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Posted 10 March 2011 - 11:17 PM

Likewise I've never seen a link between Burnham and CS (not that that means much,,), I was under the opinion Burnham was CSs greatest rival. Certainly Burnham made the only pens colour wise to compare with CS in Britian. Andy mentioned Jewel, a company that seems to have produced some decent pens, and a friend recently showed me a nice one.....a 58 !!

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Hugh
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#7 AndyR

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Posted 11 March 2011 - 08:20 AM

Likewise I've never seen a link between Burnham and CS (not that that means much,,), I was under the opinion Burnham was CSs greatest rival. Certainly Burnham made the only pens colour wise to compare with CS in Britian. Andy mentioned Jewel, a company that seems to have produced some decent pens, and a friend recently showed me a nice one.....a 58 !!

Regards
Hugh


As Hugh says, CS & Burnham were rivals and, generally, the bigger UK firms did not produce pens for their rivals, though in the early days of the war there is some evidence that companies may have shared materials and components when supplies were very hard to come by. However, most cases of similarity in pens from different British companies arise from there being a limited number of companies to supply components and materials for pens that were all aimed at the same market.

Jewel are indeed an extremely interesting company to research and collect, and remarkably long lived (1884 - 1951, roughly), having expanded and made a number of astute company acquisitions along the way. Prior to the introduction of celluloid, when their pens seemed to become rather more conservative, their early casein pens are lovely and would rival anything made by the other British companies in the 1920s.

Andy

#8 akiva gordon

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Posted 11 March 2011 - 06:34 PM

Here are some burnham "duofold" style pens in cracked ice (pearl moderne) lapis, red and other including a vac fill.
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#9 Hugh

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Posted 11 March 2011 - 08:56 PM

Hi Akiva,

A remarkable group of pens and pencils !! That must have taken a bit of time to put together. I was unaware Burnham made a vac fill pen, thanks for photo.

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Hugh
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#10 akiva gordon

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Posted 12 March 2011 - 06:01 AM

Hi Hugh,
I have around 300 burnham pens and pencils. Here are some early ones

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and some pencils

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Enjoy !!

#11 Hugh

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Posted 13 March 2011 - 09:38 AM

Thank you Akiva, you'll have to become the resident Burnham expert!! Without a doubt a world class collection of a brand not that easy to find now.

Regards
Hugh
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#12 akiva gordon

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Posted 13 March 2011 - 05:08 PM

Hi Hugh,
Thanks for the compliment but the honour of being the burnham expert must go to Alan Charlton who is nearly finishing a great book on burnhams.
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