14 replies to this topic

[djohannsen]

A happy day! I just won an unusual (later) Jiffy pen that seems to use Houston's 1919 patent. Though I know the dangers of crowing about pens that are not yet in hand, I am very excited to take a look at this one when it arrives! I know better than to conflate rarity and value, but I was stunned to get this one so cheaply (as I know that there are a few other Houston enthusiasts out there). As I said, a very happy day!


Dave

[philm]

Way to go Dave. I saw it as well. I was most interested in the nib, though seeing the celluloid really intrigued me. Saving money for Christmas......

I expect a full report!

Best,

Phil

[djohannsen]

Way to go Dave. I saw it as well. I was most interested in the nib, though seeing the celluloid really intrigued me. Saving money for Christmas......

I expect a full report!

Best,

Phil

I'll try to give a report once I have the pen in hand. I am curious about the material of the barrel... Hard rubber? Black celluloid? Transparent plastic (now opaque)? I also look forward to seeing the barrel imprints.



By the way, not too long ago, I added a second Tracy, MN Houston to my small collection - a lady's size pen with knurled section. How has your Houston collecting progressed?





Dave

[Jiffypens]

This one is a late model for the jiffy/Houston pen company, I've got one in a red plastic material. For $30 that was steal, nicely done!

Edited by Jiffypens, 22 November 2011 - 12:27 AM.

[philm]

I'll try to give a report once I have the pen in hand. I am curious about the material of the barrel... Hard rubber? Black celluloid? Transparent plastic (now opaque)? I also look forward to seeing the barrel imprints.



By the way, not too long ago, I added a second Tracy, MN Houston to my small collection - a lady's size pen with knurled section. How has your Houston collecting progressed?





Dave

Dave,

I have added a few here and there. I have been attending monthly Minneapolis / St. Paul area pen club meetings, and have seen some amazing Houston's. Full gold overlays, gold banded....some amazing stuff --- though not anything I could take home.

Phil

[djohannsen]

This one is a late model for the jiffy/Houston pen company, I've got one in a red plastic material. For $30 that was steal, nicely done!

I was really happy to get the pen so cheaply. In fact, the closing price didn't even reach the limit of my "throw away bid" (placed in the hope that a seller will be less likely to strike some sort of off-eBay deal with someone); my last-second "serious bid" snipe was completely unnecessary. Anyway, I hope to someday see the red pen that you have.

Now, it may be that some of my questions will be answered when I get my hands on the pen, but, since you seem much more familiar with these plastic Jiffy pens than I, may I ask if you know much about these pens? I have the following laudry list of questions, answers to any of which would be very welcome:

Do you know when they were produced?

Where these made/assembled in Sioux City?

Was William Houston still the owner of Jiffy when these were made? I ask this because my recollection (from a series of Houston articles that appeared in Pen World many years ago) is that Houston sold the Jiffy name to someone when he left Iowa for California and that Jiffy pens were made for some period of time by the "new owner."

Do the California De Fon pens use the same filling mechanism as these plastic Jiffy pens?

If you (or anyone else) can shed some light on any of these questions, I would be grateful.


Dave

[djohannsen]

Dave,

I have added a few here and there. I have been attending monthly Minneapolis / St. Paul area pen club meetings, and have seen some amazing Houston's. Full gold overlays, gold banded....some amazing stuff --- though not anything I could take home.

Phil

Glad that your interest in Houston continues. For me, it's hard not to love these semi-obscure quirky pens of William Houston. I still seek my first De Fon, but I'm not holding my breath that I'll ever see one of these.

Hope that you have a wonderful holiday season,

Dave

[philm]

Glad that your interest in Houston continues. For me, it's hard not to love these semi-obscure quirky pens of William Houston. I still seek my first De Fon, but I'm not holding my breath that I'll ever see one of these.

Hope that you have a wonderful holiday season,

Dave

Yes, the elusive De Fon pens. There is a guy in the MN pen club that went to California several years ago, searching for them. He has several, but has not been to a meeting in a while, so I have not seen them. If he comes, I will photograph them.

Phil

[djohannsen]

There is a guy in the MN pen club that went to California several years ago, searching for them.

This wouldn't be Steve Nelson, would it? Steve certainly seems to know all that there is to know of Houston, but I think that he has disappeared. I haven't seen him post at Zoss in quite some time and he hasn't answered recent emails - I hope that he is OK...


Dave

[david i]

This wouldn't be Steve Nelson, would it? Steve certainly seems to know all that there is to know of Houston, but I think that he has disappeared. I haven't seen him post at Zoss in quite some time and he hasn't answered recent emails - I hope that he is OK...


Dave

Perhaps he just grew bored with pens. I hope so. Nice guy. Bought one of my best Wahl pens from him, one among the 20% I'd keep if I were forced to cut the Wahl collection from 100 items to 20 items.


-d

[philm]

This wouldn't be Steve Nelson, would it? Steve certainly seems to know all that there is to know of Houston, but I think that he has disappeared. I haven't seen him post at Zoss in quite some time and he hasn't answered recent emails - I hope that he is OK...


Dave

Dave, David ....yes, Steve has a very good collection of Houston stuff and knowledge of the history. I think that he is fine, but you know how real life gets in the way of hobby sometimes... I hope to see him at a future get together and hope he is well.

Phil

Edited by philm, 23 November 2011 - 07:05 PM.

[djohannsen]

. I think that he is fine, but you know how real life gets in the way of hobby sometimes... I hope to see him at a future get together and hope he is well.

I realized too late that I might be starting a baseless rumor. I certainly didn't mean to cause anyone any alarm, as I have no basis for inferring that there is any problem (certainly, I have stepped back from the hobby over the last couple of years - busy times).

Dave

Edited by djohannsen, 23 November 2011 - 07:26 PM.

[djohannsen]

I expect a full report!

The pen arrived yesterday, and is most interesting. First, for Phil, the nib imprint is:


USA

JIFFY (in an arc)

VACUUM



The barrel is interesting, as it is entirely fabricated in clear plastic (bakelight, celluloid, etc - I don't know), though my pen is fairly heavily ambered. There is no removable section, but rather the nib and feed are just friction fit in the mouth of the clear barrel. The cap threads are also at the mouth of the barrel. The barrel itself has no imprint. At the end of the barrel is a threaded jade celluloid(?) knob with the following transverse imprint:

US-A - JIFFY - VACUUM

PAT SEPT 30, 1919 & NOV 4, 1919

OTHER PAT'S PEND.



Now the Nov 4 patent is No. 1,320,393 and is for a filling mechanism more-or-less the same as Sheaffer's plunger filler ("...a barrel having a bore and an expansion chamber at one end of the bore, an elastic plunger adapted to fill the expansion chamber..."). To fill one would immerse the nib in ink and depress the plunger rod; a vacuum would form behind the plunger; ink would be drawn in when the plunger reached the expansion chamber just above the section. There is no provision in the patent for a breather tube, nor is one present on my example (nor does it look like there ever was one). When was Sheaffer's plunger filler patented? I have not been able to locate the Sept 30 patent, despite spending quite a bit of time at Google.



The Nov patent was awarded to Edmund Miller Houston of Minneapolis and William Andrew Houston of Sioux City. It is noteworthy that the patent contains no mention of General Manufacturing. Another feature notable by its absence on this pen is that it is not fitted with the very distincitve Houston feed (that always makes me think of a crocodile's mouth). These two facts give a bit more annecdotal weight to my belief that Houston maintained Jiffy as an independent enterprise during his period with General Manufacturing in Sioux City (I've yet to see a Sioux City Houston or Snapfil that doesn't have the characteristic Houston feed).



Well, sorry if I've been a bit long winded. However, I believe that this pen is genuinely scarce and there are at least two other members of the board here who have an interest in Houston, so I hope that I can be forgiven for the lengthy post. I would be interested to hear from "Jiffypens" whether his example more-or-less conforms to the description that I have given. Finally, if anyone knows what patent is the Sept 30, 1919 referred to in the imprint, I would be grateful to hear (I've posted that question over at FPN, in the hopes that George K will lend a hand).




Dave

Edited by djohannsen, 29 November 2011 - 04:58 PM.

[djohannsen]

T Finally, if anyone knows what patent is the Sept 30, 1919 referred to in the imprint, I would be grateful to hear (I've posted that question over at FPN, in the hopes that George K will lend a hand).

Well, a couple of people at FPN were able to give me the answer to my question (thank you George and "Jeff L"). The Sept 30 patent is the Trademark on the Jiffy name (No, 126,703), indicating that William Houston and Heftor Sve comprise the Jiffy Pen Company and that the Jiffy name was used continuously since Oct 1, 1916. The company address was No. 406 Pierce street in Sioux City. William Housotn is listed as "Manager of the Firm." Sure seems to me that Jiffy was maintained as a separate enterpise from Houston's dealings with General Manufacturing.


Dave

Edited by djohannsen, 09 December 2011 - 02:42 PM.

[david i]

Well, a couple of people at FPN were able to give me the answer to my question (thank you Gorge and "Jeff L"). The Sept 30 patent is the Trademark on the Jiffy name (No, 126,703), indicating that William Houston and Heftor Sve comprise the Jiffy Pen Company and that the Jiffy name was used continuously since Oct 1, 1916. The company address was No. 406 Pierce street in Sioux City. William Housotn is listed as "Manager of the Firm." Sure seems to me that Jiffy was maintained as a separate enterpise from Houston's dealings with General Manufacturing.


Dave

Useful info, Dave. Thanks for sharing.

regards

-d