5 replies to this topic

[FredM]

I spotted this catalog on Ebay last week Ebay auction and made what turned out to be a paltry bid on it. It went from just over $50 to the ending price in the last 3 seconds (it's kind of fun watching that happen). I would love to have some original catalogs but I really haven't come across them or actually taken the time to search for them. So I don'thave a feel for the value. Was the price in this auction about the norm or was there some crazy bidding going on?

[FredM]

Oops wrong link, Right Ebay link.

[david i]

I spotted this catalog on Ebay last week Ebay auction and made what turned out to be a paltry bid on it. It went from just over $50 to the ending price in the last 3 seconds (it's kind of fun watching that happen). I would love to have some original catalogs but I really haven't come across them or actually taken the time to search for them. So I don'thave a feel for the value. Was the price in this auction about the norm or was there some crazy bidding going on?

Hi Fred,

Thanks for posting. This always is a good topic.


I was underbidder by a bit, only because I have a complete copy. Actually, I might have an original. What frightens me is that... I don't quite recall with certainty! Must look...

Be that as it may, in my view it sold not at the norm or high due to crazy bidding, but rather it sold fairly cheaply. This is a monster catalogue,,, a key bit of literature for anyone who hunts 1920's Watermans. The range of models and variants shown is stunning.

I've seen on ebay typical late 1930's Parker Vacumatic catalogues pull mid-$300's. 1930's Sheaffer Balance catalogues have ebay'ed $150's-300 range. An overwhelmingly rare color Holland catalogue pulled $1400. If I were to sell my catalogue collection (I have a bunch of originals, after many years hunting), I would charge more than typical ebay prices. This 1925 catalogue dwarfs most of the 1930's catalogues out there. It is color and lushly illustrated. It should have pulled more.

This touches on an aspect of collecting, the market/niche/value/interest for ephemera and literature: adverts, catalogues, set boxes, dealer display cases, point-of-sale signs, and so forth

Most old pen catalogues are more rare by far than most of the pens they illustrate. And, there are people who collect these for what they are.

Too, today we are quite spoiled by the presence of pen text books, by a plethora of available catalogue copies, and by of course the internet.

Imagine what it was like in the early days of organized collectable pendom, say 1980, when one wanted hard information about old pens? Effectively no books. No internet. No copies. Not only were catalogues a key information source, they were very hard to find. Today, anything small goes to ebay, and an instant search finds it. Finding back in the day an old Sheaffer catalogue that resided in grandpa's attic since he retired from Sheaffer in 1950... not so easy.

Those today who lean to the "using" side of pendom aren't those who hunt catalogues. Those who collect with intensity a series or manufacturer, eat this stuff up.

If I had bought this one and didn't want to keep it, I would sell it at the website for a hefty mark up and suspect it would sell fast.

Those be my thoughts.

regards

david

[pen piddler]

I'm sad to say I was the second highest bidder in that auction!

[brando090]

Though i don't collect or hunt ephemera, I have been recently interested in original Waterman catalogs. Ephemera is one of those things, which I've been told, are hard to price no matter the company it is associated with. I recently had the fortune to be talking with a well established Waterman collector who said he has spent in upwards of $7,000 for just one Waterman original catalog, though I'm unsure of the details.

[Roger W.]

Back when I made catalog reproductions I would go after an original at $10 per page. At that rate I felt I could sell enough reproductions to cover the investment. A 96 page Waterman would be fair at $960 back then. I don't know if there are repros floating around on this one but, most people are good with the info and not with it being original - not too many would be in at $960. I'd price the repro at $100 for this size so $360 was a great deal. It's a slim market - I only ever sold about 40 copies for a given year. It gave me something to do at shows and I love having the information.

Roger W.