24 replies to this topic

[ihimlen]

This is the model that is quite hard to come across and it's even more difficult to find these early Equipoiseds in nice, clean condition. I've got two of these in my collection: one pen/pencil set from the first half of 1929 and the other - from a few months later, when Sheaffer's lawyers must have promised Wahl a patent lawsuit (I bet everyone knows the story!).

First year (1929) Equipoised set in Black & Pearl



With a Sheaffer Balance combo



Equipoised set from the second half of 1929 in Brazilian Green

[david i]

This is the model that is quite hard to come across and it's even more difficult to find these early Equipoiseds in nice, clean condition. I've got two of these in my collection: one pen/pencil set from the first half of 1929 and the other - from a few months later, when Sheaffer's lawyers must have promised Wahl a patent lawsuit (I bet everyone knows the story!).

First year (1929) Equipoised set in Black & Pearl

SNIP

Hi,


Those are lovely sets with great significance.

A couple historical points of contention... so far no one has gone public with any information that Sheaffer threatened suit. TBOMK this has been collector speculation/hypothesis, which of course does not prove it false, but still...

Sheaffer's torpedo shaped Balance is claimed for a 1929 introduction and appears in a 1930 catalogue. Whether 1929 is cited due to ads or to company paper, I don't know. The catalogue to first show Equi-Poised is copyrighted 1929, by Wahl. I do invite more information about "which came first" and about possible legal wrangling.

Also, we do tend to assume the slightly more blunted (pointy-blunted, vs pointy-pointy) pens such as your green/bronze came a bit later than the less blunted pen (your pearl/black), but I'm uncertain there is hard evidence for that. This has been a point of dicussion on occasion before, and my recollection is that hard data was not presented. It is a reasonable hypothesis. The Equi-Poised shown in the 1929 catalogue, which appears to be the introduction for the pen, shows the sharper cap point. If one were to find later ads showing the more blunt cap point that might be... good enough, but so far such has not been offered. Could the degree of cap point on your two pens have been batch variation? Was the more blunted cap made first then the sharper cap introduced after, used for the catalogue drawing after initial runs had been made? I don't know.

Equi-Poised is a series laden with unanswered questions, and likely is overdue for review, though still we might not get perfect answers.

To go with your Type 1 pens (call 'em Type 1A and Type 1B for the slightly different caps), I'll offer s superb Jade:

I do invite presentation of more Equi-Poised pens. I have a bunch, but don't wish to flood your thread with images, unless you don't mind.

regards

David

[Roger W.]

Sheaffer's design was patented November 21, 1928. The first balance ad I have is February 16, 1929 - Literary Digest. Sheaffer was being sued over the design patent by 1930 as they were very effective in stopping others from introducing balance design pens. Sheaffer may not have had to sue Wahl as they were already cooperating with Wahl in the joint venture for desk bases - the Pen Desk Set Company which was started after Christmas 1928.

Roger W.

[david i]

Sheaffer's design was patented November 21, 1928. The first balance ad I have is February 16, 1929 - Literary Digest. Sheaffer was being sued over the design patent by 1930 as they were very effective in stopping others from introducing balance design pens.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

Who was suing Sheaffer and how do we know?

One would guess Sheaffer stopped others from playing with a Balance-like design via lawsuit or via threat of it. But, do we have any evidence...

regards

David

[Roger W.]

Sheaffer's design was patented November 21, 1928. The first balance ad I have is February 16, 1929 - Literary Digest. Sheaffer was being sued over the design patent by 1930 as they were very effective in stopping others from introducing balance design pens.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

Who was suing Sheaffer and how do we know?

One would guess Sheaffer stopped others from playing with a Balance-like design via lawsuit or via threat of it. But, do we have any evidence...

regards

David

David;

I hate to spin this out but, yes we have evidence however, I'm heading out the door and won't be back until late Saturday night.

Roger W.

[david i]

David;

I hate to spin this out but, yes we have evidence however, I'm heading out the door and won't be back until late Saturday night.

Roger W.

Enjoy your holiday and do share a bit of the info when you return

-d

[Teej47]

It is an interesting story... as most stories that may be apocryphal tend to be.

I do have an observation that is perfectly illustrated by images in the OP. Namely, the less pointy cap looks a lot more like a Balance than the more pointy one (which, other than being generally streamlined in contour, bears little resemblance to the Sheaffer). I wouldn't be surprised if the initial configuration was deemed by many as just being too pointy. You know what they say: it's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out!

Tim

[ihimlen]

I do invite presentation of more Equi-Poised pens. I have a bunch, but don't wish to flood your thread with images, unless you don't mind.

David, it would be great to see more early Equipoiseds, the more eye candy the better! I'm also really, really happy that the discussion will 'go historical' and will likely shed some more light on this particular model as it always seemed to be shrouded in mystery...

It is an interesting story... as most stories that may be apocryphal tend to be.

I do have an observation that is perfectly illustrated by images in the OP. Namely, the less pointy cap looks a lot more like a Balance than the more pointy one (which, other than being generally streamlined in contour, bears little resemblance to the Sheaffer). I wouldn't be surprised if the initial configuration was deemed by many as just being too pointy. You know what they say: it's all fun and games until someone puts an eye out!

Tim

Now that's a very interesting point - when viewing the pens side by side (and with an early Sheaffer thrown in for good measure) I had exactly the same feeling: the original, "pointed" Equipoised slightly differs in shape and design from the early Sheaffer Balance pens in that it's more....pointed. The blunted Equipoiseds OTOH look a bit more like Balance (bet it was not intended by the Wahl stylists!) but the interesting thing is that on those later pens the cap top and the barrel end were made conical and it seems that the company went that way with the Rhomboid Band Equipoiseds from the early 30s but with less taper and more pronounced conical ends... So I would be tempted to hazard a guess that the pointed model came first.

But then, there are the so-called "transitional" Equipoiseds and I am not quite sure where to put these into the Equipoised timeline: if they preceded the "pointed" Equipoiseds then the "blunted" Equipoiseds may have come first, as David mentioned. It would be really cool to see some more historical info that would put these pens 'in the right order'!

The Wahl-Sheaffer desk set venture information is also very interesting, can't wait to read more about it! And I had no idea that there were lawsuits filed against Sheaffer because they prevented other manufacturers from using the streamlined ('balanced') design... I'll definitely watch this space (both for some more historical info and for more eye candy!)

[david i]

No doubt we'll have some fine eye-candy here, though I note we've had I believe one similar thread in past. I will dig up the link a bit later.

Several of us have-- more or less independently-- worked on schemata for evolution of Equi-Poised-- TBOMK no one has complete answers. We'll review some key issues here, as the topic is due for a freshening. Roger might be the first in all these chats to volunteer having any information regarding (though his note is a bit nebulous) Sheaffer protecting its patents, being hassled by others for its patents, and/or its interaction with Wahl. We'll see if he can cough up the goods when he returns home

For now... a Type 1 (Type 1-B by common thought, though I remain with the notion that the sequence is not perfectly established for the early pens), black/pearl pen mint stickered. I shot it at the Chicago Pen Show years ago. Didn't buy it, perhaps a foolish choice. Not inexpensive still it was fairly priced for what it was. Color is not quite perfect (is it ever on black/pearl?) but is the best I've ever seen on an early Equi-Poised, maybe on any Equi-Poised (though I have a gem).

regards

David

[david i]

Couple years ago I gave Stylus Magazine a very comprehensive, minutia-oriented (Isaacson style) , photo-laden article about the Wahl-Eversharp Purse Pens, which are-- of course-- Equi-Poiseds. First article of its kind I believe. A brief discussion at start touched upon the different eras and key models for Equi-Poised in general.

One can split or lump models to varying degrees, but this shot covers most of what we-- rightly or wrongly-- consider Equi-Poised, noting that, yes, trim variations and subtle contour differences can allow for further splitting. But, for first consideration, here are the 4 gross types of Equi-Poised.

regards

David

[david i]

A gem from my own collection. An (arguably) Type 3 Equi-Poised, first documented in 1930.

Of late I've been griping (Erano and I probably have an article brewing on this) that even while selling pens well, I seem to be constantly growing my own collection. Where does it end? Still, I have trouble refusing nice pens when they turn ujp.

The following I might have bought from Tom Heath. Tunis is a tough color. Most have crazing, fluorescence, lip cracks. This one simply is a gem.

regards

David

[David Nishimura]

I'll use this opportunity to add in the following passage from my Equi-Poised Pen Profile:

There is yet another Wahl-Eversharp design that is often categorized as an Equi-Poised, probably incorrectly. This is essentially a standard, cylindrical Signature pen to which tapered end pieces have been added. As far as is known, this rather makeshift design does not appear in any Wahl catalogs or advertisements, suggesting that it was never intended as a flagship model. As a transparent attempt to retrofit and update old pre-streamline stock, it most likely represents a parallel response to the challenge of Sheaffer's Balance, contemporary with or postdating the introduction of the original Equi-Poised. As such, the "transitional" label so often applied to this model is almost certainly mistaken, for all evidence indicates that Wahl embraced streamlining quickly and decisively.

[Roger W.]

OK, the lawsuit against Sheaffer having patented the balance. Seems like an old thing to me as it was brought to my attention a few years ago but, could be only three of us knew about this. I had Dennis Bowden pull the case for me once we had more to go on and he has passed on so that leaves two of us. Anyway, a certain unknown company must have gotten peeved off that they couldn't make a balance so they sent out a letter trying to recruit others to join in fighting Sheaffer. Holding the Equity Docket now - Oh, they were peeved because Sheaffer had sued them in June 1929. In the middle of 1930 they tried to get other manufacturers to fight Sheaffer's patent based on the argument that tapered pens had been made since 1855. Case ended in 1931 with the defendant losing to Sheaffer.

So in the case of Wahl, after Sheaffer got the Design Letters Patent No. 78,795 they sent out letters to those infringing on the design patent and The Wahl Company is specifically listed as having been sent such a notice so that is fact.

Roger W.

[david i]

OK, the lawsuit against Sheaffer having patented the balance. Seems like an old thing to me as it was brought to my attention a few years ago but, could be only three of us knew about this. I had Dennis Bowden pull the case for me once we had more to go on and he has passed on so that leaves two of us. Anyway, a certain unknown company must have gotten peeved off that they couldn't make a balance so they sent out a letter trying to recruit others to join in fighting Sheaffer. Holding the Equity Docket now - Oh, they were peeved because Sheaffer had sued them in June 1929. In the middle of 1930 they tried to get other manufacturers to fight Sheaffer's patent based on the argument that tapered pens had been made since 1855. Case ended in 1931 with the defendant losing to Sheaffer.

So in the case of Wahl, after Sheaffer got the Design Letters Patent No. 78,795 they sent out letters to those infringing on the design patent and The Wahl Company is specifically listed as having been sent such a notice so that is fact.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

A meaty set of claims/context no doubt

You know that a company was unhappy with Sheaffer because Sheaffer sued it and you know that it tried (successfully ?) to recruit other companies then to sue Sheaffer... but you don't know which company was sued and then organized the countersuit??

You wrote that the "defendant" not "defendants" lost against Sheaffer in 1931. You mean then the company that Sheaffer first sued in 1929 lost, since any countersuit by multiple firms would have resulted in "plaintiffs" losing against Sheaffer.

Please clarify.

regards

David

[Roger W.]

OK, the lawsuit against Sheaffer having patented the balance. Seems like an old thing to me as it was brought to my attention a few years ago but, could be only three of us knew about this. I had Dennis Bowden pull the case for me once we had more to go on and he has passed on so that leaves two of us. Anyway, a certain unknown company must have gotten peeved off that they couldn't make a balance so they sent out a letter trying to recruit others to join in fighting Sheaffer. Holding the Equity Docket now - Oh, they were peeved because Sheaffer had sued them in June 1929. In the middle of 1930 they tried to get other manufacturers to fight Sheaffer's patent based on the argument that tapered pens had been made since 1855. Case ended in 1931 with the defendant losing to Sheaffer.

So in the case of Wahl, after Sheaffer got the Design Letters Patent No. 78,795 they sent out letters to those infringing on the design patent and The Wahl Company is specifically listed as having been sent such a notice so that is fact.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

A meaty set of claims/context no doubt

You know that a company was unhappy with Sheaffer because Sheaffer sued it and you know that it tried (successfully ?) to recruit other companies then to sue Sheaffer... but you don't know which company was sued and then organized the countersuit??

You wrote that the "defendant" not "defendants" lost against Sheaffer in 1931. You mean then the company that Sheaffer first sued in 1929 lost, since any countersuit by multiple firms would have resulted in "plaintiffs" losing against Sheaffer.

Please clarify.

regards

David

Sued company tried to recruit others to fight Sheaffer (seems as though they failed) then they lost their case. It had been a couple of years since I'd gone over some of this and had thought that Sheaffer was the defendant when they were actually the plaintiff. I'd be unhappy if I were sued so I assumed the company Sheaffer sued was unhappy. Sued company did claim that their pen was "Balanced to the Hand" on their letterhead so it wasn't like they weren't taking liberties.

Roger W.

[david i]

Sued company tried to recruit others to fight Sheaffer (seems as though they failed) then they lost their case. It had been a couple of years since I'd gone over some of this and had thought that Sheaffer was the defendant when they were actually the plaintiff. I'd be unhappy if I were sued so I assumed the company Sheaffer sued was unhappy. Sued company did claim that their pen was "Balanced to the Hand" on their letterhead so it wasn't like they weren't taking liberties.

Roger W.

Hi Roger,

I'm not disputing your suspicions that anyone sued might be unhappy about that

I'm not disputing your views of the rights or wrongs of any party in the suit(s).

In fact, I'm not disputing anything. Well, not yet anyway.

Your terms in that one post leave some ambiguities though...

The 1931 loss against Sheaffer was to the manufacturer Sheaffer sued in 1929 in the original suit? Long case...

Or... the 1931 loss was a subsequent countersuit by the suggested consortium of penmakers?

You noted that the sued-by-Sheaffer-in-1929 pen maker tried to organize a group of counter suers. Did that suit happen?

You don't know which company had all this going on? If you prefer not to get into it (eg. saving info for an article or book), I won't press you of course, but since you raised some fresh (to me, at least) info about a key historical subject, if you don't need to keep secrets... do share

If you get around to it, a page or two from the suit (even the title page) would be primo material. We don't need all 500 pages

regards

david

[Greg Minuskin]

Okay, I have a question; so do you think the change in the design was a result in cost cutting measures, and also it facilitated the lawsuits and such in order to make a slight change? Gosh, i see this all the time with watches.

Rolex tried to do this to Seiko in the early 1980's. Rolex has their famous two tone Datejust, real gold/steel. Seiko made one in quartz but plated, but the same "grains of rice" band, fluted bezel, 36mm dial, etc. but of course 1/10 the price at the time. Two years and millions in legal fees and Seiko won.


Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

[June H]

Just a few of my Equi- Poised pens and pencil to add to the eye candy. My jade pencil has a gold seal which I think they normally do not have. The bronze green pencil is fitted with blue lead which I have not seen before and my Wahl Oxford pen is I think the same colour as your jem Tunis which I am happy to say is in perfect condition.

[Teej47]

Just a few of my Equi- Poised pens and pencil to add to the eye candy. My jade pencil has a gold seal which I think they normally do not have. The bronze green pencil is fitted with blue lead which I have not seen before and my Wahl Oxford pen is I think the same colour as your jem Tunis which I am happy to say is in perfect condition.

You don't even mention the black & pearl set, which is just stunning! Great stuff, there.

Tim

[david i]

Just some eye candy,

Complete color set of the oversized side clip (there also are OS mlitary clip pens shorter pens out there) Equi-Poised (arguably Type 3). The Jade, Brazilian Green and Black/Pearl are gems. The black pen is weaker. The black/pearl has the best color I've handled of this size/color. The Jade has price sticker on back of pen and has superb color.

Note that the later Eversharp box is meant to hold 5" pen. Gives sense of scale.

regards

david