19 replies to this topic

[brando090]

Just dreaming of a silver ringtop/baby/ minicollection. By the looks of things, i just might have a dozen by years end. But anyways i just stumbled upon this magnificent Swan with an aluminum cap. I want to know where i can find one, and what ive gotta pay.

 05ring5.jpg   22.72KB   75 downloads

[david i]

Just dreaming of a silver ringtop/baby/ minicollection. By the looks of things, i just might have a dozen by years end. But anyways i just stumbled upon this magnificent Swan with an aluminum cap. I want to know where i can find one, and what ive gotta pay.

 05ring5.jpg   22.72KB   75 downloads

Hi Brandon,

It's a frankenpen.

regards

david

[brando090]

Just dreaming of a silver ringtop/baby/ minicollection. By the looks of things, i just might have a dozen by years end. But anyways i just stumbled upon this magnificent Swan with an aluminum cap. I want to know where i can find one, and what ive gotta pay.

 05ring5.jpg   22.72KB   75 downloads

Hi Brandon,

It's a frankenpen.

regards

david

How have you came to that conclusion?

http://www.stylophil...5-05/05ring.htm

[david i]

How have you came to that conclusion?

http://www.stylophil...5-05/05ring.htm

Always happy to keep open mind. I've been wrong before. I do miss Riepl's photography, never mind the mag itself, to which I had contributed.

Guess the question is did Bill find a proper pen or a mix. The blue barrel with a metal cap on a pen from that era viscerally strikes me as odd, though odd pens did happen. The top band on the cap sort of matching the barrel lends possibility at least of originality. Suppose I can check the Mabie book, if i can find it after my move. I guess one question to ask is where Bill came up with that critter.

regards

d

[Hugh]

Interesting, would be nice to hear more about this little pen. I've heard it said pre WW2 the use of aluminium was high end, I've not seen any al. pens from that time but have seen one late '40's all al. pen.

Regards
Hugh

[Greg Minuskin]

Really looks kinda nice, a cross between Machine Age/Art Deco look for sure. The combination of a lapis color!

[brando090]

Really looks kinda nice, a cross between Machine Age/Art Deco look for sure. The combination of a lapis color!

x2, the Au and Lapis is a great combo. Wonder if they ever did a Au and Jade...

[david i]

While Rick doesn't have a huge Mabie focus, he does play with many of the smaller brands.

He noted

date the pen late 20's early 30's... even at the turn of the century, aluminum wasn't considered a precious metal anymore. It's an urban legend. The aluminum parkers, even those, that the old timers used to say that they were made in a time aluminum was considered precious metal, is false.

I still think it's a frankenpen, but the real experts would have to sound off. The band does give a sense of the cap being original to the pen

[brando090]

While Rick doesn't have a huge Mabie focus, he does play with many of the smaller brands.

He noted

date the pen late 20's early 30's... even at the turn of the century, aluminum wasn't considered a precious metal anymore. It's an urban legend. The aluminum parkers, even those, that the old timers used to say that they were made in a time aluminum was considered precious metal, is false.

I still think it's a frankenpen, but the real experts would have to sound off. The band does give a sense of the cap being original to the pen

Rick?

[david i]

Rick?

Full name in his quote


d

[brando090]

Rick?

Full name in his quote


d

Woops

Anyways, it this is a frankenpen, id still be more than happy to own itB)

[David Nishimura]

The cap is assembled. The pen is not kosher.

The barrel is more likely than not English production, not NYC. In discussion of this pen in another thread David Moak and his book were mentioned. His book does not deal with UK production, and I'm not sure if he is as familiar with English Swans as he is with US models -- for the former, I'd consult with one of the UK experts first.

As noted by others, aluminum was most certainly NOT a precious metal at the time the pen was made.

[brando090]

The cap is assembled. The pen is not kosher.

The barrel is more likely than not English production, not NYC. In discussion of this pen in another thread David Moak and his book were mentioned. His book does not deal with UK production, and I'm not sure if he is as familiar with English Swans as he is with US models -- for the former, I'd consult with one of the UK experts first.

As noted by others, aluminum was most certainly NOT a precious metal at the time the pen was made.

Please expand on this. In better terms it a frankenpen?

[David Nishimura]

The cap does not belong with that barrel. Nor is the cap itself anything that came out of the factory. It appears to incorporate an original Swan cap top with a section of metal tubing, perhaps used to cover a damaged original cap.

[brando090]

Gotcha,

What swan would have a cap like that? And barrel...

[david i]

Gotcha,

What swan would have a cap like that? And barrel...

Hi Brandon,

I'd expect the cap on the blue pen to pretty well match the blue barrel.

I don't know any Swan that would have that cap. To paraphrase another David, the cap looks unoriginal, not just mixed in from otnerh pen.

Blue Swans are known.

regards

david

[Deb]

 There's no mention of the nib size but the pen looks moderately thick, so perhaps one of the larger sizes. For the rest, I'd go with David Nishimura's analysis, that the crown of the cap has been re-used, so the pen originally would have had three bands as it does now.  It's blue marble, so the original pen would have been, guessing at the nib size, a 430/52, a late twenties/early thirties pen. 

Edited by Deb, 02 July 2012 - 08:02 AM.

[brando090]

There's no mention of the nib size but the pen looks moderately thick, so perhaps one of the larger sizes. For the rest, I'd go with David Nishimura's analysis, that the crown of the cap has been re-used, so the pen originally would have had three bands as it does now. It's blue marble, so the original pen would have been, guessing at the nib size, a 430/52, a late twenties/early thirties pen.

Deb,

You were write () on the money. I didn't even know that was a numbering system until i saw this listing

http://cgi.ebay.com/...cvip=true&rt=nc

Looks like the same pen, but without the aluminum cap.

[Deb]

Quite a coincidence! That's one of my sales from a few weeks ago!

[brando090]

Ohh Deb,

Great pen! You do some great sales on pens.