11 replies to this topic

[david i]

Just catching up with some photos shot a few months ago.

Picked up the following Sheaffer Targa, billed as a prototype. Yeah, putting aside the debate about nomenclature, and recognizing my relatively casual involvement with Targa, I note I've never seen another pen in this pattern, have seen no Sheaffer info on it, cannot find it on Gary's excellent sheaffertarga.com and have had feedback from couple more aggressive Sheaffer Targa collectors that they've never seen another.

I'm thinking of calling it Starburst, or some such.

Anyone with thoughts on this pen?

Thanks


David

[Gary E]

Hi David,

Certainly looks like a prototype to me, the 1035 amber ronce had a similar pattern.



Below are some prototypes in the same design, yours looks very close to the one in the centre.



Cheers
Gary

[david i]

Nice image, Gary. Thanks for sharing.

Might be that my pen is identical to your middle pen. Color spaces are a bear. How many in this color (assuming "not many") have you seen? Any context- why, how, etc, manufactured?

regards

David

[Gary E]

Nice image, Gary. Thanks for sharing.

Might be that my pen is identical to your middle pen. Color spaces are a bear. How many in this color (assuming "not many") have you seen? Any context- why, how, etc, manufactured?

regards

David

I think we need these two pens side by side to compair, maybe you should send your pen over to the UK !

Yours is the only other example I've seen in that colour/finish, however I have seen about four of the purple coloured pen.

The cap and barrel tubes were made in France, at Murelli I believe by the same artisan, who I was told made hundreds of different tubes many of which ended up in the bin.I think the tubes that met with his approval were sent to Sheaffer England to be assembled.

Sheaffer in the UK had a demand from it's customers for new colours and finishes however Fort Madison had the final say on the ones that went into production, so I guess some got turned down straight away and others had more examples made to pass around, with reps, directors etc.

Here's another example.


Cheers
Gary

[Mike Kirk]

Great colors David and Gary. These are very cool.

David,
"Starburst" is nice.
How about "Hot Plate" or to take a golf angle, "Burner".....

Cheers,
Mike

[Hugh]

Great colors David and Gary. These are very cool.

David,
"Starburst" is nice.
How about "Hot Plate" or to take a golf angle, "Burner".....

Cheers,
Mike

+1

[sexauerw]

David,
Nice looking pen. Definitely not a recognized model number so I would agree that it's a prototype. It's amazing how many strange Targas are out there. Gary has a huge list on his web site, but here are a few more that he doesn't have listed there:
I call this one "Laque Anthracite"


Here is a very dark matte green Targa:


This one looks just like the 1006 Geometric Grid in Sterling Silver, but it's clearly marked "White Gold Electroplated"

[david i]

David,
Nice looking pen. Definitely not a recognized model number so I would agree that it's a prototype. It's amazing how many strange Targas are out there. Gary has a huge list on his web site, but here are a few more that he doesn't have listed there:


SNIP

Nice spread.

And, thanks for dropping in

I've picked up a few Targas here and there, though I do not hunt them with great focus. Very nice pens, sort of a Sheaffer equivalent to Parker's 75... many metal finishes, largely interchangeable guts.

The following are regular issue, though amongst the best of the regular issue. I imagine they were not cheap at time of issue.

-david

[Gary E]

David,
Nice looking pen. Definitely not a recognized model number so I would agree that it's a prototype. It's amazing how many strange Targas are out there. Gary has a huge list on his web site, but here are a few more that he doesn't have listed there:
I call this one "Laque Anthracite"


Here is a very dark matte green Targa:


This one looks just like the 1006 Geometric Grid in Sterling Silver, but it's clearly marked "White Gold Electroplated"

Bill,

Here's some info on the White Gold Targa from 1977.



Notice how the pens we know as 1005 GP Fluted and 1007 GP Chequered are numbered 1021 and 1023 on the 1977 list, then on the 1978 list they were given the numbers we know them as now.



Cheers
Gary

[Hugh]

Hi Gary,

Are you "Gee09" on FPN that I've been "lifting" all that wonderful info from and posting it here?....with as much credit as possible!! You "data bank" is truly remarkable. I do note the "inflationary" pressure that 12 months put on , pretty solid rises I would have thought .

Regards
Hugh

[Gary E]

Hi Gary,

Are you "Gee09" on FPN that I've been "lifting" all that wonderful info from and posting it here?....with as much credit as possible!! You "data bank" is truly remarkable. I do note the "inflationary" pressure that 12 months put on , pretty solid rises I would have thought .

Regards
Hugh

Hi Hugh,

Yes "gee09" that's me on FPN, we talked about the 9K PFM I view at the London Pen Show, if I had £5000 to spare it could have been mine!

In 1978 I guess Sheaffer would have been a major player in the pen market and could afford to raise there prices by 10% a year, a little like Montblanc do now, but they get away with doing it twice a year in the UK.

Cheers
Gary

[david i]

Hi Hugh,

Yes "gee09" that's me on FPN, we talked about the 9K PFM I view at the London Pen Show, if I had £5000 to spare it could have been mine!

In 1978 I guess Sheaffer would have been a major player in the pen market and could afford to raise there prices by 10% a year, a little like Montblanc do now, but they get away with doing it twice a year in the UK.

Cheers
Gary

Was nice to see you again, this time during my brief stop at the NYC Pen Show. Good to have you playing here.

We did discuss the solid gold PFM of late, as I have handled the one that sold at auction several years ago, and did a photo montage. Here be the link. Feel free to chime in

http://fountainpenbo...-solid-gold-pfm

regards

David