18 replies to this topic

[AndyR]

Having a large but closely defined collection (in this case Conway Stewart Dinkies), it can be difficult to add new pens. I have so far been missing examples of only two of the recorded model numbers, one of these being the very rare no. 700 Dinkie retractable safety - up until now. Two of my collecting friends, Barry Rose & Henry Simpole (Truffle finder over here) independently alerted me to one that might be available, and now the Dinkie 700M (the mottled vulcanite version of the 700) has become mine, at a very reasonable price! The condition is pretty good, with a great nib and working mechanism, though the (originally) white casein cap end is discoloured and a little crazed - however, Henry tells me he has done great things with white casein 'that looks as though it has been up a sheep's bum'! I shall be seeing Henry at the London WES show on October 6th, if he can work his magic on it I'll post some pictures in due course.

To paraphrase a certain board owner - happy, happy Andy!

Andy

Edited by AndyR, 25 September 2013 - 08:25 PM.

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Congratulations Andy on your Dinkie safety find...
That must be very satisfying... now just that one other [recorded] Dinkie to find and purchase... fingers crossed for you.

Just out of interest, what is the final example / number you are searching for? Not that it will turn up in Tasmania, but stranger things have happened.

I went searching for an example of a Dinkie Safety but alas nothing to date, but I will continue to search until you have the opportunity to share a photo of yours.

* STOP PRESS * Just found an example: http://jonathandonah.../imprint700.htm

I have one full-sized safety; a Cirene 18K Continental overlay with a stub nib - that I love, and the action, and think it amazing that such a mechanism would have been incorporated into a Dinkie.
Kudo to CS.

Regards

Edited by FmrLEO_GJ, 26 September 2013 - 02:39 AM.

[AndyR]

Hi Garth,

Thanks for the encouraging words, most people just think I'm mad! The picture you found on Jonathan's website is the only other one recorded as far as I know.

When I originally posted about the pen in those pictures elsewhere I had the opinion that these would have been made for Conway Stewart by someone else because of the atypical styling. However, one thing that has emerged recently is that, in the early 1920s, Conway Stewart were very active in all corners of the world, not just the British Empire, and they apparently produced pens with model numbers not on the UK lists with various styling differences, for specific markets. This has led me to change my opinion so that I now think they were probably made by CS, produced for the Spanish & maybe Portuguese markets (both examples of the 700 have come from Spain), and the white cap ends may have been adopted by CS in imitation of the Mont Blanc baby safeties.

I do have a couple of other baby safeties that I also believe may have been CS products. One is a Le Tigre '1918' Baby, in smooth black vulcanite and very similar to the one in Jonathan's pictures, but without the white cap end. The Belgian market at that time probably wouldn't have found a Mont Blanc imitation pen very attractive! The Le Tigre is otherwise almost identical in style but slightly smaller in diameter compared to my 700M. The other safety is also in mottled vulcanite but with a different styling and unmarked - it looks exactly as though it was a one-third size scale model of a typical CS full size safety.

The one model number I know I am missing is the Dinkie 529. David Wells has the only one I know about (scroll down this page ). I am also looking for a complete example of a 'Boudoir Desk Set' - I have an example of the pen, a Dinkie 514, but the one I covet is the complete set with the hexagonal blue marble base and matching taper on the pen, on the left of David Wells' picture in his long dormant blogspot here , again you'll need to scroll down to find the picture. David's main collecting interest is now Le Tigre, and I have offered to trade some nice Le Tigres or to cross his palm with silver to get hold of these - but he is still standing firm!!

So keep your eyes peeled for me!

Andy

[David Nishimura]

I've long been a collector of the atypical, including safeties made by companies not normally known for safety manufacture. I've never handled a Dinkie safety, but have a number of De La Rue, Mabie Todd, and Conway safeties (and a few Wahls, which are very hard to find). An open question indeed about how these pens were made, though I'm still inclined to think that it most instances they were at least in part subcontracted to firms that were already tooled up for safety manufacture.

David

[AndyR]

.... I'm still inclined to think that it most instances they were at least in part subcontracted to firms that were already tooled up for safety manufacture.

David

Interesting thought, David, which made me think in turn! CS were closely associated with Bina and Barrey, who from 1921 started producing retractable pencils for them. Given the similar capabilty required to cut spirals for retractable pens or pencils, I wonder if they could have made the spiral mechanisms for CS safety pens?

Andy

[Peterg]

Conway Stewart also had close relations with George Shand Ltd who made safety pens and supplied pens to CS in the early days.

[AndyR]

George Shand would be my Mastermind subject, I have a comprehensive article about him for the WES Journal in the pipeline! He had a massive influence of the development of the UK pen industry but he has been almost unknown to modern collectors.

I'm not sure he ever made retractable pens. Though one of his patents in 1911 appears to come close, Steve actually misinterpreted it from the extract when he reproduced it in FPFTM in describing it as relating to a retractable pen. If you read the full patent it is clear that it describes a piston filling mechanism for a self filler rather than a retractable pen. But, in any case Shand had retired by 1914 (selling his manufacturing business to Jewel) and died in 1919, well before the Dinkie Safety. However, it is pretty certain he oversaw the setting up of the first CS manufacturing operation in 1912, so in that respect you could say he was responsible for pretty much everything that came later from CS!

Andy

[David Nishimura]

The reason for uncertainty is that while it would have been very easy and entirely logical for a company to subcontract out safety manufacture, the machining involved is hardly rocket science and so could also readily have been done in house if desired. In some cases it is clear that the work was outsourced: Wahl's safeties provide an example. Probably it was felt that the market for them was small enough that it wasn't worth tooling up, at least not right away (the rarity of Wahl safeties suggests that this was the correct choice).

David

[AndyR]

David, it was a pleasure to meet you for the first time at the London show today! I hope you did find time to ask Henry to give you a peek at this pen before the afternoon ended and I'd be interested to know if you have any further thoughts on it.

Andy

[AndyR]

The pen is now back from Henry who has done the most remarkable job of fettling up the casein back to its original white colour with the yellowing and crazing of age removed. The picture will have to wait a few more weeks unfortunately!

Andy

[AndyR]

......
The one model number I know I am missing is the Dinkie 529. David Wells has the only one I know about (scroll down this page ). I am also looking for a complete example of a 'Boudoir Desk Set' - I have an example of the pen, a Dinkie 514, but the one I covet is the complete set with the hexagonal blue marble base and matching taper on the pen, on the left of David Wells' picture in his long dormant blogspot here , again you'll need to scroll down to find the picture. David's main collecting interest is now Le Tigre, and I have offered to trade some nice Le Tigres or to cross his palm with silver to get hold of these - but he is still standing firm!!

......

 

Today, at the WES AGM, David & I spent a happy hour trading. He now has some interesting Le Tigre pens and ephemera to add to his collection, not to mention a decent contribution to his 'wedding fund', while I now have three (and a half) boudoir desk stands, the Dinkie 529 and several other nice Dinkie pens and sets of no interest whatsoever other than to a 'Dinkie completist' or a lover of art deco casein pens!

 

A great day, and a fine example of how real collectors always prefer pens to ultimately find their way to their spiritual homes!

 

Andy

[malcolm]

Conratulations on your recent acquisitions, Andy. You must be absolutely made up.

[AndyR]

Thank you Malcolm, yes, very pleasing indeed!

 

I am slightly sad at parting with a couple of the Le Tigre Babys, which were lovely and in great condition, but they have at least gone to the right collector.

 

Must try and find time to make progress on that long overdue book now.........

 

Andy

[AndyR]

Better late than never.....

 

 

 

Pictures of the Dinkie 700M, the creamy white end cap having been restored by Henry from the crazed, nasty yellow nicotine stained condition it was in when I received it.

 

Not the greatest pictures I'm afraid, the main point of the exercise was to learn how to use the WiFi remote shooting on the new camera and I couldn't be bothered to set up the light tent. I could have done a better job of editing the pictures as well, but these will have to do for now!

 

Andy

Edited by AndyR, 15 December 2013 - 01:21 PM.

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hey Andy

 

Great news that you and David came to an arrangement for the transfer of some Le Tigre pens, for the boudour hexagonal based set you wanted / needed - among others.

Your 700 looks astonishing.  A wonderful job by Henry to the creamy top.

I think your pen looks amazing.....

 

Does this now leave you just wanting the 529, or have you got that now also?

[AndyR]

No, I have David's 529 as well, though it turns out it was a little damaged. As with many Dinkies there was a little split across the barrel threads, and it was missing the nib and feed. I was able to replace the complete section including a nib and feed but there is no point in doing anything else to the split barrel, it will never be a pen for writing with.

 

I will some time take a picture of the desk sets, though it turns out only two of them are complete genuine sets - a number 2 in black and a number 3 in metallic blue and silver. There is another pen with a red and gold casein taper which should have a matching number 3 base and two number 2 bases (slightly different shades of orange) which look as though they should hold a pen with a mottled vulcanite taper. I'm waiting to hear from Henry whether he can turn a replacement mottled taper for a black pen I had previously to go with one of those bases. The number 3 sets were truly remarkable - the hexagonal bases were hewn from solid chunks of casein with a hidden metal disc for added weight.

 

Andy

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hi Andy

 

I am both happy and disappointed.

Happy you have the final pen to complete your collection, and the desk sets / bases ... disappointed that the condition were not as complete or good as I would have hoped you would have found them in.

 

As much as it is a 'needle in a haystack' - living here in Tasmania; I will continue to see if a 529 pops up in my travels or enquiries.

 

i have a friend here that conducts auctions fortnightly, and he travels to the UK a few times a year and buys estate lots.  His most recent foray landed some Parker Duofolds / Slimfolds (one is a possible Demi), and a Swan in box, but he is asking WAY too much for them.  I have made an offer, and he has only one more auction opportunity to sell them, or return them to the owner, give up on auctioning, or accept my offer.  I hope for the latter.

 

I look forward to photo's of these recent finds as you find time.

 

Kind regards

[AndyR]

Very kind Garth! Though I think you are probably more likely to come across a Dinkie desk pen and/or base than a 529, any of these would be most welcome.

 

I'm not at all disappointed by the condition of the rarities, I had only previously seen the desk sets in pictures, and it was only by handling them and cross referencing them to the advertising leaflets that I could see exactly what I had got. I find it very strange that so few of these still seem to exist.

 

I am a bit narked at missing a repair on one of the other sets I bought at the same time, though, but overall, I am still happy with my trade - another once in a lifetime, not to be missed opportunity!

 

Good luck with your auction offer!

 

Andy

[Widget]

I bought some Parker 51 desk pens with Whitefriars bases and in the lot was a CS 414 with incorrect desk base but the week after I found the correct base with a damaged pen so now it is complete.  I have repaired both pens but 1 has a damaged tail so I have put that in the incorrect base.  I am giving it to my writer friend for Christmas as she is not bothered about damage or correctness and more interested in history (not FP history) and function.