3 replies to this topic

[cjabbott]

Hello All!

I don't really know Swan very well. I've looked around for information on 44 ETN (New York) in black with a bit of jade underneath the cap rings. Is this an uncommon version of this pen or am I just looking in the wrong places?

Thanks!

[Paul M]

When compared to Parker, Conway Stewart, or even Summit ;-)  information on Mabie Todd is quite hard to come by. I can only say that your pen, whilst being a very nice model, is not particularly uncommon.

 

Paul

[david i]

Hello All!

I don't really know Swan very well. I've looked around for information on 44 ETN (New York) in black with a bit of jade underneath the cap rings. Is this an uncommon version of this pen or am I just looking in the wrong places?

Thanks!

 

I suspect I have one like that lying about, but I have not seen very many. But, I don't follow Swans very closely either.

 

regards

 

david

[marcshiman]

That is a relatively common (well, as common as celluloid US Swans go) Mabie Todd pens. The black plastic with the jade bands were the first celluloid pens in black that Mabie Todd produced I think. There was a period of time where they produced plastic pens with stacked coin bands, and I don't know if they made a black plastic in that. They came in three nib sizes, that's the middle size. And I believe that they produced two pen lengths, the 44, and the 54 a vest pocket version (although I haven't seen one in a 54 yet).

 

44's (and 42s and 46s) came in four colors of what they called "Eternalite" - Jade, Lapis Blue, Cracked Ice, and Black. They also continued to make them in red hard rubber, mottled hard rubber, and black hard rubber. 

 

The Eternal was their high end of the Swan line. The nibs were thicker gold than the standard Swan nibs (and typically not as flexible).

 

If you are REALLY interested in reading more about it, there are used copies of David Moak's book "Mabie in America" floating around. That details the history of the company in the United States (leaving out the prolific history of Mabie Todd in the UK and elsewhere in the world). David documented these things in great detail.

Edited by marcshiman, 07 November 2014 - 04:26 AM.