6 replies to this topic

[david i]

I continue to grow my collection of 1930's Sheaffer Balance fountain pens with off-catalogue cap-bands.  At  the 2014 Ohio Pen Show a couple weeks ago, I glommed a good one, an oversized pen in Ebonized Pearl Celluloid, with the quite scarce fish-scale cap-band.  This one has a bit of added meaning, as it is a variant that had once had gotten away.  I first saw the fish-scale capband on a pen set of same size and color, perhaps ten-twelve years ago.  The set's cost was prohibitive, and I passed on it.  My foray into aggressively collecting the double, triple and fish-scale cap-band Sheaffer Balances didn't hit high gear until later. I've not seen another pen in this size/color/cap-band since.

 

The one below is not a gem, though it is intact and decent.  Plastic shows some ambering. Trim has some brassing, though   the cap-band is reasonably clean.  Twelve+ years hunting off-catalogue Balances, and I've handled just two like this and know of one other.

 

A Happy David pen.

 

 

 

regards

 

David

[pen-deco]

Great pen. I didn't examine it very closely, but from what I remember, this pen was pretty close to a gem David. Well preserved. You probably won't feel guilty inking her up?

So I have to ask. How would've one gone about having such a pen back then? I'm assuming special order, but was there information from Sheaffer that such a cap band was possible to order?

[david i]

Hi Pat,

 

And, yeah, I'll try to hunt Max barrels this week.  Nice Balance, nicely restored by Gerry Berg, who does great work with plunger fillers. Condition is not bad, but not in gem condition by my standards. I'm persnickety.

 

Ink it up? No guilt, but I've used about 5 pens the last 6 months. Might take awhile to get through a couple thousand more

 

Etiology? 

 

You might enjoy my article "Cap Banditry: Collecting Sheaffer Balance with Off-Catalogue Cap-bands".  Couple years ago in the PCA mag.  I have a rough web mock up of it, missing captions and final editing, but it can serve.

 

http://vacumania.com...yRevB_CROP.html

 

From that article:

 

When confronted by uncatalogued and/or otherwise anomalous  pens,  collectors variably invoke-- or perhaps retreat to-- a series of words that taken in their entirety can account for nearly any strange finding.  A rapid fire sequence passes through the gray matter:  “Prototype”, “Experiment”, “Frankenpen/Mixture”, “Transitional”, “Lunchtime Special”,  “Niche Market” (eg. specific promotion, store, region or season), and “Special Order”.  Some terms inherently are ambiguous.   Some lend themselves to grandiose  use, allowing the owner of said pens to embrace undue puffery.  Some are well overused today.   Most-- even if  ultimately accurate  for specific pens-- do not lend themselves to easy proof.    Fortunately, we  readily can dismiss several from subsequent consideration.

That  the double band, the  triple band,  and the wide single non-smooth  cap-bands were used for years argues overwhelmingly against prototype or experimental goals and argues against the infamous lunchtime special notion,  the idea that factory line workers with too much time on their hands created anomalies just… because.  Whilst caps, barrels and nibs  often can be mixed inappropriately by collectors, mixes  cannot  explain  the very existence of pens with these  cap-bands, as no potential donor pens exist; too there is huge  physical  challenge to swapping  cap-bands .  We are left it seems with the concepts of  niche market and of special order.  Niche markets might have included the annual  holiday season,  a particular geographic region,  a category of store or even a particular store chain, thus explaining  the frankly rare double, triple, and fish-scale cap-bands  and the merely  relatively uncommon  lined jeweler’s cap-bands.

 

The four off-catalogue cap-band of USA origin:

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

David

[pen-deco]

Love a good read.

Using "special order" vaguely of course but it rolls off the tongue better than "custom" ...

Anyway, just reminded me of a time when my girlfriend HAD TO HAVE this Tiffany "dog eared" necklace. As she described it being a thin rose gold chain with a small ring in the middle. Each end of the chain connected to a "dog ear" on this little ring. I searched high and low, ferreting out every brick and mortar jeweler, online, sky mall... you name it and I called.

Long story short.. The only way that I was going to find this for her was to have it made. Yeah right. I'll make that turquoise box too and she'll never know..psh

Fast forward a year. We had dinner with friends and this woman happened to be wearing the exact necklace. I had to ask where the &@$# they got that. Supposedly; It was only offered to people that had previously gone into the store to try on engagement rings. Probably to get them back in (or the guy) to finalize a ring sale.

In 80 years will that necklace be highly sought after? Who knows. It's fun to ponder.

Back to your pen. The stylish and simplified pattern is amazing on this pen. It was probably too early to be mass produced and catalogued for mass consumption. We were just getting into the effective mass production of high quality jewelry, right? When I say mass production, I mean on a scale that would meet the Balance.

I'll go read the bandry article.

Edited by pen-deco, 20 November 2014 - 05:52 AM.

[Hugh]

It's amazing how such a simple "tweak" to a cap band makes such a physically impressive change. I've seen a couple go on the 'bay (iirc a double band and a big single band) and don't seem to attract that much interest, I guess they just get overlooked.

 

Regards

Hugh

[david i]

Back recently from Gerry Berg. Standard size version in superb condition/color.  One of the most beautiful Balances I've handled.

 

 

 

regards

 

d

[penpalace]

That's weird David, I'm getting back a pen in the exact same size from Gerry but with a regular cap band and helical wrapped barrel. The pen is as clean an example as I've come across.