OTTO'S PEN SIGHT
OTTO'S PEN CENTERFOLD OF THE MONTH
Parker #37 "Snake" Pen, circa 1910 (click on image for a larger version)
Many major (and not so major) fountain pen companies produced pens with a snake motif near the turn of the century. This example from my collection is a sterling silver Parker version. Parker "Snakes" are the most common, although the vast majority were produced in a gold-filled version, and sterling ones somewhat scarce. The snake overlay was produced by the Heath company, which produced overlays for several of the big companies early in the century. The snakes were produced by hand hammering from behind to produce raised contours (a process known as repousse) followed by surface hammering to give texture. My favorite aspect of this pen is its extremely hideous bumpiness. The image does not do justice to its verrucous nature.... the scales on the snakes give an added roughness which contrasts beautifully with the slinkiness of the coiled serpents. The green glass eyes add an unexpected life to the otherwise gray and black tones. This pen is the crowning jewel of my collection, which leans towards sterling silver, hard rubber, and weird sizes/shapes/contours.
Incidentally, Parker has recently issued a limited edition reissue of this pen. The new version is cast metal, not hand hammered, and is therefore somewhat fuzzy compared to the original. It has somehow acquired a large tumorous oval emblem obscuring part of the barrel. (These comments are my opinion and not meant to disparage anyone who spent $2000 or $12000 for one of these).
OTTO'S PEN DIDACTIC OPINION OF THE MONTH:
SURFACE "RESTORATION"
Shinier, brighter, smoother, blacker (for black hard rubber) seem to be the goals of many collectors/dealers these days. Common practices for "restoring" pens include the use of buffing wheels to shine metal and hard rubber to a glossy finish, bleach to darken hard rubber which has browned over time, and even attempts to file off engraved names of inscriptions on pen surfaces. I think we should take some lessons from the coin collecting field: the slightest hint of tinkering with coin surfaces (polishing, dipping in tarnish removers, microabrading to increase luster) result in destruction of the value of a coin. The premium is on original, honest condition of the item.
Pens, of course, are completely different beasts than coins. They are meant to serve a functional purpose, and they are 3 dimensional objects, as opposed to coins which are essentially 2 dimensional objects. Surfaces are therefore not a central an issue as with coins.... HOWEVER, I believe honesty and historical preservation are quite important. Even esthetically, a seasoned collector develops an eye for what is original and what is not, and the artificiality of many "restoration" practices becomes glaringly apparent and unattractive. A gleaming black hard rubber Duofold may look good across the room..... but when you pick it up, and see that the imprint is all but gone, the crispness of the ridging and pen edges has been transformed to roundedness, the surfaces are not completely even due to the problems of buffing a cylindrical object, the clip shiny gold but beginning to retarnish at brassed areas.... it begins to look cheapened, like a street walker with too much makeup. On the other hand, the same pen may actually be pleasing in its original state, with warm wear which matches its discoloration, some honest dings, a previous owner's name, all of which might remind one of how much the pen was loved and used for years.
Some questions to ask when you pick up that pen at a show include:
1. Is the metal trim blindingly bright? This is often done to hide areas of brassing (exposure of the base metal under the gold fill), which will tarnish again within weeks.
2. Was there a name which has been removed? Often close inspection with a magnifier will reveal pitting or scratching and uneven surfaces. On gold fill areas the base metal may be exposed but temporarily polished to match the surrounding gold, as with the clip.
3. Has the hard rubber been bleached to blacken it? Bleaching often causes pitting of the surface requiring buffing, and therefore the imprint areas are usually covered during the process. This is visible as an area of discoloration surrounding the imprint.
4. Has the pen been buffed? Heavy buffing wears away the surface, which may be uneven. Again the imprint area is usually protected during buffing, so look there. A slip at the buffing wheel may lead to loss of the threads at the barrel end. Details of the clip or lever may have been unintentionally buffed away.
A note about this site...
I plan to continue this page with approximately monthly updates. The general format will be to show a pen from my collection, give some background information about it, and explain why I like it. Then I will present a highly opinionated but thoroughly correct discussion about some aspect of pen collecting, usually something which has been bothering me and I can get off my chest (without being sued by any well-known pen publications or individuals, hopefully). Opinions, comments, suggestions, insults and offers of free pens can be e-mailed to the author.
Here is a teaser for next month's centerfold bunny:
What is this?