Types of Old Fountain Pens

Stylographs

• The stylograph was the earliest widely marketed type of fountain pen. Unlike its other relatives, the stylograph lacks a true nib. A thin steel wire extends through the body of the pen and out the tip. Ink travels down the wire and out onto the exposed end. The stylograph writes much like a modern ballpoint pen, producing lines of even thickness. The pen was popular from the 1870s through the mid-1900s.

Safety Pens

• One problem with fountain pens was that they could leak ink. The pens work by conducting ink from the barrel of the pen, down onto the nib. Ink travels by gravity. Early safety pens contained a retractable nib that closed off the flow of ink when the nib was pulled back into the pen. This is the type most favored by modern collectors. Later models featured a screw-top cap that concealed a second, inner cover. The inner cover closed off the flow of ink.

Doctors' Pens

• Doctors' pens are fountain pens that hark back to the era of house calls and doctor's bags. Doctor's pens came with a thermometer. Some models actually concealed a thermometer inside the pen barrel. Others came in sets, with a thermometer in its own case matched to a fountain pen and pencil. All could be beautifully decorated with gold bands, and intricate patterns on the plastic pen body. The very earliest examples are made of specially hardened rubber.

Cartridge Pens

• Most fountain pens must be dipped in ink, or filled with an eyedropper. Cartridges provided an easy solution to the mess of working with ink bottles. The first cartridge pens date from the late 1800s. Cartridges were glass or metal. The pens began to be mass-manufactured in the 1920s. Both metal and glass cartridges were rigid and could break. A special seal held the cartridge snugly inside the pen barrel. During the 1950s, plastic cartridges began to replace the earlier types.

Manufacturers

• The different types of fountain pens were produced by a variety of firms. Waterman developed the first commonly used pen with a nib. The company dominated the market for decades. Parker and Mont Blanc were also known for their fine examples. Dozens of companies turned out pens in an array of sizes and shapes, many richly decorated. Wealthy customers had their fountain pens set with jewels, while others employed overlays of inexpensive materials.