David Nishimura Vintage Fountain Pens & Writing EquipmentHighlights

6319: Aikin Lambert Pet display card: very rare original display, 15.2 cm high, with 6 out of 12 pens still present; pens are miniature ringtop eyedropper-fillers in black hard rubber, with red or light green casein ends and 14K gold nibs, averaging 6.4 cm long; unused and of excellent quality, they are rather evenly sun-faded, and one of the red tops has two chips on the side facing the card; from a long-closed New York area pen shop, the only example of its kind we have seen.

DATE: c. 1920 • CONDITION: VG-fine* • $650 ORDER

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7058: De La Rue Onoto demonstrator: classic British plunger-filler, 13.9 cm long, transparent celluloid barrel with cutaways to show filler piston and ink shutoff; gold plated dummy nib; acquired from an old Australian pen shop.

DATE: c. 1939 • CONDITION: mint • $850 ORDER

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7865: Dunhill-Namiki lever-filler: small clipless Balance-style lever-filler, 9.65 cm long, gold filled trim, decorated with flowers and a bird in hiramakie, fully signed by artist Okoshi Kosai (b. 1900); extremely flexible #1 Dunhill-Namiki "FINE"-imprinted nib; moderate wear, minor chipping to urushi at cap lip (see detail).

DATE: c. 1935 • CONDITION: VG* • NIB: fine flex • $2250 ORDER

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6168: Laughlin doctor's pen: black chased hard rubber eyedropper-filler, thermometer in compartment at end of barrel; 16.3 cm long, crisp and glossy, new old stock, never filled; came to us without a nib -- we have fitted it with a Laughlin nib of the correct size and era, which does however have an axial hairline crack from the vent hole; an outstanding example of a very rare design.

DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: mint* • NIB: fine stub flex • $1650 ORDER

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8631: Parker 11: extremely rare aluminum-overlay black hard rubber taper-cap eyedropper-filler, 15.8 cm long; #3 Parker nib with early straight Lucky Curve feed without side cutouts, imprint on cap worn but present, original black Japanning of aluminum is almost fully intact -- one of the best-preserved examples of this iconic pen that we have ever seen.

DATE: c. 1900 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: extra-fine semiflex • $4685 ORDER

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8630: Parker doctor's pen: a legendary model, fully catalogued but almost never seen (fewer than five are known to exist): black hard rubber eyedropper-filler with an internal compartment to hold a physician's thermometer (not present, but readily replaceable); 17.2 cm long, short-lived "Jointless" slip-in section assembly with early nib with vent hole at base and Lucky Curve feed with just one pair of cutouts at its tip; fully and strongly imprinted, only slight fading -- a major rarity, and the first we have seen on the open market in over 20 years.

DATE: c. 1903 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: extra-fine flex • $6875 ORDER

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5972: Parker 23H: black hard rubber eyedropper-filler, hexagonal body, 14.4 cm long, fully marked with 1891 and 1894 patent dates; unusual & desirable, good legible imprints, even fading, with the shadow of a now-removed add-on clip towards the top of the cap, keyhole-vent #3 Lucky Curve nib.

DATE: c. 1906 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: fine flex • $1200 ORDER

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7728: Parker 38 in box: legendary black hard rubber eyedropper-filler with overlay of gold filled snakes with green rhinestone eyes; 13.45 cm long, #3 Lucky Curve nib, VV clip with 1907 patent date, no Parker imprints on overlay or hard rubber -- very similar to a Heath-marked snake sold by us some ten years ago (Heath made high-end overlays for Parker, Waterman, Conklin, Moore, and others; many Parker overlay pen designs are seen from time to time in unmarked versions bearing Heath nibs).

DATE: c. 1908 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: fine flex • Full details on request


7106: Parker 25 Jack-Knife Safety: smooth black hard rubber turban-top, 11.3 cm long, very hard to find in larger sizes; clean and somewhat toothy Lucky Curve #5 nib, intact feed, no imprints visible on side of barrel, "PAT. PENDING" cap imprint worn and partially heat-reversed, pen has been dye-reblackened.

DATE: c. 1910 • CONDITION: G-VG* • NIB: fine flex • $950 ORDER

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7792: Parker 58 Awanyu Aztec: legendary hard rubber eyedropper-filler with gold filled half-overlay with American Indian motifs; 13.7 cm long, cap restored, imprint weak but legible.

DATE: c. 1910 • CONDITION: VG* • NIB: fine flex • Full details on request


6218: Parker Jack-Knife Safety: rare baby Bakelite-barreled ringtop eyedropper-filler, black hard rubber, 7.75 cm long, gold filled trim; good barrel transparency, cap imprint light but legible, tight stable hairline in cap lip (see detail), Lucky Curve feed intact, #2 Lucky Curve nib has longitudinal hairline from base up to "C" in imprint.

DATE: c. 1913 • CONDITION: VG* • NIB: medium fine flex • $625 ORDER

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7998: Parker 62: full overlay hand-engraved slip-cap button-filler, 14.3 cm long, fully marked, intact Lucky Curve feed, noteworthily smooth and paintbrushlike nib is slightly later; the 62 is usually seen as an eyedropper-filler, and is seldom found as a button-filler.

DATE: c. 1916 • CONDITION: fine* • NIB: fine stub superflex • $2500 ORDER

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6184: Parker Black Giant: iconic smooth black hard rubber oversize screw-cap eyedropper-filler, 15.5 cm long, nickel plated clip, intact Lucky Curve feed, giant #12 nib; moderate, even fading, barrel imprint mostly legible, some toothmarks to crown; longitudinal crack in nib barely visible as hairline running from under section to "1" in imprint.

DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: G* • NIB: extra-fine flex • $2000 ORDER

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8402: Parker 28 Jack-Knife Safety: oversize black hard rubber screw-cap eyedropper-filler with transparent Bakelite barrel, 13.3 cm long, nickel plated trim; in Parker's catalog, second only to the Black Giant in size, and the largest model offered with a Bakelite barrel; strong cap imprint with 1912 patent date, barrel imprint worn but mostly legible, includes "BAKELITE" lower line; a couple of nicks to the end of the barrel (see detail), big #8 Lucky Curve nib.

DATE: c. 1918 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: medium flex • $2500 ORDER

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7498: Parker Duofold Senior: red hard rubber bandless button-filler, 13.9 cm long, gold filled trim, an iconic model in outstanding condition, with crisp end milling, bold deep imprints, and but one spot of brassing atop the clip ball; note tiny scratch on cap rim (see detail); original hardened sac has not been replaced.

DATE: c. 1922 • CONDITION: near mint • NIB: medium • $2500 ORDER

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8572: Parker Duofold Senior demonstrator pencil: very rare version with transparent celluloid barrel; 14.3 cm long, gold filled trim, cap crown virtually perfect, uses 1.1 mm lead, mechanism in perfect working order; barrel unmarked, but guaranteed genuine -- found "in the wild" in Janesville.

DATE: c. 1927 • CONDITION: exc • $600 ORDER

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7005: Parker Duofold Senior: streamline button-filler in prototype color, copper pearl; 13 cm long, gold filled trim, full USA imprint; plating wear apparent only on lower cap band and on clip, excellent color and extremely rare.

DATE: c. 1932 • CONDITION: fine • NIB: fine • $2850 ORDER

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7322: Parker Vacuum Filler set: rare uncatalogued full-size model in red pearl laminate with extra-wide stripes in translucent blue; pen is 12.8 cm long, matching cone-actuated pencil (even harder to find), 12.55 cm; both bear good strong imprints, along with pantographed names -- commonly found on these pens, for some reason, along with flaking plating on the clips. The two-way turnup nib is two-tone and bears the early arrow with a single-line central rib; the pen barrel is transparent (this model is also found with the barrel opaque). Pencil slightly bent, material on both pieces sound, with no sign of the deterioration typically found on the pen cap. Too rare to have been a production item, this model -- sometimes dubbed the "Ripley" Vacumatic, after the only known contemporary illustration in print in a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" cartoon -- appears to have been made as a market test, and is also known with Vacumatic imprints..

DATE: c. 1932 • CONDITION: VG • NIB: fine/extra-fine • $1650 ORDER

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7872: Parker Imperial Ensign Vacumatic: extremely rare, only a handful known, black with solid 14K trim and two-tone "Empire" 14K cap; 13.3 cm long, fine barrel transparency, cap like new, Canadian production (cap marked "MADE IN U.S.A.", as it appears Empire caps were only made in Parker's US factory), initials "G.W.C." professionally and discreetly engraved at top back of cap.

DATE: 1943 • CONDITION: exc-near mint • NIB: extra-fine • $8000 ORDER

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8741: Parker-Osmia safety: black hard rubber, 13.9 cm long, with nickel-plated slip-on clip bearing the mark of Sirt, Parker-Osmia's Hungarian agent; milling at ends is good, turning knob is imprinted "6" and "F", flat Canadian-style spearhead feed, #6 Parker-Osmia nib is boldly imprinted; Parker-Osmia operated only from late 1927 to the end of 1929, when Parker sold Osmia back to its former owners. Parker-Osmias are uncommon, but Parker-Osmia safeties are extremely rare -- and are the only safeties ever to be sold under the Parker name.

DATE: c. 1928 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: fine semiflex • $2000 ORDER

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6520: Waterman Remex Self-Filler No. 101: one of Waterman's earliest self-fillers, and so rare that most advanced collectors have never seen a complete example; construction is all-aluminum, with a hard rubber press-fit section assembly, sleeve rotates rather than slides to expose filler bar; this example is new old stock, and the hardened sac is preserved with the pressure bar laced in place exactly according to the William Ferris patent 799,897 of 1905 (Ferris' patent 950,817 of 1910 is the one covering the usual Waterman sleeve-filler design); 14 cm long, superficial shop wear, "PAT. APPL'D FOR" imprint.

DATE: c. 1905 • CONDITION: near mint • NIB: fine flex • $1650 ORDER

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6130: Waterman 14: black hard rubber eyedropper-filler with fluted gold filled overlay and bloodstone cap top seal; 13.3 cm long, a rare but fully catalogued factory model most often found in France and England (a version appears on p. 53 of Waterman's 1908 USA catalog under "Special Mountings" as Emerald End Special Fluted, priced at $50 -- more than three times the cost of a full sterling silver Snake); French hallmarks, no dings, but one small test mark on the seal bezel, imprints on posting end worn but mostly legible; toothy #4 New York nib, spoon feed with patent date imprints.

DATE: c. 1908 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: extra-fine flex • $2650 ORDER

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8448: Waterman "World's Smallest" in box: rare and desirable miniature black hard rubber eyedropper-filler, just 4.2 cm long but fully functional, with an iridium-tipped gold nib and full imprints on both barrel and the tiny gold filled riveted clip; with its original box, itself in good condition with only moderate external wear.

DATE: c. 1914 • CONDITION: exc-near mint • NIB: extra-fine • $2850 ORDER

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3159: Waterman combination: rare uncatalogued model, black and pearl lever-filler, 14.6 cm long, chrome plated trim; some tool or tooth marks on end of barrel, plating rough on pencil cone, trim otherwise bright and clean; strong imprint (not always present on Waterman combos), threads on pencil end another unusual feature, as is the #4 nib (nearly all Waterman combos are #2 size).

DATE: c. 1930 • CONDITION: VG-fine • NIB: fine semiflex • $975 ORDER

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5970: Waterman 220: giant black hard rubber eyedropper-filler, 16.3 cm long, sterling silver "Filigree" half-overlay; only such pen known, clearly correct and factory-made, though quite late production.

DATE: c. 1930 • CONDITION: exc • NIB: extra-fine flex • Full details on request


4696: Waterman 52 combination: rare hard rubber lever-filler with 9K solid gold factory overlay incorporating a retracting propelling pencil in the end of the barrel; 13.7 cm long, barrel end twists to extend Mordan-mechanism pencil (uses VS lead); full London hallmarks, crisp fine barleycorn finish, only minor marks to metal, initials "S.J.M." on indicia, #2 Canada nib, cap thread engagement short but solid.

DATE: c. 1939 • CONDITION: fine-exc • NIB: medium flex • $2950 ORDER

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Prices & availability current as of 1 Jul 2009 Mailing address: PO Box 41452
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