Plumbers and Fountain Pens

Our kitchen sink has been plugged up for two full days now. A plumber was here on Monday and couldn't get it cleared.  They had to wait for authorization from the owner to work at it from a different route.  They were supposed to be here at 10 this morning, but it's now 11:30 and they are still not here.  We have dirty dishes sitting around since Monday.  This is not fun!

Anyway, I thought I would write a little about my Etsy shop, PicketfencesVintage.  I have 25 items listed for sale now.  It's not doing very well I have to say.  I have one sale a month which surely doesn't provide me with an income.

Right now I have 4 vintage fountain pens for sale (given to me by my friend Patty Purcell).  Before I received these I had no idea that fountain pens are a collectible item.  I originally had 6 of these, but I sold two of them in the antique store in Murrieta that I had a space in.  They were pens from about the 1930s-1940's and they sold for 

$25 each. 

I had to do some research to find out which brand names were desirable to collectors.  There are fountain pen collectors all over the world apparently.  I have emailed with a few of them hoping to get more information on my pens and what to charge for them. Several helped me identify pen models, but only one suggested prices for mine.  Certain brands/models that are highly valued can go for hundreds of dollars each.

The four that I have left are: Esterbrook, Parker, Southern Pen, and Wearever.  They all are from the 1920's to 1940's.  The Parker model was originally sold in the 1920's. The model is called "Parker DQ Lucky Curve2" and is the most desirable one of the four.

The is the Parker.

I have to use a magnifying glass to read the nib and to see the faint engraving of the Parker DQ name on the barrel.

This is the Southern Pen model.  It's a woman's pen, so it is quite small. The nib is 14k gold-plated and has a mechanical pencil on the other end.

This is the Wearever pen that also has a 14k gold-plated nib and a mechanical pencil on one end. It's a red marbleized barrel. You can see the metal piece on the barrel where the pen is filled with ink.

This one is the Esterbrook.  The base that holds the nib is broken which is unfortunate but it's a pretty pen.

Most collectors want their pens to be in working order, so many that are for sale have been restored so that they are usable.  Mine are only sold "as is" since I am not prepared to have them repaired or checked to see if they would work.  Mine are modestly priced since I don't really know their condition.

 Still, it's been fun learning more about them.