Product Description
Type dip pen holder with a mechanical pencil option.
Product Name Unknown
Manufacturer and Year Unknown, it has no imprints but it is probably from the late 1800s.
Length Just over 4" with neither tip extended. Just over 5" with the pencil tip out or with a nib installed.
Filling System The dip pen component has no filling system. The mechanical pencil component takes what we believe to be 1.0mm leads. The 1.1mm leads are too thick and the 0.9mm leads are too narrow. (The tip could be pinched just slightly to make 0.9mm leads work, but we did not do so.) The leads extend and retract by gripping the base of the cone area and turning the whole pen. You access the dip pen component by sliding the band closer to the opening towards the opening and the pencil component by sliding the middle band towards the opening. Leads can be stored beneath the cap.
Color Black painted metal with gold filled trim. It has three ridged areas and an ornate cap end. The trim is gold filled.
Nib Based off the width of the holder, it should take most dip pen nibs. An Esterbrook 182 Lady Falcon nib is installed. Half of its base is cut off. If the nib you want to use is too thin to stay in the holder you can pinch the metal a little to hold it in place. Don't pinch it too much or future nibs might not easily slide in.
Condition Excellent condition. The trim looks great with some wear on the area near the opening and both plating wear and a dent in the band that controls the nib holder. The black material looks good and is slightly darker beneath the areas where the bands sit when neither tip is extended. The bands slide very easily and can slide back into the barrel with minimal pressure on the extended tip. The angle matters though so a relatively light hand prevents any problems.