PenHero Articles

As detailed in my previous article on the World War II era Secretary Fountain Pen (c. 1944–1945), the Newark, Senator, Secretary, Camel, and Progressive Products brands form a single interconnected story spanning from 1925 into the 1950s. This article covers the earliest and most obscure chapter: the founding of the Newark Pen Company in 1925 through 1938, just before its merger with the Camel Pen Company. Read the story about these interesting pens here: https://www.penhero.com/PenGaller …

These two pens were photographed in late 2005 for the Winter 2006 issue of the Pennant. Both are Yotsubishi pens, easily identified by the four-diamond logo on the top of each clip. One features a striking tiger design painted under clear lacquer using the traditional urushi-e technique. The other is a nighttime or deep-ocean scene using a combination of two decorative techniques. The fish are shown in dull, dark tones rather than bright colors, which fits this setting where colors are harder t …

When Sheaffer introduced the Fineline cartridge pen in 1955, it marked another major player entering at the beginning of a revolution that changed fountain pen design as dramatically as the lever filler had in 1913. Until the arrival of easy-to-use, low-cost ink cartridges, all fountain pens were bottle fillers of one type or another. The only portable ink supply was a glass bottle that you had to carry with you. Sheaffer introduced converters a bit later than some competitors and has offered s …

At first glance, the stunning pair of 1950s Japanese fountain pens in this article appear to be classic examples of Kamakura-bori. In reality, they represent an even rarer decoration technique—carved artwork that penetrates deep into the wood caps and barrels themselves. Both are decorated by the Japanese artisan Shoukei around 1957 where the carving technique uses cuts that go through thinner layers of urushi coating and deep into the wooden substrate—plum wood on one pen and olive …

The Secretary fountain pens shown here are stamped Newark Pen Company, which merged with the Camel Pen Company at some time between 1938 and 1944, and then changed its name to the Secretary Pen Company, Inc. probably in 1948. Clinton I. Prouty, previously vice president of the DeWitt-LaFrance Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts, makers of Superite pens and pencils, founded and served as its first president. The first factory was in Newark, New Jersey at 276 N. J. Railroad Avenue, with its sales …

One of the most overlooked 14-karat gold trim pens is the Sheaffer Lifetime 2000. Sheaffer’s Lifetime line, introduced in 1963 to mark the company’s 50th anniversary, essentially rebranded the previous year’s cartridge-only Imperials giving them simple numeric model names that also indicated their price. Thus, the Lifetime 2000 was a $20 pen. These were strictly cartridge pens and the 1963 Sheaffer catalog specifically noted that Touchdown versions were not part of the Lifetim …

The first completely new Sheaffer model since the Intrigue in 2000, the Valor was the company’s first truly international pen. Designed in Germany to compete directly with the leading German marques. It features a cap and barrel crafted from highly polished machined acrylic in Italy. According to the August 6, 2008 Sheaffer presentation "Sheaffer Writing Instruments Learning Guide" the nib unit was made in Germany, the first time the inlaid nib was not made in Fort Madison, Iowa—She …

Even before the Sheaffer Valor was released in 2006, rumors were already spreading that something bigger was on the way. Like most pen companies, Sheaffer routinely consulted its dealers for feedback on new and proposed models. In many cases, strict non-disclosure agreements applied. Proposed products could still change in design, features, or pricing—or be delayed or canceled entirely. No one wanted inaccurate information leaking out before an official launch. Misinformation—especi …

Any story about Tuckersharpe pens and pencils needs to start with Percy Albert Tucker, the company’s namesake. He was the son of Percy Randolph Tucker and Sallie Ann Jackson Tucker who had a tobacco farm in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. This would be some 25 miles south of Richmond crossing through Chesterfield county. Dinwiddie County is adjacent to Petersburg, an independent city in Virginia. Those two cities would become a locus for high volume, low cost writing instrument manufacturing. …

The Porsche Design Tec Flex line (also spelled TecFlex in company documents) marked the design studio’s very first writing instruments line when it launched in 1999. The collection included a fountain pen offered in three nib sizes—fine, medium, and broad—plus a rollerball pen, a ballpoint pen, and a 0.7 mm mechanical pencil. They were first manufactured under contract by Faber-Castell and then production was moved to Pelikan in 2011. Four versions were offered from 1999 throu …