in the late '20s Parker introduced a line of small pastel colored pens. In the '50s Esterbrook made a line of pastel purse pens. Both are today referred to as pastels.

a large high end pen from Waterman, introduced in 1929. They were a very art deco styled pen and are highly valued by collectors today. A smaller lady's pen was added called the Lady Patricia.

While there were some very early ink cartridge systems, generally the cartridge filler is considered a late fountain pen development in reaction the quick and easy refilling methods of the new ballpoints. It is standard in many contemporary pens, often found together with a more traditional piston converter insert.

Early fountain pens that were filled with an eyedropper rather than having a mechanism to permit filling from a bottle via the nib.

a pen that uses a piston that moves through the barrel to draw in ink. The Conklin Nozac is an early example. Today both Pelikan and Mont Blanc use the system. Converters that replace cartridges also use the piston device.

A nib holder to take either steel or gold nibs. The holder itself can be either wood (mostly commonly) or beautifully wrought metal. They were invented in the 19th century to replace quill or reed pens and were themselves replaced by fountain pens starting in the 1880s. They are now occasionally used for illustration or calligraphy.

Desk pens usually consist of a desk set, with the base being the marble or other heavy material onto which a holder is fitted, and the pen itself called a desk pen. Desk pens typically have a distinctive taper shape and no cap. Some desk pens, however, were convertible to pocket pens by removing the taper, and adding a blind cap and a cap. Desk sets range from simple single pen models to double pen sets with elegant statues and lamps or clocks. Desk sets tend to be undervalued in the vintage market due to the size and weight of the base.

Early doctor's pens had a thermometer in the barrel along with the pen works. By the '20s, a number of companies produced white sets with a pen, a pencil, and a matching thermometer case.

Montblanc´s fillingsystem, similar to the pushbuttonfiller, but without unscrewing the blindcap

early eyedropper fillers that employed a device that withdrew the nib assembly into the barrel by turning a knob at the end of the barrel. When the cap was on tight, this prevented the pen from leaking.

Descrive tutti i tipi di penna che caricano inchiostro con un serbatoio in gomma.

the metal writing point of a fountain pen. Usually made of gold but sometimes gold-plated or plain steel. Usually tipped with iridium or another hard metal. Some early dip pens had glass nibs.

Gold nib with a 2 color effect - usually achieved by partly masking the nib and subsequent platinum or Rhodium plating.

Nib almost completely covered by a plastic "hood" - only the very tip of the pen is exposed. Sometimes called a shrouded nib."

A nib ground at a left or right angle for those who hold the pen at an angle. Obliques are usually associated with broad or stub nibs.

A true music nib has 3 tines and 2 vent holes and is used for writing music notes.

Gold being too "soft" and susceptible to wear for continued writing, nibs need to be "tipped" with a more durable material. Although other metals were also used, iridium has become the common term to refer to all tipping material. Most Iridium for vintage pens was mined in Russia. "

The name Parker gave to its early celluoid. Parker made its first plastic pens in late 1926.

a nib/section assembly introduced by Wahl in 1929. It permitted the nib and feed to be screwed out of the section and replaced in a minute.

a very small novelty pen made by Salz in the '20s and '30s. They came in a variety of decorative finishes and as either eyedropper or lever-fillers.

Sheaffer's popular "Pen For Men." A large snorkel-filler, the PFM came in eight grades. It also featured an inlaid nib. PFMs are highly valued by collectors and by those who uses vintage pens because it is such an excellent performer."

uses a moving gasket in the barrel similar to the piston but is operated by pumping a rod. The system was used on Sheaffer and Wahl pens in the '30s. They are difficult to restore and pens with these systems are considered somewhat less valuable than their lever-filling counterparts.

A fountain pen is a pen with an ink supply that replenished ink to the nib. A dip pen is one that does not have an ink supply and must be dipped. Prior to the popularization of the fountain pen in the late 1800s, ink writing was done with a variety of dip pens. See Fountain Pen History from the PenLovers Homepage.

Refers to placing the cap on the rear end of the barrel while in use. One must be very careful in doing this with early pens that are brittle. Most cap lip cracks resulted from posting the cap too firmly. The term also refers to a very fine nib used by accountants for posting numbers.

a mechanical pencil that advances lead by twisting a mechanism and retracts it by twisting in the opposite direction. Early models were propel only. Repeater pencils were introduced in 1935, but many comapnies continued the propel/repel.

A widely-used mechanism using a pressure bar activated by a button at the end of the barrel in both the USA and Europe. Parker introduced the design in 1913, and it became Parker's primary filling mechanism until the Vacumatics were introduced in the early 1930s. Parker continued to make button fillers well into the 1940s.

Wahl's name for the early plastic used in their first plastic pens. Practically celluloid