Product Description
Type Rare early slide-filler fountain pen
Product Name Safety Self-Filler 250. Safety Self-Filler is printed on the middle of the barrel and 2.50 is printed at the end of it. The cap is printed with Safety Cap.
Manufacturer and Year American Pen Co., made in USA -- probably early 1900s-1910s. The pen was produced from the late 1890s on for around 30 years but around 1917 changed the company name from American Pen Co. to Moore.
Length 5-7/16"
Filling System Sleeve Filler. (Although the word "safety" is visible on the pen, it is not really a "safety filler", as the nib doesn't retract and there's not a good seal to keep ink from leaking.) While holding the pen in one hand, use the other hand to pull the sleeve back in the opposite direction. The sleeve does not move easily and requires some pressure to get it to move, but it only needs to move about an inch to fully expose the pressure bar. Once you have exposed the pressure bar and ink sac, you press the bar which allows you to squeeze the ink sac to fill with ink. After filling, slide the sleeve back over the filling system. See note below regarding the barrel crack at this junction.
Color Black chased hard rubber with a wavy design.
Nib FLEXIBLE EXTRA FINE nib. It has an American Fountain Pen Co. imprint. The nib has excellent hairlines and offers very nice line variation. Please see the writing sample below.
Condition Excellent condition. It really looks great with nice chasing pattern. The hard rubber is slightly faded to a deep gray in some places, but the overall look is still nice and dark. As mentioned above and detailed below, and shown in the photos, there is a crack in the barrel which does not interfere with the pen's operation. The imprints are clear.
NOTE: there is a 3/4" long crack in the barrel, just above the imprint. DO NOT GRIP THE PEN OVER THE CRACK. The crack doesn't interfere with the pen's operation, but you'll want to avoid additional stress here, as there's a danger of further damaging the barrel.
