Product Description
Type Full size eye dropper filling fountain pen with chain. Hard to find.
Product Name Unknown, these are generally called Bayonet Chatelaine pens. Cap band and crown of pen bear the patent number.
Manufacturer and Year Mabie Todd & Bard New York -- year unknown, probably somewhere between the late 1880s and the turn of the century. The pen was made in the US, but the Mabie Todd and Bard leather sleeve lists a few addresses in the UK.
Length 5-3/8"
Filling System Eye dropper filler. It has been cleaned, and tested it and it's working very well.
Color Black chased hard rubber. Ornate gold filled end pieces.
Nib MEDIUM nib is marked Mabie Todd & Co New York. Underfeed and overfeed, designed to ensure good ink flow to the page. It's fully flexible and in excellent condition, smooth with generous tipping material. With a little pressure the line will go from medium to double broad plus. It is wet, and you don't get fine hairlines. See writing sample below.
Condition Excellent condition. The chasing is a little worn and faded. The gold ornamentation is excellent, with no signs of brassing so it might be solid gold (though it is not marked). There's a small short 3/16" crack in the cap, starting well up from the cap band, and very easy to miss. The leather pen case is in really nice condition, though worn, with all the writing easy to read.
A note on the Bayonet System. There's a small metal post in the section that latches into the cap. The cap band can be shifted to hold or release the post. Even though it seems loose, when it's in the lock position, it will not move. It's somewhat like a pill bottle latch system but without the push step.
