Here are some of our L. E. Waterman fountain pens and pencils. We are partial to early Watermans, especially those with rippled or mottled hard rubber. We also love the gold and silver filigree overlays. And there is hardly a more beutiful pen than the 1930s Patrician. The early Watermans are known for their flexible nibs, a real pleasure to write with. Here are some samples from our collection.
We are the proud owners of a Waterman 58, one of the biggest pens made. It's on the left in this photograph. You can also see some great red hard rubber Watermans and some fine black and red rippled and mottled pens including a great safety pen. Nestled in the middle is a Patrician.
Here are more rippled and mottled hard rubber pens. Waterman made a number of color variations of these. We have a couple of blue-green ripple pens and pencils and one olive. We have yet to see a rose ripple, but we are on the prowl for one. The pen with the band across the top is a Waterman number 7. These came with different bands to match their nib types. This is a red one with a standard nib. Here's a useful image of Waterman No. 7 pens and their nibs. Thanks to Al Dimmitt for the photo.
There is something extra scpecial about gold and silver overlay pens. They sparkle! We've managed to collect a number of them. Above is a group of ring top ladies pens. We've also got some larger ones. Here's a 0554 set in gold-filled filigree and a 452 set in silver. The Waterman numbering system indicates type of metal, size of pen and nib size. The first digit or two digits indicate type of metal - "05" gold filled, "5" solid gold, "4" sterling silver. The middle digit is type of pen - "5" is lever fill; and the last digit is nib size - "4" is a number 4 nib, "2" a number 2 nib.
One of our favorites is the 554 LEC, solid 14K gold with the case covering the entire pen. The LEC designation means "long extended case" or "low end covered" (We've heard both).
And now for the Patricians. We are fortunate to have two of them. One in onyx (red and yellow marble) and one in moss agate (green and brown marble). What gorgeous pens they are, with fat nibs. The onyx pen we bought many years ago in a boxed set with pencil.
The moss agate we bought recently on the eBay internet auction. It is in near mint condition.
