First Vintage Pen!

 I thought I would start with my first vintage fountain pen! I happened upon this at a local pen show that a friend invited me to back in 2018. I had never been to a pen show before and knew virtually nothing about pens at all. What eye candy! It was held in a local university in one of their large rooms. I'd say there were about 40 dealers there. What my eye kept going to were the older pens even though all of the new and high end samples were there to peruse and buy. 

What I kept looking at were all of the vintage ones mostly filigree in silver and gold. Being an antique jewelry lover, I suppose what attracted me was the aesthetic, design and workmanship of these pens as the same attracts me in jewelry.

I settled on this gold pen from the 1925-1930s era. It is a Waterman's which I knew was an excellent brand of course even with my limited pen knowledge. The pen was in excellent condition, lever filled and I just fell in love with it. The bladder needed to be replaced and I had it replaced on the spot. 

Over the years, I came to discover that, right on the pen, all of the information about the pen was right there! On the pen bottom, the model information is engraved: 0552 1/2 LEC. In Waterman code it means it is a gold pen, lever filled with gold plated cap ends, slender model. It has a gold nib marked Waterman Ideal.

Recently, I went through the few vintage pens I have collected and this one is hands down my favorite due to it's glass like smoothness. It glides across the page. Being a Waterman's Ideal nib, it is super flexible which probably is why it glides across the page.