Mabie Todd Swan Pen

[mariok54]

Anyone who ever listens to me will know that I like things to be functional (unlike my wife ... probably why she married me!  ) .. I also have terrible handwriting which even I sometimes can't read! So writing with a fountain pen slows me down and gives the reader a slim chance of interpreting my scrawl .. and so I have a small collection of them, although none of them are anything to write home about. Then I saw this Mabie Todd, decided the maximum that I'd be prepared to pay for it, waited till the last second and won it, for my exact max bid!
Now I'm eager for it to arrive, only to see what exactly I have bought. I've paid a reasonable price for what is a classic pen by a classic maker, but some of these Swan pens fetch £££. I recall seeing a very similar, plain one , on either Bargain Hunt or Flog it sell for c £180 at Auction. I think it all depends upon whether it is 'gold plate' as the seller was thinking, or gold-filled as I think it may be. I haven't researched yet, but I can't recall seeing any M&T gold plated pens ... We'll see
I'm not too concerned about the actual price tag, as I intend to keep it, but it will be nice if I did pick up a bargain!    As we say, it warms the cockles!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200608690562&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[waywardangler]

Looks like a nice pen, mario. The best I have is a Parker 21 pen and pencil set I bought for resale at $1.25. I do not know much about pens but I used to like using the cartridge type pens years ago. The one thing I did not like was the expected leaking at unexpected times in my shirt pocket. That may have been the reason I quit using them. I would think your pen must be marked somewhere as to GF or RGP or something. Enjoy.

[Oceans64]

Nice pen! I like the loop at the top so I could attach it to myself.  Seems if I pay more than $1.00 for a pen I am sure to lose it within days (if not hours). Somewhere out in the world are 3 lucky people who can tell the story of how the found the various Mont Blanc's I've owned over the years....

[mariok54]

Nice pen! I like the loop at the top so I could attach it to myself.  Seems if I pay more than $1.00 for a pen I am sure to lose it within days (if not hours). Somewhere out in the world are 3 lucky people who can tell the story of how the found the various Mont Blanc's I've owned over the years....

Oh, Oceans! 3 Mont Blancs! If they were mine I'd have felt absolutely gutted after losing one, but after the third! I can imagine you weren't a happy bunny. But as you say, there were three lucky people out there, so you made three people happy.

I used to feel the same as you, Wayward, and suffered a lot of ink stains always where it showed! But over the years I've probably ruined more shirts through the cheapo ballpoints that they seem to dish out at work.

I have a feeling that my pen might be a lady's pen, but we'll see when it arrives, and I will be going over it with my loupe!

[mariok54]

I forgot to follow up this post! The pen actually arrived the very next day, I've given it the once over, and I'm convinced it is filled gold, and not plate.
It seems to be fine, the nib is in good order, but the lever is a little stiff. I found a chap on-line a while back who does a very professional job servicing classic pens for a very reasonable price.... this one will cost me no more than c $25 I hope.

All in all I'm very happy with it!   

[mariok54]

The best I have is a Parker 21 pen and pencil set I bought for resale at $1.25. I do not know much about pens

Picking those up for $1.25 was a real steal... especially if they're in their presentation box and clean!

[waywardangler]

Factory cardboard box, used pen and pencil but clean. Still a good buy.

Your Mabie looks nice. I assume GF is not as good as GP or is it better?

[mariok54]

Gold-filled is much superior ... being umpteen times thicker than plate, and doesn't wear. This pen probably dates from the teens to 1920, and still crisp looking.

Good news on the box!

[waywardangler]

52 pounds would seem to be a bargain then, mario! I will now have to pay attention to GF items. Thanks for the info.

[mariok54]

I frequent a pen forum as well, and it was someone there who recommended a particular chap to give my pens a service. Well, I got the pen back today, and he has done a brilliant job with it, and for a little less than the $25 I was expecting. He also provided me with his expert opinion of the pen, and he believes it to be one of the earlier models, dating to the early 1910s rather than the 1920s, so this little pen will very shortly be an actual Antique!!

[wendy177]

Beautiful pen Mario!!! Love it !!! But in the future could we leave your cockles out of it !!!!

[mariok54]

Beautiful pen Mario!!! Love it !!! But in the future could we leave your cockles out of it !!!!

OK .... 'Warms the clams ...'?

Nope ... doesn't work ... sounds like I'm cooking pasta alle vongole!   

[waywardangler]

Warms the cardium?