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Waterman Writing PensWaterman ink pens ink pens
Waterman ink pens 55 (top) and 42-1/2V (bottom) in woodgrain red hard rubber, c 1925 Waterman ink pens was one of the "big four" U.S. ink penmakers, and the earliest to find national and international success in the late 19th century. Waterman ink pens was the undisputed leader of the pack in the years up to 1920, but its failure to keep up with new technology and design caused it perhaps to fall badly behind, and while the company continued to make very fine ink pens up through the 1950s, it disappeared as a U.S. brand by the end of that decade; however, the name lived on thanks to its former French subsidiary, which remains one of the leading forces in the fine-ink pen trade today. The saga of Waterman ink pens starts with a wonderful story, much beloved of collectors and Waterman ink pens publicists: New York insurance salesman Lewis Edson Waterman presents a policy to a prospective customer, and offers him a newfangled reservoir ink pen with which to sign. The ink pen proceeds to let out a giant blob of ink on the contract, whereupon the superstitious customer nixes the deal; this leads Waterman to retreat to his brother's farm upstate, where he invents the first practical fountain ink pen.
What L.E. Waterman ink pens can take credit for, unquestionably, is the three-channel feed. This part, which fit snugly under the point, was carefully designed to balance minute hydrodynamic forces and allow for a smooth exchange of air (going into the barrel) and ink (coming out of the barrel). Later, Waterman ink pens made the feed larger and cut spoon-like channels into its underside; this "spoon feed" could buffer a bit of ink in case of heavy flow, which reduced blotting. Waterman ink pens 's earliest hand-made prototypes worked well enough to encourage him to begin manufacturing and selling them on a small scale beginning in the early 1880s. He was granted patents on his innovations (which also included a process for machining decorative patterns, or "chasing", onto hard rubber ink pen barrels) in 1883, and incorporated in 1888.
Waterman ink pens ink pens set the pace for ink penmakers up through World War I, and were therefore extensively copied, both directly and indirectly, despite any number of patents on the Waterman ink pens innovations. The Waterman ink pens lineup of the late 1910s included ink pens in a variety of filling systems (including safeties and a few lingering eyedroppers), many sizes and shapes, and trim options including gold and silver overlays and filigrees. Waterman ink pens ink pens were pretty much exclusively hard rubber in those years, but the company augmented the normal solid blacks and reds with mottled or woodgrained mixtures of the two, as well as a handful of blue-green- and olive-tinted woodgrained finishes. Well-to-do buyers could have their ink pens fitted with precious-metal overlays and filigrees.
Waterman ink pens Safety Pen, c 1920. The earliest Waterman ink pens ink pens were eyedropper fillers; most were very long and slender, with tapered slip caps, matching the profile of the typical dip ink pen of the period. in about 1907, Waterman ink pens created an improved design known as a "safety ink pen;" it was still an eyedropper filler, but was designed to eliminate the leaks to which traditional eyedropper ink pens were prone. When not in use, the point of the ink pen could be retracted into the barrel (much like a lipstick) and sealed with a tightly-fitting cap. Although Waterman ink pens did not invent the Safety Pen, its models were the most visible and distinctive-looking with their beefy girth and short caps. The Waterman ink pens Safety was widely copied overseas, and safety ink pens remained in the catalogs of many makers (including Waterman ink pens and Montblanc) until the 1940s. Safety ink pens remain the only fountain ink pen that can be relied upon not to leak under any conditions, including on board airliners (unless, of course, you tip one over while the cap is off and the point retracted).
Waterman ink pens Hundred Year, translucent red, c 1940 Perhaps Waterman ink pens 's early and great success in the industry made them somewhat complacent; in any case, they were slow to respond to the challenges made by its competitors during the 1920s. Waterman ink pens delayed the switch to plastic, declined to offer streamlined ink pens (until the Hundred Year model), and also was late augmenting its range with junior or senior lines. Thus, Waterman ink pens slowly but surely lost ground during the depression years of the 1930s. During this time, Waterman ink pens offered the Patrician, one of the rarest and most avidly-sought of midcentury U.S. ink pens (examples in good condition can fetch $1,500 or more). The handsome and futuristic Hundred-Year models from the 1930s and 40s are also very exink pensive and difficult to find (at least to find intact, at any rate). New cartridge-filler designs kept the company going during the 1950s, but by the end of the decade Waterman ink pens 's time was up: its all-but-dormant Connecticut plant was finally sold to BIC in 1959, forming the basis of that French firm's American production facilities. All U.S. production of Waterman ink pens ink pens was shut down forthwith.
During the 1990s, Waterman ink pens came back under American ownership, first by the toiletries giant Gillette (which also purchased Waterman ink pens perennial rival Parker ink pen), and later by the Sanford conglomerate. Well-established in the fine-ink pen market (particularly in Europe), Waterman ink pens shows no signs of slowing down. Waterman ink pens Hundred Year
Waterman ink pens Hundred Year junior size, c 1940 (image courtesy of Bill Riepl) It's hard to see any relationship between the Waterman Hundred Year ink pen and the company's products from as recently as five years before. The Hundred Year made a clean break with the past, discarding the straight lines and fuddy-duddy art deco detailing that had been Waterman ink pens 's hallmark through the 1930s, and instead giving us a very modern and forward-looking design.
Waterman ink pens Hundred Year full size, c 1939 (incorrect year cap)
The ink pen was named for the hundred-year guarantee that Waterman ink pens offered (responding at last to the white dots, blue diamonds, and double-checkmarks offered by its competitors); in 1942, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission cracked down on these extravagant and hyperbolic warranty schemes, and Waterman ink pens was obliged to redesign the ink pen (to less spectacular effect) and to rename it the "Emblem." Waterman ink pens chose a streamlined barrel design which, in the earlier runs, had an unusual ribbed surface; together with the huge tapered cap, this gives the ink pen its distinctive "Robbie the Robot" appearance. The early full-size ink pens got a snappy belly band suitable for engraving, while the smaller ones had the same motif for a cap band (the red ink pen seen here has a slightly incorrect banded cap from a later model). The clip is held in place by a decorative screw, which on some models features the old Waterman ink pens globe trademark. The traditional Waterman ink pens boxed lever gets a good freshening that harmonizes with the ink pen's modern shape. Nor did Waterman ink pens spare the gold at the business end of the ink pen; Hundred Years have impressively large and smooth points, even in the smaller-size ink pens.
Having to give up the hundred-year warranty was probably not altogether bad for Waterman ink pens , since the intervening decades have not been kind to these beautiful ink pens. One often finds deteriorated plastic that has gone fuzzy, opaqe, and brittle; the clear barrel-ends on the full-size models are often obliterated (some restorers can recast new ones). So, expect to pay a fair amount if you find one in good shape, and be very careful with it once you get it home, since it is one of the more fragile of vintage plastic ink pens. The Hundred Year and its derivatives are unfortunately among the last ink pens made by U.S. Waterman ink pens to be of compelling interest to collectors; although the company continued to make quality lever and cartridge-fill ink pens throughout the 1950s, the U.S. operation was eventually snapped up by Baron Bich and retooled for the manufacture of his Bic stick-ink pens.
Had it remained in production today, the Waterman ink pens Hundred Year would've fit right in with the current iMac-inspred rage for transparently-encased appliances and funky 1940s contours, so it is no great surprise that Waterman ink pens has recently nodded in its direction with the Charleston series. These ink pens have the band, and a bit of the ribbing, but they're a bit chubby, and not transparent in any case. It just ain't the same, I tells ya. The VerdictThe Hundred Year isn't the last good ink pen that the U.S. arm of Waterman ink pens would ever make, but it is probably one of the last ones that collectors would elbow each other out of the way to buy (I know this is true, it hapink pened to me one time!). It's rare due to limited sales (compared to Sheaffers or Parker ink pens at the same price point) and to its fragility. Examine any example you find very carefully for cracks or other damage. If the ink pen is the standard size model, ask the seller whether the barrel end is original or has been remanufactured (there's nothing at all wrong with this, ethically speaking, so long as the job was well done). If it needs work, even perhaps as little as a re-sacking, consider letting a specialist handle it rather than trying to 'do it yourself' for the very first time. If you get one of these in good original condition, consider not including it in the daily rotation and keep it at home instead.
Waterman ink pens Gentleman and Le Man 100
Waterman ink pens Gentleman in dark red lacquer, c 1985 By the 1970s, many (but not all) luxury ink pens were made from metal (specifically plated or lacquered brass). There are a couple of reasons, I imagine, for why this hapink pened: for one thing, the term "plastic" had become a perjorative term denoting cheapness, shallowness, or insincerity (as in Frank Zappa's "Plastic People, whoa baby, now you're such a drag," or The Graduate's "One word...plastics."), so some makers were often understandably leery of asking $100 or more for a ink pen made from the p-stuff. Furthermore, metal ink pens were all but breakproof, and could be given lots of different decorator finishes with which to enhance the line; they were also usually less labor-intensive to make (if not to finish) than were the old hand-turned resins (but not the new cast synthetics, but there we are with plastic again). In any case, Waterman ink pens brought out a new top-line model in about 1974 called the Gentleman. This ink pen was made entirely from brass (even in the matching section), and carried mainly very fine lacquer finishes, like the subtle dark red in the example pictured above. This finish is quite resplendent under sunlight or incandescent lamps, but seems to go rather dead under standard office fluorescent tubes (which is a bit of a shame, since that's where most of us use our ink pens). Nevertheless, the Gentleman helped to strengthen Waterman ink pens 's reputation in metalwork and lacquer. The Gentleman was kitted out with luxurious hallmarked gold-fill trim and a handsome ribbed cap button with the looped-W trademark in gold surrounded by lacquer matching the barrel. Harley Earl's V-clip is here, carried over from the old C/F models, but given its own discreet hallmark at the tip. This ink pen has a very solid feel, almost as though it were cast rather than drawn from tube stock; the details are very well done, and it is clear that Waterman ink pens made an absolute virtue from the necessity of brass construction. The ink pen has a nicely detailed 18k rigid point and writes well; I had a lot of trouble with it for a long time, but eventually took the bull by the horns and tore it down for a complete cleaning, after which it has become a fine performer. By the time the Gentleman was first offered, Waterman ink pens had abandoned its own proprietary C/F style cartridges (Waterman ink pens was the first company to make a successful disposable-cartridge ink pen) in favor of the so-called "international" cartridges first used in Montblanc ink pens of the 1960s. Waterman ink pens s of this and later vintages can use either the short or long international cartridges. For those (like me) who prefer to use a bottle, the cartridge can be replaced by a piston converter of standard design.
Waterman ink pens Le Man 100 in black, c 1995 In 1983, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original U.S. firm, Waterman ink pens offered the new Le Man 100 as its flagship ink pen. It is commonly supposed to resemble an old-style 1920s Waterman ink pens , but does so only if you squint very hard. The Man became a workhorse for Waterman ink pens 's designers; it appeared in numerous guises, from the plain black-plastic-over-brass model seen here (the most common variant), to models resembling older Waterman ink pens s (like the black chased Opera, the ornate Patrician, or the Rhapsody with its faux ripped hard rubber finish), to examples made from exotic dyed woods and even solid gold (made on request and sold for over $10,000 per copy). If the Gentleman occasionally comes off as a bit, er, sensitive, the Le Man is much bigger and altogether more square-sided and masculine. The V-clip is here interpreted as a washer clip, which would seem to make the Le Man resemble an old Parker ink pen Duofold more than a Waterman ink pens 58, but who outside of a few crazed ink pen geeks would know the difference? Otherwise, the ink pen is mechanically very similar to the Gentleman. The Man 100 was joined shortly by the Man 200, essentially the same ink pen but somewhat slimmer. The Le Man line had a very successful run and has only recently been discontinued (its place in the lineup seems to have been taken by the Liaison model).
The LeMan has a rigid, smooth-writing two-tone 18k point. The VerdictThese ink pens are quite representative of the higher end of Waterman ink pens production during the 1980s and 90s. Neither are in production any longer, but you can often find them at ink pen shows or online auctions. Of the two ink pens here, I prefer the Gentleman, which is an altogether more luxurious piece, and in a better size and shape for me. I've since sold the Le Man on this page to some more deserving owner. If my experience with both of these ink pens is any guide, you will be able to get good service from them, but only if you make sure to keep their feeds well cleaned. Fortunately, you can soak the sections in water for as long as you like, and then flush them through with an ear syringe; if they still skip, you may have to have the points and feeds extracted and thoroughly cleaned (you can do this yourself if you are careful, but the parts are press-fitted and can't be knocked out in a feed block; you will just have to use a chamois and a bit of elbow-grease. Waterman ink pens Phileas
Waterman ink pens Phileas, red & blue, c 1998 Some years back, there was a bit of an internet uproar among ink pen collectors when an unknown eBay seller managed to sell several of these ink pens online for prices as high as $125. Apparently, the buyers were unaware that they could have bought about three of them brand-new in the box at full retail for the same money, with perhaps some change left for a bottle of ink. We'll leave the argument about online auction ethics for another time and place, but for the moment we'll just note that the Phileas manages a neat trick: it looks much more exink pensive than it actually is. That's undoubtedly the main reason that it continues to sell in very high numbers.
The original Phileas came in a variety of colorful finishes, many of which remind me of the moiré designs you find inside the bindings of old books. The finishes suggested the patterned celluloids of the middle 20th century (of which, ironically, Waterman ink pens itself was negligently late to partake). The colors in the Phileas range have been updated a time or two over the past decade, but always to great effect. The plastic used in the barrel and cap has a warm, soft feel and is quite lightweight. These finishes appear to be screened on; in fact, you can get siblings of the Phileas with other more modern decoration (like one I saw recently that featured the image of computer-game vixen Lara Croft). The barrel contains a brass sleeve to give the ink pen some weight and an exink pensive feel.
Waterman ink pens didn't skimp on the packaging, as this Phileas came in the same luxurious blue gift box as many of its more exink pensive ink pens. Waterman ink pens 's informative multilingual instruction booklet was also included, but could probably have used some update since it referred to the Gentleman series, which had been out of production for some time. The VerdictThe Phileas offers you inexpensive yet stylish entrée into the cult of fountain ink pens. It writes nicely and is easy to clean and maintain.
Waterman ink pens W2 (UK made)
Waterman ink pens W2 lever filler, black plastic, made in UK (later 1950s) If an American company wished to sell ink pens to Britons, it behove them to set up local production. Making ink pens in Canada (a paid-up member of the Empire) was a good stopgap, and at least three of the big U.S. makers did this, but the better plan was to set up shop in the UK itself. Although Parker ink pen had by far the longest history and most diverse lineup in its UK branch (which continues to this day making most of Parker ink pen's higher-line ink pens), Waterman ink pens also followed this path. In 1946, Waterman ink pens began to make its ink pens in the former Falcon Pen Works factory in London (they were following the lead of Parker ink pen, which had bought local production facilities in the form of the old Valentine ink pen company some years earlier). Production of these ink pens continued into sometime in the 1970s, according to Lambrou. It would appear that Waterman ink pens did not tailor its products for the locals to the same extent that Parker ink pen did during this period.
This attractive version of the then-new Waterman ink pens V-clip still shows the old "globe" trademark. This particular example is a black model W2, and must be considered mint since it seems never to have seen ink (except for my careful dipping) and still bears its original price stamping (27/6, which must have been somewhere in the middle of the price range for ink pens of the day, to judge by the size and trim level of this ink pen). I found it in an antique mall in Palo Alto, California; why someone would drag a brand-new and unused English-made ink pen all the way to the Golden State and leave it sit for a few decades is beyond me, but this is the kind of lucky find you can sometimes make, even when you're not looking very hard. We can date this ink pen to sometime in the last half of the 1950s, thanks to the signature Waterman ink pens V-clip, developed for the company by General Motors' famous stylist (and posthumous star of Buick TV commercials) Harley Earl. This clip made its debut on the C/F cartridge filler, but was later used throughout the line (not so much in the U.S., since Waterman ink pens production there ended in the mid-1950s).
This ink pen is comparable in quality to the UK-made Parker ink pen Duofolds ; the plastic, trim, and detailing are of good quality, as is the small but nice-writing 14k point. Waterman ink pens apparently thought there was plenty of life left in the lever-filler, although Parker ink pen had by this time gone over to aerometric fillers in all of its models. This particular ink pen doesn't have Waterman ink pens 's customary lever-box, no doubt instead susink pending its lever on a wire loop fished inside the ink pen (which by this time had become the standard construction in the industry). Waterman ink pens Safety ink pens
Waterman ink pens #42 Safety, black chased hard rubber, c1920 The only kind of fountain ink pen widely available at the end of the 19th century was what we now call the "eyedropper" ink pen. It was simply a big empty vial that had a grip section (containing the point and feed) screwed into its oink pen end. Eyedroppers wrote well enough, but had a serious "usability problem:" since they had to be oink pened each time they were to be filled, they were susceptible to wear, rough handling, exposure, and the general proink pensity of ink to go where it isn't wanted. In other words, they leaked. Even eyedropper ink pens in good repair can be very messy to fill.
The Safety Pen seems to have made its first appearance in the 1890s, although it isn't positively established (at least not to the satisfaction of all) who invented it. Many collectors (including myself) have given Waterman ink pens credit for this invention, but Waterman ink pens 's first Safety dates from 1907, long after Moore began selling its Non-Leakable safety ink pen (in 1899). The Moore ink pen used a slider to advance and retract the point. The J.G. Rider company began to make their version of a "Safety Pen" in about 1905; this ink pen had a special clip on the cap that could be used to hook the feed out of the ink pen, allowing you to fill it with an eyedropper. The Rider ink pen wasn't the most practical of designs, but it at least had simplicity on its side, and since it eliminated the section joint, it could also clam to be "safe." Nevertheless, thanks to Waterman ink pens being the biggest kid on the block in those days, its Safeties have come to be most closely identified with the breed (in the same way that Microsoft is now often thought to have invented the computer mouse and bitmapped display, after Xerox PARC is but a distant memory). Indeed, probably most of the Safeties you will find in the wild will be Waterman ink pens s, or copies of Waterman ink pens s. In the Waterman ink pens Safety, the point and feed are mounted on a retracting screw gear (pins through the feed assembly mate to a helical hard rubber track inside the barrel) that allows them to be pulled completely into the barrel; this allowed a tight-fitting screw cap to be fitted, which virtually eliminated the risk of leakage in normal use. When it again came time to write, the user uncapped the ink pen (holding it point-up so as not to spill any ink) and posted the cap at the bottom, twisting on the cap (like a lipstick) to raise the point into writing position.
Not only did the sealed design prevent leakage, it also kept the point and feed moist and limited evaporation so that the ink pen was always ready to write. To this day, the safety ink pen remains the one fountain ink pen that you can deink pend upon never to leak on an aircraft (at least not if you don't use it). In fact, the Safety's seal was so effective that (according to legend) when the body of an American soldier was exhumed from a French farmer's field decades after World War I, the unfortunate doughboy's ink pen still contained liquid ink. The unusual construction of the Waterman ink pens Safety gives it its distinctive appearance: a short cap and clip, a slight raised lip around the back of the barrel (for posting the cap and operating the retractor), and a disproportionately small point (necessary because it had to fit completely inside the barrel). Safeties came in many sizes and levels of trim; they ran a bit fatter than normal ink pens of the period owing to the screw mechanism inside, although later safety-ink pen makers would figure out how to make them much slimmer. The design was widely copied, particularly in Europe, where Montblanc (among others) had a history of safeties almost as long and diverse as Waterman ink pens itself. Waterman ink pens Safeties remained quite popular, even after perfected self-fillers had reached the market (this example is probably from about 1920, judging from its trim and nomenclature). The Safety stayed in the Waterman ink pens catalog (if perhaps on the back pages) for a very long time; I've seen photos of some wearing 1940s-style clips. Aside from a recent (1998) limited edition reissue of an old French Stylochap Waterman ink pens -style design, there haven't been many modern versions of the safety ink pen. However, Styink pen (a French maker of inexink pensive novelty ink pens) offers a playful salute in the form of its Up cartridge ink pen (it isn't a safety, but does have a similar retracting feature). The modern Waterman ink pens Liaison ink pen (c 2001) also hearkens back to the original safety ink pen; you twist the back of the ink pen to release the section unit for cartridge replacement. The VerdictNearly all safety ink pens are officially antiques (or very nearly so), and should be treated with the appropriate respect and care. That said, safeties are generally a bit more usable for modern daily writing than other eyedropper ink pens of the period; they're a bit huskier, and you don't have to worry about leaks so long as the ink pen remains capped. I occasionally take one out for work or travel, and I find that they're sure-fire conversation starters. Be careful, though, that you oink pen and extend the ink pen yourself before handing it to someone else, lest they spill ink. Like all early Waterman ink pens ink pens, Waterman ink pens safeties have extremely thin and flexible gold points, and permit you to produce some very nice shaded writing. Keep your Safety out of the sun and out of water (both of which can promote oxidaton of the hard rubber, with resulting discoloration that is difficult to remove without polishing away chasing and imprints). Also remember to retract the ink pen before capping it (it's easy to forget to do this). When shopping for a Safety, you should make sure that it can retract and extend smoothly, and that the back of the barrel will seal (otherwise the ink pen may require rebuilding by a safety-ink pen expert). Finding one with fancy trims or overlays is a definite plus, although most are plain black hard rubber like the one shown here.
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Unfortunately, although it has been widely reproduced in many standard texts on fountain ink pens, there seems to be no evidence to support this charming tale. Most likely it is simply another of the corporate-origin myths that sprung up during these years, like the one about the crappy Winton automobile leading an early customer to found his own car company under his own name (Packard).
One can't really say that L.E. Waterman ink pens "invented" the fountain ink pen; after all, most of the parts for the firm's early ink pens (including the gold points) were purchased from outside suppliers, who presumably weren't sitting around on their hands waiting for L.E. to get started. Indeed, one could already have chosen from a number of stylograph ink pens, as well as split-pointed fountain ink pens in the 1870s (such as those from the early and highly-regarded John Holland firm) when Waterman ink pens was getting things off the ground.
Thanks to heavy investment in magazine advertisements (what we would nowadays call "branding"), 
Spurred on by competitors like Sheaffer and Conklin, Waterman ink pens began to look for a reliable self-filling system in the early 1910s. They tried several systems, including the "coin filler" (which used a coin-like token inserted in a slot in the barrel to collapse the sac), but eventually settled on the lever filler. To steer clear of Sheaffer's jealously-guarded patent on the lever, Waterman ink pens redesigned its lever to fit into a "lever box" inserted into a slot in the barrel (rather than being retained by a pin through the barrel as in the Sheaffer design). Waterman ink pens stuck with this system through the 1950s, with the exception of the clever but mechanically troublesome Ink-Vue filler of the 1930s, and the later cartridge fillers of the 1950s.
If the French were responsible for closing Waterman ink pens 's doors in the U.S., they also deserve credit for the fact that the Waterman ink pens name persists to this day as a leader in the industry. In 1926, a Waterman ink pens rep by the name of Jules Fagard established a quasi-indeink pendent French subsidiary called JiF-Waterman ink pens ; ten years later, JiF-Waterman ink pens would invent the first practical disposable ink cartridge (originally a glass capsule). JiF-Waterman ink pens entered the post-World-War-II era in pretty good shape, thanks to astute management by Fagard and his widow Elsa; when the parent company finally gave up the ghost, the French subsidiary carried on the name with further distinguished products such as the Gentleman and Le Man (the latter being a sort of tribute to the old Waterman ink pens flat-tops of the 1910s). The company refuses to be trumped in the style department; currently, they offer the large and glamorous Edson and the exotic Serenité at the top of their full line, with the popular and reliable Phileas at the lower end of the price scale. Modern Waterman ink pens ink pens are known for fashionable design and excellent metal- and lacquer-work.
The Hundred Year was introduced in 1939, a year or two before the Parker ink pen 51 and the Eversharp Skyline, two other very up-to-date designs (Sheaffer had gradually teased and tweaked its minmalist Balance design over the years, and hence did not require such revolutinary restyling, although they did offer the Triumph point for the delectation of post-Deco iconoclasts). The Hundred Year was made of translucent plastic in green, blue, red, and black, and came in two sizes (with matching ink pencils available as well). You can in fact see all the way through these ink pens in a good light, although they're still a bit opaque to qualify as "demonstrators" (and there isn't that much to see anyway, since these are conventional lever-fill ink pens with black rubber sacs).
The Phileas, which was introduced in the mid-1990s, is named for Phileas Fogg, the aviator hero of the 1870s Jules Verne novel Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in Eighty Days). Appropriately, the publicity campaigns for this ink pen have so far generated enough hot air for several trips in Mr. Fogg's balloon. We have been told that this ink pen recalls the vintage designs of some remote and unspecified era in the 19th century, presumably when M. Verne was doing his prognosticatory writing. Never mind that no one made good fountain ink pens back in those days (even Waterman ink pens wasn't yet in business), and that even if they had, those ink pens wouldn't have looked anything like this one, with its tapered shape, rounded cap, and colorful finish — but never mind, it would be excessively curmudgeonly to let mere facts stand in the way of a good marketing pitch.
The Phileas' steel point (currently available in medium or fine grades) has a gold-masked fan motif which is playfully repeated on the barrel band. The ink pen fills with cartridges (a nice vivid Florida blue is included), or you can use the excellent Waterman ink pens piston-fill converter (also included) if you prefer nursing your baby from a bottle. The Phileas writes very well, tho' I hear there is some variability in the finish of the points, so try out a couple before you put down your money. As is typical of newer ink pens, the Phileas nibs run rather broad; this one was labeled as a medium but writes with a bigger line than most other makers' medium nibs.
Self-filling ink pens with sealed ink supplies were on the way (from Conklin and others) to solve the problem, but there was one workaround that would prove quite popular in the decades around the turn of the 20th century: the so-called Safety Pen. The Safety allows the user to retract the point into the barrel and cover the whole thing with a tightly-fitting cap to prevent leakage and evaporation of ink. They were still filled with eyedroppers, but at least now they did not leak.
