tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066831911322883231.post1241114235005773210..comments2024-03-24T18:57:45.174-07:00Comments on The Leadhead's Pencil Blog: DuhUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066831911322883231.post-79313453197761898962015-12-16T09:11:22.081-08:002015-12-16T09:11:22.081-08:00I would like to compare a Spencerian forked clip t...I would like to compare a Spencerian forked clip to these firsthand - I haven't run across a pencil, so all I have to go on is the picture. <br /><br />I note that Design patent 93,444 was issued for the feather clip and assigned to Spencerian. Even without a design patent, putting the same distinctively shaped clip could support an FTC finding of unfair competition based on a "likelihood of confusion" -- a fact of which Conklin was well aware after the FTC slammed the Skidmores for copying the look of its Crescent fillers and Enduras (see http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-question-was-answered-six-years-ago.html). <br /><br />Comparing the 1936 Packard ad with the 1935 Spencerian add for the I-N-K-S-E-E, there's a lot of similarities, and finding that Spencerianesque clip on a Packard is too much to be a coincidence. Yes, it's possible that there was a copycat out there who was making pens that looked just like Conklin-made Spencerians; I think it's just as possible that Conklin made these, too.<br /><br />On the later '30s visit from the Japanese students, I'd like to see exactly when and where that was made. This article is about Conklin activities pre-1938, when the Conklin syndicate purchased Conklin, and the Japanese story seems consistent with Alfonso's description of the company's state in 1939.Jon Veleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16324280175564551826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066831911322883231.post-66973060290590305162015-12-16T08:06:48.783-08:002015-12-16T08:06:48.783-08:00I'm not convinced.
I think you are putting too...I'm not convinced.<br />I think you are putting too much weight on one single common feature, the forked clip top. The forked-top Conklin-made clips have a markedly different design from those clips found on Packards etc. The Conklin clips have ball ends, and are well-formed from fairly thin and springy material, whereas the Packard family clips are heavier in both construction and styling.<br /><br />Another consideration is the sheer quantity of the surviving Packard family pens and pencils. If Conklin made them, this work would have dwarfed their output of quality pens and pencils, own-brand and subbrands combined. And with that much work, the company likely would not have gone under. A little-known bit of evidence is the report by Pilot's agents, who made a tour of American penmakers in the later 1930s posing as visiting Japanese students for industrial espionage. They were shocked that such a famous name had been reduced to something akin to a garage workshop operation -- not consistent with a company slamming out zillions of writing instruments, even crappy ones.David Nishimurahttp://www.vintagepens.comnoreply@blogger.com