Better than Terrible

Mention the name "Stratford" to a collector of fine writing instruments if you want to see someone look like they just took a big swig of month-old milk.   True, there are some really, really bad Stratfords out there, in plastics that are mousy and prone to shrinking and warping.  And they were made by the millions, so you can hardly swing a dead cat at a flea market without hitting one.

But bear with me now, and try to keep an open mind about this . . .

"Stratford Pen Company" was the later incarnation of Salz Brothers, Inc.  One source I read somewhere said that the company was set up separately by Ignatz Salz, and eventually purchased Salz Brothers.  Ignatz died in 1958, and the company may have continued on for a few years after that.  The earliest Stratfords I've seen, until the Chicago show, appear to have been from the late 1930s and loosely copied the lines of the Eversharp Doric (complete with a little gold seal that instead of a double check mark had the number "77") .

Until the Chicago Show . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company