Mixed Messages

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At the Baltimore show a couple years ago, I found this very typical, quintessentially American dip pen and pencil combo:

The trim on the nose is marked “18kt,” which also suggests American manufacture (that’s “kt” as opposed to the continental “ct”) – but it’s unusual to see something marked with an 18-karat stamp when it is so obviously not solid gold (note the plating wear on the edge:

The nib is a generously-sized Edward Todd “C” nib, but that’s obviously a replacement: notice that the nib holder is wider than the nib with which this is fitted, indicating a larger nib was intended for this slot:

As for imprints, there’s no patent dates – unsurprising given the pieces conventional manufacture – but it does have a name on it:

A.W. Faber.  This must have been made by Eberhard Faber’s American branch of the Faber house, in the early days when Eberhard was sent to colonize the United States and still attorned to his European bosses – sort of.