A General Distress Call

Well, it's happening again.

As I was dusting things off to start posting some articles here, I went through my metal-capped Waterman pencils to sort out what was what. The result - the previous article posted here the other day - was far too long for a blog article.

It is, however, a perfect start to a project I've been thinking about for a few years.

Right now, I'm pulling together all of the research I've done on Waterman pencils over the last 15 years, including hundreds of advertisements and thousands of images. 

The distress call is that I'm wise enough to know I don't know everything, and that if everybody waited until they knew everything to write a book, nobody would ever write one.

That being said, I'd like this book to be as complete and as accurate as possible. If you harbor pencils that you think should be included or Waterman paper that fills in gaps in the story, please drop me a line by email: jveley@jonathanveley.com. Full credit will be provided for any images contributed to the effort.

Waterman metal-capped pencils

This is an attempt to get things straight in my head. Comments welcome - I decided it was time to figure all of this out after a miraculous "Bader Box" of stuff I bought at the DC Show included these . . .

After I combined these with the ones in my collection and sifted through available catalogs, here's what I think all of these are and when they were made: 

Hundred Year pencils, cataloged in 1943

Cap detail

Stateleigh, as cataloged in 1947 and 1948 (no examples to show you)

Citation, as cataloged in 1947 and 1948

Corinth, as cataloged in 1947 and 1948

Garland, as cataloged in 1947 and maybe 1948

Conquest, as cataloged in 1947 and maybe 1948; a later page in the 1948 catalog shows matching
pens identified only as "Ladies' Pens"

Crusader, as cataloged in 1947 and 1948

14k pencil from "Presentation Sets" in 1947 and 1948; 
1952 price sheet calls these the "Ultima" when sold with a Taperite pen
or the "Ultra" sold with a standard nib pen.
Gold cap only called the "Tiara" in 1952.

Not cataloged in 1947; pens like these were shown in later pages of the 1948 catalog as 
simply "Ladies' Pens," but with a revised clip.

A page near the end of the 1948 catalog shows the example at top as the match for simply a
"Ladies' Pen." At bottom is the one of the pencils from the preceding image. Note the same 
model numbers on the price sticker; clips were apparently revised in late 1947 or 1948

Detail of 1948 clip at top compared to 1947 clip.

The 1948 catalog shows two pencils identified as the "Crusader." An earlier page shows
the same pencil shown earlier, as cataloged in 1947. A later page shows this redesigned version.
Only the larger pencils are shown in 1948; a brown "New Crusader" is shown in a 1950 but
none are shown in the demi size shown here.

This page near the end of the 1948 catalog shows Stateleigh, Garland and Citation pencils
as cataloged in 1947, but with updated clips. The Corinth, however, has been redesigned.

The Corinth, as redesigned for 1948.

This page from a 1951 brochure shows the "Stateleigh," unchanged from 1948, and the Lady Garland
is renamed the "Lady Stateleigh." The Corinth is redesigned again and offered with gold filled caps
as the "Gold Corinth," or simply the "Corinth" with chrome plated caps. The Crusader is shown with silver caps and gold rings, reversed from 1948. Three new models are introduced: the "Lady Corinth" with diamond-shaped patterning, the "Leader," and the "Skywriter 52" fountain pen, described on the following page as the "Ball Pointer" in ballpoint form.

The following page in the 1951 brochure shows pen and pencil sets, but all of the pencils shown
are cap-actuated repeaters, described as "Metermatic" pencils.

"Gold Corinth" and "Corinth" Metermatic pencils, as shown in the 1950 brochure.

Crusader "Metermatic" pencils are frequently found with labels describing them as
"Selfeed" pencils rather than "Metermatic." I haven't found any with silver caps and gold
rings as shown in the 1951 brochure.

"Leader" pencils with a stylized W near the bottom of the caps.

Detail of the Leader's stylized letter W.

Lady Corinth Metermatic or Selfeed pencils as shown in the 1951 brochure.

The pronounced ribbing on the caps of these pencils suggest they were meant to 
accompany the Skywriter 52 or Ball Pointer pens, c. 1951. The top one is a demi-sized
Metermatic/Selfeed repeater; the bottom one is a twist-action pencil with a crude
ringtop soldered onto the top end.

The earliest reference I could find for the "Sapphire" was in late 1952. They were offered in 
matching ballpoint and pencil sets.

Waterman Sapphire pencils, c. 1952-1957.

In 1957, Waterman offered "convertible" pen and pencil sets, also called the "Sapphire."
The pen had an interchangeable ballpoint/liquid lead refill. The pencil was a simple twist-action
affair, perhaps hedging a bet that the liquid lead refills might not work.

Waterman Sapphire pencils to accompany convertible ballpoint/liquid lead pens,
c. 1957.

The Crusader went through one final, unfortunate redesign sometime between 1951 and 1954, when
this incarnation is shown in a 1954 dealer sheet. A demi version was also offered, with a 1948-era clip.

The Waterman C/F (for "cartridge filler") was the American company's last gasp, designed by
Harley Earl of automobile design fame and introduced in late 1953. These remained in production after the company was sold to BIC and was ultimately absorbed by its French subsidiary.

Waterman C/F pencils. These were ordinary twist-action pencils -- the cartridges
were only in the fountain pens they accompanied.

This does not purport to include pencils made in Canada, France, or in the UK.