Writing with a fountain pen is an elegant experience, and it speaks volumes about the owner of the pen. The beautiful art of fountain calligraphy has been passed down through generations.

Different manufacturers produced fountain pens years ago, and while some have stopped making pens, their products are still worth a lot of money. You can make a huge profit from selling collectible fountain pens! Even if you don’t want to sell, having a collectible fountain pen gives you huge bragging rights and the admiration of fountain pen enthusiasts everywhere.

If you’re wondering if your pen is a collectible, then this article is for you. 

Top Fountain Pen Manufacturers

Like every other collectible, certain manufacturers dominated the market from the onset or are still dominating the market. Not all makes of fountain pens can be considered collectibles, which is why we’ve made a comprehensive list of all possible collectible fountain pens. 

In the world of fountain pens, every fountain pen enthusiast will have heard of at least one of these big four brands we’re going to look at. If you have an older collection of these brands, it is likely that you are in possession of a collectible worth a reasonable amount of money. 

Waterman 

Waterman is one of the legends of fountain pens, and Lewis Waterman brought about an epic transformation to the structure of the fountain pen. If you observe the design of more recent pens, you’ll notice a space on the feed for air to flow into the tank and push the ink out the nib. 

Lewis Waterman came up with this idea and was able to produce pens that could perform this function. Before Waterman invented this design, it was more challenging to use the fountain pen and ink was constantly leaking out. It was hard to control the outflow of the ink, and great caution was required with frequent drying. 

Adding an air input onto the feed made it easy to control the outflow of the ink by slightly angling the pen while writing.

Unfortunately, the founders were bought out in the 20th century by a French organization. This is why early versions of the pen are considered collectibles.

The Waterman Ideal No. 52 is a famous Waterman product in high demand on the collectible pen market. If you have a Waterman Ideal No.52 pen in your collection, you can link up with other owners to share the wonderful experience of owning one over social media. 

Sheaffer

Sheaffer is another fountain pen lover’s dream, and this brand revolutionized the fountain pen game. Water Sheaffer was among the pioneers of celluloid pens.

With celluloid material, Sheaffer was able to experiment with the design and color of his fountain pens. Sheaffer was among the early makers to diversify the color of the pens and offer the market a range of options. 

Sheaffer took advantage of the color angle, but he also exploited the design. He designed a new fountain pen shape named the Sheaffer Balance, which looked like a torpedo.

The Sheaffer Balance quickly caused waves on the market, and other makers had to come up with designs to compete with it.

Parker 

Parker is a brand that almost everyone has heard of, and George Parker has proven to be worthy of that recognition. He came up with the design popularly known as the Lucky Curve — a feed system that took ink back to the storage unit instead of staying in the feed like in other fountain pens. 

This new feed style was a massive success because it reduced the risk of a pen blotting after being used for a long period of time. In 1921, a new pen was released that caused another uproar in the market.

The pen was called the Duofold, and it was designed using hard red rubber as opposed to the typical hard black rubber. The bold and distinct hard red rubber caught the eye of pen enthusiasts everywhere.

Also, the pen was larger than the average fountain pen, further contributing to its bold design. After some time, Parker started producing different colors of the Duofold. 

Another model of the Parker collection worthy of mentioning is the Parker 51, which was released in 1941. The design of the Parker 51 had a distinct and straightforward touch, and the colors came in solid shades.

If you have a Duofold collection or a Parker 51 collection, then you have collectible fountain pens you can boast about. Learn how to handle them with care and keep them safe. 

Conklin

Roy Conklin also came up with a new impressive design for fountain pens. His designs are in high demand on the current fountain pen collectible market.

Roy Conklin designed the crescent filler system, a filler system that aimed to improve the lever system of refilling. The lever fillers needed two hands to refill, but the mechanism of the crescent filler made it possible to refill with one hand. 

Conklin’s design was a big success in 1898. However, he refused to upgrade his design to adapt to the changing market. As a result, the company lost momentum and was bought by Wahl-Eversharp in 1927. 

Conclusion 

If you’ve been wondering if you own a collectible fountain pen, you now know several of the most popular collectible brands on the market. You can also browse the internet, check pen shows, or visit an antique store to confirm. 

If it turns out that you do own a fountain pen, congratulations! Collectible fountain pens are priceless and should be handled with care. Before you purchase any advertised antique pen, check the parts of the pen and ensure they are consistent with the original model being advertised.