Pens started off as quills. These quills became wrapped in different materials like ivory or even metal. This shifted to hard rubber in the 1850s, celluloid in the 1860s, caesin in 1910s, cellulose nitrate in the early 1920s, cellulose acetate and acrylics in the 1930s, and pressure plastics in the 1940s.
This permitted different kinds of patterns and finishes.
Parts of a Pen
Pen Filling Systems
Pen companies competed with each other to design a pen that was self-filling and didn’t need eyedroppers to refill. Piston fillers, Crescent Fillers, Button fillers, and Lever Fillers were different kind of pen filling methods. Each pen company specialized in one type of filling system. Some other lesser-known systems include: Blow fillers, coin fillers, matchstick fillers, and sleeve fillers.
Eversharp Wahl – Lever
De La Rue – Piston
Onoto – Piston
Chilton- Piston
Wyvern – Button
Conway Stewart – Button
Parker – Button
Waterman – Lever
Shaeffer – Lever
Swan – Level
Conklin – Cresent
Lever Filler – Used to fill bladder in Pen, invented in the early 1900s
Button Filler – Used a button press beneath the cap to fill bladder. Used in 1920s
Safety Pen – The pen point is screwed outward for writing and screwed back in after being used
Snorkel- Turn the plunger at the end of the barrel. Move the plunger up and down the pen fills. Shaeffer is the only one to use this system.
Capillary System – Uses cartridges in the Parker 61
Eyedropper– Use an eyedropper to drop ink into the barrel.
Push Filler – Similar to button filler but the cap cannot be fully unscrewed. Montblac is the only company to make pens this way.
Vacumatic – Similar to button filler but the pen can hold more ink. Invented by the Parker company.
Touch Down– The end of the barrel is unscrewed and pushed up and down to pull up the ink. Used by the Shaeffer company.
Leverless – Used by Swan in the thirties. Turn the barrel to fill the ink
By 1952 most companies are making ballpoint pens.
By the 1930s all companies except Waterman used a variety of systems. Probably to increase market share and sales during the Depression.
Flat Top Pens
Pens were created from about 1905 to the late 1920s with a flat top and bottom. This was the style of the time and probably partially a result of using new materials to create new designs. Indeed, post-WW1 found pen companies experimenting with different kinds of plastics and synthetic polymers.
In 1924 Shaeffer made pens from cellulose nitrate called “Radite”.
In 1922, Parker introduced the “Duofold” and proved so successful they introduced new models and colors.
Other companies like Mabie Todd and Eversharp Wahl used woodgrain effects.
Waterman introduced the “94” pen in 1929 which had a ripple design.
Streamlined Pens
The Depression caused many companies to fold resulting in “The Big Four” surviving: Eversharp Wahl, Parker, Shaeffer, and Waterman in the US. In Germany, you had Pelikan and Montblanc.
The surviving pen companies introduced new designs using different production methods. One popular design is the streamlined look. This gives pens an aerodynamic look.
Shaeffer introduced cigar-shaped pens in the 1930s. A popular model was the “Balance”.
Parker created the “Streamlined Duofold”.
Waterman created the “Patrician” pen. Black is the rarest color with turquoise, moss agate, and emerald being the most valued.
Pelikan created the “100” a classic of the 1930s. Green being the most common color. Lizardskin and Pearlescent are the most prized.
Eversharp Wahl created the “Doric” style as part of the Personal Point design.
Pens of the 1930s
Parker created the “Vacumatic” which involved expelling air from the barrel allowing ink to fill. To capitalize on the needs of the US Army, Parker also introduced the “Military Clip”. Essentially a small clip at the top of the pen so it could be carried inconspicuously. A few companies also made lookalikes like those from Plexor and Waterson.
Pens of the 1940s
Most companies switched to war-time manufacturing and worked to develop new materials. Most pens on the market were the same as those in the 1930s. Indeed, MacArthur used a 1928 Parker Duofold to sign the September 2, 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri.
One example is the Skyline Pen, made in 1941 for air travelers. Produced by Eversharp Wahl. There were also some victory models provided in Britain with a herringbone look.
Another example is the Parker 51 which Eisenhower used to sign the German surrender. The 51 was made in 1941.
For a good overview of pens in WW2 see: Mightier Than the Sword: The Parker Pens That Ended World War II and The Pens that Ended WW2.
For a deep dive into WW2 Pens see World War II and the Fountain Pen. For Pens in Britain during WW2 see: Reenacting Tip – Pens and Pencils.
Pen Companies Product Timeline
Below is a brief chronological outline of different pen companies and when their products were introduced
Montblanc Simplo GmbH aka Montblanc Firm (1908)
Lever fillers from 1921-1929.
1924 = Masterpiece Pen also called Diplomat
1928 = Colored Masterpiece Pens
1929 = First button fillers
1933 = Pix Pressure Pencil introduced
1934 = onward Masterpiece pens have piston filers
May have used a number system?
Number System: 1935-1947. Consists of three 3 digits –
First digit: 1=Masterpiece 2=Second Quality 3=Student Pen 4=Stylograph
Second digit: 0=Safety Filler 2=Button or Push filler 3=Piston Filler
Third digit: 2=Pen Size
Letter Pattern/Design: E=Rose G=Smooth P=Pearl Gray PL=Silver Gray/Black S=Guilloched
Parker (1888)
1916 = Button Filler Pen and Jack Knife.
1921 = Duofold Pen (had hard rubber and no cap bands)/ Big Red Duofold. Many colors were produced.
1923 = All pens come with cap bands.
1923 = Parker Vacumatic Pen also had the Parker arrow clip.
1926 = Pens go plastic. The plastic is called Permanite.
1926 = Duofold Quality (DQ).
1926 = Moire a lady pen.
1928 = True Blue.
Depression Era = Thrift-Time Pens.
1933 = Vacumatic, with arrow clip.in 1939 a blue diamond was added to the top of the arrow clip.
1930s/1940s = Parkette (side filler), Challenger, Premier, Televisor introduced.
1941= 51 Pen, had a covered point. Used the Vacumatic system with a hooded nib.
Pelikan (1838)
A German company that made typewriter ribbons, ink, drawing pads, tinplate paint boxes, and carbon copy paper.
1929 = The 100 Is the First Pen model.
1932 = Ibis pen (black or marble). The school version was called Rappen.
1934 = Toledo Pen had 24k gold.
1934 = Refillable pencils produced.
1937= 100N (many colors, green and black most common). It had a smooth conical-ended piston.
Shaeffer (1913)
1918 = Sharp Point pencil introduced.
1920 = Creates the first fountain pen for the company called the: Lifetime Pen. In 1923 it got a white dot somewhere on the pen. Lifetime is written on the nib.
1923/1924 = White dot as symbol. Pens now uses plastic, not hard rubber as case material. Plastic is called Radite.
1929 = Balance Pen. Conical shaped.
1930 = Pen and pencil combination. Balance Pen introduced.
1934 = Makes a pump filler model. Avoid those from Shaeffer as the ink sac crumbles over time and leaks.
1942 = Triumph Series.
1946 = The Ballpoint pen is produced.
1940s = Touchdown pen series (might be post-war).
Waterman (1883)
1907 = Safety fountain pen. The point could be extended. Leakproof.
1915 = First lever filled pen.
1923 = Red/Black Ripple series. In 1927 the Ripple series went to #7 Hard rubber.
1929 = Patrician model. Plastic.
1930 = #94 was also plastic.
1933 = #7 plastic. Lever filler system.
1935 = Ink-Vue.
1939 = Hundred Year Pen. Pen cap and barrel unbreakable for 100 years. Point had 100 year lettering. Plastic.
1940 = Pens made of steel introduced.
1942 = Commando Pen.
1947 = Pantabille four-color ball-point pen. It has a numbered series.
Vmail and Laundry
Pens were used for writing V-Mail but also for marking laundry. You could purchase a nib set to swap out nips for thicker or darker lines. Some kits came in different colors. A few images show this below. A US Militaria Forum discussion outlines it a bit more here.
Some people think felt-tip pens were used. It’s unlikely they were used to mark laundry as early felt-tip pens weren’t commercially viable and the technology didn’t advance enough for them to be in wide use by the start of WW2. As indicated in a forum post:
” The first felt-tip marking pen was patented in 1910 by Lee Newman. It was basically a cylinder filled with ink that led to a felt tip. Benjamin Paskach patented his “fountain paintbrush” in 1926. It had a sponge-tipped handle and was filled with different paint colors. These marker pens were not commercially viable and didn’t sell.
In 1944, Walter J. De Groft patented a “marking pen” that held ink in liquid form in its handle and used a felt tip. This is the patent that will become a “Sharpie” pen in 1964. First modern (and usable) marker pen was Sidney Rosenthal’s “Magic Marker” which he invented and started selling in 1953. This marker had glass tube of ink for a body and a felt wick and its name comes from a fact that it was able to write on any surface. Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company invented a modern fiber-tipped pen in 1962. “
So What Should I Use?
Ideally, a pencil. That would have been the cheapest and most convenient way to write. Soldiers would write Vmail in pencil or pen. That said, if you were in a rear area or a static position for a while you might see pens around. You’d encounter pens at camps, duty stations, ships etc. If you’re moving around a pencil would be more common.
So if the event is more public a pen would work. If it’s more private a pencil would work. If you wanted to buy a pen you could go with an original and probably a 51 or something from the 1930s like a Duofold.
I’m not sure if this is 100% accurate but the modern fountain pens from WWII Soldier look close.
