I have a confession to make: I collect Esterbrooks. I'm also proud of my collection, which I have nurtured and cultivated for years now. There, I've said it, and I feel much better having that out in the open.
When
I first started collecting fountain pens, I was drawn to the pretty metal
overlays, which were of course beyond my budget (and beyond my knowledge
base at that point). My other focus was Waterman Ripples, which also were
beyond me at that point. I bought some books, did some research, and discovered
the world of Esterbrooks, mainly because they were cheap and easy to repair.
They were also plentiful, so I had dozens to choose from.
I bought the book by Paul Hoban, and a new world opened up to me. Suddenly I had a pictorial shopping list, and I jumped in with both feet. My first few purchases were normal J, LJ and SJ sizes, in the standard blue, red, grey, black, copper and green. As I continued on in my search, I would stumble across oddball colors, like the solid green and copper. I discovered differing shades of grey and green, and experimented with the various cut-out clip shapes on Dollar Pens. My goal, of course, was to collect one of everything.
I'll never forget the day I unearthed a twist filler. I had never seen one in person until then, but once I saw it, I knew it had to come home with me! Later, I had the opportunity to buy a twist filler from Paul Hoban himself. In fact, it is the actual pen depicted in the book, and it is one of my great treasures.
I
played around with the aerometric fillers, with their interesting caps
with the V-shaped indentation, and the cartridge fillers in their various
shapes, styles and colors. Pencils were becoming more difficult to find,
and it made my day when I would come across a set.
The CA 101 cartridge fillers never really thrilled me, but the plastic barrel, metal cap aerometric and cartridge fillers are my style. Despite the fact that some people consider the plastic/metal combination to have a cheap appearance, I prefer it to the all-plastic CA 101.
Plunger fillers also eluded me until about this time, when I came home from a pen show with two at once. I'm still working on one in every color. (Anyone have one?)
My
next conquest was the pastel purse pens. Again, my goal was to have one
of each color. The problem I encountered was that just when I thought
I had them all, a new variant would appear. The black jewels on the purse
pens seems to be fairly consistent, but the colored jewel combinations
still baffle me.
Purple jewels on a green pen, purple jewels on a blue pen? Yellow pens with green, black, or yellow jewels? Red pastels with red or black jewels? Pink pastels with pink, or black, or purple jewels? No rhyme or reason, it seemed, so my favorite supposition is that Friday afternoon in the plant, after an early "Happy Hour," jewels were inserted as the factory worker saw fit! If nothing else, it's fun to imagine.
The
Phaeton was a surprise. I found my first one on eBay, looking nothing
like an Esterbrook, but the seller insisted it was marked as such. I won
it, and when I received it, I was off in search of others. The hooded
nib and slender design, along with the unusual clip, intrigued me. While
I'll never say I own one in each color, since I just found another color
last month, I will say I'm getting there.
My second favorite pens among the Esterbrooks are the visulated-section pens in the unusual colors. These are less common and always a joy to find at a show, from a fellow collector or even in the wild. My all-time favorites are the older pens in the marbled, pearl, or cracked-ice patterns. The foliage green, Morocco red and pearl grey open-clip pens I was shocked to find all together at a show, and the pearl pens, in Morocco red and white pearl, were also found for me at a show. The hunt for all the colors in these pens continues.
Nibs
became an issue early on. After all, one of the main advantages to owning
an Esterbrook is the ability to change nibs midstream. At one point, during
my nib-accumulation frenzy, I owned about 1,200 nibs, but luckily, I've
come to my senses and only have about 600 now. Again, as with everything
Esterbrook, I wanted one of each, and just when I thought I had them all,
along would come a new one!
I became known for my Esterbrook passion after a short time and friends would alert me to unusual pens at shows, on eBay, or among their flea market finds. I have made some very good friends because of our connection through Esterbrook collecting, and several of us try to keep a "non-compete" clause working in our accumulation frenzy. It doesn't always work, but we all understand the thrill of the search and the agony of getting sniped.
I have enjoyed my life with my Esterbrook pens and hope that I can continue on for many years to come. I love being able to introduce a new person to the joys of Esterbrook and love to hear success stories of a new find.
While Esterbrook pens will never be glamorous, fancy,
or flashy, they have stood the test of time. Consider an Esterbrook pen
to be like a Timex watch: solid, dependable, "takes a licking and
keeps on ticking." After 20 years of sitting neglected in a desk
drawer, with a little cleaning, new sac and some ink, most Esterbrooks
work perfectly. Can modern-pen owners say that about their pens?