You can ignore most of what you may have read on my page describing how pens work.
This is a stylograph, a technology with wrestled with the
fountain pen as is commonly known for acceptance in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries (and fictionallyin
the early 19th), and which actually predates the Waterman feed, having
been invented in 1875 by Canadian Duncan MacKinnon. The basic
mechanism is a tube through which
ink flows, the flow being regulated by a tiny wire running up the
inside of the tube. When held above paper, a weight on the tail
of the wire forces it to drop fully, blocking the tube. Touching
the paper pushes the wire upward, allowing ink out. The drawback
to this system is that if the pen is tilted over, as many people like
to do when writing, the wire can catch on the paper, possibly getting
bent and thus stuck-- there's a reason these aren't used much.
The advantage to the stylograph is that, when held with care, the width of line is extremely
regular. Of course, this advantage is mainly obvious in the world
of technical drawing, where thickness of line has vast meaning.
This is, in essence, a technical pen in a more attractive
mounting than usual-- Koh-I-Noor apparently no longer makes even the utilitarian versions, with the "Rapidograph" name in the hands of Rotring. Despite the advent of various computer-assisted means of drafting, there is still a demand for these items.
It's in my collection as an oddity, since I don't expect to find a
stylograph intended for writing (you can tell the difference by
examining the end of the tube, which is slightly rounded for writing
and sharply squared for technical use) and also through some respect
for my father's architectural career. Being a techincal pen which
one can take out on the town, the joy of writing is limited, but it
does indeed make a very regular line.
Specifications: 0.9mm point. Piston filler. 13.2 cm long capped, 15.4 cm posted.
Condition:
Duff plating on the clip and band. The cap is the flimsiest
material I've ever seen forced into this kind of service-- the larger
of the two cracks that run above the band is visible in the picture
above.
Repairs:
Cleaned out the mechanism-- which is another reason these aren't as
popular as fountain pens. They clog without pretty attentive
maintenance.
For sale?: No.
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