Well, I've finally got a 52. This is one of the semi-legendary
pens, one that collectors worth their salt should have at least one of
at some time. Why? I can't say I'm certain, other than it's
sort of the distillation of everything a fountain pen needed to be in
the first quarter of the twentieth century-- self-filling, chased black
rubber body, a build-in pocket clip, a (very-nearly) reliable feed and
a well-made gold point. There are other pens that fit this bill,
but Waterman has a certain mystique behind it-- this was, after all,
the company that invented the (very-nearly) reliable feed and kicked off the fountain pen boom.
Some of the appeal is also in the paradox of a cutting edge item which
lasts long enough to be "retro" within its production lifetime.
Like the VW Beetle,
the Waterman 52 was produced for years after the technology it embodied
was superceded (the model was introduced in 1917 and ran through 1934;
this particular pen is roughly contemporary with the Parker Duofold)
and was popular right to the end. While not as complex as a car,
there is still some appeal to having a pen which is a proven system.
I don't use this pen as much as I would like to. This is in large
part because it's in rather good shape-- while the lever and clip are
villainously tarnished, the rubber is only barely discoloured, as can
be seen just to the right of the threads on the barrel, and I'd like to
keep it that way. The best way to keep it in good shape is to
keep it out of the sun, and also out of damp places like a shirt
pocket, which reduces dramatically the number of places I'm willing to
use it. Like the miniscule 52½V,
it's got a fantastic point and allows for flexible writing. It's
light, so long writing patches are not the least tiring. It
actually (very nearly) lives
up to the reputation it's collected around itself-- one doesn't hear a
choir of angels as point touches paper, but it's a darn nice pen.
Specifications:
Fine flexible 14K gold point. Lever filler.
"Clip-Cap" clip fitted. Length capped 13.6 cm, posted 17.1cm.
Condition:
Slight discolouration of the rubber, but still glossy and with sharp
impressions. The furniture is horrible-- it likely had nickle
plating when new, but the lever is actually red now.
Repairs: Resacked, and I actually replaced the point as the one it came with had a missing nib on one tine (thanks, Buzz!).
Location: My collection.
For sale?: No.
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