Maker: Sheaffer.
This page refers to the Balance model using this name.
The Lady Sheaffer was the low end of the Lifetime pens; it shared a price point with the very slightly longer Sovereign, and both were slender models. It bears a white dot and the point is marked LIFETIME and has a two-tone mask. It is, in essence, an upgraded Miss Universe.
Production Run: 1938 – 1942 (this model changed substantially in the Triumph era).
Cost When New: $8.75 (for modern value, try this calculator).
Size: 12.3cm long capped, 14.6cm posted, 10.7cm uncapped.
Point: 14k gold with platinum mask.
Body: Celluloid.
Filler: Lever, capacity approx. 0.8ml or vacuum filler, capacity approx. 1.3 ml .
Lady Sheaffer with a rather brassed band. The clip sets it as 1935 or later, while the “ebonized pearl” colour ceased production in 1939.
Lady Sheaffer, carmine striated. This colour was introduced in 1939. There isn’t usually a name on the clip along with a white dot; whether this was policy at the Canadian plant or just the result of a little production line inattention is unclear.
The slender Lifetime point. Notice that it is possible to polish away the platinum mask.
Detail of the impression – this gives a sense of the possible differences between Canadian and US production, since the patent date makes no sense whatever in the US context
If you are relying on the preceding information to win a bet or impress a teacher, you should read the site’s scholarly caveat. Remember, this is the internet, and it’s full of bad information.