Maker: Eversharp (or perhaps Parker, if one wishes to be pedantic).
This strange object is the residue of the Eversharp pen colossus after it was bought out by Parker– it says Eversharp on the front of the cap, but Parker around the back. There’s not a lot of information floating around about it– just getting the name sorted out was a great effort for the collected boffins of the Fountain Pen Network. The name might be a play on the old “a picture is worth…” saying, but a slightly more sensible speculation (which I crib from the entry on different but equally oddball pen of that time over at parkerpens.net) is that it is suggestive of how much writing one might do out of a single cartridge.
It is about as good a pen as it looks– a reasonable steel point, a little easier to grip than a Parker 45 thanks to a wider grip and the Baleen Whale texture of the section. That texture is visible when the pen is capped, giving one some pause on the subject of the seal provided by the cap. I also wonder whether that little Samurai court hat at the top of the cap isn’t meant to lead an observer into thinking it’s a ball-point rather than a fountain pen, which for me is a very sad statement about the nature of the pen business at the close of the ’50s. The weirdness of the design is hard to photograph well, in that the point looks like it’s in upside down in what was meant to be a semi-hooded section.
It is likely that the design of this pen was complete when Parker bought the company in 1957, and that production was held up both by the change of ownership and an urge on Parker’s part not to undercut the release of the 45 (which probably benefitted from Eversharp’s research efforts). There are some hints in 1958 that something was coming from the Eversharp side of the bed, but in the event, this pen appeared shortly after the 45 was released. I don’t have any foundation for the end of the run, but it likely didn’t survive the rollout of the Big E in 1961 (an Eversharp branded item much closer in appearance to the 45).
Production Run: 1960 – c. 1961
Cost When New: $1.98 (for modern value, try this calculator).
Size: 13.0 cm long capped, 13.0 cm posted, 12.5 cm uncapped.
Point: Steel.
Body: Polystyrene.
Filler: Cartridge, capacity approx. 1.2 ml (same one as Parkers use).
Eversharp 10,000 Word Pen
The original packaging – notice the Parker cartridge
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.