Morrison Flat Top

I have previously discussed the restoration of four Morrison Pens – two War Themed pens, a Gold Plated Flat Top Model, and a Jade Marble Sheaffer look-a-like ~ linked here:

No “Tiers” Shed Here – December 9, 2007
Golden (Fountain Pen) Dreams – March 7, 2008
Morrison Wartime Pens – May 4, 2009
Morrison Battleship Grey Fountain Pen – January 20, 2010

These are relatively easy to find as they show up in on-line auctions quite frequently (also from the same family are Morton, Marathon, Nassau, and Roxy Pens).   Thought to be third tier pens, they are fairly well made, usually have nice 14k nibs and the large flat-top models come in a variety of attractive colors.

This pen came with considerable staining inside and out (a blue – green mess)  and a snapped j-bar.

I spent a considerable amount of time cleaning the cap and barrel and even was able to get a dremel and polish wheel inside of the cap to assist in getting rid of the residual ink.

Once cleaned, I inserted a new large j-bar and attached a size 20 sac to the reassembled nib/section/ feed.  The nib is a large Morrison / Iridium Point / 14K / N.Y.   The clip also reads Morrison’s and has the familiar “M” surrounded by a wreath.

The end result is below.

The pen measures 5 1/4 ” capped and 6 5/8″ posted.  Another interesting part of this pen is the lever box.  It resembles a Waterman lever box as it has the reinforced metal box and attached lever most often associated with vintage Waterman’s such as the 52 featured in my post of March 10, 2009, titled Classic Waterman 52.

I have not seen this lever box on other Morrison or Morrison family pens.  It is a much cleaner look and this one is in great shape other than the lever is broken off at the end.  It still works fine and is easy to lift.

I would place the production of this pen in the 1930s.

Through the years Morrison Pens made several lower tier pens that resemble this pen.  Here are a few other examples from my collection.

As I have mentioned in other posts, these were considered third tier pens, but after restoration they come quite close to the more sought after flat tops of the era.  Here is a photo of some of the Morrison family of pens and their clips.

These are all large pens, very usable, and a nice way to get a vintage flat top without breaking the bank.

Presidential Fountain Pens

Everyone who has spent time around the hobby of fountain pens and read about them has run across the question as to which (if any) fountain pens the Presidents (or other World Leaders) have used. I will not attempt to discuss Eisenhower’s Parker 51, or other favorites here. I will, however, discuss the restoration of two pens named after Presidents – Jefferson and Lincoln. Are there others? I do know that there are Monroe Pens (though I don’t know if they were named after President Monroe), but can think of no others. If you can, please feel free to comment below. I do not even know if Lincoln or Jefferson Pens were named after the Presidents. Remember my article on Franklin Pens of Philadelphia? I mistakenly thought they were named after Benjamin Franklin until research led me elsewhere.  For now, I will assume that the two Presidents shown below are the inspiration for these pens.

Abraham Lincoln, pictured on the left, was the 16th President of the United States from 1861 to 1865, and Thomas Jefferson (right) was the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

The first photo below is of a vintage Lincoln Fountain Pen after it has been taken apart.  The lower pen is the Jefferson.  As you can see, they are both in decent shape and I would guess that the Jefferson was never inked.  Both are lever fillers and the Lincoln has the hanging pressure bar, which is still in good condition.  As mentioned above, the Jefferson shows no evidence of any ink ever touching its parts.

I thoroughly cleaned the gold furniture on both pens, including nibs, which were both large Warranted 8′s, with plenty of tipping material on them.  I did clean the outside of the Jefferson with scratch remover and polish as it is plastic.  The Lincoln, I left alone as it was quite clean, and I did not want to damage the hard rubber or mottled patterm.  The Lincoln took a size 18 sac as did the Jefferson.  Make sure to use a sac that leaves a bit of room.  You do not want to use a sac that fits too tightly in the barrel.

Below are photos of the finished pens.  The Lincoln was made by National Pen Products in Chicago.  My estimate for its production would be in the late 1920s.  I would suspect that the Jefferson was a later pen, produced in the 1930s.  I am uncertain as to who produced the Jefferson, though have read speculation that it is in the same family as Morrison/Morton pens.  Some evidence of this possibility will be discussed later.

Note the darker ring in the plastic of the Jefferson below.  I am not certain what caused this as there was nothing in the box that might have caused this.  Perhaps there was a price ring on the pen that disappeared prior to my finding it.

This photo shows the two “Presidential” pens together.  Measurements are as follows:

Lincoln ~  5 15/32″ capped and 6 1/2″ posted

Jefferson ~  5 15/32″ capped and 6 27/32″ posted

The imprint on the Lincoln, which is one of the most detailed National Pen Products imprints I have seen.

Like the rings of a tree, this is a nice addition, a ringed look to the top of the cap on the Lincoln.

Interesting clips ~  The top is the Lincoln with the familiar National Pen Products leafy branch and flower.  You will see this clip on many of their brands.

The Jefferson clip has a familiar wreath,  seen on many Morrison – Morton – Marathon pens.  Check out the vintage clip shot in my article No Tiers Shed Here, written on December 9, 2007 which shows similar wreath surrounding the first letter of the Pen Names.  This makes me think that the theories that I have heard about Jefferson Pens being related might be true.

Here is a photo of the Jefferson box with the phrase ” The Gift Beautiful” on the lid.  The interior has a velvet (damaged) seat for two writing instruments. If the second was a pencil, it was missing when I found it. The logo for the Jefferson follows in the second photo. It is found on the inside of the box lid.

These pens are not as valuable as those used by Presidents to sign treaties and legislation, but another way to collect “Presidential” pens.

Morrison Battleship Grey Fountain Pen

I have previously written about Morrison Fountain Pen Restorations in three previous posts ~

No Tiers Shed Here — December 12, 2007

Golden Fountain Pen Dreams –  March 7, 2008

Morrison Wartime Pens — March 4, 2009

The Morrison Family of Fountain Pens are some of my favorite third tier pens as they are often well made and have quite good nibs.  This pen is one I have not seen before.

Below you can see the lever filler after I found it.  It had never been used before, but was in quite a neglected state.  You can see the sac has hardened and the nib is very discolored.  The cap rings, clip and lever have also taken on a greenish brown hue.  I first tested the gold furniture and determined that it was not cheap gold plate and could be polished back to its original gold color.  I then took quite a bit of time to scrub the cap and barrel and polish them.  The section and feed were soaked and cleaned.  I then reinserted the nib and feed into the section and attached a large size 20 sac.  A large j-bar was reinserted into the barrel and the  friction fit section was placed back in the barrel.  More on the nib later…

Here is a photo of the unposted and posted pen.  It measures 5 3/8 inches closed and 6 7/8 inches posted.    The clip looks to have plating wear and to have lost its gold, but if has not and this is a lighting issue.

I am intrigued as to how these were sold, or to whom they were sold.  The box has “A GIFT OF SERVICE”  on the top.  Morrison did market to the Military as shown in the advertising and pen in my Morrison Wartime Pens article of March 4, 2009.  This pen seems to be directed to members of the US Navy or Veterans in appreciation of their service.

Here is a photo of the completed pen, in its box.  The box contains two slots for writing instruments and I am going to assume there was a matching pencil at one time.  Morrison did make pencils to match their pens as is evidenced by other models.

The nib is a bit different than any Morrison’s that I have seen, with Morrison in cursive with a flourished “M”.  In fitting with the large pen, it is a large 14K No. 8 nib.

Here is the imprint, which refers to “BATTLESHIP GREY” as the pen name.  Clearly a Navy reference, this would seem to be a pen marketed as an appreciation gift to a US Navy Sailor for his or her service to their Country sometime after World War I (Thank you Greg, for this reference).  These are not as common as other Morrison brands, though I have seen a few in the past year.

Morrison Wartime Pens

The discovery of this matchbook cover a few months ago had me on the lookout for a Morrison “Patriot” Fountain pen. I finally found one recently, and proceeded to work on it’s restoration.  This is the only piece of fountain pen ephemera that I have found on a matchbook cover.  I suspect that there are others out there and if you have some, please comment.

Here is a photo of the same pen depicted on the matchbook after I took it apart.  This photo shows the syringe filler, still attached to the section.  As you can see, the barrel is quite dirty and the gold furniture is tarnished.

I used a bit of heat and was able to  twist off the syringe tube ~ it is friction fit to the section.   The plunger can be pulled out through the front after the plunger grip is unscrewed.  The photo below shows the filler after it has been taken apart and the cartridge has been cleaned out.

The dilemma with these pens is that the filler was never meant to be repaired..just used through the limited life of the pen.  So, in repair, there are a few options.  First, one can repair the filler to its original condition and this involves rebuilding it by repacking the cartridge and rebuilding the plunger washers.  Secondly, one can simply turn the pen into an eyedropper.  The section screws into the barrel and a seal could be developed.  Third, a sac could be attached to the section and the pen could be simply filled by squeezing the sac and then attaching the barrel.

Fortunately, I had a simpler solution.  I have had the Morrison set below for about 10 years sitting in the back of my pen chest and when I checked its filling system, it was the same.  I was able to take the filler unit off of the Red Morrison and shellac it to the Army Patriot.

Here is the filler below after the switch and water test.  I shellacked the unit to the Patriot after fully cleaning the section, nib, and feed.   After the shellac had dried, I water tested it overnight to make sure that the seals are still effective.  There was no leakage in a 24 hour time period and the unit was ready to be reinserted into the pen.

First, the barrel and cap needed a good cleaning, as did the gold clip and clip ring.  Do not attempt to clean the Army insignia at the cap top as it is covered with a very thin gold plate.  The rest of the furniture may be polished.

Below, is the completed pen, polished and ready to write.

Here is the cap top logo of the US Army.  These Morrison Pens also came with cap tops of the Navy and Air Force. (Thank you to richardspens.com for this information)  You can see the gold plating on this logo has worn down over the years.  These pens were produced during WWII and marketed to the general public, appealing to the patriotic fervor of the time.  The matchbook states that they could be a “GIFT FOR MEN IN THE SERVICE”.  In fact, they were not military pens as they did not meet the military code for pens, having clips that were not military issue.  For a quick overview of Military Clips, refer to my post of  March 21, 2008, Sheaffer Skyboy Surprise .

The nib is a large 14K nib in medium point.  There is no Morrison marking on mine and I do not know if this is common or a replacement nib.   Morrison certainly had their own marked nibs on earlier pens.

Here is the logo, highlighting the unmistakable Army Green color.

The pen measures 5 3/16″ closed and 6 1/2″ posted.  As the matchbook shows, this was sold for $6.25, including pencil, which is missing from my pen.  In my experience, the Army pens are more commonly seen than the Navy or Air Corps.   I have no idea whether this relates to the manufacturing numbers or not,  but it does relate to the number of US Service Men and Women.  The number of Army and Army Air Corps personnel significantly outnumbered the Navy during World War II.

As with V-Mail ink, reallocation of Pen Factories machinery and materials, and Military Clips, this is another interesting part of Pen History during this time in United States History.

Golden (Fountain Pen) Dreams

Gold pens are highly sought after, some more than others. Here are a couple of extreme examples. The first two pictures are of a Morrison 14K Gold Filled Flat top that measures 5 1/8″ capped. These are a nice pen to find (as well as other third tier makers) to satisfy the vintage gold need. The price can be very reasonable. I paid $26 for this pen. It did not look quite this good when I found it, but as with most vintage Morrison’s, the Warranted 14K #4 nib is a good one with a little flex and repairs are straightforward.

The filler is a standard j-bar and lever and I did need to replace the jbar as well as add a size 16 sac, as the barrel is quite narrow. One needs to be very careful when cleaning the exterior of these, as the gold is a gold plate and aggressive polishing will probably lead to a worn exterior. I did minimal cleaning of the exterior and the results are satisfactory. These pens seem to be quite plentiful in varying conditions and I would suggest waiting for one with a nicely preserved exterior. This design also came in a silver as well.

Just for comparison, below is a Parker Lucky Curve, probably dating to the early 1920s, in 14K Gold. Roughly the size of a Duofold Junior, it is stunning in all gold, including the section.

Both pens are vintage gold, and the bank doesn’t have to be broken to find a nice, restorable example.

No “Tiers” Shed Here

Today, I restored a 1930s (?) Marathon lever filler. Nothing special about this one, except for the very bright green celluloid found under the layer of black grime that reduced this to a $1.50 pen on ebay. I have quite a group of restored Marathon’s in my collection. I was initially drawn to them by their name and the tie-in to my hobby of distance running. I then discovered that Marathon’s, Morton’s and Morrison pens can be quite good pens if they have survived somewhat intact through the years. They all carry the distinctive “M” on the clip.

Little is known, or shared, about their origin. I know it was in New York and lasted for several decades. I also believe there is a tie in with Nassau and Roxy pens.

All of these are classified as “second or third tier” pens. This recognizes that they were not the premier pens of their day. This was reserved for Parker, Wahl, Waterman, and Sheaffer. However, some of the second and third tier pen makers put out some outstanding pens that are a pleasure to use today.

This pen is a green lever filler, that required quite a bit of internal and external cleaning. The clip and nib (a Warranted No. 4) were covered with a black grime. The internal j-bar was intact and reusable. So, I cleaned it all up, knocked out the nib and feed, and cleaned them. I put it all back together, installing a size 16 silicone sac. I use silicone sacs on these bright plastic pens to prevent discoloration in the future, as the sac begins to age and decompose. It is a shame these were not used in the past, as so many beautiful pens are discolored as the sacs and ink inside have reacted with the pen bodies and caps to ruin some great color patterns. I have some Parker Green and Marbled Duofolds that have been restored to almost new condition, but the discoloration keeps them from being outstanding specimens.

Here is a picture of the finished product, along with a close up of the distinctive M clip and bright celluloid material.

As soon as the sac cement dried, I filled this up with Waterman Blue-Black and it is now being used in my rotation — third tier or not!