Artcraft Fountain Pens

Fountain Pen History in the United States tends to focus in the Midwest and Northeast during the first half of the 20th Century.  Boston (Moore, Carter etc.. ), New York Area (Waterman, Swan, Esterbrook, Morrison, Ingersoll, Wearever…), and Chicago and the Midwest (Wahl, Parker, and Sheaffer…) were hotbeds for fountain pen production and marketing from the early 1900s through the 40s and beyond.  One normally does not think of Alabama as a fountain pen distribution point, but the Artcraft Pen is an exception.

Below is a photo of the simple lever filler after I have taken it apart.  As you can see, the clip, cap band, lever, and nib are quite dirty, as is the barrel.  The j-bar had broken off and the sac was reduced to powder.

I replaced the j-bar and the sac (size 16) and trimmed them to fit the Artcraft barrel.  The metal parts were polished in the ultrasonic cleaner and then using Pentiques’ scratch remover, polish and wax.  Classified as a third-tier pen, it still has a few nice features.  I like the stepped clip, and all of the gold fixtures polished up and there was no deterioration of the gold.  Second, I like the brown swirl pattern of the plastic.  It is very similar to the pattern found in the Belmont pen/pencil combination that I wrote about in the post ~ Belmont Pen And Pencil Combination In fact, if you look at the two writing instruments (Belmont and Artcraft) you will see the levers, feeds and shapes are very similar. I have no documentation as to who made these parts, but it is feasible that they came from the same factory. One of the great mysteries, at least to me, is the origin of many of the components of the pens we restore.

The pen is 5 1/4 inches closed and 5/ 15/16 posted.  Restored, it is quite clean and writes with a flexy medium line.

Here is a close up of the logo for Artcraft, which I believe is an artists pallet.

The medium nib, with the Artcraft Pallet logo.

Now for a bit of history on Artcraft Pens ~  I owe thanks to Mr. Marvin Whiting of the Birmingham – Jefferson History Museum for helping me with this research.  When I found out that the Museum had an Artcraft pen in its collection, I requested his assistance with any information they might have on Artcraft.  He provided me with Corporate information from the Birmingham, Alabama City Directories (1925-34).

This research shows that Artcraft first appears in 1930 at 1424-26 3rd Avenue North in Birmingham, AL (this address is now a large Chevrolet dealership).  The President/Treasurer was Ford D. Cromer, James G. Erwin was Vice President, and Lillian Sharpley was Secretary. In 1931, the address changed to simply 1424 3rd Avenue North.  In 1932, Ms. Sharpley was no longer listed and in 1934 Harriett P. Cromer was listed as Secretar/Treasurer and the address reverted to the 1424-26 3rd Avenue.  Artcraft disappears from the Birmingham records after 1934.

I did some further digging on these names and Ford D. (Dalton) Cromer, was born in August 1886 in Christiansburg, VA and died in July 1967 in Birmingham. Interestingly, he was descibed as an industrialist and inventor.  Two inventions were patented – a shoulder rest for a telephone in 1959 and a fountain pen in 1934 (the same year that Artcraft disappears from the Birmingham City directory. The application date of the patent is 1932.  His patent is linked below.  If you read the patent closely, the only aspect of the pen he is patenting is the “ornamental design”.

Patent Link (click for full patent)

Interestingly, the pen in the patent is identical to the pen I restored.  The lever and clip have the same designs as in the patent.  This would place the production of this pen somewhere in the early thirties, presumably prior to 1934.  Mr. Cromer had patented these designs on the clip and lever as his own.

Ms. Sharpley, who was the Secretary from 1930 to 1932 was born in 1901 and died in 1983.  She was a graduate in 1923 of Auburn University (AL), where she helped start the YWCA on campus.  She can be seen here in a 1922 photo.  She was quite active in the YWCA nationally, starting to work there in 1933 in Baltimore, MD after her stint at Artcraft.  She went to graduate school at Columbia University in New York and remained active in leadership roles for the YWCA into the 1950s. How she came to Artcraft for a few years I can not imagine.

Artcraft Pens appear occasionally, but not often.  I know of one collector who actively seeks them.  They still are quite a mystery to me. I don’t know if they made some of the parts, or just assembled the pens in Birmingham.  I also do not know how they were marketed.  I did come across an Artcraft Printing Company in Mobile, AL that advertises that they were founded in 1929, but they responded that there is no relation to Artcraft Pens.

I had fun exploring this little corner of Fountain Pen History, and ended up with a nice pen in the process.  A very good week….

EDIT:  I received a comment (see below) that “The Artcraft Pen Company (with J.G. Erwin) moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1934.”  This would match the information received from the Birmingham directories that Artcraft disappeared from Birmingham in 1934. I have tried to email back to the commenter, but the address bounces.  If there is additional information, please let us know what happened in Argentina…

EDIT2:  (11-6-09) I have received another comment from a reader in Argentina that confirms the move of Artcraft from Alabama to Buenos Aires.  He states that he has a pen that has the inscription “ARTCRAFT PEN CO., ARG. INDUSTRIA  ARGENTINA” on the barrel.  It is black and has no logo, and a similar clip.  This would seem to confirm the comment that J.G. Erwin moved the Company to Buenos Aires in 1934.

EDIT3: (4-9-10) One of the great things about interactive blogs is the sharing of information.  Another reader from Argentina shared this with me today ~ “In continue with the Artcraft history (the argentine chapter), here a little information. Artcraft present itself in the 40 or 50’s as the first high quality pen factory in Argentina and continuing under the brand “Escritor”, with a large list of different articles, including a Parker 51 inspiration pen with filler button and firt class materials.It is relative easy found those pens here.” I am very interested in this as I have recently come across an Argentina-made Artcraft that I purchased from a seller in Argentina that has a Parker made nib (actually a Parker budget Fifth Avenue nib).  I wonder if there was a relationship? Phil

EDIT4: (7-22-10) A pen friend in Alabama did some fantastic research and came up with the following:

“My wife found an online copy at the Birmingham Public Library of a Birmingham Chamber of Commerce publication dated April, 1925.  On page 11 under Industrial Development is an announcement:

The Artcraft Pen Company announced it will manufacture its pens and pencils here at its new plant 1426-28 3rd Avenue.  Machinery is now being installed and the plan will be in operation within 30 days.”

This would seem to indicate that Artcraft made their own pens (or at least some parts) in Birmingham in the late 1920s.

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