Hutcheon Brothers Fountain Pen

This week’s restoration is from a pen I picked up last May and had not had a chance to work on until this week. Sometimes the good ones get pushed back in the queue, forced to follow the pens that need more work.

As you can see, the mottled hard rubber is in quite good condition, though the sac has been reduced to dust.  The j bar is in great condition and I will be able to use it again.  It had a few rust spots that I was able to sand out with little effort.  No new parts will be needed other than a new size 16 sac.  I often receive questions as to whether vintage pens should even be resacced, given the potential for the sac to potentially decompose over time and discolor the barrel.  I would (and do) respond that it is totally a personal preference.  If you are not going to use the pen, I see no reason to place a new sac in it.  I tend to use most of my pens, especially just after I restore them.  But I do have a few Houston’s that I have not used and I have removed the sacs. Ok, off of the soapbox and back to the workbench….

I thoroughly cleaned the section / feed and nib as there was quite a bit of dried blue ink in and on them.  Simple water does the trick on the section and feed, making sure to dry them quickly as water and hard rubber to not get along well.

I polished the nib with Pentiques metal polish and a dremel set at low.  After I reassembled the section / feed / nib,  I reinserted the j bar into the barrel, making certain it was firmly seated back in the barrel and flush with the lever.

I polished the clip and lever as well, gently, so that I did not get polish on any of the adjacent hard rubber.

The finished product is below.  It measures 5 35/64 inches closed and 6 7/8 inches posted.

The box that the pen came in is in excellent shape.  As you can see, the pens were made for the New York Telephone Company.

No mystery on this nib – apparently it is a medium.

Fortunately, this flyer was in the box and explains that these pens were made for employees of the Company.  It is a interesting glimpse into supply chains in 1930s corporate America.

Enjoy…

Here is a closeup of the nib ~ a medium 14k with a hint of flexibility.

The Hutcheon Brothers logo is on one side of the barrel.  I have little information about Hutcheon Brothers other than that the Manhattan Pen Maker Project (click for link) lists their address as 241 Centre Street in New York City in 1931. 

I have seen a few other pens of theirs over the years – some in hard rubber and some in gold or gold plate, however this is the first I have owned.

Fountain pens are no stranger to Phone Companies.  A somewhat common find is the Esterbrook Black LJ sized pen that is often found with the Bell Systems Property stamp on it.  I have photographed one here next to the Hutcheon Brothers.  I would be interested to hear of other large Companies that purchased and distributed pens to their employees, stamping them for identification.