Waterman Pen Company

Waterman pens made for Air France's Concorde

Waterman factory in Manhattan

The Waterman pen company is a major manufacturer of fountain pens. Established in 1884 in York City by Lewis Edson Waterman, it is one of the few remaining first-generation fountain pen companies, as Waterman S.A..

History

The initial years of Waterman's involvement in pen manufacturing are unclear. The earliest records of reservoir pens date back to the tenth century, with the oldest surviving examples dating back to the 18th. Waterman's improvements on basic pen design and aggressive marketing played a vital role in making the fountain pen a mass-market object.

The key novelty feature of Waterman's first fountain pens was the feed, for which his first pen-related patent was granted in 1884. From the beginning, competition in the fountain pen industry was fierce, both in the marketplace and the courtroom. Despite later company literature that depicts Lewis E. Waterman as a golden-hearted innocent, all evidence indicates that he was a tough, savvy, and innovative businessman.

Nonetheless, it was after L. E. Waterman's death in 1901 that the company took off. Under the leadership of Waterman's nephew, Frank D. Waterman, the Waterman Pen Company expanded aggressively worldwide. While Waterman introduced its share of innovations, the company's main selling point was always quality and reliability.

As the 20th century wore on Waterman's conservatism allowed its younger and more innovative competitors to gain market share -- Parker, Sheaffer, and Wahl-Eversharp, in particular. By the later 1920s, Waterman was playing catch-up; it continued to struggle through and beyond World War II before finally shutting down in 1954.

Waterman's French subsidiary, Waterman Jif (later Waterman S.A.), continued to prosper and eventually absorbed what remained of the American company and its British arm. Successfully weathering the challenge of the ballpoint pen, it was acquired by Sanford, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, in 2001, owner of The Parker Pen Company.

Pens

Early Waterman pens were made of hard rubber and were equipped with 14K gold nibs. From early on, precious metal trim and overlays were offered. Many are still in use today, and their nibs are prized for their smoothness and flexibility.

Waterman's high production volume from c. 1900 on means that vintage examples are comparatively easy to find today. The most common models from the hard rubber era are the #12 slip-cap eyedropper, the #52 screw-cap lever-filler, and the #42 retracting-nib safety pen. Waterman adopted celluloid comparatively late, with the advent of the Patrician and Lady Patricia in 1929. Though largely ignored by present-day collectors, the Waterman C/F of 1953 introduced the modern plastic ink cartridge.

A few pens of Waterman S.A. are: the Edson, the Philéas, the Hémisphère, the Expert, the Harmonie, the Charleston, the Ici et Là, the Audace, the Sérénité, the Liaison and the Carène. The Man 100 was released in 1983 for the 100th anniversary of the company; François Mitterrand was known for carrying two wherever he went.

External links

• Official site in English
• Tour/visit with Factory
• Parkercollector.com (Detailed information about most pen models made by the Parker Pen Company.)