Mabie Todd Swan L4 Leverless Fountain Pen 1935. 14C F Flex Nib. RARE
Item History & Price
Mabie Todd Swan L4 Leverless Celluloid Fountain Pen 1934. 14C EF Flex Nib. RARE Mint. Just Serviced with new Ink Sac. Pen has zero, cracks, splits or repairs etc. Fabulous example....
A more detailed description and FULL set of Photographs including writing sample will be added before auction ends on Sunday the 4th.
On 01-Aug-19 at 11:25:08 BST, seller added the following information:Some more information about this Swan L4...
Made in London, England 1935-36. What a handsome... pen...I adore this pens simplicity. Minimalist perfection of form and function. Zero Bling or Ostentation to distract from its purpose in life. It needs nothing showy to divert attention from flaws as its already perfect in colour and design.. You will never see better quality Jet Black High Gloss Celluloid EVER again than this. Peak Celluloid production from Swan London happened 1932-39 in my opinion. I believe it is even better than Montblanc Celluloid of the 50s. I handle 1000s of Celluloid pens for over 40 years and so when I see such a perfect piece of Celluloid as this it makes me smile inside as I know its not every batch of celluloid was made/mixed so well. I mean this pen is the MOST Black a Black pen can be. A black so rich and deep in tone as well as total colour that it defines perfection and rises above superlatives. I know its only Black but boy is it BLACK. Lets talk finish. NOTHING has better Gloss and Sheen than Celluloid. This pen has perfect Gloss and Sheen. I would say as good as any Brand New Pen only it would be a lie as I do not truly believe there is a New pen on the market that can even remotely compete with this 84 year old in the Shine, Gloss and depth of Colour department. Of course condition helps and this pen is MINT. Looks to have been used very little if ever in its life. ALWAYS looked after and NEVER abused. Rare treasure indeed!
This L4 is also quite rare and transitional in the Leverless model evolution that was so fast moving between 1932 and 1936-37 it seems over this 4 to 6 year period Mabie Todd evolved the Leverless model each year as at least 6 clear changes happen with Clips, Rings, Shape, Length, Chassing, Colours, Sizes etc etc ALL change and evolve. It was peak Mabie Todd. The Glory years of Celluloid. However this L4 is rarer still as it has no Chassing and no Ring Bands. It has the Old style Flat Top yet the prototype center crease Clip that Swan 1st introduced on this pen in this year. This Clip design was then used for over 20 years. But you will rarely see the Clip attached with Hidden ring as this one has. UNIQUE to 1934-36 ONLY. VERY rare Clip as although it looks like they did for 20 years after it. This clip ONLY fits this pen and NO other clip will fit other than this Clip type and most of this Clip attachment type are rounded front without centre crease. Unique 1st issue Clip type. If all you have is a Gold Clip then I guess its best to go with this one. The rarest.
The pen has ZERO Cracks, Splits, Repairs, Dents, Scratches or Bite Marks etc. The Swan Mabie Todd Leverless Barrel imprints are deep and easy to read as when new. The Caps Top Section has Swan Logo Imprint and is made of BHR (Black Hard Rubber) the Knurled turning Blind Cap (Tail End) has L470/60 imprint and is also BHR. The Cap has "SWAN" imprint along its side. The Front Section (part you hold when writing has Swan L4 imprint. By 1936-37 they stopped putting this imprint on ALL leverless instead just "Swan". That way they could use section on both Lever and Leverless etc models. But in the 1932-35 each front section was bespoke. Front section is BHR. The ladder or Comb Feed these Swan pens have is in my opinion one of the best Flex ink flow Feed ever made. 1st launched in the 1910s I believe this feed type was original to Swan Mabie Todd. It was in direct competition with the Waterman feed and I believe they were equal in quality but at least Swan tried their own. Most just copied Waterman's feed but few succeeded. Ink flow when full flex creative writing is essential. MANY pens feeds struggle to keep up with the nibs creativity. Not so with Swan pens. Their feeds never skip a beat and let you down. Ultra reliable feed. (Feeds are WAY more important than they are given credit for).
OK finally lets talk Nibs. This pen has a VERY rare nib. Not that a number 4 ETERNAL nib is rare in any way other than age and condition etc normally. But nearly ALL Eternal nibs are FIRM or Semi Flex at most. This 1st issue England made Eternal nib if FULL Flex (Most Eternal pre this L4 pen were made in New York E.T.N. pens NOT in England). Eternal were top of the line quality nibs. This one is an Extra Fine side stroke to Fine line down stroke Full Flex version. oh my! That's just what the doctor ordered. EF to BB. This nib is ULTRA creative for the writing connoisseur. Grade A+++++++++++++Flex Nib.
Comes ready to write just add your favorite colour bottled ink... Perfect as a gift or treat yourself to a wonderful collectible fountain pen that can be used and enjoyed daily... Please view all the Photographs they form large part of the description. All photographs are of actual pen. What you see is everything you receive. Any boxes or papers will ALWAYS be photographed if included. If you have any questions please feel free to email. 100% money back authenticity guaranteed throughout. Bid with confidence.Shipping costs etc, UK, £5. Worldwide add: Insured Registered Express delivery: Worldwide $15.00, Europe £10.00. Combined shipping is available with zero extra shipping cost in most cases. Email for quote. Fed Ex is also available.. Preferred payment: Paypal, Bank wire transfer, Bank draft & UK(only) personal cheque. Buyer pays any costs etc. PLEASE VIEW MY OTHER ITEMS MORE PENS, Montblanc, Onoto, Conway Stewart, Parker, Waterman, Mabie Todd Swan, Sheaffer, Dunhill etc..
On 03-Aug-19 at 22:21:06 BST, seller added the following information:Some More information about how to fill LEVERLESS Swan Pens....These wonderful pens are Twist Fill and have Ink Sacs inside. When you turn the Blind Cap (Tail End) it deflates the ink sac inside using a metal bar attached to the inside of the Blind Cap. Very Clever system. Then once you close the Blind Cap the Ink Sac reflates sucking in ink. To fill using bottled ink could not be any easier. Simply turn the knurled Blind Cap one and a half full turns until it will not turn anymore. Now place the whole of nib in bottled ink and turn the Blind Cap closed. Wait 5 seconds to fill. Now take nib out of the bottle of ink and wipe any excess with paper towel. Done. Takes less than 10 seconds and is Child Play EASY. Wonderful filling system. I have just serviced ALL these leveless pens and they ALL work exactly as they left the factory when new. Superb pens...
A more detailed description and FULL set of Photographs including writing sample will be added before auction ends on Sunday the 4th.
On 01-Aug-19 at 11:25:08 BST, seller added the following information:Some more information about this Swan L4...
Made in London, England 1935-36. What a handsome... pen...I adore this pens simplicity. Minimalist perfection of form and function. Zero Bling or Ostentation to distract from its purpose in life. It needs nothing showy to divert attention from flaws as its already perfect in colour and design.. You will never see better quality Jet Black High Gloss Celluloid EVER again than this. Peak Celluloid production from Swan London happened 1932-39 in my opinion. I believe it is even better than Montblanc Celluloid of the 50s. I handle 1000s of Celluloid pens for over 40 years and so when I see such a perfect piece of Celluloid as this it makes me smile inside as I know its not every batch of celluloid was made/mixed so well. I mean this pen is the MOST Black a Black pen can be. A black so rich and deep in tone as well as total colour that it defines perfection and rises above superlatives. I know its only Black but boy is it BLACK. Lets talk finish. NOTHING has better Gloss and Sheen than Celluloid. This pen has perfect Gloss and Sheen. I would say as good as any Brand New Pen only it would be a lie as I do not truly believe there is a New pen on the market that can even remotely compete with this 84 year old in the Shine, Gloss and depth of Colour department. Of course condition helps and this pen is MINT. Looks to have been used very little if ever in its life. ALWAYS looked after and NEVER abused. Rare treasure indeed!
This L4 is also quite rare and transitional in the Leverless model evolution that was so fast moving between 1932 and 1936-37 it seems over this 4 to 6 year period Mabie Todd evolved the Leverless model each year as at least 6 clear changes happen with Clips, Rings, Shape, Length, Chassing, Colours, Sizes etc etc ALL change and evolve. It was peak Mabie Todd. The Glory years of Celluloid. However this L4 is rarer still as it has no Chassing and no Ring Bands. It has the Old style Flat Top yet the prototype center crease Clip that Swan 1st introduced on this pen in this year. This Clip design was then used for over 20 years. But you will rarely see the Clip attached with Hidden ring as this one has. UNIQUE to 1934-36 ONLY. VERY rare Clip as although it looks like they did for 20 years after it. This clip ONLY fits this pen and NO other clip will fit other than this Clip type and most of this Clip attachment type are rounded front without centre crease. Unique 1st issue Clip type. If all you have is a Gold Clip then I guess its best to go with this one. The rarest.
The pen has ZERO Cracks, Splits, Repairs, Dents, Scratches or Bite Marks etc. The Swan Mabie Todd Leverless Barrel imprints are deep and easy to read as when new. The Caps Top Section has Swan Logo Imprint and is made of BHR (Black Hard Rubber) the Knurled turning Blind Cap (Tail End) has L470/60 imprint and is also BHR. The Cap has "SWAN" imprint along its side. The Front Section (part you hold when writing has Swan L4 imprint. By 1936-37 they stopped putting this imprint on ALL leverless instead just "Swan". That way they could use section on both Lever and Leverless etc models. But in the 1932-35 each front section was bespoke. Front section is BHR. The ladder or Comb Feed these Swan pens have is in my opinion one of the best Flex ink flow Feed ever made. 1st launched in the 1910s I believe this feed type was original to Swan Mabie Todd. It was in direct competition with the Waterman feed and I believe they were equal in quality but at least Swan tried their own. Most just copied Waterman's feed but few succeeded. Ink flow when full flex creative writing is essential. MANY pens feeds struggle to keep up with the nibs creativity. Not so with Swan pens. Their feeds never skip a beat and let you down. Ultra reliable feed. (Feeds are WAY more important than they are given credit for).
OK finally lets talk Nibs. This pen has a VERY rare nib. Not that a number 4 ETERNAL nib is rare in any way other than age and condition etc normally. But nearly ALL Eternal nibs are FIRM or Semi Flex at most. This 1st issue England made Eternal nib if FULL Flex (Most Eternal pre this L4 pen were made in New York E.T.N. pens NOT in England). Eternal were top of the line quality nibs. This one is an Extra Fine side stroke to Fine line down stroke Full Flex version. oh my! That's just what the doctor ordered. EF to BB. This nib is ULTRA creative for the writing connoisseur. Grade A+++++++++++++Flex Nib.
Comes ready to write just add your favorite colour bottled ink... Perfect as a gift or treat yourself to a wonderful collectible fountain pen that can be used and enjoyed daily... Please view all the Photographs they form large part of the description. All photographs are of actual pen. What you see is everything you receive. Any boxes or papers will ALWAYS be photographed if included. If you have any questions please feel free to email. 100% money back authenticity guaranteed throughout. Bid with confidence.Shipping costs etc, UK, £5. Worldwide add: Insured Registered Express delivery: Worldwide $15.00, Europe £10.00. Combined shipping is available with zero extra shipping cost in most cases. Email for quote. Fed Ex is also available.. Preferred payment: Paypal, Bank wire transfer, Bank draft & UK(only) personal cheque. Buyer pays any costs etc. PLEASE VIEW MY OTHER ITEMS MORE PENS, Montblanc, Onoto, Conway Stewart, Parker, Waterman, Mabie Todd Swan, Sheaffer, Dunhill etc..
On 03-Aug-19 at 22:21:06 BST, seller added the following information:Some More information about how to fill LEVERLESS Swan Pens....These wonderful pens are Twist Fill and have Ink Sacs inside. When you turn the Blind Cap (Tail End) it deflates the ink sac inside using a metal bar attached to the inside of the Blind Cap. Very Clever system. Then once you close the Blind Cap the Ink Sac reflates sucking in ink. To fill using bottled ink could not be any easier. Simply turn the knurled Blind Cap one and a half full turns until it will not turn anymore. Now place the whole of nib in bottled ink and turn the Blind Cap closed. Wait 5 seconds to fill. Now take nib out of the bottle of ink and wipe any excess with paper towel. Done. Takes less than 10 seconds and is Child Play EASY. Wonderful filling system. I have just serviced ALL these leveless pens and they ALL work exactly as they left the factory when new. Superb pens...
