The Esterbrook Project

Main Pages:

• Nib List: The complete list of nibs organized by number
• Sources and other Information: These are the sources we use to confirm a nib’s existence, as well as other general info like Esterbrook history, etc.
• Contact me
  

State of the Project: The original Esterbrook Project was begun over a decade ago by Phil Pursley. Not long before his passing, he gave over ownership of the site to me to ensure it’s survival. I was already helping Phil maintain the old site, and had some experience creating steel pens sites with my own TheSteelPen.com.

The current iteration of the Esterbrook Project is still a work in progress. As the old site began to have problems due to its age and obsolete technology, it became clear that I would need to accelerate the development of this version of the Project in order to at least have something working available to the public.

One of the primary uses for this site is for people to look up Esterbrook dip pen numbers and see what kind of pen it might be. To this end, I have ensured that for each page I have at least uploaded what images I have. Further information is available for some pens, and will be added to the rest as time permits. Incomplete nib pages are clearly labeled as DRAFT. If you have further questions about nibs on DRAFT pages, or any of the nibs, feel free to contact me through the contact page and I’ll be happy to answer as I can.

THE PURPOSE of The Esterbrook Project is to create as complete a list as possible of all the Esterbrook dip pen nibs that have been manufactured by Esterbrook from the opening of their factory in Camden, NJ in 1861, until they stopped production of steel pens in 1952.

The original version of the site was put together by Phil Pursley based on his own extensive collection of Esterbrook dip pens. After a while, he realized he wanted to record what was in his collection. After a failed computer hard drive, he decided to put this information on the web, and enlist the help of the Internet in making this the most definitive list of Esterbrook dip pens anywhere.

Phil wrote for the original Esterbrook Project site,

If you have ever used dip pen nibs, you realize that Esterbrook produced excellent quality nibs that are a joy to use. Most all were produced for writing use. However, pen and ink artists and calligraphers have found some nibs that they love more than others to use in their craft. There have been hundreds of pen manufacturers over the years and Esterbrook held a place of eminence as the leading manufacturer of dip pen nibs in the United States.

When searching the Internet for information, I could find no comprehensive list of all the dip pen nibs ever manufactured by Esterbrook. A few web sites have lists of dip pen nibs, but only for those they have in stock to sell. A few nib collections were found on the Internet, but are sadly incomplete. Kudos to the enthusiasts though.

In fact, the history of the Esterbrook Steel Pen Company isn’t to be found on the Internet except as blurbs copying Wikipedia and a very few scattered fragments of information. I have not found any archives for the Esterbrook company on the Internet to see if it could be mined for information. The history of the Esterbrook company seems almost gone.

And let’s face it, doing a Google search is about the most boring way to waste endless hours that could better be used to enjoy something else. Right?

Equally as boring, I was trying to build a personal wiki of all the data I was encountering on the Internet. After trying several utility type programs for personal wikis and databases, I became frustrated with encountering problems almost all of them have. I suffered through a couple of computer crashes where I lost all the data I had typed into these utility programs. This pointed up the flaws of many of these utility programs. They use a proprietary file system that nothing else can read, they save the file where you can’t find it, and they don’t let you export the file to any other format – or at all.

It occurred to me that if I wanted the features that I couldn’t get in these utility programs, I could have all that in a webpage environment. Then it occurred to me that I might as well put these web pages out on the Internet for everyone else to enjoy.

So I’m trying to make this website an ongoing project to see how much information about Esterbrook dip pen nibs can be collected in one place.

Why so many nib numbers?

Many fault Esterbrook for offering very similar nibs under different numbers, and the same numbers under many different names.

Sometimes this was due to improvements or changes in manufacturing, such as the nickel or chrome plating used in later production.

Sometimes this was in response to the marketplace such as when they offered Vertical Writers, Natural Slant, and Modified Slant styles in response to the penmanship fads of the late 1800 and early 1900s, but when these penmanship styles faded they renamed the same nibs, usually as “school” pens.

Sometimes it was just marketing. So Esterbrook probably made minor changes in a pen style, stamped on a new number, and – Voila! – they had a new model to sell to the public.

Customers always want the newest, best, and latest offering while turning their nose up at the old, tried and true. It’s just human nature. It’s just marketing.

I could use help.

Even though this is the most complete and authoritative list of Esterbrook dip pens in existence, that does not mean we have them all. If you know of nibs not on the list, errors in the list, links or sources of further information, or just have general comments, please contact me.

For those nibs without a good photograph, if you have one and could loan nibs for photographing, that would be hugely appreciated.

If you have high quality, sharp-focus, well-lit photographs you would like to contribute, please e-mail them. I am able to process the photo for the file size I am using on this web site.

I do not sell nibs. I do not price nibs.

For the most part I’ve limited this Project to the nibs with the Esterbrook imprint and not the nibs they made under contract with someone else’s imprint. There are a few exceptions, such as the Standard Railroad nibs which were made by Esterbrook, and sold through Sears & Roebuck with the Esterbrook name on the box.

Here’s hoping this Project will answer the question of how many different kinds of dip nibs Esterbrook produced.