©The Esterbrook Project

Esterbrook # 149 Pacific Railroad

Description:

  • Name(s): Pacific Railroad Pen
  • Shape: Straight (large)
  • Finishes: Bronze
  • Tip: Pointed
  • Prices: ¢60 per gross

Comments:

  • The 149 Pacific Railroad pen is a mystery. I discuss it in more detail over at The Steel Pen.
  • There were at least three different manufacturers of 149 Pacific Railroad pens. (and no evidence of an actual Pacific Railroad). We know Turner & Harrison made a 149 Pacific Railroad pen under the Constitution brand. We know Esterbrook made one, and there appears to be someone making a 149 Pacific Railroad pen into the early 20th-century, after the last evidence of either Esterbrook or Tunrer & Harrison making their version.
  • I suspect the 149 was a copy of an earlier manufacturer’s 149 Pacific Railroad. This would explain how two different manufacturers could make the same number and name and shape of pen at the same time.
  • There is precedent as Esterbrook made, for a short time, a copy of another manufacturer’s popular style, the Harrison and Bradford’s 505 bookkeeping pen, after Harrison and Bradford went out of business.
1883 Esterbrook Catalog
  • The pen itself is pretty consistent across all three variation. It’s a large, straight pen with a medium/fine tip and some flexibility in its action.

Other Images:

1883 Esterbrook Catalog
1890 Esterbrook Pens and What They Do
1915 Turner and Harrison catalog. The last mention of the pen in any manufacturer’s documentation.
A box in my personal collection that appears to date from the 1920s-40s. The pens just say 149 Pacific Railroad. Manufacturer is unknown. No indication on the box or pens.

References:

The existence of this pen is confirmed or surmised by the following:

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