©The Esterbrook Project

Esterbrook #280 J Broad Points

Description:

  • Name(s): J Pen, “J” Engrossing Pen, Selected J, J Broad Points
  • Shape: Straight
  • Finishes: Gray, Black, Gold
  • Tip: Stub/Pointed
  • Prices: 75¢ per gross, $1.00 for Gold

Comments:

  • “A Medium Broad Stub, for Lawyers’ Use, and Backhand Writing”
  • “Broad Point Engrossing. A Very Easy Pen.”
  • “Firm, broad. For engrossing”
  • J pens were a common style in the UK. Generally they are not stub pointed but are instead a rather broad and easy action pen.
  • The earliest image seems to show a stub, but by the 1883 Catalog it’s described as a “circular point” which meant a smooth, rounded tip, not a stub.
  • The photograph at the top shows a later version in Gray, which is never described in the existing catalogs. It lacks the “J” on the pen and is most definitely not a stub.

Other Images:

1877 American Bookseller Ad
1878 American Bookseller Ad
Pen box from c. 1880. By 1883 Catalog the “Selected” was dropped.
1883 Esterbrook Catalog
1890 Esterbrook Pens and What They Will Do
1918 Cameron Amberg Catalog
1926 Esterbrook Catalog
1938 Esterbrook Catalog – Gold Plated
1938 Esterbrook Catalog – Black
William Mitchell J Pen, c. late 19th-c. – Notice the black coating and the “J” was ground off for contrast

References:

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

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