The following references are sources for information about each of the nibs. I have included all catalogs and price lists issued by Esterbrook I have found along with some early stationers’ catalogs. (if you have others, please let me know!) I have also included a couple of important salesman sample cards because they are the earliest evidence for what pens were produced when, as well as what they looked like. I have also included a few early ads which advertise styles which are “new.”
What I’m looking for in these references is a source of information on what pens were produced at what time, what finishes were offered, as well as any information Esterbrook wanted to share for each nib. This is all marketing speak, obviously, but it gives us a glimpse into what Esterbrook felt people valued in a nib, and how these different nibs were viewed. But the primary information I’m looking for is to compile as complete a list as possible of all of the steel nibs manufactured by Esterbrook.
Other sources include ephemera such as nib boxes, sample cards, books and booklets, and advertising. And you never know what may pop up on internet sales sites, so those are monitored periodically, as well.
If you know of other references I can add to this list, please contact me.
I have included some pdfs of original sources. Please pay attention to any limitations on use listed with each source. And if you use one of these, please give credit to the source, whether it be us, or the source from which we got it. Just like the rest of this site, these are not for republishing for profit.
References
Salesman Sample Card c. 1873
This set of salesman’s samples is in the private collection of David Nishimura of Vintage Pens, who has so kindly given us permission to use images from it.
Based on the pens on this card, we can date this to somewhere between 1873 and 1875. We know this because of a couple of numbers on the card. Up until 1872 Esterbrook had been selling copies of several of Gillott’s famous pens, including the #303 Extra Fine pen, and #404 School. In 1872 Gillott won a lawsuit against Esterbrook and forced Esterbrook to renumber these pens to the #333 and #444.
On this card you find the slots numbered as #333 and #444, but the actual pen tied to the card on the #444 slot is one of the pre-lawsuit #404’s. This indicates that the card was put together after the lawsuit, but still using some old #404 stock for the pens. So, it’s after 1872. We know it’s before 1876 because by that time they had renumbered the #353, as we see in the price list for 1876.
We also know this is from that period because the cards include the address of 49 Maiden Lane, the site of Esterbrook’s offices from 1870-1875.
Salesman Sample Card c. 1874
This is a salesman sample set very similar to the c.1873 one, with the same address and the nibs are almost exactly the same. It is also in the private collection of David Nishimura of Vintage Pens, who has so kindly given us permission to use images from it.
The reasons for dating this between 1873 and 1875 are the same as the one above. The reasons I’m placing it as possibly a year later are two-fold. One, both the #333 and #444 nibs on the card are the newer, re-numbered versions, which is a fairly reasonable indicator of a set assembled after the old #404 stock is already used, sold, or destroyed. The second is more subjective and speculative.
The 1870’s were a time of deep economic slow-down that really started to intensify in 1873-74. During harder times, it would make sense to cut back on expenses such as the fancy, full-color cards as seen in the one above. This set is much more subdued and simple it its graphics, and thus would have been significantly cheaper to produce. Whether this is contemporary with the set above, or slightly later, doesn’t actually matter that much. Both are from the same period 1873-1875, and both are amazing records of the early pens of Esterbrook.
Illustrated Price List of the Esterbrook Steel Pen Company, January 1, 1876
Courtesy of the archives of the Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware; scanning was contributed by Andrew Midkiff. The use of this document is limited to educational use only and may not be reproduced without express permission of the Hagley Museum and Library.
Illustrated Price List for Esterbrook Pen Holders, 1876
Catalogs of Esterbrook’s early pen holders are even rarer than ones of their pens which is why I’m including it here, even though we don’t cover Esterbrook’s holders on this site. Courtesy of the archives of the Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware; scanning was contributed by Andrew Midkiff. The use of this document is limited to educational use only and may not be reproduced without express permission of the Hagley Museum and Library.
1877 “The American Bookseller,” Volume IV, July-December 1877.
Not a full catalog, but there is an ad which features seven new pens complete with description and pictures. One of them, the U Pen was soon after changed to the E Pen. The ad occurs ten times in this volume. This is the ad on page 299 of the full pdf.
1878 “The American Bookseller,” Volume V, Jan-June 1878.
Another ad, similar to the one above. The only pen in this ad for “New Pens” which is completely new seems to be the #809 Empire Pen. The #232 Swan quill actually shows up in the 1876 price list, so it hardly new. The others were also advertised as “New” the year before. (see above ad)
“Trade Price List of the Esterbrook Steel Pen Company,” 1879 (The American Stationer, September 4, 1879)
Contributed by Andrew Midkiff. This was actually issued to customers earlier that year. It’s mentioned in The American Bookseller (a trade publication for the publishing industry) in their issue of Feb 15, 1879 that, “The Esterbrook Steel Pen Co. have added two new styles of pen to their already large list of goods. These are called the Jefferson No. 1743, and the Franklin, No. 267. A new price list has just been issued by this company.”
Illustrated 1883 Esterbrook Catalog
Found in a compilation of catalogs from publishers and related businesses published in 1884 as The Publishers’ Trade List Annual and found online here. This catalog was meant for the trade only and included wholesale prices and descriptions of each pen. There are some gems in there including the introduction of the new and impressively large Mammoth Falcon Pen.
Anderson & Krum in 1887 Publisher’s Trade List
The Publisher’s Trade List was an annual publication listing all books being sold by publishers. Most of them are just the list of books, but sometimes you can find some other related items advertised. The 1887 edition has a long section from the large stationer Anderson & Krum, 7 Bond Street in New York City. It includes lists of several pen brands, including a long list of Esterbrook pens.
Esterbrook Pens and What They Will Do (c. 1890’s)
This wonderful booklet was published sometime before the turn of the century. The writing examples in it were written by the famous master penman C. P. Zaner. This booklet was first posted to Fountain Pen Network by the contributor Rabbit who had purchased it for $10. A few years later ewyoung posted the pdf of the original images onto the same thread at FPN.
1913 American Stationer Radio Pens ad
In the March 29, 1913 issue of American Stationer (v73, no. 13, p.19), the top stationery business trade publication in the US, there appeared a two-page ad for Esterbrook’s Radio Pens. This represents what the Radio Pen line looked like at the time. Some numbers were changed, some added, some dropped, but it has illustrations of some numbers for which I do not have photographs.
Cameron, Amberg & Co. Stationery Catalog, No. 85, 1918
Cameron, Amberg & Co. was one of the largest stationers in Chicago. In 1918 they were at 163 & 165 Randolph St. These two pages contain their dip pen selection for that year. It’s pretty likely that they had a larger selection on site, but this was a catalog that went to businesses and so only showed a selection geared toward businesses. Catalog in personal collection of Andrew Midkiff.
1918 Announcement to the Trade: Esterbrook Steel Pen Mfg. Co. Standardization of Esterbrook Pens.
Also in 1918, the United States Government requested steel pen companies to reduce the number of different pens sold so as to reduce waste and conserve steel during the war. This was Esterbrook’s statement to the trade (stationers etc…) explaining which numbers they were keeping in production.
School Supplies Catalog, J. L. Hammett Co., Cambridge, Mass., and Newark, N. J., Catalog #21, 1921
J. L. Hammett was one of the largest retailers of school supplies to school systems and individual schools in the US. This is the pen section of their catalog from 1922. Some of the images look like they may have been recycled from earlier editions of the catalog. Courtesy of the archives of the Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware; contributed by Andrew Midkiff. The use of this document is limited to educational use only and may not be reproduced without express permission of the Hagley Museum and Library.
Esterbrook 1926 Catalog
This catalog has some interesting additional information beyond just the pens. This includes what kinds of pens came in the various sets and multi-pen boxes, weights and measures (how much does a gross of pens weigh), and not very good images of some of the display cases including the famous round display. Even though I got this from another source, I believe this may have originally come from the Pen Collectors of America library, or they both originate from the same source as the scans look the same, but the version I have doesn’t have the PCA watermark.
Esterbrook 1938 Catalog
Thanks to Paul Hoban, author of the wonderful resource The Fountain Pens of Esterbrook, for this reprint of the 1938 catalog which he included in his book. He has generously allowed me to reproduce those pages of his book with his permission. The catalog includes dip pens, fountain pens, Dip-less ink wells and even binder clips.
Esterbrook 1941 Catalog
From the Pen Collectors of America library of resources.
Alphabets and Lettering with Esterbrook Drawlet Lettering Pens, 6th ed, 1918
Thanks to Ian Sims who contributed this wonderful booklet on using Esterbrook Drawlet Lettering Pens. You can also find it with full-size images on archive.org.
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