Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen

Here's another ad for Waterman's Ideal fountain pen touting what in 1911 was a big selling point, its portability. Imagine how freeing it must have felt to no longer have to dip a pen into an inkwell in order to write. Suddenly writing on the hotel veranda while enjoying the sea air was a real possibility, not a cumbersome contrivance that could only be managed at the risk of ruining everything you were wearing. 

The mention of the extra amount of letter writing that takes place over the summer struck me. Ah, for the time when correspondence wasn't a dashed off email, twitter hash-tag self centered, or fake-book account filled with selfies and skewed accounts of reality with a bias toward witty sarcasm. Sorry, just indulging my inner Luddite.

Waterman 56 Fountain Pen

Ah, the Waterman Ideal no. 56. You can find a few of these early self-fillers on the internet, some restored and some in original condition. Waterman was established in 1884 and still operates as a subsidiary of Newell.

The 56 was made of para rubber and later Bakelite and came equipped with the traditional gold nib. I find the claim of writing 25000 words on a single fill a curious one. Words have this disturbing habit of coming in differing lengths which plays hell with standardization. Then again, maybe Waterman had a "standard" word specially selected for ink-volume testing.

I haven't had the opportunity to write with a Waterman fountain pen yet. I'm still rolling with my trusty Parker, but I'm hoping to expand the fountain pen family this holiday season...hint, hint.