Eberhard Faber Permapoint Fountain Pen 1941-1948

by Jim Mamoulides, December 27, 2024

Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen Green c. 1941-1948

Sold before the story was told...

This story begins with a bent nib Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen in green brickwork celluloid c. 1941-1948 that was at best a parts pen. I sold it and a black one thinking they were cheapies and not realizing they had a story. The pen shown above is a 5 1/16 inch long lever fill pen with chrome or rhodium plated trim. The clip is stamped PERMAPOINT. The stainless steel nib is stamped E. FABER over MEDIUM over IRIDIUM over TIPPED over MADE IN over U. S. A. The barrel is stamped PERMAPOINT over EBERHARD FABER U. S. A. over U. S. PAT. 124,266. My later curiosity about it led me down a rabbit hole to find out more.

Eberhard Faber, named after John Eberhard Faber, was originally and much more widely known as a pencil manufacturer, established at 133 William Street in Manhattan, New York City in 1851 as a branch of A. W. Faber of Germany. The business was later moved to Forty-Second Street and East River, but on May 29, 1872 a fire destroyed the equipment and stock, which fortunately was covered by insurance. The company previously suffered and recovered from a smaller fire in May 1867. The decision was made right after the May 1872 fire to quickly move and set up in newer and larger facilities in Brooklyn. Making fountain pens appears to be a much later endeavor, appearing in retailer advertising from the mid 1930s to the late 1950s. Many pencil companies expanded into making fountain pens, including the American Pencil Company and the Eagle Pencil Company.

U. S. Design Patent 124,266 awarded December 24, 1940

Usually, patent numbers stamped on fountain pens or pen parts relate to some technical aspect of the pen the manufacturer wants to protect. In this case, U. S. Design Patent 124,266, awarded to Henry Zoll and assigned to Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, is for a design, an “ornamental” yellow band on the cap and barrel end. The “band” is actually a disk that sits between the black cap and barrel ends and the cap and barrel themselves. The patent was applied for on September 16, 1940 and awarded December 24, 1940. The illustrations on the patent document even show the brickwork celluloid design that shows the overall thinking about the future pen.

Several examples of gift boxes and a dealer counter display proclaim a “Yellow Band Guarantee” which must relate to the yellow bands on the cap and barrel ends. The undated counter display describes the Permapoint as “new” and shows a dozen Raven’s Wing Black pens with pointed cap tops. Those two facts would date the display and pens as early as 1941. This guarantee statement also appears in a few 1942 retailer advertisements. I have not yet been able to come up with a document like an instruction sheet that describes what the guarantee promises.

Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen Green c. 1941-1948

These pens were made in five celluloid colors Eberhard Faber named Gray, Green, Golden Brown, Burgundy, and Raven’s Wing Black. The black was a solid color. Some retailers described the brickwork celluloids as “pearl.” The brickwork actually consists of strips of the material running lengthwise down the cap and barrel, rather than a continuous design. There are identical Permapoint pens with gold plated trim and nibs that have a slightly different celluloid design, with alternating panels of brickwork and marbled strips running lengthwise on the cap and barrel. Those pens can also be found in Permapoint gift boxes, and one 1948 advertisement calls that version the Permapoint De Luxe. Sets with fountain pens and matching pencils were also offered in both versions.

Four nibs grades were available: extra fine, fine, medium, and broad. From the earliest known advertisement for these Permapoint pens in the May 31, 1941 Colliers magazine, Eberhard Faber also offered “renewal units": a complete, assembled new point, section, feed, and sac for 25 cents. To replace the point, the entire section is unscrewed from the barrel and replaced with the “renewal unit".

Eberhard Faber Permapoint trademark registration listing - Google Books

Eberhard Faber obtained a United States Trademark, number 348,621, for “Permapoint,” awarded August 3, 1937 for “fountain pens and parts thereof” and claimed it was in use since October 8, 1936. Though I’ve never seen one, Permapoint pens made before this 1940 patented design had to be different from the ones shown here as they were advertised as new in 1941. The earliest advertisement I could find using the trademark name was in the August 27, 1937 Sacramento, California Bee offering a Permapoint fountain pen and pencil set for one dollar, though no pre-1941 advertisements show the pen itself. Even though the trademark did not call out pencils, Eberhard Faber announced on October 19, 1939 a new “thinner-lead” mechanical pencil with the name “Permapoint,” indicating that the company intended to use the trademark as a brand across multiple products. This usage can be seen with a Permapoint branded fountain pen offered c. 1944-1948 called the “Harmo-Tone” that had a 14 karat gold nib and sold at a higher price point than the Permapoint pens shown here.

A Gimbel's advertisement in the April 5, 1948 New York Daily News offers Eberhard Faber Permapoint De Luxe pens with gold plated appointments and nibs with an original price of $1.50 for the fountain pen and $2.50 for a matching fountain pen and pencil set. They were on closeout for 50 cents and 75 cents respectively because Eberhard Faber was redesigning the line and Gimbel’s bought all the remaining stock. The new line would be a solid color, streamlined, with bright chrome plated appointments.

Identification Guide and Features:

Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen Green and Raven’s Wing Black.
Note differences in size and end caps.

This version of the Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen is notable for its design patented “yellow band” cap and barrel decoration. They were introduced in 1941 and replaced with a redesigned version in 1949. There are two slightly different versions of the pen, a slightly longer 5 3/8 inch capped fountain pen with pointed end caps, which I believe is the earlier design, and a 5 1/16 inch capped fountain pen with flatter end caps. This Permapoint model consists of lever fill pens with chrome or rhodium plated trim. The clip is stamped PERMAPOINT. The stainless steel nib is stamped E. FABER over (the nib size) over IRIDIUM over TIPPED over MADE IN over U. S. A., though some nibs may omit "IRIDIUM TIPPED." The barrel is stamped PERMAPOINT over EBERHARD FABER U. S. A. over U. S. PAT. 124,266. There is a De Luxe version of the pen with gold plated appointments which may have a different model number. Based strictly on advertisements and reviewed pens, I believe the Permapoint with chrome or rhodium plated trim is a distinct model from pens and pencils with gold plated trim and nibs. The gold plated ones are De Luxe models, with different celluloid in the same colors and priced higher and will be covered in a future article. The list below reflects this conclusion.

• Celluloid cap and barrel in brickwork Gray, Green, Golden Brown, and Burgundy, and solid Raven’s Wing Black
• Black plastic nib section
• Black plastic cap top and barrel end cap with yellow band feature
• Chrome or rhodium plated clip stamped PERMAPOINT
• Chrome or rhodium plated cap band with two painted bands, and side lever
• Lever filler
• Threaded cap
• Barrel imprint on three lines: PERMAPOINT over EBERHARD FABER U. S. A. over U. S. PAT. 124,266
• Stainless steel nib stamped E. FABER over (the nib size) over IRIDIUM over TIPPED over MADE IN over U. S. A. (some nibs may omit "IRIDIUM TIPPED")
• Four nib grades: extra fine, fine, medium, and broad
• Nib, feed, section, and ink sac was replaceable for 25 cents
• Two versions: 5 3/8 inches long capped with pointed end caps and 5 1/16 inch capped fountain pen with flatter end caps
• Retail price for the fountain pen was $1.00 in 1941 and the fountain pen and pencil set was $1.50, a De Luxe version with gold plated appointments was $1.50 and its fountain pen and pencil set was $2.50
• Sold in paperboard boxes or individually on countertop card displays

Because I found out most of the information about these pens after I sold both of them, there won’t be a performance section. Even if I still had them, they were both repair parts pens, one having a bent nib, so any serious test would not be possible. I did manage to dip test the black pen and it put down a smooth medium line in all directions, so I look forward to getting some nice examples eventually to try out and update this article.

Eberhard Faber Permapoint fountain pen Green and Raven’s Wing Black nib sections

Compared to offerings by Eagle and Venus, the brand name for American Pencil Company fountain pens, my impression is that these Eberhard Faber pens are a little lower quality level, but better than cheap brands like Wearever. I can’t say much more about the fit and finish given that these were both parts pens.

If you look for them, Eberhard Faber fountain pens are not terribly uncommon. The celluloids on the 1940s Permapoint pens are quite attractive. They don’t command high prices, probably because they are not well known and may be viewed as lower tier pens. Some work would need to be done to collect all five finishes and nib grades. A fun challenge for a collector on a limited budget!

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References

Advertisement, Colliers, May 31, 1941, page 76

Advertisement, Colliers, September 28, 1946, page 87

Advertisement, Colliers, December 6, 1941, page 77

Advertisement, Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri, December 12, 1939, page 2

Advertisement, Daily News, New York, New York, April 5, 1948, page 7

Advertisement, Lansing State Journal, Lansing Michigan, September 6, 1945, page 6

Advertisement, LIFE, January 15, 1940, page 7

Advertisement, Meriden Record, Meriden, Connecticut, October 11, 1945, page 6

Advertisement, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 19, 1948, page 5

Advertisement, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, April 29, 1945, page 9

Advertisement, The Evening Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, October 22, 1943, page 20

Advertisement, The Mercury, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1943, page 3

Advertisement, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, August 27, 1937, page 6

Advertisement, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, September 8, 1939, page 9

Advertisement, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, September 10, 1940, page 12

Advertisement, The York Dispatch, York County, Pennsylvania, August 26, 1943, page 14

“Fire In Forty-Second Street” The New York Times, May 20, 1867, page 8

“March Of Industry” The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, October 19, 1939, page 31

“Mr. Eberhard Faber’s Death” The New York Times, March 4, 1879, page 8

“Summary of the Day’s Doings” The Brooklyn Daily Times, Brooklyn, New York, May 31, 1872, page 3

“The Burning of Faber’s Pencil Factory” The Sun, New York, New York, May 30, 1872, page 3

United States Design Patent 124,266, awarded to Henry Zoll and assigned to Eberhard Faber Pencil Company, applied for on September 16, 1940 and awarded December 24, 1940

United States Trademark 348,621 for “PERMAPOINT” for fountain pens and parts claimed use since October 8, 1936, registered August 3, 1937