6 Pen Nibs and Case for Pencil Leads
date: label: date made
content: ca 1940
name: label: maker
content: Esterbrook Pen Company
notes: label: Description
content: This object consists of one 1-11/16" cylindrical metal case for pencil leads and six nibs for dip pens. The first nib is marked: 968 (/) R. ESTERBROOK & Co. (/) RADIO PEN (/) MADE IN U.S.A. The second nib is marked: 988 (/) R. ESTERBROOK & Co (/) RADIO PEN (/) MADE IN U.S.A. The third and fourth nibs are marked: B (/) BEATS ALL (/) STUB. The fifth nib is marked: C (/) BEATS ALL (/) BANK. The sixth nib is marked: V (/) BEATS ALL (/) SCHOOL.
label: Description
content: Richard Esterbrook moved from England to the Americas in the 1850s to manufacture steel pens, opening a factory in Camden, N.J., around 1860. The company expanded into fountain pens around 1920. The Radio line of pen nibs, steel points for dip pens, was introduced around that time, but these nibs were probably made later. Venus Pen and Pencil, formerly the American Lead Pencil Co., purchased Esterbrook in 1967. It is unclear which pen manufacturer made the "Beats All" brands, but these examples probably date to the 1930s.
label: Description
content: William J. Ellenberger (1908–2008), who owned these items, studied electrical and mechanical engineering at The George Washington University between 1925 and 1934. He then worked for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the National Bureau of Standards. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was a civilian construction management engineer for the army from 1954 to 1968, when he became a private consultant.
label: Description
content: References: advertisement for Esterbrook Pens, <i>The American Stationer and Office Outfitter</i> 90, no. 8(March 4, 1922): 35; "The GW Engineering Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees," http://www.weas.gwu.edu/ifaf/hall_of_fame_inductees_2006.php.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Drawing Instruments
label: Subject
content: Drafting, Engineering
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Pens and Pencils
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of William J. Ellenberger
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1981.0933.25
label: accession number
content: 1981.0933
label: catalog number
content: 1981.0933.25
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pen points
label: Object Name
content: pen nibs and lead case
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4.5 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm; 1 25/32 in x 13/32 in x 13/32 in