Fairchild Dip Pen with Esterbrook 794 Nib
date: label: date made
content: ca 1920-1958 (nibs)
label: date made
content: ca 1920-1958 (nib)
label: date made
content: ca 1920-1958
name: label: maker
content: Leroy W. Fairchild
label: maker
content: Esterbrook Pen Company
notes: label: Description
content: This 7-1/8" pen has a steel nib, ornate gold-colored metal grip, and ridged white mother-of-pearl handle. The nib is marked: 794 (/) R. ESTERBROOK (/) MODIFIED SL[ANT]. The grip is marked: FAIRCHILD. A wooden case has rounded corners and brass hook-and-eye latches. The case is covered with black leather and lined with blue paper.
label: Description
content: Richard Esterbrook moved from England to the United States in the 1850s and opened a factory to pens in Camden, N.J., around 1860. The company also made pen nibs, probably beginning around 1920, when it expanded into fountain pens. Venus Pen and Pencil, formerly the American Lead Pencil Co., purchased Esterbrook in 1967. Leroy W. Fairchild began making fountain pen nibs in New York City between 1837 and 1843. After the firm experienced bankruptcy, it reorganized in 1897 and began to sell fountain pens. In the 20th century, the company also offered dip pens.
label: Description
content: Frank Terlitzky (1885–1962), who owned this pen, emigrated from Russia in 1906 and settled in Baltimore, where he and his wife worked as caterers.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: writing implements
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Pens and Pencils
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Frank Terlitzky
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.314804
label: accession number
content: 210144
label: catalog number
content: 314804
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pen
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: mother of pearl (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .5 cm x 18 cm x .5 cm; 3/16 in x 7 3/32 in x 3/16 in