The Wahl Eversharp Skyliner Fountain Pen

My interest in Fountain pens began to stir in the early 90’s. I remember seeing an advertisement for a Mont Blanc model 149 and thinking “Wow, that thing is pretty impressive”.  The 149 is a pretty hefty unit, and is what comes to mind for most folks when they think of a fancy pen. Will Smith carried one in “Enemy of the State”. So thanks to a nice tax return, I went to Signatore Pens and walked out with a brand new Mont Blanc. My handwriting was, and actually still is, fairly rocky, getting a pen was not something I had ever given a lot of thought to, but man this pen was nice!

After a while, I started going after more pens, and built up a collection of some very nice ones over time. I was also buying pen magazines, and articles on older pens began catching my attention. This led to a gradual shift in my interests and priorities regarding what I was after with my collection. Fountain Pens have been around for a long time, with Lewis Waterman starting the company bearing his name in 1884.

There was at one time a huge number of manufacturers of pens in the United States, virtually everyone carried a pen as part of their daily routine. Not as a status symbol, although there were some more ornate models to be had, but rather an everyday object. This aspect is what began to really catch and fire my enthusiasm, as I learned more about the pen industry and what it had been at one time, I became hooked on the subject. The ingenuity in design and engineering appealed to the part of me that enjoys all things tactile, much like the guitars that have been another ongoing fascination of mine. There is a very distinctive feel to a well designed and manufactured product that I am bonkers over, that’s what has kept my interest going over the years.

The subject of this post is my Eversharp Skyliner. This pen was introduced in 1941 by the Wahl-Eversharp company and was designed by Henry Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss was a leading industrial designer of the 1930s and 1940s who is also known for streamlining the steam locomotives of the New York Central Railroad’s famed 20th Century Limited in 1938. (Another design of his is the Princess phone, introduced in 1959). You can see the commonality of the designs between pen and train in the photos below.

The 20th Century Limited locomotive designed by Henry Dreyfuss in 1938.

Cap to the Eversharp Skyliner pen, also designed by Dreyfuss. You can clearly see the influence, especially after an era appropriate cocktail.

This is a commemorative postcard of the Chicago to New York City inaugural run of the Ltd. I love this school of design, very elegant.










My pen has a black body, with a green striped cap. The Skyliner came in a myriad of colors, with three sizes available, a smaller “Demi”, the standard, and an oversized “executive”.

 

This pen is wonderful to write with, the nib is very smooth and puts down a nice wet line in use. Skylines are lever filled pens, this is the most common filling system used. Think of vintage 1940's  cartoons with someone being squirted with a pen, that's your lever filler in action!

Skyliners were an enormous success for Eversharp becoming the best selling pen in the USA in by 1945. They were made until 1948, and remain a popular choice for collecters due to their modest prices and wide range of variations. I have really enjoyed this pen, and hope that you enjoyed learning a little bit about it. I appreciate you stopping on by, thanks and come again....