SU036: Summit No. S.185 Fountain Pen and Pencil Set.

Date: c1950s

Size: Length - 5 7/16 inches capped - 6 3/8 inches posted.

A very good condition full size Summit set from I would thinkthe late 1940s or early 1950s.  Whilst the pencil is in excellent condition with no damage that I can see, the fountain pen does have some scratches near the top of hte cap, and some plating weat to the lower edges of the pocket clip and slight foxing to the filling lever.  Both pieces are imprinted with "ESSO SAFE DRIVING".  This legend still has the original gold filling on the pencil, whilst on the pen it has worn off.  It is often the case with sets that one piece has been used much more than the other, and with this set, the pen has seen much more use than the pencil.  Having said that, it has certainly not been abused.  The caps have over-the-top military style gold plated Summit pocket clips, and wide gold plated bands near the lips.  

Fountain Pen

At the top of the barrel, the imprint is around the top just behind the cap threads.  It is very faint and difficult to read.  The nib is a large and shiny Summit in 14 carat gold.  It is in a fine point.

Pencil

This is a twist action propel-repel pencil.  The cap is twisted to extend and retract the 1.1mm lead.  The cap will also pull off and beneath is the stub of the original eraser still housed in its metal sheath.  Below this is the lead storage area, and whilst there are no leads there now, I have fitted a fresh one into the mechanism so it is all ready to go.  The pencil is in perfect working order.

I have fully serviced this pen.  The nib is very smooth in use and it writes with a good fine line.  The nib is also slightly soft and will produce a little understated line width variation as you can see from the writing sample.