Nos Vintage Sheaffer Prelude(9050)fountain & Ballpoint Pen Set, Rainbow Plasma/gt

  

Sheaffer used his jewellery expertise to create a device which would allow users to fill a pen with ink much easier, cleaner and be more aesthetically-pleasing. In 1912, Sheaffer, dedicated his life savings to his idea of a pen-filling apparatus initiated by a lever system. By the 1930's, Sheaffer pens had solidified itself as a leader in the luxury pen market. The fountain pens were advertised as the pen that fills instantly from any ink-well, with one touch of a finger.

Instantly, Sheaffer became a household name and must-have product. On March 1st 1966 Sheaffer Pen Co became a division of Textron Inc and the'Sheaffer's' logo was change to'Sheaffer' on all merchandising and literature. Sheaffer have been innovators throughout their existence; pioneering different nib styles in the 1920 making them more reliable, they were one of the first pen manufacturers to move away from hard rubber materials to celluloid, they altered pen shapes and introduced innovations such as the snorkel filling system. Like so many innovative ideas the tip dip filling system was yet another from the Sheaffer company, designed to improve the overall writing and user experience of their pens. Sheaffer was a family owned company up until 1966 when the diversified Textron Conglomerate aquired control of the firm, becoming Sheaffer-Eaton. Under Bic's tenure the Iowa plant was closed in March 2008 with production moving to China and operational aspects like purchasing, warehousing etc moving to Slovakia.

When the Prelude initially appeared on the market in 1997 Sheaffer advertised the prelude collection as a'classic design' with a'pleasurable writing experience'. The prelude range was in keeping with the Sheaffer tradition for quality design and effortless use. Prelude fountain pens were originally made up of five different finishes: Magnificent Gold, Luminous Lacquers, Luxurious Metals, Distinctive Mattes and Classic Chromes. On offer is a unique and eye catching New Old Stock Sheaffer Prelude fountain and ballpoint pen set (model reference 9050) in a rainbow plasma (titanium oxide) finish accentuated with 23k gold plated trim. This model of pen has a classic cigar shape that provides a substantive feel in hand and writes beautifully.

When the Prelude model was introduced in 1997 they all had "Sheaffer's" and "USA" indented on the pen cap rings and nibs. Not long after Bic acquired Sheaffer in 1997 the nib graphic was changed to an "S" and the "Sheaffer's" on the band was replaced with "SHEAFFER" and "USA". Later, the nib "S" graphic was eliminated in favour of the original "Sheaffer's" except the band continued to have "SHEAFFER" and "USA"indented on it. However, when the Sheaffer plant at Fort Madison in the USA was closed in march of 2008 production was subcontracted to China by Bic and the "USA" part of the previous identifiers was removed.

The clip is also gold plated and sports the iconic Sheaffer white dot. The cap has the prelude distinctive white Pearl insert on the cap finial. The nib on the fountain pen is a two tone stainless steel medium nib, with "Sheaffer's" and "M" indented on it. The matching ballpoint pen has the same features as the fountain pen. The fountain pen comes with a converter and the ballpoint pen has a working refill. These pens are increasingly becoming a rarity and very seldom appear for sale as a set. Both of the pens are in excellent/mint aesthetic condition and in good working order. There are no dents, dings, scratches or personalisation on this pen.

Both are presented in a Sheaffer box. Please refer to the photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the description. Thank you for taking the time to consider this pen. I also have other pens that for sale that may be of interest to you.