Ephemera

This page last updated 4/16/12

Original Carter's package enclosure from the 1930s

What is Ephemera?

Ephemera is anything of very short life or duration. As far as pen and ink related ephemera goes, things included in this category are invoices, billheads, package enclosures, letters, envelopes - in general pieces of paper that were not originally intended to be saved.

Many pen and ink collectors acquire ephemera to display along with their collections. Ephemera is also an excellent resource for researching your pen and ink collection.

Click here!
for Parker Memorabilia

Click here!
for Sheaffer Memorabilia

Click here!
for Waterman Memorabilia

Click here!
for Esterbrook Memorabilia

Ephemera Sections
Postcards	Billheads, Letters & Labels
Poster Stamps	Instruction Booklets

The “O” and the “N” Onoto Pen Drawings

Set of two reproduction drawings from the original drawings done in 1923 and 1924 by Peter Crook. The drawings were retraced on April 20, 2009 and are just amazing. The "O" Onoto Pen schematic was originally done in August 1924 and measures 17 x 23 inches. The "N" Onoto Pen diagram was originally drawn in October 1924 and measures 15.75 x 23.5 inches. Both have been reproduced in black and white as the originals were. If you are a pen repair person, the detail is there in case you would have to re-make a missing part. Even if you're not a repair person, it's hard not to appreciate the amazing detail that is shown in the drawings. Precisely folded and in a white envelope with information about the drawings. Just a small portion of the drawing is pictured here to give you an idea of the detail.

P858

The “O” and the “N” Onoto Pen Drawings

$15

P815	Montblanc Collection 1989-1990 - The Art of Writing, price lists only - Includes set of two, the Retail and Trade Price lists published May 1, 1989. Original prices lists are printed on high grade glossy paper in black and white.	$8
P816	Montblanc Collection 1989-1990 - The Art of Writing, Retail Price List only. Published May 1, 1989. Original price list is printed on high grade glossy paper in black and white.	$5

**PostCards**
*A lovely postcard greeting from ca. 1910*
P830	Inkwell Postcard Full color front shows a gorgeous blue inkstand made of Lacy Pressed Glass. Inkstand is ca. 1830 and was made by the Sandwich Glass Company. Postcard is from the Corning Museum of Glass. 5.5 x 3.5 inches. Not new, but not super old either! No writing on back side. Excellent condition.	$5

Ephemera Sections
Postcards	Billheads, Letters & Labels
Poster Stamps	Instruction Booklets

**Pen and Pencil Instruction Booklets**
Esterbrook Pen Brochure
P706	Wearever Guarantee Certificate for the DeLuxe Fountain Pen, orange certificate border on white background, black printing, measures 3.5 x 5.75, very good condition	$4
P707	Wearever Guarantee Certificate for the Zenith Fountain Pen, green certificate border on half tone green background, black printing, measures 3.5 x 5.75, very good condition	$4
P808	Speedball Lettering - Drawing Pens Enclosure 4 panel, 2 sided mini brochure in black and white. Marked Camden NJ. Five nibs illustrated on front, coupon on the bottom third of enclosure noting to mail in twenty cents in stamps or coin for the latest edition of the Beginners Speedball Pen Lettering text book by Ross F George. Reverse side shows lettering samples done with Speedball A, B, C and D style nibs as well as info on how to dip into the ink and "clean pens do clean work". Measures 6 x 2.25 inches unfolded and 1.5 x 2.25 inches folded into brochure. Very good condition.	$5
P878	Stylographic Ink Pencil Directions - Original directions for use of the Stylographic Ink Pencil. Black on thin white paper with some light blue black inks scribbles on the right side. The patent date noted on the illustration tells us that this patent was applied for by George Hosinger on Jan 24, 1918 and first used on April 18, 1919. You can view the entire patent on Google patents, click here. The directions measure 7.75 x 4 inches. Nice little piece of well preserved history.	$20

Ephemera Sections
Postcards	Billheads, Letters & Labels
Poster Stamps	Instruction Booklets

Billheads, Letters, Labels and Misc.

Original Diamond Ink Label

P123

C.I. Davids & Son, letter, January 31, 1936, black and white, 8.5"x11", logo top center

$10

P176

Diamond Inks label, "Leader mucilage", red, black and yellow, .75x2.75

$10

P227

Diamond Inks label, "Brown Ink", brown, red, light blue and metallic gold, 1"x1.5", mint condition.

$10

P228

Diamond Inks label, "Special Fountain Pen Ink Green", green, blue, red, white and metallic gold, 1.5" square.

$10

P234

Diamond Inks label, "Show Card Colors-dark green ink", 1.5"x3", mint condition.

$10

P427

Pamphlet, 4 Speedball Lettering Pens, "New and improved models-Gordon and George Pat", black and white, 4 page, 6"x9", very good condition, not dated ca 1920's

$25

P731

Diamond Inks Label, Duro Blue Black Fountain pen Ink, red, white and blue, measures 3.5 x 3 5/8 inches.

$10

P732

Diamond Inks Label, Show Card Colors, Orange, dark blue, red, white and gold, measures 1.5 x 3 inches.

$10

P733

Diamond Inks Label, Stampine non-smut numbering machine ink black. Light blue, dark blue, red, white and gold, measures 1 x 4.75 inches.

$10

P735

Diamond Inks Label, Dancing Bubbles in bright red and white. Measures 3.5 x 1.5 inches, cute!

$10

P737

Diamond Inks Label, School Stickine Paste in royal blue, white and orange. Measures 2.75 inches square.

$10

P738

Diamond Inks Label, Sparkling Green Fountain pen Ink, bright green and yellow, measures 1.5 inches square.

$10

P740

Diamond Inks Label, Rubber Stamp Ink in bright yellow, red and black. Measures 1 x 5 inches, top right corner is torn.

P741

Diamond Inks Label, Mucilage, yellow, blue , red and ivory. Measures 1 x 5 inches Very elegant graphics.

$10

P764

Norman Rockwell Santa Folder - Beautiful illustration of Santa studying the world, note the quill pen tucked behind his ear! This came to me with a group of 1940s Christmas Cards and I suspect it is from the same era. High quality lithographs on heavy ivory stock. This is a folder - Santa and the world on the front, inside front and back and the back cover are all blank. Measures 8 3/8 x 10 7/8 inches. Perhaps designed to hold an 8x10 photo? The size would be right! Perfect unused condition.

$10

P798

Admiration Dip Pen Display Header Card - bright red with white text, measures 2.5 x 6.75 inches. Heavy cardboard, this originally topped a display card of Admiration plastic dip pens. Staple marks in center which is where the card with dip pens was attached. Very good condition.

P799

Lee Dip Pen Display Header Card - red, white and blue printing on heavy cardboard stock. This originally was stapled to a display card of Lee dip pens. Measures 2 x 8.5 inches. Old steel staple is still in the top of the card. Very good condition.

P819

Santa Claus Postcard - This vintage postcard shows Santa at his desk complete with a lovely inkwell and quill. There is a pencil written note on the back side from Cousin George to Miss Alice in Altura Minnesota. The date is December 22, 1924. The front is in very good condition except for a small autograph from George on the right edge.

$10

P865

John Holland Gold Pen Co - ca. 1925 Letterhead sheet with beautiful masthead. Sheet measures 7.25 x 10.5 inches, soft white printed in black. Address is 127-129 East Fourth St in Cincinnati, Ohio. Upper Left lists RO Holland President and JA Holland Secy & Treas. Established 1841 noted in top right corner. Excellent condition.

$10

P866

John Holland Gold Pen Co - ca. 1925 Envelope is beautifully illustrated. Envelope measures 7 x 10 inches with flap on the short end. "84 Year Old John Holland Pen" and printed advertising about great-grandfather's 1841 pen, first year of Holland's gold pen, unconditional guarantee & more. Address is 127-129 West Fourth St in Cincinnati, Ohio. The envelope is showing some aging on the edges, but no tears or bends, overall very good condition.

$10

P868

Albert Magnusson Billhead - Magnusson was known for their top of the line oblique dip pen holders. Tough to find the actual product these days and much sought after by serious writers of copperplate. This is a billhead dated August 5, 1914 with masthead of Albert Magnusson, Manufacturer of Oblique Penholders. Obviously, Dr. Magnusson ran a diversified business including repairing billiard tables and musical instruments along with making pen holders. I found it interesting that it states Bell Telephone, but there is not a number listed, so I suppose you picked up the phone and asked the operator for Dr. Magnusson. This bill is typed and hand written in pencil with A. Magnusson signature in blue ink. The bill was for tuning and cleaning the First Babtist (sic) Church's organ. Black and white, measures 6.5 x 8.25 inches. Penciled in on the back side is a name and address that doesn't seem related to the front side bill, but who knows! Very good condition with just light fold lines.

$20

P869

V-Mail Letter and Envelope - Small 4 5/8 x 3.75 inch envelope is postmarked February 16, 1944, rectangular window for address to show through, pre-stamped War & Navy Departments V-Mail Service return address with printed warning in top right corner: Penalty for Private use to avoid payment of postage, $300. A hefty sum in 1944! Inside is a v--mail Valentine's Greeting to Grace in St. Louis from PFC Leeman at an APO in San Francisco, judging from the illustration I think it's safe to say Leeman was in the South Pacific in 1944. This envelope and V-Mail letter are in very good condition.

$15

P870

V-Mail Letter and Envelope - Small 4 5/8 x 3.75 inch envelope (torn off to open on the short end), oval window for address to show through, is postmarked December 10, 1944. Pre-stamped War & Navy Departments V-Mail Service return address with printed warning in top right corner: Penalty for Private use to avoid payment of postage, $300. Inside is a v--mail Christmas Greeting to Grace in St. Louis from PFC Leeman at an APO in San Francisco. Sort of interesting and a little bizarre in retrospect - the border is a combination of Christmas holly interspersed with war ships. The V-Mail letter is in very good condition, but the envelope as noted above is torn on one end.

$10

P871

United War & Community Chest Campaign Envelope - Someone forgot to contribute to the war effort and instead saved this little printed envelope with red feather! Envelope measures 3 5/8 x 2.25 inches, printed in red ink: As a Contributor Be Proud to Wear Your Feather United War and Community Chest Campaign. There is a tiny Union Made symbol, also. The red feather measures 2 7/8 inches long. Both envelope and feather are in excellent condition.

$10

P872

Diamond Ink Label, Diamond Black Ink, black, red and white. Measures 2 5/8 x 7/8 inches. Never used on a bottle! Mint condition.

$10

P873

Diamond Ink Label, School Stickine Paste, bright orange, white and navy blue. Measures 1 5/8 inches square. Never used on a bottle! Mint condition.

$10

P874

Hunt Dip Pen Nib Advertising Mailer - This is quite the elaborate piece mailed to solicit new dip pen nib customers. Die cut in the shape of a pen nib, it is a tri-fold with mailing info on one side, Hunt advertising on the reverse side and yet more Hunt advertising for round pointed dip pens on the inside. A smaller panel originally held four Hunt nibs, now two remain tucked inside their little cardboard holders, one No. 24 Ledger and one No. 55 Scholar. Hunt's return address is Camden NJ with 1 cent postage paid on Permit No. 8. It is hand addressed, in ink of course to W.A. Lee at the State Bank of Roseville, Ill with a handwritten notation from Mr. Lee, I assume: A good pen for every day use. I love the advertising jargon from days gone by when pictures were far and few in between and every word counted, one line reads: Do not think us vain when we tell you that the greatest improvements ever made in writing implements is embodied in Hunt's Round Pointed Pens. Measures 6 5/8 in x 2.5 in folded and 6 5/8 in x 7 in when flat. It does show some light wear on the edges, but considering it went from NJ to IL via the post office, I'd say it has survived very well!

$40

P875

Gregory Fount-O-Ink Packing Ticket - Dated April 7, 1952, original Fount-o-Ink packing ticket for 24 fine points and noting a Repair order for work done on reset and adjustment of points and replaced wells. Measures 8.5 inches square. Nice illustration in top right corner of a Fount-o-Ink Writing Set. Far rarer than a Fount-o-Ink inkwell itself! Very good condition.

$20

P876

Starr Pen Company Guarantee, ca. 1930s, Chicago, Ill - yellow paper printed in black. Love the wording, "In the event of any dissatisfaction return or mail this certificate with this pen and 25cents in Stamps or Cash, etc etc." Measures 3 x 4.5 inches. Light fold mark in center, otherwise very good condition.

P877

P879

Jet-o-Matic Ball Pen Display - This is a never used, stored flat Windsor Jet-o-Matic Retractable Ball Pen Display from the mid-1950s. Note that these were Advertised in Life and the price was 29 cents. Lots of advertising hyperbole on this display! Measures (flat) 12.5 x 9.5 inches. Shows a coupe of rough spots on the front right hand corner, but other than that, I think it is safe to say it is mint condition and looks like it would have when it was shipped to a pen shop in the 1950s. It's just waiting to be filled with a dozen Windsor ball pens!

$25

P880

Eagle Pen Holder Display - Great Art Deco styling, typical of Eagle in the late 1930s - early 1940s. Full color heavy cardboard full color easel displays from the Eagle Pencil Company New York-London-Toronto. Copyright printed on the display is 1936. Display measures 8.5 x 11.5 inches. The backside of the easel display has simple printed directions on assembling the display. Originally held one dozen Eagle dip pen holders. Near mint condition.

$15

Ephemera Sections
Postcards	Billheads, Letters & Labels
Poster Stamps	Instruction Booklets

Poster Stamps

Original Kaweco and Ko-Mio Poster Stamps from Germany

Poster stamps were made primarily between 1890 - 1940 and are as the name suggests posters in stamp size. Most feature brilliant colors & many times quite simple, but eyecatching artwork. Poster stamps were used as advertising and affixed to invoices, envelopes & other correspondence. Some of the poster stamps listed below are from actual pen or ink companies, some are from other fields, but all have artwork featuring pens, inks or writing. Poster stamps have become quite collectible and are becoming harder to find in good condition. All of the ones listed below are in excellent condition!

P832	Penkala Poster Stamp, ca. 1920s, 1.75" triangle shape, blue with ivory Penkala logo, very good condition.	$15
P833	Penkala Poster Stamp, ca. 1920s, 1.75" triangle shape, blue with lavender Penkala logo, small tear on edge at top left corner, otherwise very good.	$15
P834	Penkala Poster Stamp, ca. 1920s, 1.75" triangle shape, blue with green Penkala logo, very good condition.	$15
P835	Penkala Poster Stamp, ca. 1920s, 1.75" triangle shape, blue with bright pink Penkala logo, very good condition.	$15

Click here to read our No Quibble Satisfaction Guarantee!
Click here for Ordering Instructions
Pendemonium Special Services Gift wrapping, personalized enclosure notes and more. Click here for details.
Sign up for INKY GREETINGS Pendemonium's direct email list featuring special offers, new items and pen community news exclusively for subscribers.
Click here for Fountain Pen Filling Instructions
Comprehensive listing of Pen Manufacturers and Repair Centers Click here