Fairchild Dip Pen with Esterbrook 794 Nib

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.

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.

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.

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