c.1938-9 WASP Lahn Clipper Fountain Pen and Mechanical Pencil Set

Vintage: c.1938-9 

Make: WASP (W. A. Sheaffer Pen)

Model:  Clipper

Color: Grey Lahn

Materials: celluloid with nickel-plated trim

Filling System: lever-filler (resacced and guaranteed to fill and write)

Length: 5" capped

Nib: 12k WASP #3 nib lays down a smooth and consistent F line

Condition: Near mint. Lahn pens often show up with corroded trim and discoloration to brown. This set shows neither. Color is pristine and trim on both shows no brassing or other notable flaws aside from from some scratches on the nose cone of the MP. Celluloid surfaces are smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other notable flaws. Manufacture imprint on FP barrel is factory deep and fully legible. MP is fully functional, propelling, retracting, and gripping lead as designed when the nose cone is turned.

Details: WASP (Walter A. Sheaffer Pen) was a 1930s Sheaffer sub-brand. The name is often used as a catch-all term for contemporaneous Sheaffer sub-brands bearing different imprints but virtually identical in other respects: e.g. Vacuum, Vacuum-fil, etc. Despite the name, most of these pens were lever fillers, rebranded to capitalize on the popularity of Parker’s Vacumatic. Sheaffer used WASP pens as a canvas for experimental designs and color patterns, many of which never appeared in their main line of pens. For this reason, these pens have gained quite a following among collectors.

Capitalizing on the cachet of air travel in 1938, Sheaffer introduced the model name Clipper, which is thought to have been inspired by Pan American Airways’ new China Clipper service launched in 1936. One of Sheaffer’s more dramatic celluloid experiments was the color pattern they dubbed Lahn. As displayed by this example, Lahn is made up of silvery metallic threads embedded in transparent celluloid. The glinting colors and underlying patterns one discovers when rotating the pen under light are truly a sight to behold. Nickel-plated trim with distinctive flat-ball clip common to many early WASPs.