The Incredible Ball Point Pen: A Comprehensive History & Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) [Paperback]

Henry Gostony (Author), Stuart L. Schneider (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Schiffer Book for Collectors | Publication Date: January 1998

The Incredible Ball Point Pen tells the story of the ball point pen's painful development, its cacophonous launching, the public hysteria accompanying its debut, and its outrageous and scandalous promotion. It recounts the fabulous riches which followed, the public's rapid and total disillusionment with the product, the collapse of the market, scientific breakthroughs in the 1950s, the industry's resurrection, myriad improvements occurring from 1950 to 1959, and the modern period from 1960 on. This is the most exhaustive work available on early ball point brands, manufacturers, and models. It includes over 400 photos of pens, copies of original ads, patents, documentation, and a comprehensive spotter and price guide. All who appreciate the ball point pen as a collectible and investment and who wish to further their knowledge about this fascinating topic will certainly want this book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Gostony is an internationally recognized writer and authority on fountain and ball point pens. Stuart Schneider has written eleven books on collectibles and antiques and is well known in the pen collecting world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Pub Ltd (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764304372
• ISBN-13: 978-0764304378
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,560,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short but good history and many photographs of pens, June 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Incredible Ball Point Pen: A Comprehensive History & Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Paperback)

I was doing a research on the Ball Point Pen and this book was really insightful. It assembles a great deal of articles that have been written on this pen. It gives a good historical analysis from 1889 to 1960 but, on the negetative side, the history is fairly poor after the 1960s.

Furthermore, it has many photographs of old an collectible ball point pens.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Incredible Ball Point Pen, September 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Incredible Ball Point Pen: A Comprehensive History & Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Paperback)

As a new pen collector, I thought the pictures in this book were fantastic. I have no basis for the price references, but they seem to be fairly accurate.

An excellent reference book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book with information still not readily available, May 5, 2009

By 

Action Jackson (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Incredible Ball Point Pen: A Comprehensive History & Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Paperback)

A great overview of the early ballpoint wars involving Reynolds, Eversharp, and others. It goes on to cover the decline and resurgence of the market with the emergence of market leaders such as Papermate & Parker. If you collect or are interested in any major ballpoint company before 1960, it is most likely covered in detail. I was especially interested in learning more about Sheaffer & Papermate which are both covered extensively. Parker is also covered in great detail. I am very happy with this book. With the age of the internet, it seems everything is on-line. However, this book has information I cannot find anywhere else. It definitely expands upon what one can learn about Eversharp, Parker, Papermate, and Sheaffer.

Very minor points: BIC is barely covered...the book mentions not covering cheap and European pens, but as BIC emerged in Europe as Papermate ascended the US market, a little more coverage (like a page) would have been in order it seems. Maybe a bit more on the Fisher space pen. Care & maintenance is not covered: many old ballpoints have failed cartridges with ink encrusted that affects functioning (I like to use my vintage ballpoints). I use a mild mix of water with dish soap to help free up parts. This seems to do the trick. Most pens seems to be of plastic, brass, and aluminum construction so the water doesn't pose a rust problem, but keep on the lookout for this. Refills: Fisher makes (or did) an "all for one" refill that is adjustable and fits just about all old pens. OLD Sheaffers can be used by buying an adaptor (pendemonium.com sells them...no connection), but the book doesn't mention this. Again, all minor points. If you like collecting old ballpoints, you must buy this book!!!