Waterman Pens

Waterman Pens was established in 1884 in New York City by Lewis Waterman. Waterman pens is currently owned by Newell Rubbermaid.

Waterman's improvements on the basic fountain pen design played a vital role in making it a mass marketed item. Competition in the fountain pen industry has always been fierce. Waterman was given his first patent in 1884 for his fountain pen feed.

With the passing of  L. E. Waterman in 1901, the company took off. Now under the leadership of Frank Waterman, who was L.E.'s nephew, the company expanded aggressively worldwide. The company's main marketing emphasis was on quality and reliability. Although, they continued to innovate and introduced their fair share of improvements.

Through the early 1900's Waterman was conservative in their development and marketing. This allowed younger and more innovative competitors to take marketshare. By the 1920's Waterman had to start playing catch-up. The company struggled until 1954, when it shut down. In France, the Waterman subsidiary, Waterman Jif, continued to prosper and absorbed what remained of the American company. The development of the ballpoint pen was a big challenge for Waterman, but it weathered the challenge. In 2001, Waterman Pens was acquired by Sanford, a division of Newell Rubbermaid.

Early Waterman pens were made of hard rubber and were equipped with 14K gold nibs. From early on, precious metal trim and overlays were offered. Many are still in use today, and their nibs are prized for their smoothness and flexibility. High production volumes means that vintage examples are comparatively easy to find today. The most common models from the hard rubber era are the #12 slip-cap eyedropper, the #52 screw-cap lever-filler, and the #42 retracting-nib safety pen. Waterman adopted celluloid comparatively late. Though largely ignored by present-day collectors, the Waterman C/F of 1953 introduced the modern plastic ink cartridge.