Waterman Ideal Antique 1908 Black celluloid Cap Safety Fountain Pen. This is a  rare antique safety pen, circa 1908.

Lewis Waterman,an insurance salesman in New York City, invented the first truly functional fountain pen in the early 1880s. A typical pen of the day leaked all over a contract he had prepared for a large policy, and by the time Waterman returned with a new document, his client had signed with someone else. Later, Waterman was working as a pen salesman in New York for a new company founded in the spring of 1883 by a volatile inventor named Frank Holland. Holland abandoned his company after only six weeks; Waterman stepped in and took over, fitting the pens with a simplified feed of his own design. It was for this "three fissure feed," which his first pen-related patent was granted in 1884.

From the beginning, competition in the fountain pen industry was fierce, both in the marketplace and the courtroom. Despite later company literature that depicts Lewis E. Waterman, as a golden-hearted innocent, all evidence indicates that he was a tough, savvy, and innovative businessman. In 1899, the L.E. Waterman Company developed the "spoon Feed" system, which prevented overflow of ink, which also led to the company receiving the gold medal of excellence at the "Exposition Universelle" in Paris in 1900. Nonetheless, it was after L.E. Waterman's death in 1901 that the company took off. Under the leadership of Waterman's nephew, Frank D. Waterman, the Waterman Pen Company, expanded aggressively worldwide. While Waterman introduced its share of innovations, the company's main selling point was always quality and reliability. In 1905, Waterman patented their first permanently attached pen clip, allowing a pen to be held directly in a pocket. In 1908, Waterman released their first retractable-nib "safety" pen. As the 20th century wore on, Waterman's conservatism allowed its younger and more innovative competitors to gain market share Parker,Sheaffer, and Wahl-Eversharp in particular. By the later 1920s, Waterman was attempting to catch up; it continued to struggle through and beyond World War II before finally shutting down in 1954. Waterman's French subsidiary, Waterman-JIF (Jules-Isidore Fagard) later Waterman S.A., continued to prosper and eventually absorbed what remained of the American company and its British arm. The Waterman company was acquired by the Bic companywhich went public in 1958 with a reverse merger; Bic would later sell off the Waterman division.

I don't know the nib size. The pen measures approximately 4 3/4 inches in length. Antique condition.

Bottom twists to propel the fountain nib.

Nib 14ct gold. It has the number 42 on the base.

The nib is bent as can be seen clearly on the photos. I don't know how the nib comes out and the pen has not been tested.

This item is being sold as not tested. The photos clearly show the condition of the item.