Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen c. 1936-1938

by Jim Mamoulides, February 5, 2010, updated March 21, 2025

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen Reptilian Gold-Green Vein c. 1936-1938

A Conklin All American

By the 1930s, Conklin, once a leader in self-filling fountain pens with its Crescent Fill models, introduced in 1898, had fallen behind Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer and Wahl Eversharp. The company stuck to the cash cow crescent filling system well into the 1920s, not offering a more modern lever-fill type pen until the August 8, 1923 catalog and continued to offer them through the 1926 catalog. In a move that was probably too late to revive sales in the early years of the Great Depression, Conklin introduced the piston-filling Nozac pen in 1932, the first such pen offered by a major United States manufacturer.

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen in green marble and rose marble c. 1936-1938

The 1930s must have been lean times for Conklin, as the company could not match the heavy advertising of its big four rivals, who could blanket magazines and newspapers, the primary media of the time, with full page and often full color advertisements. The company declined in the 1930s and in 1938 was sold to a Chicago syndicate. The pens that followed were cheaper, basic models that never matched the design and innovation of the previous forty years.

Conklin introduced a new lower priced line, called "All American," in the 1930-1931 catalog. Major pen companies always had lower priced pens, but this line was aimed at a very cost conscious consumer at the dawn of the Great Depression. The first All American pens were flat-top models in amber, plain black, blue and green, and were sold to dealers in lots of a dozen, in a mix of full size, short size, and ringtop pens. Conklin told their dealers that “All American products are distinct and apart from Conklin and will not be considered in computing the dealer’s total net purchases on Conklin’s Profit Sharing Plan.” The All American line was streamlined in 1932.

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen in Reptilian Gold-Green Vein
and Reptilian Foliage-Red Vein c. 1936-1938

By the 1936 catalog, when the first sacless vacuum filling All American pens appear, the line was essentially a downgraded version of the “General” pen line. Although aimed at the moderate price market, the fit and finish of the Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen matches the higher line Conklin products from the same year. The snakeskin celluloid on these pens is prized by collectors and came in three colors, Reptilian Pearl-Gray, Reptilian Gold-Green Vein, and Reptilian Foliage-Red Vein. The celluloid on the Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen had large transparent patches in the pattern on the barrel, allowing the user to check the ink supply. This is often heavily ambered on examples seen today. In both the 1936 and 1937 dealer brochures, the fountain pens were offered for $2.95, and the matching pencils were $1.00. Conklin also made All American Sac Pens, lever fill versions of the same pens, that were offered for $1.95.

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen Reptilian Gold-Green Vein c. 1936-1938

Conklin added marbled gray, green, and red All American Sacless Vacuum Pens in the 1937 dealer brochure at the same $2.95 price for the pen and $1.00 for the pencil. The specific color names are not known, and the 1931 dealer brochure only states gray, green, and red.

Because of a lack of primary information, I don't know if these pens were offered more than two full years, from late 1936 to early 1938. I could not find any Conklin company advertisements for them and retailer advertisements were rare, with only a handful in 1937 and 1938. The earliest I found was in the August 26, 1937 Shelby, Montana Promoter, describing the new “sac-less vacuum pen” as a one-stroke filler with a visible ink supply for $2.95. Less than a year later they are being heavily discounted to 98 cents, as seen in the July 1, 1938 New York Daily News. In my experience, these are not commonly found pens and pencils.

Conklin takes the plunge

United States Patent 2,040,999, awarded May 19, 1936 to Lloyd A. Kelley

The filling system was based on Lloyd A. Kelley's plunger system, awarded United States Patent 2,040,999 on May 19, 1936. The filling mechanism in the Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen is really no different than the one used on the Conklin Quick-Fill, except the Quick-Fill pen integrates the blind cap with the plunger, as on Sheaffer's Vacuum-Fill pens. The Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen operates like any other plunger type vacuum fill pen. Conklin decided to use a plunger rod with a secure metal cap hidden underneath a blind cap, instead of Sheaffer's method of incorporating the cap as the pull for the rod. The pen fills almost completely on a single downstroke, but it's a two handed job. First pull out the plunger rod, then insert the section in the ink bottle, and while holding the pen barrel, quickly push in the rod. The vacuum created by the air being pushed out of the barrel causes ink to rush in when the end of the rod hits the diverter at the base of the feed. All that's left is to wipe the nib and section, put the blind cap back on and start writing.

The All American has the same patented spring loaded rocker clip with the Conklin Crescent logo at the top, as found on all top end Conklin pens. The basic design of this clip, patented on May 28, 1918, had been part of the distinctive look of Conklin pens for twenty years. The major differences between this pen and the higher models are the nib and the barrel stamping. The gold nibs on these pens are not hallmarked, indicating a lower grade of gold alloy, as they are definitely not plated stainless steel. Sheaffer offered low end gold nibs on their WASP line, so Conklin likely did the same. They are stamped simply "ALL AMERICAN." Also, unlike Sheaffer, Conklin not only stamped the barrel with the "ALL AMERICAN" sub brand name, but also clearly indicated that the pen was a Conklin product on the line below.

Identification Guide and Features:

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen and pencil in Reptilian Gold-Green Vein c. 1936-1938

• Celluloid cap and barrel in Reptilian Pearl-Gray, Reptilian Gold-Green Vein, and Reptilian Foliage-Red Vein (1936-1938) and marbled gray, green, and red/rose (1937-1938)
• Barrel pattern has transparent elements to provide visible ink supply
• Barrel imprinted "THE ALL AMERICAN PEN" over "MADE IN U.S.A." over "A CONKLIN PRODUCT"
• Clip stamped with Conklin Crescent logo at top with "PAT. NO. 1267575" down the face
• Gold filled trim, including twin narrow cap bands
• Threaded cap
• Ungraded gold nib stamped "ALL" over "AMERICAN"
• Nib grades offered: extra fine, fine, medium, coarse, stub medium, stub broad, left oblique, two way and Recorder in extra fine, fine, and medium
• One-stroke vacuum plunger filling system
• About 5 1/8 inches long capped and 5 7/8 inches posted inches long with the cap posted on the end of the barrel
• Retail price of the one-stroke vacuum plunger filling fountain pen was $2.95, matching pencil was $1.00, matching sac filling fountain pen, $1.95
• Presented in a paperboard gift box

Performance

Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen Reptilian Gold-Green Vein c. 1936-1938

This Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pen in Reptilian Gold-Green Vein is a standard size, lighter weight pen, weighing 0.6 ounce and being 5 1/8 inches long with the cap on and 5 11/16 inches with the cap posted on the end of the barrel. I find the feel in the hand better with the cap posted on the end of the barrel, and it is secure enough to where I don't worry about it coming off while writing. It's just too short unposted.

All the original All American nibs I have seen have been quite firm, and this one, a fine, is no exception. It writes smoothly and evenly, but it is not as nice a nib as the better quality Cushon Point nibs used on the Nozac and other higher end Conklin pens. I actually don't find it compelling enough make me to want to write with the pen. I have only filled this pen a few times as the barrel is already ambered enough and I don't want to encourage more darkening. If I want to write with an All American, I usually defer to one of my lever fill version pens instead. I have one of those with a very nice writing 14 karat gold non-original warranted nib that I do use occasionally. I almost feel these pens are better off left unused.

The Reptilian skin celluloid used on the Conklin All American Sacless Vacuum Pens makes one of these a stunning centerpiece of a collection. Collector demand and the fact that these pens are fairly uncommon makes them pricey in the market. Although solidly made, examples will commonly suffer from plating loss on the clip and cap bands, and strong ambering to the clear sections of the barrel. Beware of weak springs in the clip and non All American replacement nibs. The original nib may not have been 14 karat gold, but the lack of the correct nib, even if replaced with the higher grade Conklin nibs, devalues the pen.

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References

Advertisement, Daily News, New York, New York, July 1, 1938, page 11

Advertisement, The Shelby Promoter, Shelby, Montana, August 26, 1937, page 4

Conklin Catalog 1923, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA, cover letter dated August 8, 1923

Conklin Catalog 1926, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Conklin Catalog 1930-1931, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Conklin Dealer Brochure 1932, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Conklin Dealer Brochure 1936, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Conklin Dealer Brochure 1937, Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio, USA

The Conklin Legacy by Alfonso Mur, © 2013 Alfonso Mur Bohigas, Graficas Santacruz, S. A., Madrid, Spain, pages 226-232

Fountain Pens of the World by Andreas Lambrou, © 1995 Zwemmer, London, United Kingdom

"Profile: The Conklin Nozac," Richard Binder, Copyright © 2010, website

United States Patent 1,267,575, awarded May 28, 1918 to Frank H. Mooney, assignor to The Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio

United States Patent 2,040,999, awarded May 19, 1936 to Lloyd A. Kelley, assignor to The Conklin Pen Company, Toledo, Ohio