A brief guide to Paul Wirt HistoryEverything you ever wanted to know about Wirt feedsA listing of imprints found on Wirt pensA study of clips used by Paul WirtA study of the gold nibs made by Paul Wirt  
     
     
 

The Way back to the Kamakura Pens home page, the place for Japanese Fountain Pens

Early Wirt Overfeed Fountain pens from before 1903
Wirt pens made from 1903 and latter
A study of Wirt gold and silver overlay pens
A collection of Wirt Safety pens
An unusual collection of Wirt Self Fillers
A collection of Wirt Lever fillers
These shouldn't be so hard to find...
Things you might not expect to see


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
     

I have collected Wirt fountain pens for several years now and in that time I have acquired a few Paul Wirt pens. Still many holes exist in my collection, and I hope to find those missing pens before I die. But for now, here are the interesting pens that I do have. I'm not going to bore you with Every Wirt pen that I have, that could take a while, but the ones presented here should prove interesting.

Much of the information on these pens I gleaned from my collection of Paul Wirt letters, Wirt fountain pen catalogs or from catalogs belonging to others who shared with me. Unfortunately this only paints the picture half way. Some of the information is speculation, both mine and from other collectors. If you see a detail that is inaccurate please send me an e-mail and I will quickly correct it.

Collecting Paul Wirt fountain pens is not as easy as collecting Waterman or Parker fountain pens. Wirt had a nice jump start on his competition during the span from 1885 to 1900, during that time he sold more fountain pens than the other makers combined, yet Wirt pens seem to be harder to find. Also the demand is steadily growing for Wirt fountain pens and the prices are climbing fast. Acquiring your first Wirt fountain pen might cost you several hundred dollars even for a simple black chased hard rubber eyedropper model. A nice gold overlay might send you back several thousand.

However, when you start collecting Wirt fountain pens you realize that something special exists about these pens, some spirit from Bloomsburg still lingers within. Perhaps because so much history is locked up inside. If you write with your Wirt pens, as I do, you will know what I mean. The pens are worth the price.

I've sorted Wirt's fountain pens into the categories on the left. Clicking on a category will present you with several icons. Clicking on an Icon will show a larger image of the pen and a lot of information and often the catalog number and original price for that fountain pen. I could have listed here mountains of every junk Wirt pen that I have, but instead I have selected only the interesting pens.

If you have some Wirt pens in your collection, consider yourself lucky. They are not so easy to come by. The information in these pages should help you identify and date your pen, but if you have any questions at all feel free to send me an e-mail.

Naturally, I am always eager to buy Wirt pens, but even if you are not interested in selling, I would still love to see you Wirt.

Stay Well,

Dr. Ron Dutcher