One of the interesting things about collecting vintage Sailor pens is that I have no idea how many makes and models were ever made. I doubt that the people at Sailor know either. Most of their records were lost during the war or in fires. Every time I think I have seen allof the vintage Sailors, I run into something new. There are no books published in English or in Japanese that list all the models. Who knows? But it makes collecting these things exciting!

Sailor is not the oldest Japanese pen maker, but it is the oldest one that continues to make pens. The Sailor Pen corporation was founded in 1911, nearly a decade before Pilot/Namiki or Platinum, the other of the big three Japanese pen makers. 1911 was the end of the Meiji period and the beginning of what the Japanese call the ?aishou Roma_ period. (the romantic years) A time when there were yet no world wars. The Japanese economy was starting to grow, and the Japanese people were starting to learn that there was a big world beyond the shores of their island. England and the US were importing new and exciting products everyday. It was a great time to be in Japan. Fountain pens that had previously been considered just a foreign toy, were staring to be accepted as a fashion trend for the young academic types and the Well-to-do.

1926 Sailor Pen

The Early Sailor pens were eyedroppers of course. Even though the lever was well known to the Japanese and the Maruzen Department store had Waterman 58s on sale, the Japanese pen makers shied away from rubber sacs. There were too hard to replace in Japan and they tended to rot quickly in the blistering Japanese summer heat and humidity.

Flat-top

Finding these eyedroppers today is a little tough. After watching ebay for three years, I have only seen a few ever listed. Even here in Japan they are not something that often turns up. But occasionally I get lucky. The prewar pens are usually flat tops and have the logo with a sailor sitting on an anchor, with the name Sailor in English. During the war the same logo was used, but the name Sailor was imprinted using katakana, the Japanese phonetic alphabet that is used to write English names. I don’t know if that was an act of Japanese patriotism or not, but it helps to date the pens. After the war, Sailor went back to the English imprints, and it was then that Sailors started to become very interesting.

celluloid

You simply can not help but fall in love with the Sailor Celluloid pens. They are all bright and vivid and you can spot them a mile away. They were produced between 1948 and 1956, during the reconstruction years. I imagine people found them cheerful during the harsh postwar depression that plagued Japan. I have seen about a dozen examples of these pens, but I have never seen two of the same design.

Parley Line

My most favorite Sailor pens are the Parley Line (Sometimes I see this line referred to as the Paylay line) that was released in 1948. They have a wonderful Flash Gordon feel to them, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Sailor designers had a model rocket on their table when they made their first sketches. They are bulb fillers. One interesting thing about these pens is that the sections are joist fitted. The barrel and the section are shaped in unusual curves and they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle piece.

Silver

As interesting as these Sailors are to look at, they make fantastic writers. Today Sailor is known as one of the best nib makers for modern pens. This simply didn’t just happen. Sailor has always been a leader when it comes to making smooth, quality nibs.

Tsuru

If you have a Vintage Sailor, please contact me. Id love to see your pen.

Ron Dutcher has lived in Japan for over 15 years, where he owns and runs a small orthopedic clinic with his wife, Keiko; which leads him to many Japanese pen finds. His patients, once they learn of his pen hobby often give him pens as gifts or offer to sell them to him. He is a member of the Tokyo Pen Association, and has learned a great deal from Japanese pen collectors. He sells a great many Japanese pens on ebay under the name Kamakura-Pens, but his true love is for early American pens. He can be contacted at rd@kamakurapens.com