Vogue Streamlined Fountain Pens c. 1941-1948

by Jim Mamoulides, July 19, 2024

Vogue DeLuxe streamlined lever-fill fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

Come On, Vogue

I’m kind of a magpie when it comes to Eclipse Streamline pens and their kin, the streamlined Eclipse Vis-O-Ray and the Eclipse Hooded Knight. Maybe it’s the cool names. Names from another era. Imagine Buck Rogers flying in his Streamline cruiser spaceship shooting his Vis-O-Ray at Ming the Merciless with his sidekick the Hooded Knight! It could be the funky, halfway over the cap top clips. After picking up dozens of them and looking out for more, I started seeing very similar pens with the same crazy clip except they were marked Vogue.

Like the Eclipse Streamline and Vis-O-Ray, the Vogue streamline pens have the name inside an oval stamped on the clip. To me, that’s a giveaway that Eclipse made all of them. I started picking up Vogue streamlines here and there, and I noticed that none of them are marked Eclipse anywhere. Only Vogue or Vogue DeLuxe. Each of the four pens I’ve found so far have a version of the Streamline clip with VOGUE stamped vertically in the oval near the clip top. Only the Vogue DeLuxe has a barrel imprint, simply VOGUE DeLuxe.

All you need is your own imagination

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

I decided to do some digging and found information about Vogue pens is as sparse as the markings on them. As far as I can tell, there are no company advertisements for Vogue pens nor are there company catalogs or brochures remaining anywhere. All of the ads I could find were by retailers and most of those were by drug stores listing dozens of items for sale. The great majority were simple, one line mentions of the brand with a price. The earliest, in an ad the August 27, 1931 Davenport, Iowa Democrat and Leader is simply, “$10 Vogue Fountain Pens $4.45.” There evidently were two types of Vogue pens being offered at that time as an ad in the December 17, 1931 St. Louis Star and Times shows prices of $3.25 and $4.50, mentions two colors, black and green pearl and black and white pearl, and two sizes, one for men and one for women. The price point places these pens well below market leading premium pens like the Parker Duofold and the Sheaffer Balance and value pricing was a market position many companies took early in the Great Depression.

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in green stripe c. 1941-1948

A drug store ad in the September 27, 1935 Ogden, Utah Standard Examiner is the earliest I could find describing a “vacuum filled” Vogue fountain pen, with a regular price of $1 discounted to 89 cents. I would suspect that this is an early syringe filler. One of the earliest ads with an image, and a generic one at that, is in the December 18, 1936 Blackwell, Oklahoma Journal Tribune for a $2.50 Vogue “iridium tipped” fountain pen and pencil set discounted to $1.45. Not much description and no actual image. It’s obvious that the Vogue brand was intended as a low price no frills pen at this point.

Vogue streamlined syringe filler fountain pen in green stripe c. 1941-1948

What did these early Vogue pens look like? There are a few undated but probably early to mid 1930s catalog pages from N. Shure Company of Chicago, Illinois that show several Vogue lever-fill pens and pencils, including marbled celluloid balance shapes with gold and gold plated nibs, marbled celluloid twelve sided pens with gold plated nibs, and marbled celluloid combination pen / pencils with gold plated nibs. All of them are shown with VOGUE stamped on the clip face, but no other maker’s marks. I think these are earlier because no Vogue syringe filler pens are shown. I have seen one of the pen / pencil combos and a spiral striped syringe filler and the only identifier is VOGUE stamped on the clip. Those are the only 1930s Vogue pens I have ever laid eyes on. Vogue is a pretty obscure brand.

Vogue DeLuxe streamlined lever-fill fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

The earliest mention of the Vogue DeLuxe is in a drug store ad in the December 17, 1937 Miami, Florida Daily News. This ad shows a boxed generic looking pen and pencil set with VOGUE DeLuxe printed on the box top. The copy describes the Vogue DeLuxe pen as a “Vacuum Pen” that “holds 3 times as much ink as ordinary pens. Window shows when to refill” and the set with a pencil is priced at $2.75. An ad in the same paper on December 21 shows an alternating stripe and marbled strip pen with a long end cap selling with a matching pencil for $2.75. I would suspect that this is an early syringe filler. The DeLuxe adds a higher perceived value at a higher price with its 14 karat gold nib. Other 1937 ads describe the lower price 98 cent Vogue fountain pens also being offered as “sackless” and “vacuum fill” types. Vogue now is two models.

An ad in the December 15, 1938 Shreveport, Louisiana Journal shows an image of a boxed Vogue lever-fill pen and pencil set for $1.45 and available in “pearl finished” colors. The base 98 cent Vogue fountain pen was still being offered in 1939, though the design is unknown. By 1941, the earliest year for Eclipse Streamline advertisements, Vogue pens are being advertised for $1 and pen and pencil sets for $1.45. A single ad for the Vogue DeLuxe in the September 11, 1941 Petoskey, Michigan Petoskey News shows a generic looking pen with a flat arrowhead tip clip and ink view section being offered for $2.39 with a gold nib and in four colors. This continues in 1942 with the price of the Vogue DeLuxe set increasing to $2.95 and noting that the colors are “rich pearloid.”

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

The first time the word “Streamlined” appears in an ad for Vogue pens is in the June 13, 1946 Chicago Tribune. The image, which has been used earlier, is a tapered pen with a long barrel end cap and a flat arrowhead ended clip with what looks like VO and some other letters running down the face. Not very streamlined looking to me and possibly not the pen being offered. I’ve seen lots of retailer ads from the 1920s through the 1940s and the pens shown are often generic and don’t always represent the pen being sold. The copy reads,

STREAMLINED VOGUE DELUXE FOUNTAIN PEN
Smooth-writing Iridium-tip
14k gold point with gold-
plated band and military clip.
4 smart colors.
$2.50 value at 1.95

I believe this is really an ad for the streamlined Vogue DeLuxe pen shown here. Since the Eclipse Streamline was introduced in 1941, I don’t see why the Vogue pens were not streamlined at the same time or shortly thereafter. Similar ads continue in 1947 and 1948 and then no more mentions of Vogue pens.

After all that vague history, let’s come back to the four Vogue pens seen here. Though they were called simply Vogue or Vogue DeLuxe pens in ads, I’m going to call them Vogue “streamlined” pens to distinguish them from earlier models. Now it’s time to notice something really unusual. Two of them have spring loaded plungers under the blind cap at the end of the barrel.

A Vacumatic Style Filler?

I’ve seen lots of syringe filling pens from the 1930s. Most of them are cheapie pens, made cheaply, to sell for cheap, and aren’t worth salvaging because they’re cheap. The one cool feature is most have translucent barrels so the user can check the ink level. I wonder how long they actually worked since most are pretty junky today. Finding a Vogue streamline syringe filler was no surprise.

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

Finding not one, but two Vogue pens with what must be a diaphragm, or vacumatic type filler was a surprise. They look like they are intended to work like a Parker Vacumatic or a Swan Visofil VT. The filler mechanism appears to operate by pressing a spring loaded metal plunger that pushes a post or wire inside a metal tube that is presumably attached at the other end to a diaphragm of some type at the base of the ink chamber in the barrel. I say must be, because unfortunately neither was in working order, and try as I might, I could get neither apart to actually see the mechanism and I did not want to destroy the pens in the process.

The mechanism is basically the same in both pens, though visually different. The barrel end thread is metal on one pen and plastic on the other and the metal plunger knobs are a little bit different. To fill the pen, I believe the user would remove the end cap, dunk the nib into ink, and repeatedly press the plunger until the ink chamber is filled, checking the fill by through the ink view window in the section. Just like a Vacumatic.

Identification Guide and Features: Vogue Deluxe Lever Fill

Vogue DeLuxe streamlined lever-fill fountain pen in black c. 1941-1948

Vogue DeLuxe was an identifiable model that showed up in ads from 1941 to 1948. The images shown in the ads I could find are a flat ended pen with an arrow ended flat bar military clip. This Vogue model is the most similar to the Eclipse Streamline and because it’s DeLuxe, it features a 14 karat gold nib. The section has an ink view window. I have not seen a DeLuxe with a diaphragm or syringe filler, but they may exist. The guide below is a lot from one pen and a few ads, so take it and the following as extrapolation.

• Celluloid cap and barrel probably in black and striped celluloid. Only confirmed color is black, but ads say there were four colors total
• Gold plated clip with VOGUE stamped in an oval
• Cap has 1/8 inch wide cap band with slanted coin edge pattern around the center
• Threaded cap
• Gold nib stamped WARRANTED over 14K over 4
• Nib sizes unknown, most likely fine and medium were offered
• Lever filler
• About 5 1/4 inches long capped
• Advertised price for the pen was $1.95 in 1946, pen and pencil set ranged from $2.39 in 1941 to $2.95 in 1942

Identification Guide and Features: Vogue Syringe Filler

Vogue streamlined syringe filler fountain pen in green stripe c. 1941-1948

Vogue syringe fillers existed before this streamlined type. Several lower end brands offered syringe fill pens in the 1930s. The one Vogue example I’ve seen has opaque striped spiral celluloid for the cap and end cap and matching translucent striped spiral celluloid for the ink chamber. It’s likely that pens were also made using other celluloids. A syringe filler works exactly as it sounds. The end cap is removed, the plunger is pushed into the barrel, the nib is dunked into ink, and the plunger is pulled back out, filling the ink chamber. The Vogue streamlined syringe filler shown here operates the same way, but the ink chamber is opaque, and the section has an ink view window. The 1930s Vogue syringe filler I’ve seen has a metal threaded barrel end and a metal plunger, where this pen has a plastic unit with a plastic plunger.

• Celluloid cap and barrel probably in black and striped celluloid. Only known color is green stripe, but ads say there were four colors total
• Gold plated clip with VOGUE stamped in an oval
• Cap has 1/8 inch wide cap band with two painted stripes to make it appear as a triple gold plated set of bands
• Threaded cap
• Gold plated stainless steel stamped SUPER over SMOOTH
• Nib sizes unknown, most likely fine and medium were offered
• Syringe filler
• About 5 1/4 inches long capped
• Advertised price for the pen was $1, pen and pencil set $1.45 in 1941

Identification Guide and Features: Vogue Diaphragm Filler

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in green stripe c. 1941-1948

I've observed two types of Vogue diaphragm, or vacumatic type filler streamlined pens, based on the filler unit. These pens show a strong similarity to the Vogue syringe filler above making me wonder if this is a modification with a new filler unit. In both pens the filler appears to operate by pressing a spring loaded metal plunger that pushes a post or wire inside a metal tube that is attached at the other end to a diaphragm of some type at the base of the ink chamber in the barrel. In one version, the metal plunger system attaches to the end of the barrel in a plastic threaded sleeve that the end cap threads onto. This is exactly how the syringe filler appears to be attached. In the second version, the metal plunger system attaches to the end of the barrel in a metal threaded sleeve that the end cap threads onto. Both appear to operate by removing the end cap, dunking the nib into ink, and repeatedly pressing the plunger until the ink chamber is filled. The user can check the fill by looking at the ink view window in the section.

• Celluloid cap and barrel probably in black and striped celluloid. Only known colors are black and green stripe, but ads say there were four colors total
• Gold plated clip with VOGUE stamped in an oval
• Cap has 1/8 inch wide cap band with two painted stripes to make it appear as a triple gold plated set of bands
• Threaded cap
• Gold plated stainless steel stamped SUPER over SMOOTH or IRIDIUM over POINT over U.S.A.
• Nib sizes unknown, most likely fine and medium were offered
• Diaphragm filler
• About 5 1/4 inches long capped
• It's unknown if pens with this filling system sold for a different price than the standard Vogue pens

Performance

As described above, the syringe and diaphragm fillers were not in working order and were therefore not ready for a test drive. Too bad, because trying out a vacumatic knock off would have been fun. The fit and finish on those pens is pretty good, but not top level. The gold plating seems better than on many very cheaply made pens from that time, but it does wear off and will definitely polish off. Only one of the nibs was decent enough to dip test and it lives up to its SUPER SMOOTH stamping, writing a fine, even line in all directions.

The only thing deluxe about the Vogue DeLuxe is the 14 karat gold nib, which frankly is not as smooth a writer as the SUPER SMOOTH gold plated stainless steel nib. It probably only needs some tweaking. The fit and finish is the same level. The cap posts easily on the end of the barrel on all of these pens and they are light and feel right in the hand.

Vogue streamlined diaphragm filler fountain pen in green stripe c. 1941-1948

Vogue pens were inexpensive pens aimed at value conscious buyers, a definite market in the 1930s. The ones that preceded these streamlined pens are so generic that they could be name swapped for many other cheap pens from the 1930s. What makes the Vogue streamlined pens stand out is the similarity to the Eclipse Streamline, which is where and how I started. I picked them up because they were an interesting variant. They are rather uncommon, but not expensive to acquire. I think it would be a real challenge to find all four colors with each of these filling systems!

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References

Advertisement, Angola Herald, Angola, Indiana, January 9, 1948, page 8

Advertisement, Blackwell Journal Tribune, Blackwell, Oklahoma, December 18, 1936, page 5

Advertisement, Blackwell Journal Tribune, Blackwell, Oklahoma, August 6, 1937, page 3

Advertisement, Blackwell Journal Tribune, Blackwell, Oklahoma, August 31, 1937, page 2

Advertisement, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, June 13, 1946, page 32

Advertisement, Chico Record, Chico, California, February 5, 1942, page 3

Advertisement, Community News, September 4, 1947, page 6

Advertisement, Daily Dispatch Moline, Illinois, December 11, 1941, page 11

Advertisement, Davenport Democrat and Leader, Davenport, Iowa, August 27, 1931, page 11

Advertisement, Miami Daily News, Miami, Florida, December 17, 1937, page 13-A

Advertisement, Miami Daily News, Miami, Florida, December 21, 1937, page 6-A

Advertisement, Petoskey News, Petoskey, Michigan, September 11, 1941, page 3

Advertisement, Petoskey News, Petoskey, Michigan, September 11, 1947, page 3

Advertisement, Springfield Daily News, Springfield, Massachusetts, December 10, 1942, page 13

Advertisement, Springfield News, Springfield, Ohio, December 9, 1942, page 16

Advertisement, St. Louis Star and Times, St. Louis, Missouri, December 17, 1931, page 4

Advertisement, Standard Examiner, Ogden, Utah, September 27, 1935, page 2

Advertisement, Star Herald, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, October 10, 1935, page 2

Advertisement, Sun Herald, Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, December 18, 1947, page 6

Advertisement, The Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, June 12, 1947, page 3

Advertisement, The Hammond Vindicator, Hammond, Louisiana, January 30, 1948, page 8

Advertisement, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, August 28, 1941, page 10

Advertisement, The Shreveport Journal, Shreveport, Louisiana, December 15, 1938, page 10

Advertisement, The Springfield News Leader, Springfield, Missouri, December, 4, 1936, page 17

Advertisement, The Waxahachie Daily Light, Waxahachie, Texas, April 19, 1939, page 10

Advertisement, The Winona Republican-Herald, Winona, Minnesota, September 3, 1942, page 6

Advertisement, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin, September 4, 1941, page 11

Catalog pages, N. Shure Company, Chicago, Illinois, undated, 1930s, pages 525, 526, 527, 529, and 696