Waterman Phileas
Encyclopedia
Waterman Philéas is a series of writing instruments including fountain pen
s, rollerball
s, ballpoints and pencils produced by the Waterman
pen company. It is well-known because of its good price-quality ratio and is therefore often recommended for novice fountain pen users and collectors. This series is now discontinued, but is currently still available from numerous vendors.
The Waterman company named this line of writing instruments after the character Phileas Fogg
in Around the World in Eighty Days by the French novelist Jules Verne
. The design reflects an Art Deco look of the 1930s. However, neither the Art Deco movement nor the modern fountain pen existed when Verne penned Eighty Days.
The fountain pens have a wide, two toned gold-plated and steel nib that fans out at the base and tapers to a fine point, decorated with an Art Deco
styled engraving. The gold plated pen-clip carries the Waterman hexagon seal and flows from the top of the cap. The ebony black crown contrasts with the gold-plated ring around the barrel which resembles an engraved cigar band. There are three other bands on the barrel and cap as vestiges of traditional fountain pen design, which used these rings to limit cracking.
In addition to the Philéas, Waterman produced the Kultur pen, which is a less expensive version whose fountain pens have plain steel nibs and is minus a weight-adding brass insert common to the Philéas, but otherwise carry the same design as the Philéas. The Kultur is available in a number of transparent demonstrator colors.
The fountain pens are supplied with a convertible system for filling with either bottled ink or an ink cartridge. They are manufactured in several different colors and nib widths.
Fountain pen
A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits it on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action...
s, rollerball
Rollerball pen
Rollerball pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens...
s, ballpoints and pencils produced by the Waterman
Waterman pens
The Waterman pen company is a major manufacturer of fountain pens. Established in 1884 in New York City by Lewis Edson Waterman, it is one of the few remaining first-generation fountain pen companies, as Waterman S.A.. It is currently owned by Newell Rubbermaid.- History :The initial years of...
pen company. It is well-known because of its good price-quality ratio and is therefore often recommended for novice fountain pen users and collectors. This series is now discontinued, but is currently still available from numerous vendors.
The Waterman company named this line of writing instruments after the character Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,...
in Around the World in Eighty Days by the French novelist Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. The design reflects an Art Deco look of the 1930s. However, neither the Art Deco movement nor the modern fountain pen existed when Verne penned Eighty Days.
The fountain pens have a wide, two toned gold-plated and steel nib that fans out at the base and tapers to a fine point, decorated with an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
styled engraving. The gold plated pen-clip carries the Waterman hexagon seal and flows from the top of the cap. The ebony black crown contrasts with the gold-plated ring around the barrel which resembles an engraved cigar band. There are three other bands on the barrel and cap as vestiges of traditional fountain pen design, which used these rings to limit cracking.
In addition to the Philéas, Waterman produced the Kultur pen, which is a less expensive version whose fountain pens have plain steel nibs and is minus a weight-adding brass insert common to the Philéas, but otherwise carry the same design as the Philéas. The Kultur is available in a number of transparent demonstrator colors.
The fountain pens are supplied with a convertible system for filling with either bottled ink or an ink cartridge. They are manufactured in several different colors and nib widths.