"Universal 479's, Conway 485's and Conway 496's

ere are three series of pens from the 30's. The 479's display a wide range of colours and were favorites for sale by retailers who had their particulars imprinted on the barrel, and even sold the pens under special trade names. The 485's are button fillers that are now relatively hard to come by, while the 496 Conways seem to have been made only in black and some special plastics that display a shining schist-like appearance.

he top row is filled by early 479's, the first three with flange levers. The secoond from left is a rare marbled grey with black inclusions. I have three examples of the pen on the right, each sold by a different distributor. Note the unusual colours of the 496's bottom left, while the 485's bottom right have black blind caps covering the filling mechanism.

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