From Bonhams Catalogue: Lot 206 Conway Stewart A Rare Pink Lizard No. 440 Button-Filler with warranted nib (possibly 1930's). Value £60-100 (sold for £130).
ne of the most problematic pens in the book of numbers is No. 440 where I have listed a siver-grey lizard from Bonham's catalogue 1994 (with the "wrong" clip and warranted nib), and a green lizard that seems to have crept in uninvited, and another pink lizard from Bonhams which I have shown in the picture. Now, since there are no other Conway Stewart lizards, my first reaction was that this is a mistake. However, Conway Stewart did make up pens from other material during early WW2, particularly the 240's (how strange the similar number?) which includes a whole range of plasics never used by CS elsewhere. Also, clearly the lizard material was available in Britain to Swan, Summit and Mentmore which all produced lizards (not counting Wyvern which made them from real lizard skin). Here I quote Lambrou who wrote "The leverless marble and lizard designs (Swan) of the 1930s are among the most beautiful plastic pens ever made". I cannot agree more.
nd so, to further my quest - where is the lucky "sumguy" who purchased this lizard at the Bonham's auction for a song? (actually £130)?
The WES list of Conway Stewart numbers provided by Barry Rose did not include this model. However it does exist, and I have confirmation from the most reliable source (Alexander Crum Ewing formerly of Bonhams and now of the Cooper Owen auction house). Just recently Barry Rose succeeded in finding a No. 440 and suggests that it was made by Summit during the period of 1948-50 when the company moved from Copperfield Road, London E3 to Enfield and temporarily ceased production while re-tooling for the new post-war models. The picture of my Summit on the right seems to confirm this.
ne of the most problematic pens in the book of numbers is No. 440 where I have listed a siver-grey lizard from Bonham's catalogue 1994 (with the "wrong" clip and warranted nib), and a green lizard that seems to have crept in uninvited, and another pink lizard from Bonhams which I have shown in the picture. Now, since there are no other Conway Stewart lizards, my first reaction was that this is a mistake. However, Conway Stewart did make up pens from other material during early WW2, particularly the 240's (how strange the similar number?) which includes a whole range of plasics never used by CS elsewhere. Also, clearly the lizard material was available in Britain to Swan, Summit and Mentmore which all produced lizards (not counting Wyvern which made them from real lizard skin). Here I quote Lambrou who wrote "The leverless marble and lizard designs (Swan) of the 1930s are among the most beautiful plastic pens ever made". I cannot agree more.
nd so, to further my quest - where is the lucky "sumguy" who purchased this lizard at the Bonham's auction for a song? (actually £130)?
The WES list of Conway Stewart numbers provided by Barry Rose did not include this model. However it does exist, and I have confirmation from the most reliable source (Alexander Crum Ewing formerly of Bonhams and now of the Cooper Owen auction house). Just recently Barry Rose succeeded in finding a No. 440 and suggests that it was made by Summit during the period of 1948-50 when the company moved from Copperfield Road, London E3 to Enfield and temporarily ceased production while re-tooling for the new post-war models. The picture of my Summit on the right seems to confirm this.
