Looking back on it you would say that 1948 might not have been the most auspicious year to launch a new high-quality fountain pen.  The ballpoint, which took off more quickly and more successfully in Britain than in the USA, was already making inroads into fountain pen sales.  The country was struggling to recover from World War II and there was strong competition from brands like Swan and Parker.  Nonetheless, it was in this year that Truepoint made their bid for a place in the market.  It was doomed to fail but it left us with an exceptionally well-made rarity that probably outshone its competitors in terms of quality though it never achieved the market share to succeed.

This is a big pen, 14cms long capped, with considerable girth.  It’s a button filler.  The blind cap blends into the barrel seamlessly.  It’s a tapered pen, sharing a shape with the English Duofolds or larger Conway Stewarts of the time.  The cowled, ball-ended clip is stamped with their “coat of arms” logo, as is the huge semi-flexible gold nib.  Unusually, maybe even uniquely, the cap band configuration is a broad and a narrow ring.

This was a pen that should have succeeded given its first-rate build quality but not only did it fail, the company appears not to have sold many pens.  It’s rare today; this is only the second one I’ve seen in my many years of of interest in fountain pens.  Perhaps the price was set too high; the only advertisement I’ve seen doesn’t show a price.  Maybe the capital wasn’t there to market the brand properly or to carry the company until sales would have taken off.  This pen and a few others like appear to be all that survives of this proud venture.