Here’s another Burnham today, but a rather more expensive example than the one I showed last. This is the Burnham No 65, a post-war pen probably dating to around 1950. I’ve heard it said that this pen was made to compete with the Conway Stewart No 60. The much better plating on the clip, broad cap band and straight lever suggest that that may be so as does the use of a gold nib rather than a plated one.

I haven’t seen all the colours used for this model but going by the present example, Burnham used a more muted (dare I say more tasteful) colour scheme than in the cheaper pens. I believe this is a casein pen. There is a commendable attention to detail, exemplified by the “b” on the rivet that holds the clip and the deep cut “Burnham” on the clip.

It’s a standard sized pen, comfortable in the hand and pleasant to write with. Burnham gold nibs are invariably good.

Was the No 65 a success? I believe it was, because these pens appear quite frequently. Did Conway Stewart sell less No 60s because of this pen? Probably not. The 56 is a good pen, a quality pen, but I don’t think it stands up to close comparison with the Conway Stewart No 60. Doubtless Burnham had their adherents just as Conway Stewart did and it was probably from their ranks that the buyers of this pen came, particularly among those trading up from Burnham school pens.