Today I have a lovely small De La Rue Pen. For those of you who may have forgotten, De La Rue was (and is!) a large company which makes most of its money from specialised printing. From our point of view their claim to fame is the Onoto, both plunger and lever filled, and the De La Rue Pen which is always lever filled.

What’s the difference between, say, a lever-filled Onoto and a De La Rue Pen? Clearly, the latter is the “Junior,” but in terms of quality I see no difference. This pen is remarkably well designed and well executed. It has no clip, never had one. The parts all fit together very well and the pen looks almost new. It has a warranted 14 carat gold nib but this is no ordinary warranted nib. They are usually anonymous and not always of the best quality. This one is a 33 by TDLR & Co – Thomas De La Rue – and it is a splendid nib, every bit as good as the equivalent Onoto. There is some line variation and the nib is soft and springy.

The pen is 12.7 cm capped. The two cap bands stand a little proud, like those on US Duofolds. I estimate it to have been made in the very late 30s or 40s.