Little has been known about the range of patterns of the Swan black and gold banded pens. The American Mabie Todd book by David Moak shows these pens and mentions that the numbers are not well documented. The Stephen Hull book, being focused on the English Swans, does not include these pens at all. In June 2023, Mike Crawford bough a catalog that had many pages of pens. He shared with me the pages listing Swan Pens, and I was very interested to see model numbers for many of the black and gold banded pens.
Please contact me if you have any of these pens, and show me the pattern of the cap as well as the number imprinted on the bottom of the barrel.
Full sized pens have the prefix 142 for #2 nib and 144 for #4 nib. All of my 142 size pens are celluloid. 3 of my 4 144 sized pens are hard rubber. All full length pens (except one with unmarked barrel) have a plate for engraving. The ringtop pens have a 192 prefix. or a 292 prefix. All of my 9 examples have #2 nibs. The caps are interchangeable with the barrels regardless of markings (with the exception of only one pen).
Pattern 30: Catalog confirmed. Seven plain bands, three at the top, four at the bottom. The catalog describes this pen the same as pattern 31. However, a close look at the pictures in the catalog , along with pens matching the numbers, verify that the 30 is seven plain bands and not the engine turned bands as described. The ringtop version I have has a different barrel marking. The cap has one wide band and six narrow plain bands. Picture 144/30, 142/30, and ringtop (barrel has 72 on end)
Pattern 31: Catalog confirmed. Seven bands, alternating rose and yellow gold. Three bands at the top and four bands at the bottom. Ringtop has a wide band followed by five alternating engine turned bands, which is the correct pattern per catalog. Pictured 144/31, 142/31, 192/31.
Pattern 32: Catalog confirmed. Wide band at top, and narrow – wide – narrow bands at the bottom. One ringtop has classic band on top of the cap. The other has inlaid bands, which is less common. Pictured 142/32, 192/32 with raised bands, 292/32 with inlaid bands.
Pattern 33: Catalog confirmed for full sized pattern. Five bands, wide-narrow, space, wide band, space, narrow-wide. Large pen in catalog. Unclear if the ringtop pictured is a mismatch, or if that is the pattern for the 192/33. Pictured 144/33 and 192/33.
Pattern 34: Catalog confirmed pattern and number for ringtop pen. Wide band at each end. Middle has narrow-wide-narrow bands. Pen pictured matches the catalog for 192/34, but has a barrel imprinted 292/32.
Pattern 35 (not pictured in catalog): I have two pens with this number, but two different patterns. Unknown which is #35 and which is another number, or if number was reused on different patterns in different years. 142/35 and 192/35
Unmarked barrels:
narrow band at each end, wide-narrow-wide in the middle (inverse of 34). #4 size, BHR.
Wide narrow at top, narrow wide at bottom. #2 size, celluloid. No plate on barrel.
Pattern 41: Possibly/probably only on a ringtop. Raised bands with enamel blue and white zig zag pattern and gold plate for engraving. [Same pen in yellow and black enamel is on a 192/33 barrel that seems to be incorrect]
Pattern 45: Possibly/probably ringtop only. Raised textured bands each with two narrow enamel rings, matching plate for engraving in middle.
Unknown: different pattern of blue and white enamel triangles and double bars, and oval name plate. Picture shared with me, unknown if barrel marked. And last, a pattern from the Moak book.
