Early J-Family Pens Appear

In 1941, we introduced fountain pens that collectors now recognize as the earliest members of the J-family lineage. Esterbrook's 1941–42 illustrated catalogue documents the new pens, including the short-lived Visumaster series. These were not yet the familiar postwar double-jewel J pens, but they introduced design features that would evolve into that later family. ©The Esterbrook Project The Visumaster combined a lever-filling mechanism with a transparent section that allowed the writer to see the ink supply. Its appearance was also distinctive, with alternating bands in the marbled plastic and a metal cap jewel carrying the Esterbrook name. Some examples were supplied with Esterbrook's higher-grade 9xxx-series Renew-Point nib units. Esterbrook The design continued to evolve during the 1940s. Transitional J models appeared from about 1944, retaining some characteristics of the earlier Dollar Pens and Visumasters while moving toward the shape and trim of the later J. The familiar double-jewel J series followed around 1948. The Visumaster is therefore best understood as an early stage in that development rather than simply as the same pen as the classic postwar J.