Esterbrook Expands into Felt-Tip Writing Instruments

In 1963, we expanded further beyond our traditional fountain-pen business with the Felt-Riter, a fine-point felt-tip writing instrument. The product was part of Esterbrook's effort to compete in a writing-instrument market increasingly shaped by ballpoints, markers and other alternatives to conventional fountain pens. Contemporary reporting indicates that Felt-Riter sales exceeded the company's expectations in 1963. Penhero The Felt-Riter was designed for practical everyday use and was offered in multiple colors. Advertising from the following year shows two principal versions: a Water Color Felt-Riter, intended for writing and drawing on paper without bleeding through, and a Permanent Color Felt-Riter, designed for marking a wider variety of surfaces. Both used a fine felt point, extending the Esterbrook name into a different category of writing and marking instruments. Penhero The product formed part of a broader diversification effort during the early 1960s. Esterbrook was also developing newer ballpoint and fountain-pen designs, and in 1964 it acquired Cushman & Denison, manufacturer of the Flo-Master felt-tip marker. These moves reflected the company's attempt to adapt its product range as consumer writing habits and technologies continued to change.