Skyline Yellow Cab Fountain Pen by Eversharp®

The 1990s was a time of revival for many classic pen designs, and some fallen pen companies were brought back to life by collectors, hoping to restore the flag of their favorite brands. The decade saw the return of the Conklin Pen Company, Conway Stewart, and the new Eversharp pen company. All of these brands have a loyal following, and each effort attempted to recreate the best elements of the old designs, with a modern flair and modern methods.

It should have been no surprise that the largest selling pen of the 1940s, the Eversharp Skyline, would be one of the pens recreated. The pen, designed by famous industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, author of many modern streamline designs, was introduced in 1941, and was an immediate hit. The design incorporated many then cutting edge streamline elements with a straightforward and proven lever-fill and open nib system, rather than the more radical designs that would be introduced by Parker and Sheaffer.

The hugely successful Skyline was followed by the much unloved Fifth Avenue, an attempt at a hooded nibbed pen, and the disastrous CA ballpoint, a pen that sold in vast numbers, only to be returned in nearly equal numbers due to poor performance. The failure of the CA ballpoint and the crippling losses from the returns sucked all the success of the Skyline out of the company, which languished as a second tier player until Parker bought the pen business in 1957.

Skylines were so popular that they are easy for collectors to find, come in a vast array of colors and trim, and are relatively inexpensive to collect and restore. An ideal collector's pen.