A long elegant Bayard Souverain Model 885 fountain pen in black celluloid with gold filled trim and semi-hooded nib. The Souverain was launched in 1956 and was one of the last Bayard pens; the company closed in the early 1960s.
The barrel imprint is “Souverain de Bayard” with the model number “885” on the filler blind cap.
The pen is 14.3cm closed and 16.3cm with the cap posted. The 18k semi-hooded fine nib is a very smooth soft writer with just a little flex.
For the Souverain Bayard used the accordion pump filling system developed and patented by Stylomine, that patent having expired. Under the blind cap is a gold plated filler with transparent plunger. Originally the pen was filled by pressing the plunger to depress the accordion sac. These sacs are no longer available and this pen has been fitted with a standard sac which is filled by twisting the plunger to depress the sac. Two or three twists is all it takes to fill the pen and this works very well, restoring the pen to fully function.
Bayard started as a stationer in Paris selling American imported pens. The trademark “Bayard” was registered in 1912, named after a medieval knight. By the 1950s sales were in decline faced with the rise in the use of ballpoint pens. The streamlined Souverain, launched in 1956, was Bayard’s attempt to recapture market share but the company closed in the early ‘60s.
The pen is in excellent condition with no brassing of the trim, just some light marks of use on the celluloid. It fills well with the modification to the filler and writes very smoothly, quite a delight to use.
Price: £110. (UKP 100) ….. plus postage
Postage: in UKP
US & Canada tracked airmail: £16
Asia, Australia & New Zealand tracked airmail: £16
Europe tracked airmail: £13
UK Special Delivery: £7.55
UK First Class Recorded: £4.85
Payment: PayPal please to: barrie51@icloud.com
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