Writing kits

[Dutchman Dick]

pen holder

BTW, the pen holder I have is nearly identical to the one on page 210 of Lord's Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia, vol. 2, in the set that belonged to John G. Macomber, 6th Vermont Infantry. As I mentioned earlier, it's hard to tell what the handle of the one in the photo is made of (mine is either ivory or bone, but DEFINITELY not hard rubber, modern plastic or celluloid), but as to the grip part the only real difference between Macomber's pen holder and mine is in the embossing: Macomber's is more of a chevron pattern while mine has a sort of checkerboard or basketweave pattern.

OK, found the description of Macomber's pens buried in the text of the book. One is wood and steel (presumably the plainer one in the photo, for any of you who have a copy of Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia vol. 2), while the one that resembles mine is most likely the one described as being made of mother-of-pearl and gold.

Were all gold items hallmarked back then? The gold-colored metal on my pen shows no sign of tarnish at all, so despite its apparent age it's certainly a corrosion-resistant metal. Just by styling alone, my pen holder COULD be from the Civil War. It was given to me by someone who is totally ignorant of such things, and she got it from someone else whose late mother had stashed it away with a lot of other old stuff many years ago. Any way to tell...?

My pen holder is currently at my parents' house. I am going there this weekend so I will try to post a photo when I get back. Maybe one of you can help identify it...