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Chilton and Crocker are two of the most interesting between the many companies born in the golden age of American fountain pen that disappeared with the difficulties encountered in subsequent years. The first was created by the son of the founder of the second, that was absorbed in it. Past the golden age of the '20s Chilton, like most other producers of the time, suffered heavily the great depression of 1929. In the '30s sales deteriorated, and production continued to decline until the final exit from the market in 1941.

Despite the high quality of its fountain pens, certainly not lower that of the far more famous Waterman, Sheaffer and Parker, Chilton never shone for in marketing capabilities: the spread of its pens never came out of the United States, and in the USA the distribution remained longtime localized in the North East of the country. Chilton pens were beautiful, functional and with great technical quality, but because of their low diffusion they did not had the success they deserved; therefore are quite rare and much sought by collectors.

Chilton
Brand pages
Brand photos
Instructions sheet
Patents

History

Around 1920 Seth Sears Crocker, founder of Crocker Pen Company left business and his son, Seth Chilton Crocker, took over the conduct of the company. In 1923 Seth Chilton Crocker entered directly in the fountain pen market founding in Boston a new company with its own name: the Chilton Pen Company. In 1925^[1] he launched the first model of the new company. It was a ordinary flattop hard rubber pen, but it was using an ingenious pneumatic filling system evolved from the blow filler invented by his father. That mechanism was essentially a precursor of the touchdown filler that Sheaffer will introduce just over 20 years later.

The pneumatic filling system used by Chilton is based on compression made by sliding the outside shaft of the pen over a internal metal cylinder which encloses the ink sac like a pump piston. The sliding barrel is equipped with a hole on the bottom that must be hold closed with a finger in the process of pushing it down for compression, but once opened it allow the expansion of the ink sac and the subsequent filling.

The mechanism was simple, functional and robust, and allowed Chilton pens to use ink sacs with significantly larger dimensions than those of competitors, so that the pens were promoted with the slogan Twice the ink. However the shape of pens was not proportionate because to block on the sliding barrel the cap had to be extended over the full length of the nib section, and that should be quite long because it was used to hold the pen when filling it. So the pens were having quite an excessive cap length.

A Chilton in jade green celluloid

The first Chilton pens were made in black or mottled hard rubber, but as early as 1926 new models built in celluloid were produced, using the classic Jade green and Pearl Black colors. In these early years all Chilton production came from the Boston plant, and the models of this period are often referred to by the name of this city.

In the late '20s (the exact moment of the transfer is not clear, some suggest it in 1926, others in 1929) the Chilton moved the production facilities from Boston to Long Island (in New York) also incorporating the remains of Crocker. In this period new celluloid models with new colors were produced, and a second version of the filling system was developed. In the new mechanism the external barrel was no longer used directly to do the compression, and there was an internal sliding metallic cylinder that could be driven through an handle back. The working principle was the same, but in this way the size of the cap could go back to a more proportionate dimension.

A Long Island production Chilton pen

In the early 30's also Chilton started to produce streamlined models, following the trend introduced by the Balance. The this period models, produced in 15 color variations and 8 different sizes are commonly called Long Island. More or less at this time there was the birth of the so-called Lox-Top models, equipped with a particular mechanism (called Lox-Top) that prevented the cap from unscrewing when the pen was inserted into a pocket, this was carried out by a small pin, actuated by the clip, which was to hang on the section when the clip was moved from the cloth of the pocket.

Between 1934 and 1935 (the two dates comes from different sources, but we use the second one, mentioned in a 1937 catalog) Chilton introduced what is probably his masterpiece, the Wing-flow model. The name come from the peculiar pen nib, cover by a patent (nº US-2089449) that was filed in 1935, equipped with lateral wings folded around the feeder, so that the nib could not be misaligned.

In 1939 Chilton produced his last quality pen, the Golden Quill. The pen was launched at the New York World Fair. The new pen had a simple and austere style, in sharp contrast with the opulence of the Wing-flow. The quality was as always impeccable, but the company had economical difficulties and the new pen was not publicized enough: sales were scarce so that the pen is very rare and today is very sought by collectors.

In 1941, after having produced some low quality economic pens (the Chiltonian, sold mainly by correspondence), Chilton, unable to generate sufficient sales, closed its doors and ceased operations.

Model list

The table below lists pages devoted to Chilton models, with a production start date and a discontinuation date; keep in mind, however, that in many cases these dates, particularly the discontinuation date, may simply be indicative.

	Production started	Production ended
Chilton Long Island	1926	1935
Wing-flow	1935	1941
Golden Quill	1939	1941

Chronology

Year	Event
1920	Seth Sears Crocker left business and his son Seth Chilton Crocker took over the company
1923	the company is founded by Seth Chilton Crocker in Boston as Chilton Pen Company
1925	the company introduces its new pneumatic filler
1926	the company moves to Long Island and introduces first celluloid models
1927	the company introduces the second version of its pneumatic filler (or 1930?)
1930	the company introduces the Rocker clip
1935	the company introduces the Wing-flow
1936	the company introduces inlaid user intials on the Wing-flow
1937	the company patents the Lox-Top cap
1938	the company transfer activities to Summit, in New Jersey
1939	the company introduces the Golden Quill
1941	the company ceases operations

External references

[1] A company history
[2] A discussion around Chilton
[3] A detailed article on Chilton
[4] Chilton page on Bill Aker website
[5] An article on Chilton
[6] Chilton page on Pen & Watch website
[7] Website with some pictures, mostly abandoned
[8] Link to a discussion, disappeared also from the Internet Archive

Notes

↑ that year is esplicitely mentioned in a 1937 catalog for the Wing-flow model.

[1] that year is esplicitely mentioned in a 1937 catalog for the Wing-flow model.

[1]

@@ Riga 1: / Riga 1: @@
-[[Image:Chilton.jpg|center|200px|Chilton Logo]]
+[[Immagine:Logo-Chilton.svg|center|300px|Chilton Logo]]
-La [[Chilton]] e la [[Crocker]] sono due fra le più interessanti delle tante aziende nate nel periodo d'oro della stilografica americana e poi scomparse con le difficoltà incontrate negli anni successivi. La prima venne creata dal figlio del fondatore della seconda, e venne in essa assorbita. Passato il periodo d'oro degli anni '20 la [[Chilton]], come la gran parte degli altri produttori dell'epoca, subì pesantemente la grande depressione del '29. Negli anni '30 le vendite peggiorarono e la produzione continuò a ridursi, fino alla definitiva uscita dal mercato nel 1941.
+[[Chilton]] and [[Crocker]] are two of the most interesting between the many companies born in the golden age of American fountain pen that disappeared with the difficulties encountered in subsequent years. The first was created by the son of the founder of the second, that was absorbed in it. Past the golden age of the '20s [[Chilton]], like most other producers of the time, suffered heavily the great depression of 1929. In the '30s sales deteriorated, and production continued to decline until the final exit from the market in 1941.
-Nonostante la grande qualità delle sue penne, senz'altro al pari delle ben più famose [[Waterman]] e [[Parker]], la [[Chilton]] non brillò mai per una particolare attenzione agli aspetti legati alla commercializzazione; la diffusione delle sue penne non uscì mai dagli Stati Uniti, ed a lungo la distribuzione restò localizzata nel Nord Est del paese. Le penne della
+Despite the high quality of its fountain pens, certainly not lower that of the far more famous [[Waterman]], [[Sheaffer]] and [[Parker]], [[Chilton]] never shone for in marketing capabilities: the spread of its pens never came out of the United States, and in the USA the distribution remained longtime localized in the North East of the country. [[Chilton]] pens were beautiful, functional and with great technical quality, but because of their low diffusion they did not had the success they deserved; therefore are quite rare and much sought by collectors. {{Infobox_Brand|Chilton}}
-[[Chilton]] erano molto belle, funzionali e con grandi doti tecniche e costruttive, ma a causa della loro scarsa diffusione non ebbero il successo che meritavano; per questo motivo sono piuttosto rare e molto ricercate dai collezionisti.{{Infobox_Marca|Chilton}}{{BrandData|Founder=Seth Chilton Crocker|Date=1923|Place=Boston|Country=US}}
+== History ==
-== Storia ==
-Nel 1902 ''Seth Sears Crocker'' fondò a Boston la ''Crocker Pen Company'', in quegli anni le aziende venivano quasi sempre fondate in seguito alla realizzazione di una qualche innovazione tecnica, che nel caso della [[Crocker]] era un nuovo sistema di riempimento denominato  ''[[blow filler]]'' in quanto basato sulla compressione del serbatoio di gomma da effettuarsi soffiando con forza nel corpo della penna da un apposito forellino praticato sul fondo.
+Around [[1920]] ''Seth Sears Crocker'', founder of ''[[Crocker]] Pen Company'' left business and his son, ''Seth Chilton Crocker'', took over the conduct of the company. In [[1923]] ''Seth Chilton Crocker'' entered directly in the fountain pen market founding in Boston a new company with its own name: the ''Chilton Pen Company''. In [[1925]]<ref>that year is esplicitely mentioned in a 1937 catalog for the [[Wing-flow]] model.</ref> he launched the first model of the new company. It was a ordinary ''[[flattop]]'' hard rubber pen, but it was using an ingenious [[pneumatic filler|pneumatic filling system]] evolved from the ''[[blow filler]]'' invented by his father. That mechanism was essentially a precursor of the ''[[touchdown filler]]'' that [[Sheaffer]] will introduce just over 20 years later.
-Le penne prodotte dalla [[Crocker]] erano di buona qualità, ed il sistema di caricamento funzionava, anche se era piuttosto scomodo, per questo ben presto venne sostituito dal cosiddetto ''[[hatchet filler]]'', un caricamento realizzato tramite una leva agganciata al fondello della penna, costruito in questa maniera per poter aggirare il brevetto della [[Sheaffer]]. ''Seth Crocker'' lasciò gli affari nel 1920, e nella conduzione dell'azienda gli subentrò il figlio, ''Seth Chilton Crocker'', che spostò la sede dell'azienda da Boston a New York.
+The [[pneumatic filler|pneumatic filling system]] used by [[Chilton]] is based on compression made by sliding the outside shaft of the pen over a internal metal cylinder which encloses the ink sac like a pump piston. The sliding barrel is equipped with a hole on the bottom that must be hold closed with a finger in the process of pushing it down for compression, but once opened it allow the expansion of the ink sac and the subsequent filling.
-Nel 1923 ''Seth Chilton Crocker'' rientrò direttamente nel mercato delle penne stilografiche fondando a Boston una nuova azienda a suo nome: la ''Chilton Pen Company''. L'anno successivo (o nel 1925) lanciò sul mercato il primo modello della nuova ditta, basato su un ingegnoso [[caricamento pneumatico|sistema di riempimento pneumatico]], evoluzione del ''[[blow filler]]'' inventato dal padre, realizzando quello che in sostanza è un precursore del ''[[touchdown]]'' che la [[Sheaffer]] introdurrà sul mercato solo più di 20 anni dopo.
+The mechanism was simple, functional and robust, and allowed [[Chilton]] pens to use ink sacs with significantly larger dimensions than those of competitors, so that the pens were promoted with the slogan ''Twice the ink''. However the shape of pens was not proportionate because to block on the sliding barrel the cap had to be extended over the full length of the nib section, and that should be quite long because it was used to hold the pen when filling it. So the pens were having quite an excessive cap length.
-Il [[caricamento pneumatico|sistema di riempimento pneumatico]] della [[Chilton]] è basato sulla compressione effettuata tramite lo scorrimento del fusto esterno della penna su un cilindro metallico interno che racchiude il sacchetto di inchiostro della penna. Il fusto è fornito di un foro sul fondo da tenere chiuso con un dito in fase di compressione, una volta aperto si consente l'espansione del sacchetto ed il conseguente caricamento.
+[[File:Chilton-LongIsland-JadeGreen-Capped.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Chilton]] in jade green celluloid]]
-Il sistema era semplice, funzionale e robusto, e consentiva di utilizzare sacchetti di gomma di dimensioni nettamente superiori rispetto a quelli dei concorrenti, tanto che le penne venivano promosse con lo slogan ''Twice the ink''. A causa però della maggiore lunghezza del gruppo pennino, resa necessaria dalla particolare struttura del sistema di caricamento, la forma delle penne era poco proporzionata per la corrispondente maggior lunghezza del cappuccio.
+The first [[Chilton]] pens were made in black or [[mottled]] hard rubber, but as early as [[1926]]  new models built in celluloid were produced, using the classic ''Jade green'' and ''Pearl Black'' colors. In these early years all [[Chilton]] production came from the Boston plant, and the models of this period are often referred to by the name of this city.
-[[File:Chilton-LongIsland-JadeGreen-Capped.jpg|thumb|left|Una [[Chilton]] in celluloide verde giada]]
+In the late '20s (the exact moment of the transfer is not clear, some suggest it in [[1926]], others in 1929) the [[Chilton]] moved the production facilities from Boston to Long Island (in New York) also incorporating the remains of [[Crocker]]. In this period new celluloid models with new colors were produced, and a second version of the filling system was developed. In the new mechanism the external barrel was no longer used directly to do the compression, and there was an internal sliding metallic cylinder that could be driven through an handle back. The working principle was the same, but in this way the size of the cap could go back to a more proportionate dimension.
-Le prime penne della [[Chilton]] vennero realizzate in ebanite nera o fiammata, ma già a partire dal 1926 vennero introdotti dei nuovi modelli costruiti in [[celluloide]], nei classici colori ''Jade green'' e ''Pearl Black''. Nei primi anni tutta la produzione della [[Chilton]] proveniva dagli impianti di Boston, ed i modelli di questo periodo sono spesso indicati con il nome di questa città.
+[[File:Chilton-LongIsland-Turquoise-Capped.jpg|thumb|A ''Long Island'' production [[Chilton]] pen]]
-Alla fine degli anni '20 (il momento esatto del trasferimento è incerto, taluni lo indicano nel 1926, altri nel 1929) la [[Chilton]] trasferì gli impianti produttivi da Boston a Long Island (New York) inglobando anche i resti della [[Chilton|Crocker]]. In questo periodo vennero prodotti nuovi modelli in celluloide con nuovi colori, e sviluppata una seconda versione del sistema di caricamento, in cui non era più il fusto esterno ad essere usato per la compressione, ma un contro-cappuccio metallico azionato tramite il fondello. In questo modo le dimensioni del cappuccio potevano tornare ad essere più proporzionate.
+In the early 30's also [[Chilton]] started to produce ''[[streamlined]]'' models, following the trend introduced by the [[Balance]]. The this period models, produced in 15 color variations and 8 different sizes are commonly called ''[[Chilton Long Island|Long Island]]''. More or less at this time there was the birth of the so-called [[Chilton Lox-Top|Lox-Top]] models, equipped with a particular mechanism (called  [[Lox-Top]]) that prevented the cap from unscrewing when the pen was inserted into a pocket, this was carried out by a small pin, actuated by the clip, which was to hang on the section when the clip was moved from the cloth of the pocket.
-[[File:Chilton-LongIsland-Turquoise-Capped.jpg|thumb|Una [[Chilton]] della produzione di Long Island]]
+Between 1934 and [[1935]] (the two dates comes from different sources, but we use the second one, mentioned in a 1937 catalog) [[Chilton]] introduced what is probably his masterpiece, the [[Wing-flow]] model. The name come from the peculiar pen nib, cover by a patent ({{Cite patent|US|2089449}}) that was filed in [[1935]], equipped with lateral wings folded around the feeder, so that the nib could not be misaligned.
-All'inizio degli anni '30 vennero anche adottate, seguendo lo stile ''[[streamlined]]'' introdotto dalla [[Balance]], delle forme affusolate.  I modelli di questo periodo, prodotti in 15 variazioni di colore ed 8 dimensioni diverse vengono comunemente chiamati ''[[Chilton Long Island|Long Island]]''. Si attribuisce più o meno questo periodo anche la nascita dei modelli cosiddetti [[Lox-Top]] per il particolare meccanismo che impediva che il cappuccio potesse svitarsi quando la penna era inserita nel taschino, cosa che veniva realizzata tramite un piccolo perno, azionato dal fermaglio, che andava a bloccarsi sulla sezione quando questo veniva spostato dalla stoffa della tasca.
+In [[1939]] [[Chilton]] produced his last quality pen, the [[Golden Quill]]. The pen was launched at the New York World Fair. The new pen had a simple and austere style, in sharp contrast with the opulence of the [[Wing-flow]]. The quality was as always impeccable, but the company had economical difficulties and the new pen was not publicized enough: sales were scarce so that the pen is very rare and  today is very sought by collectors.
-Fra il 1934 ed il 1935 (di nuovo vengono riportate queste due date da fonti diverse) la [[Chilton]] introdusse quello che è probabilmente il suo capolavoro, il modello [[Wing-flow]]. Il nome della penna derivava dal peculiare pennino, il cui brevetto ({{Cite patent|US|2089449}}) venne richiesto nel 1935, dotato di alette ribattute intorno all'alimentatore, così che questo non potesse disallinearsi.
+In [[1941]], after having produced some low quality economic pens (the ''Chiltonian'', sold mainly by correspondence), [[Chilton]], unable to generate sufficient sales, closed its doors and ceased operations.
-Nel 1939 la [[Chilton]] produsse la sua ultima penna di qualità, la [[Golden Quill]], introdotta sul mercato in occasione della Fiera Mondiale di New York. La nuova penna era contraddistinta da uno stile semplice ed austero, in netto contrasto con l'opulenza della [[Wing-flow]]. La qualità come sempre era impeccabile, ma l'azienda era ormai in crisi e la nuova penna non venne pubblicizzata a sufficienza: le vendite furono scarse (tanto che la penna è molto rara ed oggi ricercatissima dai collezionisti).
+{{ModelList|Chilton}}
+{{BrandChrono|Chilton}}
-Nel 1941, dopo aver introdotto sul mercato penne economiche di bassa qualità (le ''[[Chiltonian]]'', vendute per lo più per corrispondenza), la [[Chilton]], incapace di generare vendite sufficienti, chiuse i battenti uscendo definitivamente dal mercato.
+== External references ==
+* [http://web.archive.org/web/20120405123620/http://www.achaikin.com/chiltons.html] A company history
+* [http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=113812] A discussion around Chilton
+* [http://sanchezalamopens.blogspot.com/2009/10/hoy-en-dia-las-estilograficas-chilton.html] A detailed article on Chilton
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130429200146/http://www.billspens.com/billspens/chilton/chilton.htm] Chilton page on Bill Aker website
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171216155918/http://www.rickconner.net:80/penspotters/chilton.html] An article on Chilton
+* [http://web.archive.org/web/20130614040653/http://www.pensandwatches.com/_pages/pen_company_photos/Chilton_pen_company.htm] Chilton page on Pen & Watch website
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180503065101/http://www.chiltonpens.com:80/] Website with some pictures, mostly abandoned
+* [http://kamakurapens.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=248] Link to a  discussion, disappeared also from the Internet Archive
+==Notes==
+<references/>
-{{CronoMarche}}
+{{CategorizeBrand|U.S.A.}}
-|-
-| 1902 || Nascita della [[Chilton|Crocker Pen Company]]
-|-
-| 1923 || Nascita della [[Chilton|Chilton Pen Company]]
-|-
-| 1925 || Lanciato il primo modello di [[Chilton]] a [[caricamento pneumatico|riempimento pneumatico]] (o 1924)
-|-
-| 1926 || La [[Chilton]] si sposta da Boston a Long Island a New York
-|-
-| 1926 || Introduzione di modelli in celluloide
-|-
-| 1927 || Introdotto il secondo modello di riempimento pneumatico
-|-
-| 1930 || Introdotta la ''[[Rocker clip]]''
-|-
-| 1935 || Introdotto il modello [[Wing-flow]]
-|-
-| 1936 || Introdotte le iniziali a intarsio sulla [[Wing-flow]]
-|-
-| 1937 || Brevettato il [[Lox-Top]]
-|-
-| 1937 o 38 || La [[Chilton]] si sposta a Summit, nel New Jersey
-|-
-| 1939 || Introdotto il modello [[Golden Quill]]
-|-
-| 1941 || Chiusura della [[Chilton]]
-|-
-|}
-{{LegendaModelli}}
-|-
-| [[Lox-Top]] || 193x || XX, ?
-|-
-| [[Wing-flow]] || 1935 || XX, ?
-|-
-| [[Golden Quill]] || 1939 || XX, ?
-|-
-|}
-==Riferimenti esterni==
-* http://www.chiltonpens.com/
-* http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/chilton.html
-* http://www.billspens.com/billspens/chilton/chilton.htm
-* http://www.achaikin.com/chiltons.html
-* http://www.pensandwatches.com/_pages/pen_company_photos/Chilton_pen_company.htm
-* http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=113812
-* http://sanchezalamopens.blogspot.com/2009/05/espanol-crocker-pen-company-was-founded.html
-* http://sanchezalamopens.blogspot.com/2009/10/hoy-en-dia-las-estilograficas-chilton.html
-* http://kamakurapens.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=248