Waterman 0552 1/2 L.E.C.

I’m quite certain that this pen has an interesting history that I’ll never learn. The model number gives us lots of information about it already:

0: gold filled
5: full overlay
5: lever filler
2: #2 nib
1/2: slender model (aka a “ladies’ pen”)
L.E.C. : Lower End Covered

(For a complete listing of codes, see this page.)

There’s not much else to say about the pen itself. It was probably made in the 1920s. There is no chasing on the gold overlay – it’s a smooth finish apart from the parallel line chasing on the cap on the end of the barrel. The design is quite plain – both the barrel and the cap are simple cylinders. Despite being a smaller pen, it has some heft due to the gold overlay.

The nib is magnificent. With no pressure, it delivers a hairline, but it has the ability to flex when asked – and snaps back quite quickly. After just a couple of days of writing with it, it becomes very easy to control, which makes it one of my favourite pens in my collection.

One interesting thing about this pen is the box, which has the label “Casa Jacobo Peuser S.A. Buenos Aries” This was a company that made playing cards in Argentina from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s (see this page, for example). Was this a gift from the company to a retiring employee? Maybe expensive swag for a corporate customer? And how did the pen wind up in Denmark?

Total weight: 16.4 g
Body weight: 11.1 g
Total length (not posted): 127.0 mm
Total length(with cap): 130.8 mm
Barrel max diameter: 9.5 mm
Cap max diameter: 10.7 mm

V2022016