I look at this pen and I think of robots and space opera. Was it their then-zeitgeist, futuristic science making the decade of the Second World War easier to bear? The Eversharp Skyline was produced between 1940 to 1949. Many will contend that science fiction’s first golden age was the 50s, ushered in by Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics – but the 40s saw Asimov, Bradbury and Doc E.E. Smith flexing their soon-to-be-legendary SF chops. Perhaps they even flexed their nibs.
The pen has “Eversharp” smartly stamped on the clip, and again on the nib. The nib has a teardrop stamp, and a long breather hole. It’s semi-flexible, and fun to use.
I once read a story by Cordwainer Smith called Scanners Live in Vain. The Skyline would be the perfect pen for a Scanner, if they used pens. But they mostly used their fingernails. Having just googled Cordwainer Smith, I am happily surprised to discover that the story is here.
If one can imagine a decade’s stories by its pens, what would this one’s be? Disposable, as ballpoints? Unattainable, as precious resin? Scavenged and refurbished, as 51s from mothballed drawers?
