The story of Sheaffer is one of fine writing excellence and artisan craftsmanship with down-home American roots.
Starting in 1907 in Fort Madison, Iowa, the tale of Walter A Sheaffer is one that exemplifies the American Dream. Having worked since the age of 11 to earn enough money to buy his own jewellery store, he then used his jeweller expertise to create a lever-filling refill system that filled pens quickly and cleanly. He started creating and selling the devices from the back room of his store, invested his life savings and incorporated the company in 1913.
By the 1930s, Sheaffer was billing his design as ‘the pen that fills instantly from any ink-well, with the touch of a finger’ and had established the brand as a leader within the luxury fine-writing market. In the early days, Walter would check every pen himself and place a small white dot on each once he was satisfied with its quality. Over 100 years later, Sheaffer continues to offer innovative, reliable and stylish writing instruments, and the ‘white dot’ is still a seal of approval, symbolising the pride the company has in the timelessness and craftsmanship of each piece.
For the writer, there are plenty of designs to choose from, whether you’re after a high-end fountain pen like the Prelude, the Legacy Heritage or the 100 or 300 series; tools of artistic expression from the calligraphy range or the multi-functional Switch and Quattro; or practical, everyday pens like the Sentinel, Sagaris or VFM collections. If you’re looking for something outstandingly luxurious, Sheaffer’s Limited Editions feature precious metals and limited runs that make them more like pieces of jewellery than pens, and hark back to the company’s artisan beginnings.
