The Paul E. Wirt Fountain Pen Company began
manufacturing fountain pens in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania in the early
1880s. They may have been the largest producers of fountain pens during
the next two decades. At that time, only L. E. Waterman Pen Company
reached similar production levels.
Early Wirt pens were all eyedropper fill pens in black or red
& black mottled hard rubber. These early pens were overfeed models -
having the feed located on top of the nib. Later, when Wirt offered a
traditional under feed pen, it was fairly unique in that it did not have
a breather hole in the nib. It was vented through a hole in the feed.
While some people have speculated that Wirt may have fell behind in the
pen race because he was slow to offer self-filling pens, this
information is simply not correct as Wirt was offering self-fillers as
early as 1903.
Thankfully, not all Wirt pens were to be plain black or mottled
hard rubber. They also produced many pens with gold or gold-filled
overlays, filigree pens, and pens covered with mother of pearl or
abalone slabs. Among these higher-end pens is Wirt’s version of the
"Snake" pen. Wirt also offered many unique filling systems and
was one of the first companies to offer a pocket clip as an option.
Sears, Roebuck & Company were the leading retailer of Wirt
Fountain Pens. For many years they purchased huge quantities of pens to
sell in their catalogues. However, they did not, at any time, purchase
Wirt’s entire production. In addition to Sears, Wirt sold many pens to
smaller retailers and even sold single pens to individuals. Wirt had a
several names he used on his pens - one of them being
"Phenix". Some of these pens were labeled for use by other pen
companies and some were labeled to be sold by chain stores or stationary
stores. The Phenix pens were all black or mottled hard rubber.
Competition in the pen business became fierce after 1910. Other
pen companies were cutting costs by purchasing ready-made parts from
suppliers. However, Paul Wirt was still making all parts himself. This
is when Wirt sales began to lag. Eventually he began buying many of the
parts just to stay competitive.
Wirt eventually switched all production to lever fill pens, with
his distinctive "W" on the lever.
By the 1920s, Paul Wirt was in his 70s and had probably lost
interest in the declining company. It was at this time that he turned
control of the company over to his son Karl. Karl Wirt died in 1921
& Paul sold the company in 1925.
The Wirt Company eventually switched production to plastic, but
the depression really took a toll on pen companies and probably put an
end to all production. The Paul E. Wirt Pen Co remained open for many
years doing pen repair work and probably many pens were assembled from
leftover parts. Eventually the factory was closed and the remaining
inventory was sold off.
