View source for Esterbrook 788 v2 gold

{| class="infobox"
|colspan=2 align=center|[[File:Esterbrook logo.png|link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esterbrook]]
|-
|colspan=2 align=center| '''Esterbrook 788 v2 gold'''
|-
|'''Manufacturer''' ||Esterbrook
|-
|'''Nib No.''' ||788
|-
|'''Descr.''' ||Oval Point, Version 2
|-
|'''Tip''' ||
|-
|'''Markings''' ||Exterior
|-
|'''Mark 1 lateral L''' ||788 
|-
|'''Mark 2''' ||R.ESTERBROOK & CO.
|-
|'''Mark 3''' ||OVAL POINT
|-
|'''Mark 4''' ||MADE IN U.S.A.
|-
|colspan=2 align=center| [[File:Picture 526.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Esterbrook 788 Version 2 gold - top view, with ruler]]

|}

Described in contemporary advertising ([http://www.zanerian.com/ZanCat.html Zanarian]) as: "No. 788. 'Oval Point.' The points of these pens have a perfect oval that comes in contact with the paper and makes them glide over the surface with a smoothness that is delightful."

''The 1938 Esterbrook Catalog'' says, "Slightly flexible, medium, oval point. Most popular oval point pen. Ultrasmooth. Gray finish. Gold plated"

[https://theesterbrookproject.com/NIB%20SHEETS/ESTERBROOK%20788%20OVAL%20POINT/ESTERBROOK%20788%20OVAL%20POINT.html The Esterbrook Project] describes this nib as having "a pinched waist body with a spoon head and sharp, turned-up tip. The vent hole is a large baseball bat shape. Firm flex." The #788 Oval Point is distinguished from a nib with the same descriptor, but a different number--the Esterbrook #787 Oval Point Pen.

AAAndrew's [https://thesteelpen.com/category/pen-types/ Steel Pen blog] references a history of Turned Up Point Pens in ''The American Stationer'' (2/12/1889): "The first steel pens made in Birmingham about the year 1837, while providing a ready made instrument for penmen, failed to give that ease in writing which was the characteristic of the old quill. [Steel pens] were uniformly fine pointed and naturally more or less scratchy. The remedy for this was not found until a generation later, when ... the happy idea occurred to turn up the points. ... The penman can write longer with less fatigue than with the ordinary styles. The tediousness of writing is almost entirely avoided, and the relief is so complete that it converts a drudgery into a delight."

Brandon McKinney's analysis of the [http://www.whiteapplemultimedia.com/esterbrook-timeline.jpg markings and grindings] date this as a post-WWII version of the #788 Oval Point Pen, late 1940s.

====Versions====
There are six distinct versions of the Esterbrook #788 Oval Point Pen in the Chappy's Nibs collection: 

* [[Esterbrook 788 v1 | '''Version 1:''' ]] gray finish, no location imprint (''i.e.,'' no MADE IN U.S.A.)
* [[Esterbrook 788 v2 | '''Version 2:''' ]] gray finish, company imprint R.ESTERBROOK & CO.
* [[Esterbrook 788 v2 gold | '''Version 2 gold:''' ]] same as Version 2, except gold-plated finish
* [[Esterbrook 788 v3 | '''Version 3:''' ]] gray finish, company imprint ESTERBROOK  
* [[Esterbrook 788 v4 | '''Version 4:''' ]] gray finish, company imprint ESTERBROOK moved to Mark #5
* [[Esterbrook 788 v4 gold | '''Version 4 gold:''' ]] same as Version 4, except gold-plated finish

(These version names are defined for this collection alone, and are not necessarily industry-wide terms.)  

The nib pictured below is '''Version 2 gold'''.

====Photos====
Click any image for a full-resolution photo: 2200 x 640. The image with the ruler is 2300 x 1196.
[[File:Picture 548.jpg|thumb|650px|none|Esterbrook 788 Version 2 gold - top view]]
[[File:Picture 546.jpg|thumb|650px|none|Esterbrook 788 Version 2 gold - side view, upper]]
[[File:Picture 547.jpg|thumb|650px|none|Esterbrook 788 Version 2 gold - side view, lower]]

==External Links==

* [https://theesterbrookproject.com/NIB%20SHEETS/ESTERBROOK%20788%20OVAL%20POINT/ESTERBROOK%20788%20OVAL%20POINT.html The Esterbrook Project - 788 page]
* [http://www.whiteapplemultimedia.com/history.html History of Esterbrook - McKinney]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esterbrook Wikipedia - Esterbrook page]
* [http://hans.presto.tripod.com/nibs/esterbrook.html Blam Nib site - Esterbrook page]
* [https://thesteelpen.com/category/pen-types/ Steel Pen blog - AAAndrew]

[[Category:Nibs]]