Champion Fountain Pens c. 1948

by Jim Mamoulides, May 9, 2025

Champion fountain pen in red mélange pearl c. 1948

A pen for champions!

When I first found this Champion fountain pen inside a typical "bag of pens" purchased on an antiquing trip, I thought it was just another random cheapie, though with very pretty celluloid. Champion was not mentioned anywhere in the pen books I had at the time and very few showed up in internet searches and the ones that did were pens for sale, not generally in great condition, and with speculative information as to their maker.

I put the pen away and years later was able to unlock the mystery. The first hit was several newspaper advertisements in 1948 by the Southern Pen Company of Petersburg, Virginia seeking “sideline salesmen” for territories in the western United States to sell Champion fountain pens and pencils. The second hit was of all places in The Missile, the Petersburg, Virginia high school yearbook, where the Southern Pen Company took out a small text only Champion fountain pens advertisement in each of the 1943 to 1947 editions. The 1947 advertisement adds a Champion Deluxe model. A Victory model was advertised in 1946 in The Commonwealth, The Magazine of Virginia.

Champion fountain pen in red mélange pearl c. 1948

The Office of Price Administration, a federal agency established in 1941 to control prices and ration resources during World War II, issued an amendment to its Maximum Price Regulation 564 on October 27, 1944 and amended it again on December 23 of that year, effective December 28. In it, the Southern Pen Company lists retail ceiling prices for fifteen models of fountain pens priced from 29 to 56 cents and six models of mechanical pencils from 21 to 27 cents, with every model listed under the brand “Champion.” This definitely clarifies that the Southern Pen Company was selling Champion branded pens and pencils at that time.

Advertisements for Champion fountain pens and pencils can be found in newspapers as early as 1927 and as late as 1951. They were lever fill pens priced usually less than a dollar each and featured gold plated nibs, if there were any details at all. I found no advertisements with images and only a few with bits of description about the pen or pencil but no mention of the Southern Pen Company. I did make a hit in an advertisement in the October 30, 1948 Kingsport, Tennessee News that describes a Champion fountain pen very much like the one shown here. It described a pen with a tapered section and hooded nib that came in four “Melange Pearl” colors for 87 cents with coupon.

Champion fountain pen in red mélange pearl c. 1948

An October 4, 1937 decision by the Federal Trade Commission reveals that the Southern Pen Company itself was a trade name for the Edison Pen Company, Inc. of Petersburg, Virginia. Edison, trading as Southern, was directed to cease and desist from providing its retailers with “labels, bands or other printed matter” that gave “fictitious prices in excess of the prices” that their pens and pencils would ordinarily be sold. It also prohibited “so called guarantee certificates” that promised that their pens and pencils would be repaired at no charge, when a small fee was charged for the return. All these data points clarify that these Champion pens and pencils were made and sold by the Edison Pen Company doing business as the Southern Pen Company. So far I've been unable to uncover how they chose the name Champion, but did discover the company also made Cadillac and Royal pens and pencils in the 1920s.

This Champion fountain pen has a vivid red “mélange pearl” marble celluloid and is probably from 1948 based on the advertisements I reviewed. It's a 5 1/4 inch long lever-fill pen with a long tapered black section, red mélange pearl celluloid cap and barrel, and lightly gold plated trim that shows significant wear. The clip is stamped MADE IN USA at the top and CHAMPION down the face. The design is nearly identical to clips with plated metal cap top ornaments used on late Diamond Point pens. It has a 3/8 inch wide ribbed cap band. The lever is stamped #17 – 1.00, possibly the model number and price. This particular model number is not listed in the 1945 Office of Price Administration list, nor would a tapered section pen have likely been made by Southern at that time, but '17' is similar to the 1945 model numbers, so it may be a clue as to what the stamping means. There are no imprints or any other makers marks on the pen. The lightly gold plated stainless steel nib has no markings.

Champion fountain pen in red mélange pearl c. 1948

The pen had not been serviced at the time of this writing so there will be no performance review.

The celluloid on this Champion fountain pen is really beautiful and it makes me want to see the other three colors, which I would guess might be blue, green, and black based on earlier Champion pen advertisements. It’s too bad that the rest of the pen is so cheaply executed, though it does fit together well enough. It was probably very attractive when new. The plain gold plated stainless steel nib is smooth enough using a dry writing test.

Champion pens are very much overlooked and are more likely to be found in parts bins at pen shows than for sale online and the ones that do turn up usually have defects, like the plating loss on the clip and nib of this example. The appeal would be for collectors interested in the Richmond / Petersburg, Virginia pen industry, which included Edison/Southern, Arnold, and Tuckersharpe, all makers of inexpensive mass produced pens and pencils. If you can find them, they probably will be inexpensive and will likely need to be serviced.

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References

“2068. False and Misleading Brands of Labels – Fountain Pens, Etc.” Federal Trade Commission Decisions, Volume 25, United States Federal Trade Commission, page 1556

Advertisement, Daily Big Picture in Paragould, Paragould, Arkansas, November 29, 1949, page 11

Advertisement, Great Falls Tribune, Great Falls, Montana, February 29, 1948, page 14

Advertisement, Kingsport News, Kingsport, Tennessee, October 30, 1948, page 3

Advertisement, Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada, February 29, 1948, page 21

Advertisement, Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno, Nevada, February 28, 1948, page 10

Advertisement, The Billboard, March 19, 1927, page 167

Advertisement, The Billboard, October 17, 1931, page 56

Advertisement, The Billboard, January 23, 1932, page 58

Advertisement, The Coeur d'Alene Press, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, February 28, 1948, page 7

Advertisement, The Commonwealth, The Magazine of Virginia, Volume 13, 1946

Advertisement, The Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, 1951, page 869

Advertisement, The Edmonton Bulletin, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, October 22, 1945, page 5

Advertisement, The Jeanerette Enterprise, Jeanerette, Louisiana, September 01, 1949, page 3

Advertisement, The Jeanerette Enterprise, Jeanerette, Louisiana, September 02, 1948

Advertisement, The Missile, Petersburg High School, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947

Advertisement, The Missoulian, Missoula, Montana, March 21, 1948, page 13

Advertisement, The Windsor Star, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, August 21, 1947, page 19

“OPA Amends Maximum Price Regulation 564 on Fountain Pens and Mechanical Pencils” Office Appliances, February 1945, pages 21, 140, 142