NOS Waterman Bicentennial Fountain Pen, French Revolution & Declaration of the Rights of Man, France 1989

Offered for your consideration is this rare New Old Stock Waterman Bicentennial fountain pen, produced in 1989 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

For this historic anniversary, Waterman briefly created a special “Bicentenaire” version of its Forum fountain pen. Assuring its scarcity today, the edition was produced specifically for the French market and was available only for a limited period.

Its importance lies not merely in the commemorative designation, but in the way the events of 1789 are incorporated directly into the design.

The resin body is decorated with passages from the Declaration of the Rights of Man together with portions of the musical score of La Marseillaise, transforming an otherwise practical writing instrument into an immediately recognizable commemorative object.

There is particular appropriateness in Waterman France producing such a pen. By 1989, the French branch of Waterman had itself accumulated more than six decades of writing-instrument manufacturing history and had become an important part of the international Waterman identity.

The Bicentennial edition therefore united an established French pen manufacturer with two of the most powerful symbols of modern French history: the Declaration of the Rights of Man and La Marseillaise. For the collector, it represents an unusual intersection of writing-instrument history, French national history and late twentieth-century commemorative design.

Its Fine gold-plated nib is signed: WATERMAN FRANCE F

The pen uses readily available Waterman cartridges, making it entirely practical to use should its new owner choose to do so.

This rare Waterman Bicentennial fountain pen remains in Mint, original New Old Stock condition and has never been used.

Its commemorative decoration, original finish and factory markings are beautifully preserved.

It is accompanied by its original presentation box.

Lewis Edson Waterman is credited with developing the first commercially successful practical fountain pen in 1884.

According to the celebrated company story, Waterman was then working as an insurance broker when a newly purchased fountain pen failed at precisely the wrong moment, first refusing to write and then spilling ink over an important contract. By the time he returned with another copy, the prospective client had signed with a competitor.

Determined to create a more dependable instrument, Waterman turned his attention to the crucial relationship between the ink reservoir, feed and nib.

His experiments resulted in the famous three-channel feed, based upon capillary action, for which he received a United States patent on February 12, 1884. The principle proved fundamental to the development of reliable fountain pens.

The business became the L.E. Waterman Company in 1888. The following year, Waterman received a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, helping establish an international reputation that would make the company one of the great names of twentieth-century fountain-pen manufacture.

Waterman pens soon became widely distributed throughout North America, while Lewis Waterman’s nephew Frank D. Waterman helped expand the company strongly into Europe.

A particularly important chapter began in France in 1926, when Waterman representative Jules Fagard established the French JiF-Waterman operation.

France subsequently became central to Waterman’s development. Among its important innovations was early work on replaceable ink cartridges, an idea that would eventually transform the everyday use of fountain pens.

By the late twentieth century, Waterman had become deeply associated with French writing-instrument design and manufacture.

Produced in France in 1989 and available there only briefly, the present New Old Stock Bicentennial fountain pen is a particularly appealing expression of that heritage—combining Waterman’s own history with the bicentenary of events that profoundly shaped modern France.