Waterman Lady Elsa fountain pen

In 1987 Waterman introduced into the market a new women's model: the Lady Elsa. It was a small, clipless fountain pen -- no other writing modes are known to exist, with a ring on top, which embodied the style of the ladies' fountain pens Waterman had manufactured during the twenties -- flat-top type with more or less decoration aimed at the female population. But more interesting yet this model was fashioned from an old stock of galalith -- a sort of casein -- made in those years that Waterman managed to acquire in the mid-eighties.

The name Lady Elsa comes from the targeted public as well as the given names of two prominent women in Waterman’s history, Elsa Fagard and Elsa Le Foyer, grandmother and mother, respectively, of Francine Gomez, at the time chief executive of Waterman. Elsa Fagard was Jules Isidore Fagard’s wife -- Mr. Fagard being the founder of JIF-Waterman, French brand of the American parent company -- and managing director after her husband's death. Elsa Le Foyer succeeded Mrs. Fagard at business. In this way, the name Lady Elsa is a homage to women as much as the fountain pen itself was intended to be.

Throughout a recent advertising campaign, in a summary of its history, Waterman mentioned the Lady Elsa as "a luxurious and refined ladies model" result of "the team's know-how and precision".

The pen's cap was brass lined, with a sleeve of galalith covering the piece of brass. It had a gold-plated top -- which included the ring -- and a gold-plated band on the lip. The barrel was entirely made of galalith, having inner threads at both ends. The section was made of black plastic and had grooves for a better writing comfort. This pen exhibited a gold-plated ring in between barrel and section, whereas the later one ended in a gold-plated nozzle. A solid jewel of galalith was attached to the end of the barrel by means of a threaded piece of brass that remained partially visible as a gold-plated ring.

The nib was, in this model, gold-plated stainless steel and had a heart-shaped vent hole. It was of good quality, as Waterman nibs use to be. I do not know the available range of point types at that time. Nevertheless, I must say that all the exemplars I have ever seen showed medium or fine nibs. The feed seems to be made of plastic and had no serrations, but flat surfaces instead.

The filling system was of the cartridge type. It accepts Waterman mini cartridges, which show the same length than the universal ones, but a smaller piercing hole.

On the pen cap band reads "WATERMAN - MADE IN FRANCE" whereas the nib is imprinted  "WATERMAN FRANCE", showing a capital letter indicating the point type as well.

There is very little information about this pen, with a lot of confusion in most of the internet sites where it is mentioned -- the Lady Elsa is often mistaken for other later Waterman women´s models such as the Lady Agathe. In particular, its price, the range of finishes Waterman produced, even the period of production seem to be a complete mystery.

The Lady Elsa should have a great success, for Waterman introduced right afterwards a variety of women's models which flooded the market during the nineties -- Lady Agathe, Alice, Anastasia, Charlotte, Patricia and Reve Latin. Today, however, the Lady Elsa is hard to find.

Seldom seen as they are I have come across, nevertheless, five of these true beauties. And I could have had another one had it not arrived home cracked. A friend of mine says I "seem to have captured the market on the Waterman Lady Elsa ..." These small pens have become an exciting part of my collection -- not only for me, but also for my wife; I should put her aside from them continuously! The reason why is evident. Of course, I still look for more.

Using my own pictures and some images that can be found on internet I have been able to make a first, incomplete approach to the range of finishes Waterman produced during the lifetime of this model. Out there another two have been described: Grey and black marble -- similar to the third one on the image, but with grey instead of burgundy -- and jade green. And more finishes, not subtle variations of those described here, are perhaps expected to be found!

As to the number of pens produced, I have found no data out there. Yet the production run should be somehow short -- till the end of the limited stock of galalith.

Universal (left) and Waterman mini (right) cartridges

Notice the smaller piercing hole of the later one

It is clear that more work has to be done about this nearly unknown, interesting and beaufitul fountain pen!