Arkansas Pen Club

Sheaffer Ads on National Geographic Back Covers

2/5/2022

Sheaffer Triumph advertisement from the back cover of the May, 1946 edition of National Geographic

W. A. Sheaffer Pen Co. must have had tremendous success advertising with National Geographic. How else could you explain their almost continuous presence on the back covers from the 1920s through the 1960s?

We've recently come across a large collection of those back covers, and we couldn't resist sharing. They provide a fun and unique way to explore the timeline of various Sheaffer models, including Balance, Triumph, Skripsert, Snorkel, up through the PFM.

Of particular interest is the November, 1955 advertisement, featuring artwork by Norman Rockwell. And be sure to look closely at the ads from the early to mid-1940s, many of which mention the Wartime Production Board (WPB) and materials rationing, as "the facilities, resources, and personnel of the Sheaffer organization have been, and are being, converted largely to the war effort."

Clicking on the images will expand them and show the date the advertisement ran in National Geographic, if known.

This is by no means a complete set, but there are around 77 advertisements represented here, from 1929 through 1959. Amazingly, only two of these advertisements ran twice. We hope you enjoy viewing them, and maybe you'll recognize one or two pens from your own collection.