Epenco Pens and Pencils

Q I hope you can identify this pen that has been in the family for some time. There is no name on it. I thought it was just a pen but found out it’s a pen/pencil combination. It’s been in the family for about 100 years. The ink pen slides out and back and the pencil twists to expose the lead, but it looks like a part is missing at one end of the pen. The only mark is ”EPENCO NY” on the pen nib. I found a pen/pencil combination similar to this listed online and it was identified as a Mabie Todd retracting dip pen & pencil, asking price $279.00. Can you tell me what I have?

A Combination pens and pencils were popular in the 1930s. Several companies made dip pen-pencil combinations beginning in the late 1800s. Makers designed a variety of innovative ways to make the combinations work. Mabie, Todd & Company was founded in New York by John Mabie and Edward Todd in 1859. If your pen was made by Mabie, Todd & Company, the original nib would have been marked ”Mabie Todd.” Some Mabie Todd pens are marked on the shaft as well as the nib. Epenco is an acronym for the Eagle Pencil Co., which was founded by German pencil maker Heinrich Berolzheimer in New York City in 1856. Both companies made pens, pencils, pen-pencil combinations, and gold nibs for pens. Since ”Epenco” is the only marking on your pen-pencil combination, it was probably made by the Eagle Pencil Co.