Waterman manufactured its early lever fillers in black ebonite and sticked to ebonite  till the mid/late 20s when other pen makers  had already shifted to celluloid to manufacture colorful pens. Waterman's range of ebonite colors was instead enlarged with the addition of mottled, ripple and cardinal red ebonite. 

Colorful ripple ebonites (olive, rose and blue ripple) were added after 1925 and were mainly used for the 94 series. Mottled, red ripple  and cardinal red ebonites were instead used  mostly for the 5X series of lever fillers.,

 Cardinal red is undoubtedly one of the most precious and fascinating colors in Waterman's range. Being brittle and very much subjected to discoloration and ink staining, it is very difficult to be found in pristine condition.

This Waterman 55 with Canadian F nib is in excellent condition with no difference in color between cap and barrel and no stains.

The pen is shiny and extremely beautiful. The nib is rigid but very smooth, perfectly suitable for everyday wiring and fast notes.

Note: the writing sample says " Waterman 56" but it is my mistake when I wrote it. The pen is a 55.