203 The PENNANT 2007 Fall Vol. XXV, No.3
Transcription
203 The PENNANT 2007 Fall Vol. XXV, No.3
Pens and Ephemera inside PENNANT The A p u b l i c at i o n o f t h e p e n c o l l e c t o r s o f a m e r i c a , I n c . F A LL 2 0 0 7 $9.95 The Other Walter Vintage Pen Boxes Diamond Dreams To Modify or Not to Modify pennant Inside The FALL 2007 Vol. XXV No. 3 Features 4 Are They Just Pens? Modify…or Preserve? Adapting Old Pens to Suit New Needs by Ron Dutcher Where is it Written? by Paul Bloch Take Good Care of History by Joel Hamilton and Sherrell Tyree Zen and the Art of Pen Repair by Rick Propas 8 Diamond Dreams by Marc Kolber, edited by David Moak 14 L. Michael Fultz by Paul Bloch 16 Modern Fountain Pen Revival Lacking in Balance by Daniel Waitzman 18 The Other Walter: Cushing, Not Sheaffer, Part 2 by Robert Wm. Astyk 25 A Photo Essay …DC Super Show photos by Terry Clark and Anna Lawson 33 Is This the Right Box? by Bruce Speary 38 What Pens Can Tell Us by Ronald J.Pohoryles departments 23 The Bookworm: A Review of Mabie in America by Tom Rehkopf 42 Handwriting: Left Out • The Other Ten Percent by Kate Gladstone 44 Tech Notes: Adapting Tools for Pen Repair by Victor Chen 18 51 From the Stacks by Dan Reppert In Brief 2 From the Editor 51 Coming in the Next Issue of The Pennant PCA resources 49 From the President 50 Local Clubs 50 Pay Pal Now Available for PCA Membership 52 Upcoming Shows 52 PCA Supporters 52 Back Issues 53 PCA Membership 53 Corporate Sponsors 54 Contributors 55 Pen Repair Directory 56 PCA Contributor Guidelines 56 Board of Directors 56 Marketplace 23 From the Editor The Traditional First Question With one entire issue of The Pennant under my belt, I have to say that I’m amazed at the dedication and hard work of our staffers, Tom Rehkopf, Dede Rehkopf and Fran Conn. All of us in the PCA owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their commitment to getting our journal out on time and in beautiful shape. I’m not the only one to note their contributions in recent months, nor am I likely to be the last; but we do need to appreciate them. They’re dependable, loyal, put in innumerable hours on our behalf—and, like all who take part in making The Pennant come alive, staff and writers alike, volunteers. They’re awesome! When pen collectors meet for the first time, one of the most common opening questions for one another is “How did you get involved in collecting pens?” We seem to have endless curiosity for the events, people, and situations that drafted us into this hobby. You’ll be seeing some of those stories from time to time in these pages, and we hope you’ll contribute your story, too. For me, my involvement with pens came about because I had a father who had Enthusiasms. Dad would find some new, oddball, obscure activity or occupation (usually obsolete by at least a century) and catapult himself into it, learning everything about it. And, since he was a consummate perfectionist, he mastered everything he had an Enthusiasm for. As the reigning child in the house, I usually (and usually involuntarily) became involved in these labyrinthine journeys, such that I may have been the only child in the U.S. at the time who, by the age of 12, knew Morse code (and had a pretty good fist), understood the inverse relationships involved in photography (and could reel, develop, and fix film as well as handle an enlarger), knew the botanical names of way too many cacti, and—one of few that has stayed with me—an excellent grasp of calligraphy. Dad took that up when I was just learning to write. I’m young enough to have missed the dip- and fountain pen era in schools; when we graduated from pencils in fifth grade, we went directly to Lindy ballpoints (which cost 25 cents, a princely sum since it was two and a half weeks' worth of allowance, and came in such colors as orange, pink, turquoise, and gold). Insisting that I take up pen and ink with him, Dad taught me to do calligraphy with Speedball dip pens. Since you could make pretty letters with them, I wasn’t too averse to this particular Enthusiasm and it came easily to me. My fifth-grade teacher was a martinet who applied the most militaristic of Palmer methodology to our handwriting instruction (“Lift pen! Circle left! Circle right!” Afterwards, she even marched us out to recess), but I’d already been introduced to those because Dad emphasized some of those principles, too: posture, pen position, and the use of arm and shoulder to gain the freest, most fluid motion in your writing. The latter, I still believe, makes the biggest difference in the comfort, ease and smoothness with which a person writes, and that’s why I harp on it when people ask me about their handwriting. At the same time, he and Mom exclusively used their Sheaffer fountain pens. No ballpoints but mine in our house. Dad’s was a gray pearl Balance; Mom’s a big jade Balance (actually, it had come to her by accident when she found it during a family hike in the mountains). I loved those pens. I anticipated inheriting them someday, although I wasn’t looking to become an orphan anytime soon. In the meantime, I had a couple of Sheaffer school pens with which I could use peacock blue Skrip and, later, a PaperMate with a slightly hooded nib. Alas, my inheritance was not to be. Dad’s Balance wore flat out in the late 1970s and, since it was a white-dot lifetime-guarantee model, he sent it back to the factory. By that time, sadly, either no one had the skills or knowledge to repair it or it was beyond repair. They sent him instead a nice sterling silver Imperial set, fountain pen and pencil (he used it until his death, and I do have that). But my (er…Dad’s!) beloved gray pearl Balance was gone. 2 FALL 2007 The pennant pennant The Oh, well; philosophically, I comforted myself with the knowledge that I’d still have Mom’s Balance someday, and she used hers less during that period than Dad had, so hers might even still be in working order by that time. But no; some kid in one of her classes “borrowed” it without telling her, and we presume Publishers Pen Collectors of America that when it stopped working or ran out of ink, the kid tossed it, not having a clue that pens P.O. Box 447 Fort Madison, IA 52627-0447 Phone: 319.372.3730 • Fax: 319.372.0882 Email: info@pencollectors.com Web: www.pencollectors.com could be refilled. That was a bigger blow. Both the pens that had vast sentimental value for me, gone. Kaput. Vanished. Defunct. Disappeared. By that time, I had three toddlers and not much time to worry about it. As the boys grew, though, I began to wish I had fountain pens—particularly lever fillers, but don’t ask me why— so that I could both use them and introduce the boys to the joys of fountain pens. Then, one day, a work acquaintance showed up with a Montblanc in his pocket. It was only a ballpoint, but still…I asked him about it, and a few days later he sent over a Fahrney’s catalog. That was it. I was thrilled. I couldn’t have my folks’ pens, but I could pick up something that looked kinda like theirs. Not lever fillers, true, but at least fountain pens! So my first purchase was a mottled green Sailor Magellan—a lovely little pen with a nice fine nib. Then came…well, you all know how that slippery slope goes and can guess the rest of that story. Within a very few years, I had several fountain pens and was wondering why; I couldn’t use more than one at a time, so what was the point in having more than one? A few years later, the Internet came to my distant corner of the remotest section of the furthest outpost from civilization that North America has to offer (with the possible exception of Nunuvut). One day, I idly entered “old fountain pens” in the search page. Guess what I got? Yep—what was then alt.collecting.pens-pencils, a few Web sites selling vintage pens; quite a few references and the fairly new and still-small Zoss listserv. Astonished, I began called “like Mom and Dad’s,” but I did find them (and the “Dad” one has an unusual and Advertising quite wonderful semiflex nib—something Balances seldom had) and they still hold a position of honor in my Big Bag o’ Pens. And of course, a whole lot more. These days, tremors keep me from doing any decent calligraphy (or even handwriting). But one has to make peace with such things, and that doesn’t take away the simple but deep pleasure of looking at and using a finely crafted piece of history, or of I hope I never lose that small, homely pleasure, and that many other people find it. Anna Lawson, Editor The pennant FALL 2007 Administrative Roger Wooten Dan Reppert Treasurer Librarian Anna Lawson Rita Cangialosi Pennant Editor PCA Webmaster Fran Conn Terry Mawhorter Art Director Advertising Manager Tom Rehkopf and Dede Rehkopf Associate Editors Sam Fiorella Michelle Reed Copy Editing Staff U.S., one year, $40; three years, $105 Outside U.S., one year, $60; three years, $150 on a minnow. A couple more years of searching passed before I found pens worthy of being thoughts. Board members Bruce Mindrup Linda Bauer Rick Propas Dan Carmell AnnMarie Hautaniemi Joel Hamilton Bill Hong Dennis Bowden Dan Reppert Membership Pen Collectors of America to explore these resources and within weeks, I was hooked harder than a hungry walleye sliding smooth nib over fine paper and leaving behind a tracing of my The Board of Directors Dan Reppert Rick Propas President Vice President Dennis Bowden Recording Secretary Deadline: Jan. 1, 2008 Inside front cover (full-color) $1,100 Inside back cover (full-color) $1,000 Back cover (full-color) $2,000 Last page (full-color) $800 Full page (full-color) $700 Full page (black & white) $300 Flyer insert $300 Half page $150 Quarter page $100 Business card $50 Classified ads (per word) $.50 PCA Repair Directory listing (3 issues) $75 On the Covers Front cover. Moore Fingertip Pen. Photo by Jim Mamoulides. Back cover. Moore pens and Mabie Todd pens and ephemera. From the collections of David Moak and Ross McKinney. 3 Are They Just There is an ongoing debate within the pen community as to what degree it is acceptable to restore or modify a vintage pen to suit the desires of the owner. In one camp is the laissez faire group, whose motto is largely, "I bought it, it's mine, I can do what I want with it." On the other side of the fence are the preservationists, to whom it is nothing short of sacrilege to "destroy" a pen by modifying it, and they often tend to put re-blackening and re-plating, which some consider a sensible part of restoration, into the same category. To some it is a matter of degree; to others it is a clear yes/no. Indeed, the question is not confined to just fountain pens; it applies to other areas of antiques and collectibles as well. Do we have a responsibility to preserve vintage pens as artifacts of the past? Or are they like any other possession one might have, subject to the whims of the owner? In this issue we have invited Sherrell Tyree, Joel Hamilton, Paul Bloch, Ron Dutcher and Rick Propas to give us their views on the topic. We'd be interested in readers' responses on these two extremes in the pen collecting world (as well as their thoughts on the middle ground.) Pens ? Modify! Adapting Old Pens to Suit New Needs by Ron Dutcher Take Good Care of History by Sherrell Tyree and Joel Hamilton Pictured with this article, you will see I could never have a Waterman Wacom pen stylus without modification! an extremely rare pen indeed—a Restore [OE. restoren, OF. restorer, F. restaurer, fr. L. restaurare; cf. Gr. an upright pale or stake, Skr. fixed, Waterman 56 stylus for use on firm.]. To bring back to its former Wacom graphics tablets, which state; to bring back from a state allow the user to enter informa- of ruin, decay, disease, or the like; tion and data through the use of to repair; to renew; to recover. an electronically powered stylus on a ``To restore and to build Jerusalem.’’ sensitized flat surface rather than by —Dan. ix. 25. Webster’s Revised using a mouse. Okay, actually when this Waterman 56 was made, Changing the parts of a pen is like changing history! Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Covers a lot of possibilities, doesn’t it? Wacom tablets, and computers for that matter, were a long We can think of at least two areas of collecting that suggest way off, so you can safely assume that I made some modi- restoration is contraindicated—antique furniture and coins. fications. Changing the condition of a coin is not recommended (and About seven years ago I started using Wacom tablets with Photoshop, a well known image-manipulation pro- 4 Preserve! might be considered fraud); removing the patina from certain pieces of furniture is a guaranteed loss of money! gram. It is a lot easier to use a stylus to retouch photos In the world of pen collecting it is expected that a writing than it is to use a mouse. But the more I used the slender, instrument, particularly a fountain pen, will be ready to write plastic, ultra-modern Wacom stylus, the more I wished I when it is offered for sale. So how far should we go in restor- could use one of my vintage pens on the tablet instead. ing a pen? Should a black, chased hard-rubber (BCHR) pen The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try that is discolored from oxidation be “re-blackened”? Is dye- to make one for myself. I originally bought this Waterman ing that pen all right? Are there times when we should NOT FALL 2007 The pennant Modify! Preserve! 56 for its section and feed, to be used in a Wirt red-ripple restore a pen? What should be the guiding criteria in making pen of similar size that was missing those parts. I married these decisions and who made up these rules anyway? the nice Waterman nib to a large gold Cross Townsend We first have to keep in mind that, until recently, pen mak- fountain pen that my wife gave me for a birthday pres- ers did not make pens to enhance your collection. They made ent. So I had this fine piece of Waterman hard rubber sit- them as functional instruments to be sold at a price that ting here, not doing anything. And when I upgraded to a would produce a profit. larger graphics tablet, I had an extra stylus I could afford While we have nothing other than anecdotal evidence, we to sacrifice. surmise that a retail seller would probably accessorize a pen Is It Butchery? in the manner the customer desired if it was possible to make I am explaining all of this to justify what I had to do to the adjustment. So is there ever a “correct” pen? make this project work. First I had to disassemble the We don’t know. We have heard many discussions that use Wacom stylus. Easily done; unlike earlier Wacom styli, the the words “never” and “always.” We are still waiting to see new models disassemble nicely. But once I got the circuit the pen model for which there is no exception. We believe board out of the stylus, I realized that it was quite long and it is more appropriate to think in terms of whether a pen is I would have to cut the end off the 56’s barrel to make it fit representative of a given era and a given product from that the longer circuit board. I am sure that someone out there period. might demonize me for this. As my father used to lecture It is our contention that repairing a pen should be done me…some starving kid in Ethiopia is just dying to get a with care and attention to detail with regard to correct- Waterman 56 and would be happy to have one in any con- ness for the model. Most pens do not require that parts be dition and I was so heartless to destroy this one for all of replaced. Some do, and the most common parts supply is the following generations of pen lovers. another pen of the same type and age. But yes, I used a Dremel saw to cut off the end of the Some folks insist that a pen be “correct.” We think that barrel and the pen will never be the same. But dammit, means that each component, if replaced, must be from Dad, this isn’t a historically important pen, and not par- another pen that is the same model and era. If the pen has all ticularly rare one, and after all it is my pen. If you are of its parts and none of them is broken, or you have a parts offended, please share one of your own 56’s with that donor that is the same make and model, no problem. Ethiopian kid. But what about the pen that has a broken pressure bar? In any case, with a little drilling of the section to fit the As an example, let’s take a Parker Duofold Senior. It is not Wacom point, the pen all fit back together with the Wacom uncommon to find a broken pressure bar in one of these circuit board inside. The nice thing is that this stylus feels while doing a repair. Some of these pressure bars have an like a real pen when I hold it and use it. imprint identifying them for use with a threaded section. Or Is It Practical? Would it be “correct” to use the pressure bar from a later Also a great reason for such a project is that Microsoft’s new Streamlined Duofold Senior, assuming it fits? All right, what Windows Vista operating system includes a lot of wonderful about a nib? OK to change that? Is it OK to mate a hard-rub- tools for pen users. When I hold my Waterman stylus over ber barrel with a Permanite cap? There is some evidence that any form box or text program, a little icon pops up. If I click Parker did this. on it with my pen, I get a little dialog box where I can print If all you want is a pen that writes, it is probably fine to or write in what I want. Vista takes my scribbles and turns cobble together parts from different models or even differ- them into text. I never need to type in a thing. If you are a ent pens. We have a Duofold Junior that has the large imprint slow typist, then this just might be a godsend for you. and it is “correct” with the exception that it fills using the unit Another program included in Vista is “Journal.” When you open this program, you see what looks like a sheet from a Parker 51. It is a very nice writer and a good-looking pen—but it certainly is not “correct.” of college-ruled note paper. You can use your mouse if The broken barrel of a 51 Nassau offered an opportunity you like, but for me as a pen user, using the converted to cover the break with a metal sleeve! Both of these pens The pennant FALL 2007 5 Modify! Preserve! Waterman stylus makes me feel like I’m using a fountain have repairs that make them functional writers but left them pen in my own journal. Of course nothing will ever replace otherwise intact—which means that they can be made cor- the wonderful feeling of using a real fountain pen on fine rect. Or, the parts can be used in the repair of another pen. paper, but if you have ever wished you could print your jour- Today’s technology and the expertise of some artisans make nal entries and share them with others, or that you could it possible to repair almost any pen and reproduce parts that are nearly identical to the original. If an original part is not available, we think it is better to use a reproduction than to use a part from a different model pen that fits. Most of us collect pens, so it is important that parts, yes, even down to that lowly pressure bar, are properly mated so that all components of the pen correctly represent the model. We are, intentionally or by chance, preserving history. While a lot of representative pens are still out there, the supply is not unlimited. That being the case, we need to take care and conserve what remains. When we restore a pen, we often have to cannibalize another pen to acquire a part—but the rest of the parts from that donor pen are available for use in another repair. We typically do not make repairs that cannot be reversed. When a “correct” part easily edit or erase what your fountain pen laid down, you cannot be obtained and cannot be reproduced, we use the best can see some of the benefits of this little program. available substitute. We then have an obligation to the owner Several years ago, Microsoft’s Word word-processing or buyer to make them aware that the pen has been altered. If program added some highlighting and editing features. If the correct part is later acquired, the substitute gets kicked to you can remember turning in a term paper to a professor the curb. and receiving it back with lots of red marks, corrections and Occasionally a pen is in such poor condition that it has no other such frustrations, then you can imagine what these parts that can be used in another repair. Some of these pens are features are. I haven’t used these myself yet, but if I were altered to house components and make a functional writer. We an English professor and I had a class turning in papers in don’t really object to this, but to alter one that had usable parts a Word document format, then I would love to use these and thus render them unusable is taking away one more piece tools. of history. Is that what you want to do? Where Is It Written? Zen and the Art of Pen Repair by Paul Bloch Collectors, by and large, are perfectionists: it is frowned on…a lot! if one should put an anachronistic part on a pen. Rather like the tiles on a space shuttle, it is A polka-dot Bic? Why not? It's okay to express yoursclf. conventionally assumed that things just won’t work properly if they are not symmetrically matched. Oh, yeah?! What about bionics? Wasn’t Lee Majors better with those non-standard parts? And what about that 6 by Rick Propas In Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Destroying a pen gains nothing and loses something, so why do it? Maintenance, when his friend John’s new BMW bike develops a loose handlebar, the author, Robert Pirsig as Phaedrus, suggests repairing it with a strip of metal torn from a beer can. The aluminum, he says, makes great shim stock. Pirsig reports that John “got haughty about the whole thing,” and suggests that his friend’s response was, at best, rigidly formalistic, rejecting a good, ready fix in the name of correctness. FALL 2007 The pennant Modify! Preserve! Cadillac Johnny Cash liberated from the factory over a So are those of us who object to modifications such as period of years with one tail fin? Did it ride less well? Was it Ron Dutcher’s adaptation of a Waterman’s 56 to make an less beautiful? electronic stylus simply being narrow-mindedly “haughty” Which brings us to pens. Imagine that. Why do we have about the whole thing? to put only the cap from a 1942 Vacumatic Major on a 1942 I would suggest not. There is, I would argue, a qualitative Vacumatic Major body? Can’t we use a 1943? What about a difference between Persig’s fix for John’s bike, intended to burgundy striped cap on a solid black body? return it to full serviceability without permanently altering Now I realize that, as a collectible, we may have devalued it, and Mr. Dutcher’s modifications to the 56, which turn it an item, and we may have created a pen—if that is even irreversibly into something it was never intended to be. what it should be called—that cannot be catalogued, but Moreover, John’s motorcycle is in current production; with isn’t it a worthwhile endeavor to release the inner creative enough money he could simply replace the modified part, artist in all of us? the assembly, the whole bike, even. On the other hand, there Andy Warhol put Campbell soup cans on canvas, and will be no more Waterman’s 56s. we call that art—and it, not by the way, fetches a hell of a But, you may argue, 60 years ago, the Waterman’s 56 was price. How about if I put a hard-to-find Citroenpers yellow little different from the BMW, a high-end consumer good cap on the black body of one of my Pelikan rollers? First, produced by the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands. Do we I have created an abstract expression—a valid, recognized have the responsibility to preserve every one of those that art form. Second, I have created a rarity. Why should it not remain? After all, 20 years ago Frank Dubiel used to explode be worth many times the value of a plain old black one? 56s with firecrackers, proclaiming gleefully, “they’re just Third, I have freed the muse within, in search of at least the pens.” greater good. Aren’t there enough surviving 56s? The State of New Mexico, a recognized, if somewhat dis- That is actually a question I dealt with back when I worked in organized, official body of the United States Government the field of architectural preservation. Do we have to protect (did you notice those capital letters?) has, over the past sev- every example of vernacular architecture? eral years, created The Trail of Painted Ponies (more caps, Generally speaking, the feeling was no. But there we more solemn), a project designed to encourage participa- were, dealing with buildings that were part of a larger urban tion in the arts and to raise money for that purpose. The landscape, often a landscape in need of redevelopment. It state started with a simple premise: a horse. Each artist was was, in essence, a zero-sum game. Preserving an old build- to begin with the same standard horse body. From there, ing meant that a new one could not be built. it was every artist for himself. Literally hundreds of horses Such is not the case with pens. Preserving a Waterman’s have been created, no two alike, but in the end, they are all 56 does not mean that Mr. Dutcher cannot input new data. horses. As pen collectors, do we not have the right, perhaps There is no down side to preserving old pens. even the obligation, to ensure that our pens are expressions Where does all this leave us? My own feeling is that we of what a pen represents to us? Any damn fool can knock gain nothing and lose something when we destroy a vin- out a million pale blue Bics. Why not one with polka dots, or tage pen to make it into something else, unless we are put- pieces of candy, or butterfly wings? ting that pen to a “higher and better” use (as they say in Imagine a space traveler 500 years from now viewing our urban planning). collections—all individual and all different. What an enlight- If, for example, we take apart an intact 56 to restore a 456, ened people, he might think. Imagine his disappointment that might be justifiable, if there are no 456 parts available. if, as Malvina Reynolds so beautifully put it, all he saw was But to destroy a vintage pen to make another device that “little boxes made of ticky-tacky and they all looked just can be made without it seems to me to be just plain wrong. the same.” I don’t know about you, but I’d like my legacy to To apply the ancient concept often ascribed to the physi- show that I was free, expressive and a man who stood for a cian’s Hippocratic Oath, I believe that as pen collectors and slightly off-center universe. restorers we should “first do no harm.” The pennant FALL 2007 7 Diamond by Marc Kolber, and edited by David Moak "Diamond Dreams" is an edited version of Marc Kolber’s memoirs of his family’s pen business, the New Diamond Point Pen Co. The original notes were hand written over a period of time, resulting in some chronological confusions that I have attempted to correct. The first pages were written around April of 1985, the rest after November 1993. Mr. Kolber died Jan. 26, 2003. Any changes in the text have been made for the sake of clarity. When Mr. Kolber began writing these notes, the original intent was to prepare an article for Pen Fancier’s Magazine. Doris Kolber, Marc’s widow, passed the notes on to Rick Horne, and has graciously allowed them to be shared with the pen community. Mrs. Kolber also cleared up some points that had confused me. For the sake of clarity let me note that Morris and Ida Kolber had six children who were, from Records previously available indicate that the Diamond Point Pen Co. first opened in 1873 as a maker of writing instruments. The business grew and prospered, establishing itself as a producer of top-quality products. After operating successfully for almost a half century under several ownerships, the company closed around 1918 or 1919. The company was later reorganized under the leadership of Morris Kolber. An Austrian Beginning Morris Kolber was born in Dukla, Austria, in 1881. When Morris was about 5 years old, his father overheard some men discussing the South African gold rush. Not one to let such an opportunity pass him by, Morris’ father went off to seek his fortune in Witwatersrand. The expedition for golden riches clearly didn’t make the family wealthy, but his father returned with enough money to buy a tract of forestland where he operated a sawmill and the oldest to youngest, Aaron, Sam, Molly, shipped the cut lumber by horse and wagon. Henrietta, Rose and Marc, all of whom coming of age, Austria was rife with the militarism that would ultimately lead to World figure in this narrative and in the history of Diamond Point. As a teenager, Morris sometimes assisted with the lumber deliveries. As Morris was War I. The government regularly rounded up all youths as conscripts for the Imperial Austro-Hungarian war machine. Dissatisfied with his lot and fearing persecution in the notoriously anti-Semitic Hapsburg army, Morris left home for London, where he gained employment with a tobacconist. Unfortunately for Morris, opportunities in London, while —David L. Moak, editor 8 greater than those back in Austria, didn’t afford him the success for which he yearned. He FALL 2007 The pennant Dreams In large quarters, possibly built up a small nest egg and with his new mastery of English the Hudson St. address, work- he set off for the United States sometime before 1903. ers had more room to perform Morris Kolber settled in New York City, worked hard, their jobs. In this case, the made many friends, and met and married Ida Fredrichs. They holder-turning department is joined in community activities and started a large family, ulti- shown. The pen holders are mately comprising six children. He studied diligently for the what we now call barrells. In today's mass-production, mechanzied and nib production atmosphere, it's hard to imagine a department of 13 individuals making nibs by hand The pennant FALL 2007 citizenship test and on May 14, 1914, one of the happiest days of his life, he was awarded his certificate of naturalization. By the age of 30, Morris owned and operated a licensed liquor business. In 1918, the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States as of Jan. 18, 1920, passed and was ratified. The Volstead Act, providing for enforcement of prohibition, became law the following year over but that was Diamond Point as President Wilson’s veto. Forced to dispose of his inventory and shown in this shot of the nib close a very successful business, Kolber undertook the search (then called pen) department. for a new venture. 9 A New Business Production Finally Begins After much investigation he and a friend, Morris Neulander, found With all the personnel and supplies in place, the new management an enterprise that interested them. Attorney Harold R. Lowe intro- started production. In the beginning, every part that went into a pen duced them to Charles Flaum, the father-in-law of the last owner had to be fabricated in one’s own factory. Very few parts were available of the Diamond Point Pen Company. His son-in-law had gone off from outside suppliers, so the manufacture of writing instruments was to war, never to return. Lowe drew up a contract satisfactory to all labor intensive. It took trained hands with diverse skills. Few auto- participants. Charles Flaum and Morris Neulander, both older than matic machines had yet been invented, so the work had to be done one Kolber by many years, were the company’s primary financial inves- piece at a time. Operations were slow, tedious and repetitious. tors. They designated Morris Kolber as managing director, and all The rubber shop, gold shop, and the assembly department were parties understood that Flaum would leave the business as soon as he the three primary divisions in a pen factory. Bins of matching caps could obtain a full return on his investment. and barrels funneled through the assembly line to the assembly The new firm incorporated in 1916 under the name Diamond department. Each worker sequentially attached, stamped, inserted, Point Pen Company Incorporated. It remained at its 129 Lafayette pressed, wedged, fitted and/or adjusted his component into place. In Street location in New York City. Those premises were in complete the end, all the parts became the whole, a finished fountain pen. disarray, having been shut down for several years, but the machinery Initially, the new owners resumed production of the same mod- was still in place. They checked the machinery, prepared it for the els of pens made by the former proprietors. Sufficient inventory was start of operations, put the offices in order and began to hire staff. on hand to make immediate deliveries of all orders and, as yet, they First Steps for Diamond Point didn’t attempt making any new designs. Management became accli- The new owners rehired as many of the former employees as pos- mated to the premises and procedures first, and it was quite a while sible. They contacted Nathaniel J. Worth, who had been the sales before Kolber and company undertook making style changes. manager from 1910 until the original company closed. As an induce- At this time, Nathaniel Worth recommended Harry Marks, a ment for him to resume his former position, Kolber, Flaum and salesman who had his own showroom in Chicago, to cover that city Neulander offered him an opportunity to purchase an interest in the and the surrounding territory. In a short time Harry got into the firm. Worth accepted. His sales ability and business acumen were swing of things, sending in his share of orders. Merchants who had excellent, as was his reputation in the pen trade. They also hired Jack had accounts with the old Diamond Point greeted the new salesmen Wilkerson, a highly respected salesman, and gave him the task of with open arms. Diamond Point’s excellent reputation continued establishing the new venture with people he already knew. uninterrupted, even though there had been no contact during the Jim Victor Worth, son of Nathaniel J., was the former factory hiatus in business. manager/part-time salesman and returned in that capacity. Joe The company took on and trained more salesmen in 1922 includ- Miller came favorably recommended from L.E. Waterman, at whose ing J.E. Choyhe, Max Mandheim, and Sam Lion. All three proved company he had spent many years gaining experience as shop fore- their ability to sell pens. Another group of salesmen, L.B. Scheyer, man. The new owners interviewed and hired him for the factory R.C. Nathan, and Louis Markowitz, joined Diamond Point in 1923. foreman position. He became Jim Worth’s assistant in running the Most became members of the permanent sales force. Diamond Point manufacturing operations, with instructions to improve the produc- was carving out a niche in the marketplace for its brand of pens. The tion capabilities where possible. customer account list included every conceivable type of sales outlet: Kolber also hired an office staff of experienced people to handle the retailers, drug store chains, wholesalers, jobbers, premium distribu- routine paperwork. Miss Dorothy Hartwig was pleased to return as tors, and even so called “manufacturers.” All became occasional buy- the office manager and bookkeeper, overseeing the staff. Routine con- ers and most eventually became good, steady customers. The firm tacts within the pen business resulted in a steady stream of applicants gained the recognition and respect of many national corporations as and all the necessary factory workers were hired with no difficulty. a dependable vendor in the pen industry. Much of the credit for the successful start-up belonged to the At this time, the new owners added mechanical pencils to the line. organizational abilities of Jim Worth and Joe Miller. They stocked They tested and permanently installed tools and other equipment spe- each workstation fully, with all supplies necessary for the work, cially designed for pencil making. Production started with sales fol- thereby avoiding difficulties that could cause delays. Over the break- lowing directly thereafter, resulting in a successful product launch. in period, all those employed at Diamond Point learned to iron out The overall volume of sales increased by leaps and bounds after the kinks in their own ways and settled into the routine of their jobs. the reorganization, so much so that the young firm desperately Kolber became a strong, able leader under the tutelage of the team of needed additional space. Diamond Point opened temporary offices Nathaniel Worth, Joe Worth, Jim Miller and Dorothy Hartwig, all in the heart of Manhattan at 100 West 32 Street, probably in 1924, experienced professionals. and leased an additional factory downtown on Broome Street to 10 FALL 2007 The pennant ease the work area crowding. But another unforeseen development department was the central control area for all factory operations. required even more manufacturing space. Together, Worth and Aaron Kolber planned the introduction of each Celluloid Changes the Game lot of pens and pencils. It was their job to be sure the assembly lines Prior to 1925, caps and barrels of fountain pens were made from had all necessary parts and supplies. A great deal of the department’s processed hard rubber, also known as Vulcanite. Vulcanite was also efficiency depended on the well developed instincts of the manager. used successfully in many other manufacturing industries. The rich Upon Jim Worth’s retirement, Aaron became the new manager of glossy appearance of the highly polished Vulcanite greatly enhanced the department, but that was still in the future. the appeal of fountain pens. By the end of 1925, the new owners of Diamond Point produced But celluloid, a cellulose acetate material already in production enough new models of pens to feel that the merchandise selection and ready for sale, revolutionized the way writing instruments were was their own. The advent of celluloid eliminated the last of the old made. For the first time, celluloid became available in a rod form styles still in the line. Kolber and his production team could now suitable for pen manufacturing. Available in solid and mottled col- claim credit for everything they then produced. ors, celluloid delivered a completely new, brightly colored appearance to pens and pencils. Diamond Point had come of age. Sales had more than quadrupled. Each officer had his duties and knew what was expected of him. At a Since celluloid is a highly f lammable substance, restrictions were board meeting, they spoke of future plans and how to improve busi- placed on methods of storage and handling. The New York City Fire ness. They rewarded themselves, declaring a stock dividend, which Department Code precluded manufacturing this combustible mate- improved the company’s capital position. rial in the Lafayette Street factory. This necessitated finding a location that would permit such an operation immediately. Several staff changes were announced at this 1925 meeting as well. Nathaniel Worth advised that he would be leaving at the end After several inquiries, a trip to the city of Norwalk, Conn., of the year. Jim Worth was promoted to vice president. He would resolved the problem. Norwalk was on the main New Haven devote more time to selling, leaving others to help in the factory. Jack Railroad line about 40 minutes from midtown Manhattan. The E.I. Wilkerson, the most senior salesman, temporarily took over the sales Dupont Company’s plant in New Jersey manager position until they could hire someone new. would be the celluloid supplier and Severely oxidized, make deliveries to Norwalk. this photo appears The successful search ended with a to be of the final pen short-term lease at suitable manufactur- assembly operations ing quarters. Kolber purchased machin- in the Diamond Point ery and without further delay began factory, probably at 129 work to enable the company to produce Lafayette Street. pen and pencil holders using this plastic material. The caps and barrels fabricated in Norwalk were shipped to Lafayette Street for f inal assembly. Diamond Point was able to produce these new celluloid writing instruments and bring them to market quickly. Once again scientific ingenuity introduced a new material that was used with great success in many diverse industries. The Big Move A New Addition The now-more-experienced owners then came to the most important Aaron Kolber entered the world in 1904, born to Ida and Morris subject: Diamond Point decided to shut down its Lafayette Street Kolber in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. After graduation from Bryant High facility. To gain the greatest efficiency, the company needed a new School, he headed off to Philadelphia to attend the University of production space that would enable all employees to be at one loca- Pennsylvania. Much to his family’s dismay, he soon returned home, tion. Internal manufacturing changes were important to accommo- stating that he was through with schooling and was going to work in date new machinery, new methods of production and new products. the family business. All agreed they had learned much from their experiences and were Jim Worth acted as Aaron’s mentor at Diamond Point. When Worth made the occasional sales call on a special account, he left tired of constantly making haphazard improvements as needed. The time was ripe to bring together all operations under one roof. Aaron in charge. The time arrived when Aaron did all the work as They leased a loft at 333 Hudson Street for a period of 10 years. factory manager under the watchful eyes of his teacher. Worth’s They moved into a much larger, more modern plant, equipped with The pennant FALL 2007 11 the newest machinery available in the industry. The new factory finally received its license from the Fire Department for manufac- occupied the top f loor of a 10-story building located in an industrial turing celluloid pens and pencils at the new facility, which enabled area just north of the Holland Tunnel. Eisenberg Industrial, pen fac- them to close the Norwalk facility. For the first time, Morris Kolber tory specialists, designed and built the new premises to meet all the housed all employees, a staff well over 100 strong, under one roof. requirements set forth in the New York City Fire Department Code for the storage and manufacture of celluloid products. The use of rubber had had its day and now it was on the way out, being replaced by the new pyroxolin plastic manufactured by E.I. To prepare for the move, Kolber increased factory production so Dupont de Nemours and Co. Dupont assisted company employees they could stockpile inventories more quickly. He rushed all sizable by supplying all necessary information and instruction. Dupont orders to completion and shipped them early if possible. He updated technicians made themselves available to solve problems without any work schedules to ensure that all work in process was finished. Then stoppage in production. they waited for news that construction had been completed and to Pens with celluloid caps and barrels now made up more than receive a certificate of occupancy. That news started the cross-town 60 percent of Diamond Point’s merchandise. New, colorful prod- parade of trucks transporting all the worldly possessions of the ucts captured the consumer market. Retailers began offering older Diamond Point Pen Co. Inc. to its new home. Eisenberg Industrial’s model pens and pen- men instructed the Diamond Point staff in the new skills necessary for cils from store stocks operating the new plant. The power source for the machines and many for sale at discounted Though darkened with time and oxidation, machines themselves were all new. It was most important for everyone prices. Diamond Point it’s still easy to tell that these workers are to become acclimated in and around their workstations. The sooner f o l l o w e d s u i t , p u t- using small lathes to turn parts in the early they felt at home, the quicker normal production would return. ting older inventories Diamond Point factory. None of the photos Leaving Lafayette Street made 1925 their best year yet. They up for sale at reduced is labeled, so it’s a guess that this was the made and sold a lot of product, and a small portion of their robust prices, thus clearing early 129 Lafayette Street location. sales numbers was due to the new celluloid plastic. The future looked out products that had Huge belt sanders and a lot of dust excellent for these new products. A new dimension, color, greatly previously been popu- accompanied the finishing operations at the enhanced the attractiveness of pens and pencils. Diamond Point lar. This housecleaning early Diamond Point factory. 12 FALL 2007 The pennant made room for the newly designed products f lowing through the fac- to winners, rather like lottery scratch tickets do today. Prizes varied tory in preparation for the next new season. from card to card. The cost of taking a chance punch was minimal To clear out all remaining raw material inventory, the company when compared to the value of the prize. Aaron suggested that the continued to manufacture rubber parts; but rubber had received its retailer use Diamond Point pens already in stock for prizes. The final knock-out blow. Celluloid became the basic raw material for retailers accepted the strategy and thereby increased business for new product development throughout the industry. themselves and for Diamond Point. ✍ True to his word, Nathaniel Worth left at the end of 1925. Under his aggressive leadership, business had blossomed during each of All rights reserved by the author. the four years of his tenure. He was sorely missed until they found a replacement of equal caliber and with his departure, sales dropped off. The firm began to send salesmen on the road early enough so that This is the first of five articles detailing the history of buyers could place orders in a timely manner. Merchandise had to be the Diamond Point Co., the vast majority of which comes on hand for the main selling seasons, which were school, autumn and This is the first of four articles detailing the history of the directly from a member of the last family to own the Diamond Point Co., the vast majority of which comes directly company. We hope this interest others in this comfrom a member of the lastwill family to own the company. We Christmas, accounting for over 60 percent of annual retail sales. For these road trips, Diamond Point designed and produced prototypes of new models. When they had time available, the salesmen traveled off the beaten path to exploit uncharted areas in their territories. This proved costly but over time did bring in new sales outlets, many hope this will interest others in this company and/or allow pany and/or allow connections to other pen organizaconnections to other pen organizations to be made by additions to be made by additional issue, tional researchers. Next issue, weresearchers. examine theNext company’s general merchandise jobber had his salespeople traveling the small growth as it adopts new marketing diversifies its we examine the company’s growthstrategies, as it adopts new marproduct lines, and deals with some difficult circumstances. keting strategies, diversifies its product lines, and deals towns in his area calling on almost all storekeepers. As part of each with some difficult circumstances. of which became steady customers. Aaron Kolber discovered a creative way to increase pen sales. A visit, his salesman left a free “punch card.” Each card awarded prizes The pennant FALL 2007 13 L. Michael Fultz t her e was a to attend college—those of us who time, not too or whose parents lived through the long ago, when Depression recall that anything old p e n c o l l e c- or antique was not cherished, and tors were able to specialize. Harry the word “collectible” had yet to Bouras collected Sheaffers. Don enter the popular vocabulary. Lavin was the Wahl Eversharp guy, Fultz went on to college, both at and Dan Zazove and Michael Fultz the University of Chicago and Ohio collected Parkers. Oh, and everyone University, and thence to the work- collected Watermans. Of course, ing world. He spent time as the this predated the Internet and the general manager of Maywood Park personal computer, but it was not so Race Track, served as treasurer of long ago—only about 30 years. If you’re a collector, or a visitor to a certain pen show, you recognize the names above as Chicagoans. Today, Messers. Fultz, Lavin and Zazove are the driving force behind the Chicago Pen Show held early each One of Our Grand Old Collectors by May, a show that has a primary focus on vintage pens. Speaking of vintage pens, let’s Michael Fultz. Actually, it’s L. Michael, but it’s never Mike, and, if left up to its owner, it’s usually just plain Fultz. Fultz, like a few of us still around, began collecting when pens were still available “in the wild,” i.e., pre-eBay. Today, of course, any- Transportation Authority, was comptroller of a medical association, worked for the State of Illinois, and also served as an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co. Fultz married Martha McCall and has homes both on Chicago’s Gold Coast PAUL BLOCH visit a little with a collector of very vintage pens, the Northeast Illinois Regional and in Milton, Wisconsin, a town of 4,000 near Parker’s Janesville. The home in Milton, Michael reports, in addition to his wife and cat, is also home to books, tools, a machine shop, a “really big” safe and his collections. It also sports railroad tracks in the back yard and, according to some, the ghost of an old lamplighter in the front parlor. Fultz, being a skeptic, has yet to encounter said gentleman. one who stumbles across a collectible left lying around becomes an Long-time Sheaffer collector Dan Reppert, who is currently PCA instant online expert, but imagine a time when we listened to radio president and librarian, tells a story about an encounter he and his wife, more than we watched TV, and pen companies were run by the fami- Cyndie, had with Fultz: “At a particularly slow pen show someplace, lies that founded them. Cyndie and I had left our table and were walking the f loor when we Back in the 1950s, Michael Fultz acquired his first pens, relics left stopped briefly to browse at Michael’s wares,” Reppert recalls. “Noting behind by a grandfather who had moved on to the latest invention, the that we were from Ft. Madison, he looked at Cyndie and said, ‘Do you ballpoint, given him by the salesmen who called on his building materi- know George Kraker?’ als business. That first accumulation included, Fultz recalls, an orange Parker Duofold Senior. These pens did not survive Fultz’s leaving home 14 Cyndie replied that no, she did not. To which Michael huffed, ‘Well, you should!’ And now she does. FALL 2007 The pennant For those of you yet to have the pleasure Messer’s impressions are that “no one living venue. While Michael refers to himself as of making Fultz’s acquaintance, this so aptly has more precise knowledge or humility,” and “Fultz,” those who know him well will call him describes what Michael is about. In friend and that Fultz’s knowledge is shared without spin “Michael.” Others may, as a sign of both the venerable pen collector Jon Messer’s words, “To or opinion (unless one specifically requests it). affection and respect in which Fultz is held, those who know him well (or as a true friend), Again, this is very much within my own expe- refer to him as “Mr. Fultz.” Gerry Berg is one Michael is a fellow of the highest integrity with rience, as well. of these. While Gerry has never met Michael a heart of pure gold.” And for those of you who Messer also shares a wonderful story about in person, he has encountered him on Zoss. don’t know the man, look him up the next time the Fultz style, in which the two of them are Not, as Gerry points out, dealing with what’s you’re in Chicago, or ask him a question online. sitting at a show, just chatting and catching up, in one’s pocket today, or judging an ink color, A warning: don’t waste Fultz’s time. when a “very serious, most verbal” fellow col- but in answering “highly technical questions.” But our Fultz did not forget the fire that lector approaches Michael with a “six- or seven- Let Gerry tell it: had been lit as a young man, and he went on hundred-word convoluted turn-of-the-century “I sometimes put these [technical questions] to become one of the preeminent collectors of pen manufacturer question.” Michael lifted up on the board because I’m stuck in a plunger- his day. In addition to Conklin, Fultz collected one eyebrow, Jon reports, and simply answered, filler repair or I’ve noticed that the shape of early Watermans, and as he recalls, “a hundred “Nope.” He then proceeded to continue his a Sheaffer piston nut in 1935 is not the same other early pen brands.” Oh yes, and there were the Parkers—arguably the most comprehensive collection of early and vintage Parkers in the world. Howard Levy of Bexley Pens tells the story of visiting Milton “…no one living has more precise knowledge or humility…” about 10 or 12 years ago, to take a look at that collection. After Howard had stared at about 30 or 40 delightful conversation with Jon as if they had as in 1942. For those kinds of questions, [Mr. Vacumatics that had never become prod- never been interrupted. “That’s the Michael Fultz] is a mine of information and doesn’t ucts—all were prototype materials—for about I’ve known and loved for the past quarter cen- mind spending time writing about it. two hours, Fultz turned to Howard and said, tury,” Jon adds. “This is true as well for questions concern- “Levy, at this rate you are never going to see Michael also turned his enthusiasm for col- ing a tiny pen company that existed for six the other 99.99 percent of what I have before lecting into writing about vintage pens. He’s years in the 1920s and was named after one’s you leave.” Howard stayed for two days, and editorial director of PenBid, a contributing long-gone great-grand-uncle. He seems to his guess is that he never saw about 95 percent editor of Pen World, and has written for The know all about it, and probably interviewed the of Fultz’s collection. That collection has been Pennant, InSync, and the Journal of the United grandson of the company’s accountant!” sold, destined, one hopes, to become part of a Kingdom’s Writing Equipment Society. Today, When asked if he were starting anew future pen museum. he supports himself and his pen collection by what he would collect, Michael replies that My own introduction to Michael was when making a very limited-edition line of precious he would concentrate on those pre-1880 I posted a newbie—to vintage collectibles— metal pens and operating Chicago Gold, Inc, pens and fancy dip pens, or perhaps “to question on the Zoss listserv. Back-channel, buyers, dealers and appraisers of vintage pens, focus on an obscure brand or a particular Michael, with whom I had no prior relation- vintage watches and estate jewelry. time period.” Advice, dispensed by Fultz in ship, quietly sat on my right shoulder (that’s Fultz’s pen collection formerly focused on small, terse doses, comes today online and the one reserved for the angels in the collecting Parker and on eyedropper-filled and early self- in the several publications to which he con- community) and pointed me towards a dealer fillers. Once this collection was sold, he kept tributes. His advice to current collectors is who would not only have the Vacumatic pencil about a dozen fountain pens and a couple of to “research, research, research—then buy I sought, but would have it in the condition and dozen dip pens. Today, he focuses on pre-1880 the very best. Not the most expensive, but at a price that were responsible. fountain pens and fancy dip pens and pencils, the rarest and in the best condition.” Wise purchasing as many examples as he can find on words, carefully dispensed, by a much-loved eBay and at pen shows. member of our collector community. That’s Fultz: quiet, a man of very few words, and always thorough and unobtrusive. Jon Messer of Stylus magazine has known Many collectors have met Michael as I did, Michael for many more years than I. Some of with a question in the Zoss or another online The pennant FALL 2007 ✍ All rights reserved by the author. 15 , I learned penmanship in a Bronx public school, using wooden dip thereafter, a personal computer, convinced me to put aside the foun- pens with steel nibs, replenished from inkwells recessed into the tain pen, for by then I used pens solely for brief and utilitarian tasks, upper right-hand corner of each desk. The desks and their benches and the ballpoint pen required a minimum of attention. Still, most were screwed to the floor; and, but for the relatively simple lines of of my published essays on musical matters as well as my master’s the wrought-iron framework of these desks, the scene could have been thesis and my book on recorder technique were written, at least in set in the 1890s rather than in the year 1953—the last year of the part, with fountain pens. I found early on that I could do some of Korean War, when McCarthyism was at its height, the Rosenbergs my best work by composing my first draft with the fountain pen and were awaiting execution, and Dwight D. Eisenhower had just begun then revising and refining my work as I typed it—or later on, keyed his first term as president of a nation that, for better and for worse, it into my computer. MODERN FOUNTAIN PEN LACKING IN BAL AN CE By Daniel Waitzman still believed, more or less, in eternal verities and apple pie. In due course, I graduated to the fountain pen. My first fountain musical performance and teaching rather than to writing or note- pen, a green Esterbrook, became one of my most treasured posses- taking; and such writing tasks that I did find necessary—mostly the sions: for even in those days, the fountain pen was not only a prac- preparation of publicity material and program notes—I could handle tical writing implement, but also a ceremonial object—a symbol of well enough and with a minimum of effort on the typewriter and the adulthood and of literacy. In 1953, the ballpoint pen was still a joke, computer. and my parents did not own a typewriter. Pencils were for babies and lower-graders. 16 However, by the mid-’70s, most of my energy was devoted to In recent years, I have again become enamored of the fountain pen as both an eminently practical writing tool and a thing of beauty in its By the mid-1950s, some really excellent and affordable ballpoint own right. The workmanship and individuality of a finely made pen pens had become generally available; and by the time I entered junior reminds one of the workmanship and individuality of a finely made high school, they had pretty much replaced the fountain pen in the musical instrument. Having experienced both the final years of the classroom. I still preferred the fountain pen for serious and lengthy fountain pen’s hegemony and its present revival, I cannot help but writing tasks, however—partly on account of its ease of use. notice the changes that fountain pen culture has undergone since my The ballpoint pen demanded more physical effort than the foun- earlier days. Some of these changes are quite substantial. Some are tain pen and therefore tended to cramp the hand. This was a matter good. (Among these may be mentioned the widespread use of the con- of some concern to me, since I had by then begun the study of the verter, which, despite its faults, has vastly simplified the problems of flute and recorder, which ultimately became my profession. The play- maintenance and repair.) Some are quite the opposite. ing of a musical instrument taxes the hands; and the added physical Writing capabilities devalued strain attendant upon the use of a ballpoint pen discouraged me from Modern fountain pens tend to be larger, more massive, and more opu- abandoning the fountain pen altogether. And although I had learned lently constructed than they were in the old days. This is a reflection to compose at the typewriter by the time I entered graduate school, of the greater emphasis on their function as ceremonial objects, rather the fountain pen seemed to afford me the most complete control over than as utilitarian implements. It is not uncommon to find modern the process of setting down words to paper. I continued, therefore, to pens built of precious metals, sometimes covered with enamel. These use fountain pens on and off into the 1970s, and for music notation are at least as much objets d’art as they are writing tools. Such pens into the 1990s. are certainly most attractive, and I can well understand how their Electricity supplants manual tools possession may become an end unto itself; but some of them tend to Only my purchase of an IBM Selectric typewriter, followed a decade be too massive for their own good. Beyond a certain point, the more later by an electronic typewriter with a one-line display and, shortly massive a pen becomes, the more strain it places on the user’s hand. A FALL 2007 The pennant ballpoint pen cramps the hand on account of the pressure it requires; I am writing this with a brand new Parker Duofold Centennial, fit- a large, massive fountain pen may cramp the hand on account of the ted with a No. 80 Needlepoint nib. In point of fact (and I hope that the force needed to overcome the inertia of its mass. And some modern reader will excuse the pun), this so-called “needlepoint” is an extra-fine pens are so opulently built and so massive that they seem more suited or fine nib, and a superb one at that. It more than holds its own with to a safe-deposit box than to a writer’s hand. the best rigid-point nibs of old. But this No. 80 nib had to be special In short, what used to be called the pen holder has pre-empted that ordered from Janesville, Wisconsin, and although the Parker people which used to be called the pen or nib, which of course is ultimately go out of their way to address the individual needs of their customers the reason for the pen holder’s existence in the first place. All too in the most gracious, praiseworthy and professional manner, one still often, the fountain pen’s machinery—the nib, feed and ink-storage wishes that such nibs were available on an over-the-counter basis. REVIVAL apparatus— Although nib selection must remain a matter of personal prefer- are applied to ence, I am personally convinced that a nib that produces a thin line is the modern better suited to general use than one that writes with a thick one. For fountain pen one thing, the liquid ink that the fountain pen deposits on the paper a s a n a f t e r- has a tendency to limit the delicacy of the characters, unless the line thought. One made by the pen be sufficiently thin so that the loops of such letters as may have the lower-case “e” remain empty. experience of The problem is exacerbated by the characteristics of many papers, tr y ing ha lf a which cause the line made by a fountain pen to appear thicker still. dozen different brands of pen, only to realize that they are all fit- The ballpoint pen, let it be noted, and even its gel and rollerball vari- ted with nibs made to similar specifications, often by the same nib ants, are subject to no such restriction; their lines are naturally thin, manufacturers. and they afford the user an impressive range of control over the size of As a symptom of the decline in importance that the writing abilities of fountain pens have undergone since their revival, consider the fact the letters. A fine or extra-fine nib on a fountain pen allows the user a similar degree of control. that many, or most, pen shops forbid the customer to fill the pen before By contrast, a fountain pen fitted with a medium or broad nib—or buying, even though a fountain pen performs very differently when it even a modern so-called “extra-fine” nib—compels the user to write is actually filled than when it is merely dipped. It is as if the fountain characters that are too large; it thereby restricts the amount of data that pen were a philatelic or numismatic object rather than a device for the one can fit into a given space. This makes it more difficult to fill out recording of data. forms, write checks, or even to take notes. In my experience, a coarser- This custom implies that the fountain pen is really of no use what- grade nib severely limits the utility of a fountain pen, especially in an ever, except as an object of conspicuous consumption, like the equally age in which the fountain pen is no longer the king of the mountain. useless ceremonial conductor’s batons of the 19th century. Good nibs: irresistibly seductive There is a term for the neglect of a device’s function in favor of its The coarser nib also requires more frequent refilling than does the form and its mystique: decadence. And let it be noted that this rather finer-pointed nib—a circumstance that assumes still greater impor- cavalier attitude towards the functionality of fountain pens is unphilo- tance given the small capacity of modern converters. (This insuffi- sophical in the extreme, to the point where it ultimately and paradoxi- cient capacity of the converter has been noted by a number of observ- cally vitiates the very ceremonial significance that endears the fountain ers, including Geoff Roe in a little booklet, Inadequacies of Writing pen to many aficionados today. Instrument Design and Manufacture [2004]). You call that an extra-fine? Commensurate with the nib’s status as the inferior partner in the mar- One symptom of the de-emphasis of the nib and its supporting compo- riage of nib to pen holder, I should also cite the experience—shared with nents is the inflation that the terminology of nib grades has undergone. many, I am sure—of having tried a pen that writes very well for a page What many makers now call an “extra-fine” nib is, in reality, a medium or so, then starts to skip, requiring a rest before writing again. There are nib. The Japanese pen makers and some Italian firms continue to also those nibs that exhibit ink starvation when one draws lines in certain make true extra-fine and fine nibs that are worthy of the name—as did directions, or when one forms certain initial characters, notably the let- Sheaffer, at least before it reduced their pen production in the United ter “C.” Such flaws are especially hard to detect before the purchase, what States. Sheaffer’s Legacy model was at least as excellent a pen as the with the unwillingness of most pen stores to allow the customer to fill a More › › › 48 pen prior to making the decision to buy it. Pen For Men upon which it was based. The pennant FALL 2007 17 The Other Walter Cushing, Not Sheaffer Par t II: Into the 20 th Centur y by Rober t Wm. Ast yk Last issue, we The Moore’s Non-Leakable fountain pen (Fig. 1) gained substantial success, began with Walter and fierce. The Boston companies alone at the turn of the 20th century included A. A. first regionally, then nationally. Yet even within Boston, the competition was broad Waterman, Ayer, Crocker and Sterling. Adding Cambridge and other surrounding cities, Cushing’s personal let alone the national brands, Moore’s competitors numbered in the hundreds. But Moore held its own in that competitive arena to such an extent that the world’s largest pen manu- origins, bringing him into the beginning of the 20th century with a new pen concept. This new pen facturer, the L. E. Waterman Company, found it prudent to add a safety pen line by 1907. Walter Cushing was something of an autocrat. That was not unusual for the head of a family, particularly a wealthy, socially connected family of the era. He was not a man who tolerated disorder or loose ends and he had a number of loose ends that needed tying up relating to his ownership of the Moore patents. In the summer of 1910 an opportunity presented itself to him. The Moore’s Non-Leakable’s competitors were faring poorly. The Horton Pen Company was defunct by 1905. Caw’s Pen and Ink Company was barely staying afloat by drawing on owner Frank Brown’s wife’s met with such success that money. Morris Moore himself had made a failed attempt to produce a competing pen in 1906–07. He Walter Cushing could build Company, working on the Bunker Hill line of fountain pens. Moore’s royalty arrangements had expired a the spacious but modest had found employment with Adams, Cushing and Foster’s primary Boston competitor, the Samuel Ward year or two earlier, and now he was a gadfly buzzing around Cushing’s pen company. In order to evade Brown’s patents on the spiral cam safety, Frank D. Waterman’s engineers had hit upon the clever solution of adding the spiral to the interior wall of their safety-pen barrels. Though the h o u s e a t 60 Wo b u r n solution was indeed clever, it was also expensive to manufacture and prone to failures both in machining the spiral grooves and when the hard-rubber pin that rode in those grooves began to wear. Frank Street in West Medford as a wedding gift in 1906 to his daughter Katherine and her husband, New York Waterman wanted leave to use Brown’s patents, while Cushing wanted Brown’s residual rights to the Moore patents. The Day brothers of Day Rubber in Seymour, Conn., held the key to fulfilling both Waterman’s and Cushing’s desires. Frank Brown was heavily indebted to the Days for hard-rubber parts. They brokered a deal that would give Brown the cash to settle his debt and keep his company on its feet, even if shakily. Cushing, at the same time, had an opportunity to pay off Morris Moore in return for perpetual non-competition. When all the dust settled in August 1910, some money had changed hands, but both Cushing and businessman Henry P. van Waterman had what they wanted. de Bogert, Jr. As we’ve already seen, competition for the Moore’s pen, even within the narrow confines of Boston, was The future interferes rather stiff. Barely had the Moore’s Non-Leakable begun to establish itself in the market when, in 1902, the pen that would make it and all other retractable safety pens obsolete started appearing from a loft just a three-block walk from the Adams, Cushing and Foster store. Fig. 1 18 FALL 2007 The pennant pen required a cap that would seal the feed away from air. Eberstein built on patent attorney Oliver R. Mitchell’s patent 634,013 (Fig. 2) in creating the first separate inner cap for a fountain pen. The combination of the feed’s large surface area and the seal between the section and inner cap created a simple, inexpensive and effective solution to the leakage problem that retractable safeties solved with complexity, relatively great expense and only partial success. For 15 years, the Boston Fountain Pen Company, unofficially called the Boston Safety Fountain Pen Company, built a reputation for reliability and proof against leakage that steadily ate into the markets of most pen companies, particularly Cushing’s American Fountain Pen Company and Waterman’s. Then in 1916, Charles Keeran, the inventor of the Eversharp pencil and an executive with its producer, the Wahl Adding Machine Company, paid a visit to the John Wanamaker Department Store in New York City. He asked to see the best fountain pen sold in the stationery department. To his surprise, the salesman offered him a Boston pen. As the saying goes, the rest is history. Still, as with so much of history, the popular myth that we all know so well is really only a part of the story. Back-room dealing The Brandts were badly in need of cash. In order to raise it, they made a deal with Keeran on behalf of Wahl for a substantial loan for which Fig. 2 the pen company itself became collateral. The reason they Charles Brandt, an immigrant from Germany, Fig. 1 Moore’s Non-Leakable foun- were so desperate for cash was that Walter Cushing had had originally come to Pennsylvania. He married tain pen. The price band reads: been quietly working through his banking contacts to deny into an old New York Dutch family and moved to “This pen is FILLED. Unscrew. This credit to the Boston Fountain Pen Company. The advance Boston in the late 1870s. He manufactured sand- end up. No. 02—Stub $3.50”. For a by Wahl and Keeran merely delayed the inevitable. In 1917, paper and lived just off Park Street in the fashion- brief time Moore and various pen the note came due. The Brandts were unable to repay Wahl able streetcar suburb of Dorchester Centre with manufacturers, especially safety and some of the Boston templates for turning hard-rubber his wife, two sons, George F. and Charles E., and pen manufacturers, sold pens parts as well as patent rights went off to Chicago. two nephews from his wife’s family, Charles S. and pre-filled so customers could buy What didn’t make the trip west became the prop- George B. Voorhees. Probably through his son a pen ready to use right out of the erty of a newly reorganized version of Walter Cushing’s George, he encountered the German émigré engi- display case. pen company, now known as The Moore Pen Company. neer August Eberstein, with whom the Brandts Fig. 2 Oliver Mitchell patent Cushing accomplished this all quietly and with such formed the Boston Fountain Pen Company in 634,013. finesse that George F. and Charles E. Brandt both went 1902 with an office at 46 School Street across the Fig. 3 Moore Banker-style safety to work as salesmen for the Moore Pen Company fol- street from Boston City Hall. pen with sliding-sleeve covered lowing Boston’s demise. Also probably from Boston Eberstein designed a “ladder feed” with a vastly barrel. The design is based on Fountain Pen, Moore acquired the services of production increased surface area to which ink could cling by Francis W. Vaughn, Jr.’s patent supervisor Milford Guy Sypher. surface tension, reducing or preventing leakage 984,116. It is a more streamlined The Moore Pen Company, besides producing the within the pen cap. Because that supply of ink adher- version of the standard Moore’s safety pens that had made the name famous and the ing to the feed might dry out and clog the feed, the Non-Leakable. new Ink-Tab pens designed with a view to military use, Fig. 3 The pennant FALL 2007 19 Company was doing well enough to expand its production capacity. Cushing no longer needed Welty’s facilities to meet his orders. He assumed full and exclusive use of the Servo trademark, probably under license from Welty. Post-war boom—and bust Both the pen company and the stationery business prospered in the wake of World War I. In 1920 Cushing, George L. Davis and Theodore Foster moved their offices from 168 Devonshire Street, which they’d occupied since 1888, to 110–114 Federal Street, Boston, as of June 1. The move brought them into larger and more modern quarters. The 1920s held three signal events for the pen industry as a whole. Parker’s 1922 introduction of the Duofold moved the Janesville pen manufacturer out of second place in pen production and into first, ahead Fig. 4 developed the Banker-style safety pens that covered the whole barrel in an external sleeve (Fig. 3), and began producing conventional eyedropper pens identical to the Boston Safeties (and also identical to the Wahl Tempoint eyedroppers) as well as a series of lever-filled pens using George F. Brandt’s patent numbers 1,261,481 and 1,288,819 (Fig. 4, 5). Additionally, as 1917 began, Walter Cushing concluded a contract with William A. Welty of Waterloo, Iowa, to produce a secondary line of lever-filled pens under the Servo name. They stood in relation to the Moore Pen Company’s products much as Remex and, later, Aikin-Lambert did to Waterman. For the most part, the Servo pens made under this contract show “Waterloo, Ia. and Boston, Mass.” in the barrel imprint. Several years later, the reorganized Moore Fig. 5 Fig. 6 20 FALL 2007 The pennant Fig. 7 of the venerable and stodgy L. E. Waterman Company. It also made colored pens with contrasting cap and barrel ends de rigueur. Sheaffer’s introduction in 1923 of colored celluloid pens swept the Fort Madison company into second place behind Parker. And then the stock market crash of October 1929 plunged the whole world into a financial depression whose effects still ripple through the world’s economies today. Foster, although George L. Davis, the Moore Pen Company Fig. 4 George F. Brandt patent 1,261,481. vice president, also held an interest in the stationery firm. Fig. 5 George F. Brandt patent 1,288,819. profits from the business. Fig. 6 Moore Luxor pen with red Bakelite trim. Cushing and Davis agreed that it might be time to take their The Boston stationery business had many rivalries but, as part of Walter Cushing’s penchant for joining and Fig. 7 Moore Tuscan. conviviality, he had become a founding member of the Fig. 8 Moore Fingertip. Boston Stationers’ Association in 1888. The largest statio- Moore, under Cushing’s leadership, continued to ners used the occasion of the death of one of their most produce safety pens but responded more deftly than senior colleagues, Thomas Groom, to meet in the office of many companies to popular fads and trends. The wide popularity of Hooper, Lewis and Company to form a professional association whose Rudolph Valentino’s “The Sheik” in 1921 and the 1923 opening of King unifying factor was their business. Tutankhamen’s tomb by Howard Carter brought exceptional popular Another of the founders was Samuel Ward. Ward’s had long been appeal to all things of the Middle East. In response, Moore produced a the largest manufacturing and retail stationer in Boston. The company line of Luxor pens (Fig. 6), which exist in black hard rubber both chased had even fielded a short-lived and competitive pen line under the Bunker and unchased and have colored Bakelite trim. This was also Moore’s first Hill brand and had hired Morris W. Moore to help with that sally into answer to the Parker Duofold. Cushing’s territory. By the end of 1924, Walter Cushing had secured a source for cherry-red At some point in 1927 or 1928, Cushing and Davis entered into hard rubber and Henry J. Upton, another Medford resident and partner negotiations with the Samuel Ward Company. The result was that in the Vaughn-Upton Company that had been working on improvements Cushing and Davis each obtained a share of Ward’s which, in turn, to American/Moore pens since at least 1910, designed an arrangement for acquired Adams, Cushing and Foster. A, C & F became the wholesale the cap top of a new pen. The pen was to be red, rather than the Duofold’s and blank-book manufacturing division of Ward’s. The Moore Pen orange, with a display of alternating black hard-rubber and gold-filled Company, while remaining a nominal subsidiary of Adams, Cushing bands of varying widths. In drawing from artists’ colors and perhaps and Foster, became a division of Samuel Ward. inspired by the early Duofold publicity of the Pompeian brown color, the new Moore pen, introduced in 1925, was named the Tuscan (Fig. 7). One consequence of the deal was that the production supervisor of the Moore factory at 29 Melcher Street, Milford Guy Sypher, left to Within a year, Cushing had to face a further outlay of capital for the take a position with The Chilton Pen Company’s new facility in Long pen company so that Moore could join the rush to plastic pens. The first Island City, N.Y. The parties concluded their deal early in 1929. Luckily plastic pens were a royal blue complement to the Tuscan. for Cushing, the onset of the Great Depression was still months away. Walter Cushing was now 70 years old. He was still mentally sharp and The Moore Pen Company began a decline under the joint influence vigorous, but in that day unquestionably old. He was the only remain- of Ward’s management and the Depression. Cushing’s most important ing member of the post-Greenough partnership in Adams, Cushing and decision after the sale came in hiring More › › › 48 Fig. 8 The pennant FALL 2007 21 MORE MOORES From top: Moore No. 13PL, ca. 1900; Moore No. 14, ca. 1904; two views of Moore Midget Filigree; Moore Ink-Tab; Moore Banker; two views of Full Overlay Moore’s Non-Leakable. On diagonal: Moore Fingertip. 22 FALL 2007 The pennant The Bookworm A Book Review by Tom Rehkopf Mabie in America: Writing Instruments from 1843 to 1941 by David Moak Signature Book Printing, 2007, ISBN 1-932433-90-2 $49.50, 253 pages, available from the author at info@mabie-todd.com and other fine pen retailers. If you’ve been a fan of David Moak ’s Mabie in America but haven’t quite gotten used to reading a book on CD, your ship has come in. Moak has just released the third (and final) edition of Mabie in America: Writing Instruments from 1843 to 1941 in hardcover. Previous editions were available on computer CD. Containing new and updated information, this new edition covers 253 well illustrated and well documented in 1860, followed by Mabie, Todd & Bard in 1873. pages. As the title implies, the focus of the book is on the Mabies, Mabie, Todd & Co., and the American-made Swan pens. The English branch of the com- Early Mabie, Todd & Co. pencils and dip pens are well represented with many photographs. pany is not ignored, however, and references to the English variants of the The “Swan” trademark was first used in 1888 by Mabie, Todd Swan pens are noted in a number of places. The book also contains numer- & Bard as the identifying trademark throughout the life of both the ous examples of English advertising and other ephemera. American and English Mabie, Todd companies. Swan pens are well- John Mabie began working with pencil maker Thomas Addison in documented in the book, and a listing of all production models and 1832 at the age of 13. In 1843, he began working with pencil maker John dates is provided. Numerous photographs show examples of all the Rauch, eventually becoming a partner. Mabie formed his first company, well-known Swan models, including the chatelaines, Eternals, and Mabie, Knapp & Johnson, in 1853, manufacturing pencil cases. Several page after page of those magnificent sterling and gold overlay eyedrop- companies followed. The first Mabie, Todd & Co. partnership was formed pers, which Moak notes “surely represent the apex of the pen-maker’s The pennant FALL 2007 23 art.” Each pen is individually photographed, and most are in color. The Mabie, Todd and Bard family histories are also covered in the book. Family trees of each family back to the 1600s are presented, and 12 pages of genealogical listings and family pictures are in separate chapters dedicated to that topic. One welcome feature is an annotated list of sources the author used in writing the book. For those wishing to do further research, this is an invaluable aid. The book is fully footnoted. Moak is meticulous in documenting his research. In addition to an extensive index, the book contains seven appendices with transcriptions of various historical documents relating to the Mabies, including text of the certificates of incorporation of the American and English companies and the sale agreement between the two companies. Additionally, several chapters provide information on advertisements, bottles, boxes, signs and other ephemera, with numerous photographs of representative examples in each category. The American branch of Mabie, Todd & Co. was finally dissolved in 1941, ending what was surely one of the most successful and innovative writing instrument manufacturers in America. David Moak’s book is a well-documented, thorough and lively presentation of that history, and stands as the standard reference on Mabie, Todd and the Swan pens. ✍ All rights reserved by the author. Color photos can be viewed on the back cover of this issue. 24 FALL 2007 The pennant Washington D.C. The pennant Super Show FALL 2007 25 Photos by Terry Clark Watching, touching, examining, listening… …looking for that special thing… Photos by Terry Clark …checking … 30 FALL/WINTER 2007 The pennant …checking it all out! Photos by Terry Clark 2007 31 Photos by Anna Lawson Is This the Right Box? Simple Ways to Date that Old Pen Box By Bruce Speary Fountain pens have been sold in signed boxes since the MacKinnon pens of the late 1870s hit the market, but few pen collectors show an interest in adding them to their collections. In other fields of collecting, original boxes are prized. Some boxes are actually worth more than the items they originally held. For example, a vintage box from a toy robot can bring as much as or more than the actual robot. Some of these vintage boxes are selling for more than $1,000. At the same time, a nice plastic box from a Hamilton railroad pocket watch will set you back a few hundred dollars. I n the world of vintage pen collecting, pen boxes are still from a company that made them for dip pen sales, and the A.A. a great bargain. While the average Patrician pen sells for markings were simply stamped onto a generic box. more than $400 and some nice examples bring more than The Moore box in the center has a wide tray inside; it looks more $1,000, the little cardboard box that they were sold in will suited to a straight razor than a fountain pen. This may be a hint probably sell in the range of $40 to $60. Not even 10% of that they purchased boxes that originally had another use, and then the pen’s value, in most cases. marked them with their own company logos. One reason for this lack of interest may be that there has never been The MacKinnon box is probably from the late 1870s. This box an effort made to connect what pen came in which box. Since most pen looks exactly like a dip pen box. It even has the early style latch, boxes are only signed with the company name, most collectors don’t know held in by tiny nails. The tray inside is like the tray from a dip pen what model or year pen would actually go with each box. If there were a box, one side for the handle, the other for the holder and the deep guide to show what box a Parker Snake pen first nested in or which box recess for the nib. When they started using these boxes for fountain originally held a Waterman’s 20 overlay, those boxes would skyrocket in pens, they used the deep recess to hold the bulb of the eyedropper. price overnight. Investing in pen boxes from the 1930s and earlier may be a very wise move for those pen collectors who have a little patience. In Fig. 2, the box at the top is from Edward Todd. This box contained an early 1900s pen, so it was not an early box from that com- I had always been told that the hinged, leather-covered wooden pany. The center box is a metal clamshell style from Wirt. It looks boxes with velvet-lined interiors were the early pen boxes. Since these like an early box with a velvet tray and silk liners, but the markings boxes look early, I assumed that this was probably accurate. In Fig. would place in from the 1920s. 1 you will see three boxes that appear to be early. The box at the top The box at the bottom is a Waterman’s, but this box has the held an A. A. Waterman pen. You may notice that this is the same globe marking, which did not come into wide use until around 1903. style box that you would find old dip pens in. This style was probably Since Waterman’s had cardboard boxes before 1903, that shows that used for dip pens going back to the 1850s. the two styles of boxes were used concurrently. I believe these boxes Because of that, you may guess that this was one of the earliest were intended to house the more expensive pens (like the overlays). A.A. Waterman boxes—but is it? When you look a little closer, They were often referred to as jeweler’s boxes, and the higher cost of you will see the words “Not connected with L.E. Waterman.” these boxes was frequently passed on to the purchaser. Since that disclaimer was not used on their early pens, this box After 15 years of collecting fountain pen boxes, I now believe is obviously not an early A.A. box. The box is not marked on the that most pens sold before the 1920s were sold in cardboard outside, only on the inside. I would guess that it was purchased boxes. But how can you determine the age of a pen box? 1 34 2 FALL 2007 The pennant Some boxes have a patent number or patent date on them. With a The Jack-Knife Safety box (second from the top in Fig. 3) was prob- little research, patent numbers will yield a patent date. Although this ably made around 1910. This seems logical, because though the last will not give you an exact production date, it will tell you the earliest patent number shown is from 1905, the wording on the box refers to date that the box could have been used. Use the last patent number or the Jack-Knife Safety cap whose patent was applied for in July 1909. date as the earliest possible year of use. Patent dates were usually only Using the cap as a guide, we can surmise that the green Lucky Curve used on a product or a box for a few years and then dropped; keeping box dates from 1909 or later. an older patent date might have made a customer think he was getting The last Parker box in this photo is probably from an earlier period. old stock, so there was probably motivation to keep those numbers as You will notice how large the “Self-Filling” markings are. I would guess current as possible. this is probably one of their first boxes for a self-filling pen, probably for Another clue to the age of a box will be the filling instructions the rather rare “Click” filler that appeared at the end of 1904 or 1905. that are sometimes printed on the underside of the lid. If you know In Fig. 4, I have a group of boxes from pen companies of the the last year a pen company made an eyedropper-fill pen, for example, Boston area. The Sterling box offers no clues except for the Post and the instructions are for filling such a pen, then you have the latest Office box number, which indicates it is from the company’s later date the box could have been used. However, using a cut-off date for years, after 1902 and possibly as late as 1919. eyedropper-fill pens is not an exact science; Waterman’s continued to The Ward box is from the company of Samuel Ward, who was a sta- assemble eyedropper pens from parts decades after the golden age of tioner and also contracted with pen manufacturers to have pens made the eyedropper had passed. for him to sell under the Ward name. The last patent date on this box is The company logo can also be a clue. Since the names of many 1885, so it is obvious the pen was made after that date, and since the pen pen companies changed over the years, this could help you date the was an overfeed, it might be possible to come up with a cut-off date if you box. Examples would be the change of the American Fountain Pen could verify when Ward dropped overfeeds on his pens. (I would guess Company to the Moore Fountain Pen Company, which occurred in around 1900, but I did not have a Ward catalog to verify the date.) 1917. Pen companies also changed their addresses or moved from The two Crocker boxes both show the Ink-Tite markings and are one town to another, as did the Chilton Company. If you know when marked Boston. The box with the ink spots on it is not marked “trade- those moves occurred, you can use those dates to place a “before and mark,” which would make me think it was from an early period. It also after” marker for a particular box. shows a Washington Street address and is marked “New Idea,” which Four early Parker boxes are shown in Fig. 3. The box at the top contains a parts list printed on the underside of the box along with should help a die-hard Crocker collector date it. Personally, I could find no mention of the Washington Street address for Crocker. the names of various pen models. A few minutes of research con- Some average-looking Waterman boxes are shown in Fig. 5. cerning the models listed, which provides the years during which They used a similar box for decades. The boxes shown here, which they were made and sold, makes me believe that this box was made all contain Waterman’s New York addresses, can be roughly dated between 1900 and 1905. by those addresses: 3 The pennant 4 Fall 2007 35 8 The box shown at the top contains the 157 Broadway address A group of Conklin boxes are displayed in Fig. 7, with the top box in New York and it turns out that Waterman’s only used this par- marked “crescent filler.” However, it does not contain the “non-leak- ticular address for about one year, in 1901, so this is probably an able” marking. A pen is pictured on the box, but the pen is clipless. accurate deduction. All of these details contain clues as to the box’s date. The last patent 8 The second box shows 155–157 Broadway as an address, which would date this box as from the period between 1898 and 1901. 8 The company’s 173 Broadway address is displayed on the third box, giving it a broader range of dates spanning between 1903 and 1917. date on the box is from 1903, so we know it was made in 1903 or later and probably before 1907. The second Conklin box in Fig. 7 contains markings indicating a crescent filler, but it also mentions a screw-on cap, so this box would 8 At the bottom of Fig. 5, the box lists 191 Broadway as the have been made after 1910 when screw-on caps were introduced. address, which would date it after 1917 and possibly as late as the The third box has no markings except for “Conklin,” so I would 1930s. I actually think, though, that this box was not made after guess it is a 1920s box and the notation as to the filler system was 1920, when it appears that Waterman’s dropped addresses entirely omitted so the box could be used for a lever or twist filler. from their boxes. With a company that large, spanning a number of The box at the bottom of the photo is from the 1940s, after addresses as well as years, it’s most likely that a lot of repairs and/or Conklin went under and left Toledo, Ohio (where it had been in its inquiries were sent to the wrong address for decades. That would be heyday) and the name was being used on the cheaper Chicago-made an excellent reason to stop printing addresses on boxes. pens. This is obvious from the price, which was only a dollar and What is called the Waterman’s “Treasure Chest” box is displayed some change for the set. at the top of Fig. 6. This is the original version of this box, in card- In Fig. 8, I have put together a group of boxes from Pennsylvania- board, from the early 1920s. Under the lid is a three-panel comic strip made fountain pens. The top is a Hintz box from Reading, Pa., and it of pirates leaving the main ship in a rowboat, burying their treasure is probably from the 1890s. The Wirt box was probably made in the on an island, and finally sailing off into the sunset. Waterman’s also 1890s also. The Franklin (from Philadelphia) box dates to the early used a metal clamshell-style box marked “Treasure Chest Of Today,” 1900s. The last box is from Hoskins, which sold office supplies and and was sold at a premium. offered a line of eyedroppers in the late 1890s and early 1900s. This The Patrician box dates from the late 1920s or 1930s and shows box contains a pen that would be from the early 1900s. the color of the pen marked on the box with an ink stamp. Very few The most colorful pen boxes are probably those used for packag- boxes contain this coding indicating the color of the pen inside. The ing holiday-related merchandise. These boxes, obviously, were used third box is a typical 1930s Waterman’s box with the smaller logo. for pens that were to be given as gifts. You will notice that many At the bottom, a Remex box is shown. Remex was Waterman’s early of these include holly or winter scenes. Some include the “To” and attempt at a lower-priced line of pens; the U.S.-made versions were “From” markings right on the boxes. These boxes were probably kept almost all eyedroppers. The only clue that this box was a Waterman’s in the back room of most jewelry stores. original is that the side of the box is marked “L.E. Remex,” which serves as a kind of hint that L.E. Waterman may have made it. The Parker Lucky Curve box (top of Fig. 9) would have been made after 1894, when the Lucky Curve feed was introduced, and 6 5 36 FALL 2007 The pennant probably is a pre-Duofold box. The center “box” is actually not a stacked up to the ceiling. So although a box may not be correct for the box, but rather a sleeve that was slipped over the normal box. It is pen inside, it may still be the box in which the pen left the store. ✍ from Waterman’s and dates after 1910. This sleeve fit Waterman’s boxes spanning a 30-year period, so these would have been great for All rights reserved by the author. a Waterman’s retailer to have in quantity. References: Lawrence, Cliff and Judy, An Illustrated Fountain Pen The last box in this group, also from Waterman’s, would have been made between 1902 and 1917, using the address as a dating mechanism. The end of this box shows a decal, marked “self-filler,” that was added to it. This would likely make the date of actual use after 1910 (Waterman made its sleeve fillers from ca. 1910 to 1915, its coin fillers from ca. 1913 History. Dunedin, Fla.: Pen Fancier’s Club, 1986. Various pen advertisements and catalog reprints, collection of the author. 8 to 1914 and introduced its first lever filler in 1915). Self-filling pens became big sellers after their introduction, so the company probably added this to the boxes to make them seem up to date. The box does not mention what kind of filler was used, so there is still some uncertainty. Fig. 10 shows another group of holiday boxes. The top box, from Conklin, mentions that the pen has a screw cap and also is non-leakable, so this box is probably from the 1910 to 1918 period. The Duofold box dates from the 1920s; this is easily determined from the use of the terms “Duofold” and “Lucky Curve” on the box (Lucky Curve markings were dropped at the end of the 1920s). The Waterman’s box is from the period 1907 through 1917, while the Moore box dates from 1917 to 1926. The markings are from the Moore Pen Company; it also proclaims that it “Won’t Leak,” a slogan the company dropped in favor of “Super-Built” before 1926. I hope some of the dating tips offered here will help readers match 9 some of their vintage pen boxes with the appropriate pens. If you find that some of your pens may not be in the correct box, keep in mind that neither retailers nor pen manufacturers ever wasted anything. Retail stores selling pens often filled a pen for a customer and sent him on his way without the box. The box that should have gone with that pen may have been used years later for another sale. I have been in the back rooms of old jewelry stores, some of which contained empty boxes 7 The pennant 10 9 FALL 2007 37 What Can Pens Us Tell by Ronald J. Pohoryles Collecting is in itself a curious, though human, behavior. There are many psychological and anthropological attempts to explain this phenomenon (see Addams, 2006). There are good reasons for collecting “useful” artifacts like drawings, carpets, vases, or china: Nobody likes empty white walls; a good cup of tea tastes better when sipped from a nice china cup than, horrible dictu, from a plastic one. The nicer the cup, the better the tea; and, of course, vice-versa. C ollecting pens is different. Even if you use your pens to write, you hardly need more than one. If you tend to be elegant and a bit of a dandy you might buy a few; a variety of colors allow your pen to go with your dress or suit. One or two pens you might additionally own to be on the safe side, to be sure you have one if another needs service or repair. But why buy more than, say, ten pens? You cannot put them on the walls; they are stored in boxes, hardly ever seen by others. And a pen collection adds to your daily problems: which pen will I use today? What do I do with my other ones, empty them or not? And travelling Fig. 1 fountain pen manufacture in the 1950s or went out of business. problems: security personnel are often surprised when you have three However, intellectuals, writers, and, lawyers do not necessarily do or four pens in your jacket and ask for explanations. Not to mention better work when they produce text by “quick and dirty” methods. The the classic airline-travel problem: will you end up with ink spots on your speed of document production does not necessarily contribute to qual- white shirt if you forget to empty your pen before take-off? ity: good texts take time. The PC might seduce to increased speed, but Still, we love to collect pens. Those of us who are not intellectual authorities have testimonials from the pantheon of prominent thinkers the pen invites careful reflection. Still, the question remains: why more than one pen? and writers. Just one example: the French author Roland Barthes (1915– Let me state my own case. I am a social scientist, interested in the 1980), skeptical philosopher and literary critic, explained our passion in development of capitalism and globalization in the twentieth century surprisingly simple terms: “I own too many pens. I no longer know what and the related evolution of technology. The pen industry is a wonder- to do with them. Still, when I see them, I am immediately tempted. I am ful case study. Take the issue of globalization: looking at companies like tempted, and I cannot keep myself from buying.” (From Petruci, 1998). Parker, Waterman, or Dunhill, one can easily prove that international- With the invention of the typewriter, the pen could not keep up with ization, like delocalization, is not a recent phenomenon. The dominance the speed of writing. The ballpoint pen, cheaper and easier to handle, of financial capital over the traditional family-owned creative industries became a deadly threat to the fountain pen, even though its impact on was, and remains, obvious. Conklin is exemplary in this respect. After it handwriting might be questioned. Then followed computers and lap- was taken over by an investment company in the 1930s, its design, qual- tops. Fountain pens appeared to be obsolete. Many producers stopped ity and service suffered seriously. Following relocation to Chicago, one 38 FALL 2007 The pennant of the best pen makers in the world went down bankruptcies are a necessary element of economic development. Ballpoints were the drain. cheaper to produce and easier to handle; hence the societal demand. Relocation is a recurring issue and is often As Bruno Latour puts it, it is not always the best technology that survives; phys- related to change of ownership. The reduction ical and economic factors have an influence as well. The ballpoint is a good example at Sheaffer’s traditional production site in Fort for this assumption, as are the rigid nibs that characterise most modern pens. Madison, Iowa, is a telling example. The qual- What Drives Technology And Development? ity of the Sheaffer pens and after-sales service, From the perspective of a social scientist and passionate pen user, the many differ- however, remained satisfactory. This is the ent filling systems that exist are surprising. I own fountain pens equipped with a exception rather than the rule with regard to huge variety of filling systems: eye-droppers (see Waterman’s eye-dropper filling the take-over of traditional companies by invest- instructions in Fig. 1 and a rare MacNiven & Cameron eyedropper in Fig. 2), cresment companies. cent fillers (the original Conklin as well as the contemporary Visconti Copernicus, Unlike Conklin, Waterman survived relo- a great pen by the way, Fig. 3), button fillers, the Vacumatic cation and even became stronger. Starting in filler from Parker, many piston fillers (mostly European), and the USA, and arguably the first major innova- of course, the modern cartridge/converter filling systems. And I tor in the pen industry, Waterman became the add, as well, most of their variations, like the Sheaffer Snorkels flagship of the French pen industry under the and Touchdowns. new French owner J. Fagard in the 1950s.1 The With respect to the use of fountain pens for writing pur- reason was a successful new strategy: under the poses, there isn’t much difference: the most important techno- trademark “JiF,” Fagard produced pencils and logical innovations were a reliable feed and a barrel with a large became the general representative of Waterman ink reservoir, as Waterman had invented it in the 19th century. in France. As an innovative entrepreneur, Of course, differences exist with respect to serviceability Fagard developed an improved glass ink car- and ink capacity. Some systems can hold more ink than others tridge. Fagard began soon after WWII to pro- (for the sake of argument, the biggest reservoir I have is in my duce ballpoint pens. When Waterman USA Waterman No. 16 (Figs. 4a, b and c), an eye-dropper from the had to give up production because of poor man- beginning of the 20th century). Some systems need more, or agement, the French were able to take it over. more complicated, service: Piston fillers are more complex than The emergence of the ballpoint is a telling example of the relationship between technology development, the economy and societal replacing lever fillers’ sacs, and require an experienced repair Figs. 4a, 4b and 4c. developments; a sad, though spectacular, case study for what American economist and sociologist Joseph Schumpter terms “constructive destruction.” Schumpeter holds that innovation necessitates the destruction of traditional production methods to allow for the breakthrough Fig. 2 of new products and technologies. In this view, Fig. 3 The pennant FALL 2007 39 person; however, sacs may have to be replaced more often. For some, smaller brands fixing a Vacumatic is a nightmare. But on the whole, all filling systems survived, and serve the same purpose and function. Lepine even The same holds for the inks. Bad ink can destroy pens or cause severe started to pro- discoloration. But with the research that led to Parker Quink and Pelikan duce cheap Fig. 5 Royal Blue, the problem is p e n s f or t he mostly resolved. Quink ’s mass market. formula has changed little in over 70 years. For practical purposes, most technological innova- Fig. 6 Italy is an interesting exception. Most of the big producers survived in one way or the other. OMAS remained an independent company for a long time, but sold to LVHM recently. Montegrappa remained independent until the 1980s and is still producing quality pens. tions within the pen indus- New independent pen makers started successful production of high- try weren’t really necessary. They were driven not by the needs of the quality pens long after the end of WWII. Visconti and Delta in Florence users but rather by commercial and legal requirements. The companies are world-renowned pen producers using sophisticated raw materials for that developed them patented most systems, and a lot of legal cases show their stylish designs. how ardent the conflicts over patents were. Since the early 20th century, Of the German pens, the traditional brands of Montblanc and Pelikan losing a court case about intellectual property rights like patents was are internationally known. Lamy made its international breakthrough in often associated with bankruptcy. the 1960s because of its nationally and internationally acclaimed designs. The Global Race For Leadership Some of its products are exhibited in international museums like the Globalization has brought about fundamental changes in the market Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. structure of the pen industry. Among others, it led to the disappearance Montblanc was bought by Dunhill and became, like Dunhill, part of most of the European pen makers, and this not only in the smaller of Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods group. Pelikan is controlled by a European countries. Malaysian investment group. Lamy and Faber-Castell remain indepen- The “Big Four” in the USA continued to exist, or were re-launched. The brands are still on the market, though the original companies are dent, with the families that created the companies maintaining a controlling influence. not. Internationalization helped Sheaffer, Parker and Waterman survive. Faber-Castell is one of the most traditional pen producers. Its origins However, Waterman was bought by its European partner. Wahl-Eversharp date from the eighteenth century, when it was established as a producer was then bought by Parker in the late 1950s. Now, Parker and Waterman of quality pencils. Fountain pens were not its core market; Faber-Castell are again under American ownership, the American investment company launched fountain pens in the middle of the 1930s, when it bought the Sanford, the stationery division of Newell Rubbermaid. Today Parker pro- German Osmia Company that was undergoing a financial crisis. In the duction is now in the United Kingdom under Sanford UK. 1970s, pen production was stopped entirely for a time. Faber-Castell used The strategies of some European companies were different. They, the newly emerging interest too, followed the internationalization strategy, but also began to diver- in fountain pens to restart sify. Dunhill of Great Britain and S.T. Dupont of France did not concen- pen production in the early trate on pens alone, but produced a broad range of goods for the luxury 1990s. Faber-Castell’s success market. In fact, fountain pens were added later to their product range. In is based on diversification and the 1930s, Alfred Dunhill started a fruitful collaboration with Japanese the international orientation producers and was amazed by their ability to use lacquer. Pen production of the company. Its products got a boost when Dunhill acquired the German Montblanc company. are produced worldwide. The S.T. Dupont was more known for its leather goods (and later for its light- company also has a longstand- ers) than for its pens. ing commitment to social (and The European penmakers who focused on fountain pen production recently ecological) concerns. came under pressure in the middle of the last century. Big French pro- In contrast, Pelikan, pri- ducers like Bayard (Top, Fig. 5), Mallat, J.M. Paillard, and Gold Starry marily associated with German represented good names, but disappeared in the course of economic production, did not survive the development. Their marketing strategies concentrated on the national market, so they lost the battle against international competitors as 1970s pen crisis. Fig. 8 In the early 1980s, much as against the new technology of the ballpoints. Nowadays, it went bankrupt Waterman, Dupont, and Cartier are the big players in Europe. Some and was bought by a 40 Fig. 7 FALL 2007 The pennant Swiss investment company. Recently a Malaysian group took control. and associations. The influence of the latter was, however, limited to the Other big German producers, such as Soennecken, lost the fight for local level. No universal price structure was established (see Schwartz, survival. Hit by the pen-market crisis in the late 1950s and 1960s, they 2000). The exchange, rather than buying and selling, of pens was the stopped production in the 1960s. dominant paradigm. Smaller countries had quality pen production as well. Austria had Somehow, vintage pens saw their revival. First, the retro look came several excellent but now entirely forgotten pen makers; one can still find into fashion. The Sheaffer Connaisseur made its appearance in 1985 and some nice pens with distinguished designs (Tempo, Napoléon [Fig. 6] or the Parker Duofold continued its success story. Montblanc’s Meisterstück Europen), mostly from the ’30s, but the companies are gone without a is a prestige pen and has been produced continuously, in different sizes trace. After WWII only Tempo, as an office stationery supplier, survived and with some technology changes, for a long time. for some time. Secondly, new designs and technologies found their niches in some Israeli pen production is documented from the time of the British Mandate for Palestine onwards. The most renowned company was Katab, but there were other brands as well. In the late 1940s even Waterman pens were produced in then-Palestine (Ben-Sinai). The conclusion is telling: the survival of pen producers depends on the degree of globalization. And the globalization process is not a new phenomenon at all. Furthermore, diversification helps to maintain of the already-collectible vintage pens. The breathtaking design of the Waterman Sérénité is a good example (Fig. 7). As a niche market, the vintage pen evolution can be studied empirically over the Internet, and similarly the relation between globalization and national markets. Today, American pens can be found without any problems world wide, at by and large the same prices (Sheaffer, Fig. 8). When it comes to lesser-known brands, there are national variations: independence. smaller German and French producers offer products locally and in The Impact Of War And Peace Internet shops. The development of the pen industry tells volumes about war and peace. Austrian pens, though high in quality, are hardly ever available Under war conditions, quality frequently deteriorated. Access to specific through the Internet—you need to find a specialised local dealer like materials, like gold, was restricted. Specific models for soldiers were created. Leo Grahofer in Vienna. The same is true for Israeli pens; even Israeli Even liquid ink was replaced by ink tablets that could be dissolved in water. pen collectors tend to be prouder of their Parker 51s than of their Pens and their advertising reflected the martial sentiments of the own Israeli-Palestine models. To get interesting local pens, you have epoch. Some pens were specifically dedicated to martial goals. The to find specialised collectors like Israel Ben-Sinai who might help you WWI pen industry’s advertising capitalized on nationalistic feelings, with information. featuring the army and martial names. This is well documented for the The co-existence of a globalized market and specialized local dealers French case in the last issue of “Au Fil de la Plume”: One of the major nib is an interesting phenomenon. This seems to suggest that even in a glo- producers, Baignol & Farjon (B& F), called its nibs Bayonet, Torpedo balized economy there is a place for small local shops with a reasonable and Grenade, while La Compagnie Française called its most popular pen offering and good service. The Internet can establish a price structure Sergent-Major. The nibs of the time were designed like battleships: B & and offer a reasonable range of goods. It has still to establish trustworthy F’s “The Dreadnought” is a good example. quality standards; and it will never replace local dealers’ personal service The use of war material for souvenir pens was particularly cynical. and specialized offers. Some were, for instance, produced using exploded shells. Parker used the The Brand And The Product U.S.’s entry to WWI to advertise its pen as the best gift idea for soldiers The pen industry started out as family businesses. Legendary “innova- leaving for Europe. The same is true for later wars as well. Suffice here tive entrepreneurs” (a term used by Schumpeter), personalities like W.A. to mention the Etiopia pen from the Italian producer Aurora. There is Sheaffer, George Safford Parker, Jules I. Fagard, Evelyn Andros de la Rue even worse. and George Sweetser made the success and the remarkable development The workers' skills and the flexibility of tools allowed for a conversion of production for military purposes that went beyond the mere production of specific writing instruments for soldiers: During WWII, several pen of the fountain pen industry possible. However, gone are the founding fathers, the innovative entrepreneurs. This is what Naomi Klein calls the “logo economy.” The product manufacturers produced non-pen items for the Allied Forces. is less important than the brand name. Recently, the Onoto brand has New Global Markets been revived; the products, however, have little to do with those origi- The emergence of the new economy based on the Internet opened a nally produced by the de la Rue Company. The original models were worldwide system for buying, selling and exchanging pens. Despite characterized by an elegant design; the modern pens feature a rather inconveniences and cautions buyers must be aware of, the Internet cre- baroque design. ated transparency and opened global trade and information. In the 1970s, the vintage pen market practically did not exist. Some price lists were issued with the help of newly emerging pen collector clubs The pennant FALL 2007 Another example is Conway Stewart. When Frank Jarvis and Thomas Garner started the company in 1905, the aim was to create More › › › 47 reasonable pens at reasonable prices. 41 Handwriting LEFT OUT • THE OTHER 10 PERCENT A by KATE GLADSTONE ccording to most handedness research, do wish Rick didn’t bend his index finger quite so much! Even so, to natural-born left-handers number roughly 10 judge from his sample on the left-handed writers’ page, he writes quite percent of the human race worldwide. Fountain clearly and fluently.) pen users include an even higher percentage of Left-handed writers fall into two groups. One group (called under- lefties, according to the Fountain Pen Network’s continuing survey of writers) does its best writing with the paper positioned so that the pen penfolk, which you can find at fountainpennetwork.com. approaches the writing line from below, as shown in Figure 2. As of July 18, 2007, the survey’s 254 respondents comprised 184 right-handed writers and 70 left-handed writers—which works out to Fig. 2 27.56 percent of left-handers among pen aficionados, almost three times the percentage in the general population. The Fountain Pen Network survey’s figure, though it may seem high, correlates well with my own observations of fellow penfolks’ handedness for writing and other tasks. Compare these statistics with the percentage of left-handers who need help with handwriting problems. Forget about 10 percent or even 27+ percent—among those who come to me seeking better handwriting, 45 percent to 50 percent write left-handed. (And yes, quite a few of them sooner or later take up fountain pens in hopes the pens will help them write better. This may account for the high percentage of left-handers using fountain pens.) Why So Many Scribbling Southpaws? The other group (called Frustrated left-handed writers (and many of their equally frustrated overwriters) does best with right-handed parents and teachers) often blame a written language that the paper positioned so that fills the page from left to right, which goes against the grain for left- the pen approaches the writ- handers. Certainly a few determined lefties, from Leonardo da Vinci ing line from above, as Fig.3 onward, have found a private solution by writing in reverse (Fig. 1). shows. Fig. 3 Fig. 1 A University of Chicago neuropsychologist, Dr. Jerre Levy, finds Lefties do face some difficulty with the left-to-right direction of that over- versus underwriting ref lects complex interactions between English and many other languages. However, this directionality does handedness and other genetic factors such as which brain hemisphere not prevent good left-handed writing. Left-handed masters of the pen processes language. Levy discovered that about 50 percent of lefties include eminent calligraphers such as Gaynor Goffe (whose textbook worldwide (and about 2 percent of righties) process language in the brain Calligraphy School illustrates every step both for left- and right-handed hemisphere on the same side as the writing hand. calligraphers). These writers tend towards overwriting, even if forcibly dis- Within the left-handed 27 percent of the fountain pen cosmos, clear, suaded. They write more f luently and clearly when overwriting than rapid handwriters include (among others) Rick Propas. To see Rick and when underwriting. According to Levy, forcing natural overwriters to other lefty fountain pen gurus in action, visit the Left-Handed Writers underwrite—or forcing natural underwriters to overwrite—causes as Web site at http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm (Note: I much difficulty as forcing natural lefties to write right-handed. So 42 FALL 2007 The pennant if you struggle with one position (over- or underwriting), change position and see what happens! Figure 1. The original “da Vinci code”: Leonardo’s I would like readers to suggest handwrit- writing, reproduced here from Wikipedia’s article on ing-related topics and questions they mirror script. would like to see covered. Please send If you plan to try this, consider also Figure 2. The most generally helpful of many under- suggestions to the editor, with a “cc” to that changing your writing position may writer positions. Underwriting — writing with the me at handwritingrepair@gmail.com. require changing nibs, especially if you hand held beneath the line of emerging text — works Till next time—happy writing! use an italic, stub, oblique, or extra fine. well for about 50 percent of left-handers. I usually Recommended Reading So experiment with new nibs at pen stores have left-handers try this position before considering L e v y, Je r re a nd M a r y L ou R e id , and pen shows. an alternative. If this position feels almost comfort- “Variations in cerebral organization as a Different Strokes For Southpaw Folks? able but not quite, turn the top of the paper further function of handedness, hand posture in Many left-handers form horizontal strokes clockwise as far as you need to. writing, and sex.” Journal of Experimental (such as “t” crossbars) moving from right to Figure 3. The most generally helpful of many over- Psychology—General. June, 1978, Vol. left. On the surface, this would seem logi- writer positions (also called bent wrist, hooked wrist 107, No. 2: pp 119–144. This was the cal for lefties. However, consider what hap- or hooked hand positions). Overwriting works best for first of many studies correlating brain pens when a right-to-left crosser finishes “t” and continues writing, where left-to-right crossers use left-to-right to continue writing (see Figure 4). As you can see, making the horizontal stroke from right to left results about 50 percent of left-handers worldwide. Though handwriting books and teachers traditionally discourage overwriting, about 50 percent of left-handers find it very difficult or impossible to write fluently in an underwriter position. If you’ve tried underwriting hemisphere function, handedness, hand posture, and other factors. Stewart, Mark and Heather Stewart, Left Hand Writing Skills (series of books without success, try overwriting. If this overwriting and CD-ROMs). Stourbridge (United in redundant motion—the writer must move position feels almost comfortable but not quite, turn Kingdom): Robin’s Wood Press, 2005. the pen back to the right again before start- the top of the paper further counter-clockwise as far 90 pages. (Order through http://www. ing the next stroke, which introduces ineffi- as you need to. robinswoodpress.com). This series for ciency and affects speed. See Fig. 4 below. Figure 4. “T” crossbars written from left to right (top) lefties of any age uses a simple italic Arm yourself (pun intended) with the or right to left (bottom). Crossing from left to right fin- st yle. Though t he se r ies does not above information, and take pride in your ishes the “t” and continues forward in one movement. address overwriters, its other excellent southpaw script. Crossing from right to left requires two movements features recommend it to every left- The next issue’s column, “GraphoLogical?” will examine the claims of handwriting analysis. For the column after that, and a longer journey for the pen, vastly increasing time and effort. hander, teacher, and parent. ✍ All rights reserved by the author. Fig. 4 The pennant FALL 2007 43 Tech notes Adapting tools for PEN REPAIR by VICTOR CHEN I have avoided giving advice to folks on how to get started on larly in the mountains around Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel, the pen repairs because it has been some 16 years since I started to work population was mostly herders. During the long winter months, these seriously on pens and my memory of those first couple of years is at herders’ entire families engaged in making lace for the Italian market. best hazy. Herding, milking, spinning and lace-making all produced soft hands. I have a clear memory of pens I worked on 10 years ago; less clear Eighty years later, the region around these two lakes became the memory of figuring out and refining repair techniques 12 or 13 years center of the watchmaking world. Any activity that produces calluses ago; and much before that a sense of confusion, frustration, an ade- also produces hard hands, whereas soft hands are useful for delicate quate repair here and there, and others less so. work. While small hands are necessary for delicate work, soft hands Until recently, I could not say how I progressed from those early make that work much easier. For example, all nib and feed work fumbling to confidence in pen repairs. Since I took up working on requires the coordination of small hands, and soft hands allow the mechanical watches a couple of years ago, I have a much better under- skin to feel all the minor adjustments as they’re made. standing of how that process takes place. Seeing what I need to see is something I learned to do with pens Hands And Seeing somewhere in those early years that simply happened over time. With Training hands to do what they need to do takes a while. Part of watches, I was concerned that my vision was not keen enough to see the training is muscle memory and part is in imprinting the neces- all those tiny parts. It turned out that I needed a 10X loupe to see sary shape and size of your hands in your mind. My hobby before pen what I need to see, and the rest of the time I can work without any repairs was working on cars, and that took big hands with strong arm magnification. For pen work, 2X or 3X magnification is about as and shoulder muscles. much as I need to see what I need to do. Other than for nib work, In working on pens, my hands needed to become smaller with much more magnification power was not very useful. What I need to far less use of arm and shoulder muscles. In working on watches, my see is how the parts fit together, how to adjust something or how to hands need to become even smaller, with almost no arm- or shoul- repair damage. My hands will do the work and I don’t need magnifi- der-muscle use. It took me a good six months to get reasonably small cation to see how the work is coming along. hands, mentally speaking. I’m now working on hairsprings and I need even smaller hands, and it may be a while before my hand FIG. 1 works automatically in that size. The physical size of one’s hands has very little to do with getting hands to become “large” or “small.” After all, millions of folks have learned to send text messages by pressing tiny little buttons on a very cramped keyboard on their cell phones, irrespective of the physical size or shape or their hands. I’m sure this mental shaping of hands goes on in anything that involves intensive hand manipulation, such as playing musical instruments, arts of all kinds, medical procedures and so on. The problem is that the ability to manipulate one small object well does not necessarily transfer directly to working on a different category of objects, even if they’re equally small. It always takes time to adapt one’s hands to the specific nature and construction of that object. Hence the common complaint: “I’ve always been able to work on…. Why can’t I work on pens?” The corollary to small hands is soft hands. In 1800, London was the watch center of the world and in Switzerland, particu44 FALL 2007 The pennant Useful Watchmaker’s Tools For Pen Repair but I hardly ever wear them. The caseknife blade is thicker than a The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century spawned the notion pocket-knife blade, and the knife edge is blunt. For pen work, using that any young person can be taught to use his or her hands and to see the blade and sometimes the back, the caseknife is a better prying what they needed to do. That separated the crafts from the trades, tool than screwdrivers. and in the trades came the educational system involving the progres- Snap-blade knife (Top, Fig. 1). As long as I am talking about sion from apprentice to journeyman and then master. Each step of the knives, I’ll mention this. I always need a very sharp blade to scrape, way, learning how clean or shave FIG. 2 to use one’s hands, parts. Early on, I how to work t he tried scalpels but tools a nd what to never got used to look for in the work them. I use a snap- was emphasized. blade knife. Plastic Though t his is ones can be had at le s s t r u e f or p e n any hardware store repa irers, at one for le s s t ha n $1. time a watchmaker But those felt too could actually make light in my hands. watches, although by the 1920s most watchmakers were doing repairs I use a metal one and snap off part of the blade whenever I need a rather than making entire watches. With the arrival of the ballpoint new blade point or blade. When the entire blade is used up, I replace pen, pen-repair folks began to disappear; 30 years later, with the it with a refill blade. I use this knife at least three or four times on appearance of the digital watch, watchmakers began to disappear in every pen repair that I do. the 1980s and 1990s. While watch repair and pen repair are different, each requiring dif ferent ways of using one’s FIG. 3 hands and different things to Movement holder (Fig. 2). The spring-loaded plastic ones are very useful for holding a cap or a barrel in place, such as when you’re working on a crack or knocking out a lever pin. look for, they can share tools in Drills. I have ma ny sets of common. Today, the last of the drills: fraction, numbered, let- watchmaker’s estates are coming tered and metric. I use them as on the market (I buy on eBay) drifts (steel pins for enlarging or and a number of watchmaking aligning holes), as stake holders tools are available that can be for cap or barrel, as scrapers and useful for pen repairs. The fol- cleaners, and even sometimes to lowing is a list of some of those drill something (I have duplicate watchmaking tools: sets for drilling since I do use a Caseknife (Fig. 1). I used hammer on the drill point of the one of these for years to pop other sets). Until I started work- open the backs of digital watches ing on watches, the smallest drill I to change the battery. Like so had was #80 (that is 135/10,000”). many folks in the 1980s, I gave Watch drills go down in size to up my wind-up watches and went 16/10,000”! I’ve never had to use digital. I still have a few around, anything that small, but once in a The pennant FALL 2007 45 and reasonably rust-free set can be had for $60–$70, although you should watch out for the shipping costs that can run from $12–$25. All staking sets use the same sized stakes, but K&D (US) stumps and die plates are different sizes from the German Boley, and I don’t know about Seitz (Swiss) or French stumps and die plates. The biggest problem I’ve had with all these watchmaking tools is that my 15 basic pen tools are held on a magnetized strip above my workbench. I really need to remember to make sure that my watch tools don’t end up on that strip, because a magnetized watch spring does crazy things. Other than that, exploring the world of watchmaking has been truly a delightful and insightful experience. Small hands and learning to see are the basic ingredients in starting successful pen repairs. Good pen hunting! ✍ All rights reserved by the author. FIG. 5 FIG. 4 while doing feed work, particularly on the air hole, I need something smaller than #80. Tweezers (Fig. 3). I’ve always known that there were a variety of tweezers out there, but nothing like the assortment that’s available. Before watches, I’ve only used a few kinds of household tweezers to hold something small or grab a sac or pressure bar. It turns out that professional tweezers are designed to hold a specific shape precisely, at the appropriate angle and with the correct pressure. Use the wrong tweezers and the item will pop out, move or rotate. Now I use them for chip repair on cap lips, thread repairs on barrels, or with any small item that needs to be placed precisely. Pliers. Of the three broad categories of watchmaking pliers— holding, cutting and bending—the holding pliers are useful for piston repairs (Fig. 4). I’ve drilled out cheap pliers to turn them into rod holders. Yet these are necessarily rough and not quite the correct size. Commercially made ones are so much nicer. For pen work, staking sets (Fig. 5)are useful in straightening out bent nibs, for staking and rounding rivets in clips, straightening parts like levers and lever pins, or just about any kind of metal work on a pen. As I learn more about how to use this tool, I’ll let you know. In 1965 the basic staking set sold for about $110 (about $300 in today’s money). The more complete sets then cost $300 to $500, or more than $1,000 today. On eBay today a fairly complete, basic 46 FALL 2007 The pennant What Pens Can Tell Us › › › 47 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 might look at the development of consumer behavior. What Zeitgeist made the reappearance of pens possible—both vin- The company still produces very nice pens; but tage and modern? How did the nostalgia they are luxury pens, not the type of products the emerge, under what social, economic and founders produced. political conditions? The Pen Touches History At least, Conklin’s revival is inspired by the company’s original visions and designs. And look- Historians find a rich field for research. I ing at Parker and Waterman, many models look own a Katab with an imprint “Produced similar since the two companies came under the in Palestine” that is shows an Israeli price same corporate roof‑a destiny that also came to and tax tag (Fig. 10; in 1948 you paid a car producers such as Peugeot-Citroën. luxury tax for a pen). You can feel the The Design Issue Cultural sociology and art history do not just study the artifacts, but Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel when you hold it in your hand. relate these to the time of their creation. Like fashions, taste is not uni- An earlier Katab from my collection features a cap that is clearly not versal. It varies over time and is related to all sorts of historical, eco- the original one and rather looks like the Austrian Tempo cap; a proof nomic and social developments. The relation between architecture and for the forced migration of Jews from Austria in the late 1930s and for political power, for instance, is obvious. Foucault has shown the connec- the shortage of raw materials during WWII in British Palestine. We tion between power and the arts as well. know that the founders of Katab, the Kornfeld brothers, were originally Strangely, there is little information about pen designers, though we have rich information about technical developers. This is surprising, as most collectors buy their pens for their looks rather than technologies. from Vienna and bought celluloid stock from there. Parker is known for special editions featuring historical events, as is Conway Stewart, which proudly mention the events for which its prod- There are some exceptions. Eversharp advertised proudly their ucts were used. Waterman celebrated the French Revolution in 1989 designers Henri Dreyfus (the Skyline) and Raymond Loewy (the (Fig. 11). And often broadcast news people ostentatiously use pens from Symphony). Both are renowned for spectacular industrial design; renowned pen makers, most likely not without some marketing efforts. Dreyfus designed a locomotive featuring the typical American shape What a psychologist can learn from the desire to collect pens is per- and Loewy designed aircraft for Boeing. Giovanni Abrate underlined fectly described by Addams as quoted above. Given the many motives the importance of the designers Marco Zanuso and Marcello Nizzoli behind collecting pens, a lot of information is still to be discovered. for Aurora’s post-war success. Readers should take my contribution as a call for more information as The most interesting contemporary exception is the Lamy company. this topic is explored further. ✍ On its homepage is a short history of all contemporary product designers, beginning with Gerd Müller, a Bauhaus disciple. Prior to the 1960s, All rights reserved by the author. Lamy produced quite conventional pens. However, innovative entrepre- Endnotes: neur Gerd Lamy, the son of the founder, turned the page. Since then, 1. In fact, the story is a bit more complicated, as Waterman existed for a certain Lamy has followed a strategy of designing pens in the Bauhaus tradition, time in the UK as well. But for the purpose of this article the simplification is jus- including the classic 2000 (Top, Fig. 9) and the Persona (Bottom, Fig. tified; Picture Credits: All photos by the author except Fig. 2 © Andrew Evans. 9), designed by Mario Bellini. The latter is not produced anymore and References: the reference to Bellini has been withdrawn from their homepage—an Abrate, Giovanni, “Aurora After WWII, Part II”, The Pennant, Vol. XXIV, interesting subject. No. 2; Adams, Edward, “The Quest for Spirit—The psychology of Collecting This could bring us back to the technology issue. Design has brought Pens,” Stylus, April/May 2006; Ben-Sinai, Israel, “Writing Instruments about the technology race, which still exists. The use of plastics that Manufactured in Israel,” Pentrace Article 371 (http://www.pentrace. replaced hard rubber allowed many variations in style and colors. Lamy’s net/), 2003; Dragoni, Giorgio & Giusepe Fichera, Penne Stilografiche, design would be impossible without its experiments with different met- Milano: Arnoldo Montadori, 1998; Erano, Paul, Fountain Pens Past & als, fiberglass and their combination. Present, Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 2004; Fischler, G. & Schneider, Regarding markets in a sociocultural perspective, a sociologist The pennant FALL 2007 Stuart, Fountain Pens and Pencils: More › › › 48 47 Out of Balance, from › › › 17 The Other Walter, from › › › 21 Still other nibs are embarrassingly poor in their final finish: they may Charles K. Lovejoy, then of the Roslindale section of Boston, to replace feel rough or uneven when drawn across the page in certain directions. It Sypher. Lovejoy supplied a number of designs for Moore pens, the most would seem that the manufacturers of these nibs have failed to spend the important of which were a series of design patents, numbers D140,695, few minutes necessary for their final adjustment. D140,696 and D140,697, for Moore’s answer to the Parker 51, the Also attendant upon the neglect of the nib is the failure of modern pen Fingertip pen (Fig. 8). manufacturers to explore fully the revival of the flexible nib—that missing From 1929 until 1950, link between the modern fountain pen and the quill. The flexible nib is a Walter Cushing contin- part of our cultural heritage that is worthy of revival as a tool of practical ued to make his way from utility for the production of written material with a unique personality. If his home in Medford to the fountain pen re-personalizes the art of alphanumerical data entry and his office at 63 Franklin communication, then the flexible nib represents the ultimate in such re- Street, Boston. On personalization. It reflects the writer’s personality and emotional state as Cushing’s 90th birthday does nothing else: Almost every word formed by a flexible nib is a poten- (right), Sept. 15, 1947, the tial “emoticon” unto itself—except that the subtlety and art that such nibs 63 Franklin Street shop exhibit far surpass the crude and debased attempts at expressivity that such was the scene of a party “emoticons” bring to electronic communication. attended by most of his Those who grew up in the era of the ballpoint pen’s hegemony and have remaining colleagues. On never known a world in which the fountain pen was the standard hand-held Sept. 6, 1950, just nine data recording machine may not be aware of such matters as those that I days short of his 93rd have outlined above. Their ignorance discourages pen manufacturers from birthday, Walter Cushing died. His funeral was held at Medford’s going to the trouble and expense of addressing these problems. I suspect that First Baptist Church, where he had been deacon emeritus. Walter F. Cushing at age 90. the scarcity of true extra-fine nibs and the lack of quality control that one The Moore Pen Company didn’t long outlive Cushing. The com- sometimes encounters may stem in part from such ignorance. I also suspect pany resisted entering the ballpoint rush following the introduction of that the more successfully pen manufacturers address these issues, the more the Reynolds pen in 1945. The Fingertip pen was not even as great a secure and widespread will be the fountain pen’s modern revival: for if the success as the Eversharp Fifth Avenue, and Charles Lovejoy departed aesthetic appeal of a fountain pen as an objet d’art is seductive, then the com- for Scripto in Atlanta before the dimensions of its failure became bination of such appeal with the tactile pleasure and eminent practicality of a fully evident. The company limped along primarily with sales of The well set-up fountain pen is well-nigh irresistible. ✍ Specialist, a cheap, steel-nibbed pen, one model of which borrowed some styling from the unpopular Waterman Taperite. In 1956, even All rights reserved by the author. as the Waterman Pen Corner in Boston was closing up, the Moore Pen Company ended production and faded into history, though it still What Pens Can Tell Us, from › › › 48 stands as the best and most widely remembered monument to the force and vision of Walter Foster Cushing. ✍ The Golden Age of Writing Instruments, Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 1989; Foucault, Michel, Les Mots et les Choses—Une Archéologie des All rights reserved by the author. Sciences Humaines, Paris, 1966; Hinrich, Sally, “Local Focus: Israeli Pen Acknowledgements: Club”, The Pennant, Vol. XVI, No.2; Klein, Naomi, No Logo—Taking “The Boston Safety Saga,” L. Michael Fultz and Patricia Lotfi. Pen Aim at the Brand Bullies, Canada: Vintage, 2002; Lambrou, Andreas, World, V. XVI, No. 5, April–May, 2003. Fountain Pens of the World; Essex: Classic Pens, 1998; Latour, Bruno, “Welty on His Way,” L. Michael Fultz, Pen World, V. XVII, No. 4, La Science en Action; Paris: La Découverte, 1989 ; 2005; Martini, Feb.–March, 2004. Regina, Pens and Pencils: A Collector’s Handbook, Revised 3rd Edition, 50th Anniversary history of the Boston Stationers’ Association. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2001; Petruci, Armando, “La Historia Della Additional material for this biography comes from letters to the Penna”, in: Dragoni & Fichera, op. cit., 1998; Randel, Dov & Jonathan author from Henry P. van de Bogert III, Mr. Cushing’s grandson, and Donahave, (2003), “Celebrating 4th of July with Golden Age of American notes for a narrative autobiography by Walter Cushing, a partial pho- Pens at Kibbutz Gaash,” Pentrace Article 349, 2003; Schwartz, Abe, “Pen tocopy of which is in the author’s collection. Collecting As I Remember It,” The Pennant, Vol. XIV, No. 2, pp. 4 –5; Credits: Pens in Figs. 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 courtesy of Ross McKinney, photos Steinberg, Jonathan, Fountain Pens, Philadelphia: Courage Books, 1994. by Tom Rehkopf. 48 FALL 2007 The pennant PCA Opening Notes From the President I Farewell and thank you In an effort to allow our editorial staff just a little time off, the winter issue is actually being assembled in August. This will free the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend with friends, shopkeepers and grandchildren. Having said that by way of background, it seems a little strange to write my farewell president’s column so early. In reality, the winter message would normally be written by the incoming president. Since we won’t know who that is for several months, I get one more opportunity. My first opportunity is to thank the entire board for their support and hard work. While we had our moments of disagreement, the year was one of careful consideration, a bit of give and take and most of all keeping the membership foremost in our minds. I very much need to thank Rick Propas for shouldering much of my load, for being the kind of board member who helped me see both sides of a question, and most of all for working out in the gym all those mornings. That came in very handy when he had to “push” me, which he did quite often. Thanks also are due to all of those people who worked so hard on our Pens for Kids projects. We had them all over the country this year. Each one of them was well received both by the students and the teachers involved. The PCA put fountain pens in the hands of a lot of children this year. We’ll hope they will grow up to know the joy of using a fountain pen and perhaps even be pen collectors themselves. To all of you who developed programs, gave presentations, donated pens and ink, and contributed financially, the PCA would like to say a very big thank you. The biggest challenge as I see it for the new board is to grow our membership. While we are at a self-sustaining level, many of the new programs require a larger pool of really active members. Rather than reach a membership of 4,000 who pay their dues for a year or two and then disappear, it would be nice to see 1,500 members who want to participate on a continuing basis. The pen collecting community can well support a PCA membership of 1,500. I leave office with a sense of some accomplishment. A sense of emptiness because not being on the board will leave a void in my life, but also a hope that I can once again become more active in some hands-on “doing.” Hope to see all of you at the PCA table at one of the pen shows. It has been an honor. Thank you. Dan Reppert, President The pennant FALL 2007 49 PCA Oohci oa P en L l P e nS hCol w ubs Join a Club Looking to network with fellow pen collectors? Check out a local pen club. Not listed here? Email your club information including contact name, email and phone number to: info@pencollectors.com Richmond Pen Club Contact: Sam Marshall richmondpenclub@marshall-assoc.com D.C. Metro Pen Club Contact: Harry Shubin shubin@mwzb.com Ph: 703.812.5306 New Orleans Pen Club Contact: Thomas Bickham tbickiii@hotmail.com Ph: 225.677.9448 Florida Pen Collectors Club Contact: Giovanni Abrate www.tryphon.it/fpc fpc@tryphon.it North Texas Fountain Pen Collectors Contact: Lowell Lindsey llindsey@verizon.net Kansas City Pen Club Contact: Dennis Bowden sales@parkvillepen.com Ottawa Fountain Pen Society Contact: George Cornwall bignib@ottawafountainpensociety.org www.ottawafountainpensociety.org Las Vegas Pen Club Contact: Debbie Lambert decula2@earthlink.net Pan Pacific Pen Club, N. California Contact: Mark Helfen pppc@marketfire.com Long Island Pen Club Contact: Nancy Handy nhandy@optonline.com Philadelphia Pen Collectors Group Contact: Robert Mand rmand@philadelphiapens.com www.philadelphiapens.com Michigan Pen Collectors Contact: C. Eric Fonville fonville@comcast.net michpens.com Minnesota Pen Club Francis Bulbulian Ph: 615.645.2460 M Portland Pen Club Contact: Carla Mortensen carla_mortensen@hotmail.com Research Triangle Pen Club Contact: Ross McKinney ross@rosspens.com Deb Kinney kinney@law.duke.edu St. Louis Area Pen Club Contact: Bruce Mindrup brucem@gtec.com or Jake Leventhal jakespens@earthlink.net Seattle Pen Club Contact: George Long george.long1@comcast.net Ph: 206.365.5998 Southeast Pen Collectors Club Contact: Mark Bacas mbacas@gmail.com Southern California Pen Collectors Club Contact: John King Tarpinian jkt@earthlink.net Fred Krinke fredspen@yahoo.com Tampa Bay Pen Enthusiasts Contact: Ray Roewert rroewert1@tampabay.rr.com Ph: 727.743.8890 PayPal Now Available for PCA Membership I It is now easier than ever to join the PCA You can make Gift subscriptions are also available for that special pen per- your choice of a one- or three-year membership and simply click son. Indicate this is a gift subscription in your comments and on the PayPal button to make your membership payment. Go to we will include a gift card at no additional cost. Your recipient the PCA website (pencollectors.com), click on “Join PCA,” then will receive all three issues for 2007 plus two of the most recent “Join Today.” back issues. Whether you are in the U.S. or anywhere worldwide, you may With all new membership applications you should complete now conveniently submit your membership without the expense of the application form and mail to Pen Collectors of America, international money orders or bank drafts. Roger Wooten, Treasurer, P.O. Box 174, Garden Prairie IL In an effort to attract new, younger members to the PCA, we 50 61038-0174. are also introducing a new Youth Rate. If you are 18 or younger, New members joining now will receive all three issues of your rate is one-half the normal membership: $20 for one year. Spring, Summer and Winter for 2007, plus two of the latest back This rate is available for U.S. membership only. issues of The Pennant. FALL 2007 The pennant PCA Coming in the next issue of The Pennant F Mr ioam m it h P e nS tSahcokw s NEW MODERN CATALOGS by Dan Reppert, PCA Librarian Don’t you wish the local jewelry store had saved its 1922 Waterman catalog so you could have bought it when the grandson finally sold the building in 1998? Alas, it did not, you did not and therefore you could not donate it to the PCA Library. The PCA and its library will be around for many years. It therefore is Diamond Dreams, Part II not inappropriate that we start collecting items now that will be sought after in 25 years. We have received a large stack of modern catalogs that will Pens for Kids be placed in the library while they grow gray whiskers. Here they are: Tech Notes Handwriting 2000 Conway Stewart Sales brochure 26 pgs Trifold envelope style holder with 12 1/3 pg. sheets showing individual styles. More Memorabilia Nettuno 2006 Sales portfolio 46 pgs Portfolio with two small brochures and one large sell sheet. …and much, much more Delta ???? Adolphe Sax LE 14 pgs Brochure for the limited-edition SAX offering from Delta. Delta 2000 Sales Brochure (Newton) 12 pgs Brochure for the limited-edition Newton from Delta Delta 2003 Sales brochure 18 pgs Indigenous peoples—American Indian 2000 Delta Sales brochure Y2K 12 pgs. Brochure for the TREND pen from Delta Contributors Wanted! Have you been thinking about writing an article Delta 2000 Erroneously advertised as 8 pgs the first year of the new century and leap year (366), this catalog is for the vintage 366 collection about vintage fountain pens? Have a great photograph you'd love to share with your fellow pen collectors? We'd love to hear from you. Contact the Pen Collectors of America at info@pencollectors.com The pennant FALL 2007 These modern catalogs are in color. If you wish black and white copies for informational purposes, the 15-cents-per-copy price prevails. If you want color copies, please contact me. There are some beautiful modern pens here. A century from now, some of them may be Parker Snakes. 51 PCA Upcoming Shows Location and dates may be subject to change; please contact the show organizers to verify information below. The PCA keeps an up-to-date listing of current and pending U.S. pen shows on the PCA website: www.pencollectors.com, courtesy of Susan Wirth. Philadelphia Pen Show Boston Pen Show DC Supershow Los Angeles Pen Show Chicago Pen Show Dallas Pen Show Arkansas Pen Show Research Triangle Pen Show NYC/NJ Pen Show Long Island Pen Show Portland Pen Show Jan. 18–20, 2008 Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Jim Rouse, 410.539.7367 April 13, 2008 Holiday Inn Somerville Rob Morrison, 828.298.0331 Feb. 14–17, 2008 Marriott Manhattan Beach Boris Rice, 281.496.7152 August 7–10, 2008 Sheraton Premiere Tyson’s Corner Bob Johnson, 874.963.3834 May 1-4, 2008 Westin O’Hare Don Lavin, 847.272.2745 Mar. 7–8, 2008 Herritage Hall, Little Rock Danny Fudge, 479.858.6450 June 5–7, 2008 Embassy Suites, Cary, NC Terry Mawhorter, 614.619.5025 Mar. 14–16, 2008 Hofstra University Terry Brack, 631.642.7197 July 11–13 2008 Embassy Suites Downtown Carla Mortensen, 503.282.0020 Atlanta Pen Show Miami Pen Show Apr. 4–6, 2008 Crowne Plaza, Perimeter NW Boris Rice, 281.496.7152 July 18–20, 2008 The Biltmore, Coral Gables Jim Rouse, 410.539.7367 Sept. 3–4, 2008 Holiday Inn Select Pete Kirby, 972.529.6364 Sept. 19–21, 2008 Doubletree Newark Hofstra University Mary Ann & Steve Zucker 718.434.3713 Ohio Pen Show Nov. 6–9, 2008 Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin Terry Mawhorter, 740.454.2314 Show organizers are encouraged to submit show details for this column to the editor. P. C . A P e n S h o w S u p p o r t e r s The PCA expresses its gratitude to the sponsors of the following pen shows for graciously donating table space. Thanks for your generosity! Philadelphia • Bert Oser and Jim Rouse Raleigh • Sonya and Terry Mawhorter Los Angeles • Boris Rice, Stan Pfeiffer, and Chris Odgers Miami • Bert Oser and Jim Rouse Great Southeastern • Jimmy Dolive and Boris Rice Portland • Carla Mortensen New England • Rob Morrison Ohio • Sonya and Terry Mawhorter Chicago • Michael Fultz, Daniel Zazove, Donald Lavin Michigan • Michigan Pen Collectors Club Pennant Back Issues Back issues of The Pennant are available. Most are photocopies. All are $10 each + $5 postage and handling in the U.S. per order, overseas postage will vary. All requests for reprints should be addressed to: Dan Reppert, PCA Librarian, PCA Library, P.O. Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627-0447; e-mail: wasp1908@mchsi.com 52 1993—March, July, October 1998—Spring, Fall 2003—Spring, Winter, Winter 1994—February, May, August 1999—Spring, Fall, Winter 2004—Spring/Winter, Winter 1995—Spring/Winter, Fall/Winter 2000—Spring, Fall, Winter 2005—Spring/Winter, Winter 1996—Spring, Winter/Fall 2001—Spring, Fall, Winter 2006—Spring, Summer, Winter 1997—Spring, Winter 2002—Spring, Winter, Winter 2007—Spring, Summer FALL 2007 The pennant P PC CA A Miam n eSr s hh o iw Mi ePme b p Special MEMBERSHIP LEVELS President’s Circle Level Members at special sponsor levels will receive certificates redeem- $150 per year able for classified ads and library reprints at time of redemption. Six issues of The Pennant (two of each issue) Certificates will be included in Sponsor Packet. The PCA membership year runs from January–December. Two free classified ads Complimentary PCA Lapel Pin Membership renewal notices are sent each November to those due to Fifty pages of reprints from PCA Library renew. If you join the PCA between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, your mem- Acknowledgement of sponsorship, bership is automatically extended through the following year. each issue of The Pennant As a current member, don't forget to send any updated personal Certificate Of Sponsorship information to info@pencollectors.com. If you've moved, changed Sponsor Level your name, changed your email, added a FAX line, or made any $75 per year other changes, it will not be correct in the listings unless you tell Three issues of The Pennant us! We are pleased to offer membership levels with added bene- Two free classified ads fits. As a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, the PCA is only Complimentary PCA Lapel Pin as good as the support it receives. Your contributions keep The Ten pages of reprints from PCA Library Pennant arriving on your doorstep three times a year, help support Acknowledgement of sponsorship in the PCA projects and enable the PCA to continue to grow and each issue of The Pennant improve. When you renew your membership this year, we hope Certificate Of Sponsorship you’ll consider one of our special new membership levels, which Regular Membership, U.S. are detailed at the left. Even if your membership is not up for $40, 1 year; or $105, 3 years renewal, it’s easy to upgrade to one of the special membership lev- Three issues of The Pennant els—simply drop us a line or email us at: info@pencollectors.com. One free classified ad Thanks for your support! Access to library, $.15 per page Regular Membership Outside U.S. $60/1 year or, $150/3 years 3 issues of The Pennant 1 free classified ad Access to library, $.15 per page Corporate Sponsors BEXLEY STYLUS magazine 2840-B Fisher Street, Columbus OH, 43204 614.351.9988 Fine Life Media Suite 2-E, 363 Reef Road Fairfield, CT 06824 203.259.8100 Fax 203.259.0847 Sanford North America Parker, Waterman, Rotring, Sensa 2711 Washington Blvd Bellwood, IL 60104 800.323.0749 Levenger 420 South Congress Avenue Delray Beach, FL 33445 561.276.2436 The PCA invites pen manufacturers and wholesale pen distributors to be a Corporate Sponsor of the Pen Collectors of America. Contact Dan Reppert for details: info@pencollectors.com. The pennant FALL 2007 53 PCA Contributors Rob Astyk has been using fountain Inkpen opened for business. He is currently on lection remains largely unfocused,” he says pens for over 50 years and the Board of Directors of the PCA. proudly, “except of course for brown Parker collecting them for nearly Anna lawson has used and col- “51”s, which you can never have enough of.” 30, meanwhile researching lected fountain pens since childhood, which is Dan reppert collects off-brand their history. He wrote the a long way away at this point. A writer as well Sheaffers such as Univer, first history of the Moore as an irascible hermit, she keeps a pile of rocks W.A.S.P., and Craig. He beside her door to throw at intruders. is president and librarian in 1981. He is the father of three daughters and david moak remembers Sheaffer of the PCA. He worked grandfather of six, a New Englander now trans- cartridge pens f rom for Sheaffer for over 12 planted to Bellingham, Wash. his school days. His re- years, and is currently Paul Bloch is a semi-retired Texan. acquaintance with foun- involved in historic building renovation in He has maintained a small tain pens came when his Fort Madison. pen collection for about 50 wife Mary Jane taught him Bruce Speary has been collect- years, and, today, has a spe- a simple calligraphic hand. ing pens and watches for cial interest in retractables. His collection gradually centered on Mabie, 15 years. Ten years ago he He and Marybeth live Todd (& Bard). He researched and produced became a full time antique near Fort Worth and enjoy Pen Company, published Mabie in America, the definitive work on the dea ler when he found Texas music, food and weather. U.S. company. himself suddenly unem- Victor Chen recently retired from Ronald Pohoryles directs ployed. He now has more his position as Professor of two European social sci- time to do pen research History at Chabot College. ence research centers in and collect his favorite pen, the Paul E Wirt. Chen continues his Tech Vienna and Paris. He has Sherrell Tyree is a human Notes column, a regular a scientific interest in the resources professional in feature in The Pennant. pen development industry Overland Park, Kan. and as a case study for early has been a pen user and Ron Dutcher is proprietor of globalization. The force behind his passion lover since the second Kamakura Pens in Japan. He says that since he for pens was his father's beautiful Montblanc g rade (she never liked often suffers from insomnia, he uses his night- Meisterstück, which he much admired as a ballpoints). She has been time hours to research pens rather than watch young boy but was never allowed to touch. conditioning her own pens all that time. She Japanese late night television. Rick Propas is vice president of the and brother Joel Hamilton have been in the Kate Gladstone teaches and PCA and the sole propri- repair and related fountain pen business for remediates handwriting etor of PENguin, a website several years (Inkpen). internationally, working for fountain pen collectors Daniel Waitzman grew up in and traveling from her that focuses on Parkers, NYC and earned a Master's home in Albany, NY. To Pelikans and other German degree in Musicology from better help left-handers, and American pens. To Columbia. An ASCAP she taught herself to write support his hobby he is a United States history and Concert Artists Guild professor at San Jose State University. Award winner, and recipi- left-handed. Joel Hamilton has been collecting tom rehkopf is a computer sys- ent of a Solo Recitalist's fountain pens while working tem architect in Atlanta, Fellowship Award from the NEA, he has per- in the Juvenile Justice system Ga. He has written formed throughout the U.S. and Canada as in New Mexico Collecting several articles for The soloist and chamber musician on modern and led to repairing his own pens Pennant, and has been historical flutes and recorders. He has won sev- and upon retiring from NM collecting pens for over eral awards for his musical compositions and is State Government in 1999, fifteen years. “My col- the author of The Art of Playing the Recorder. 54 FALL 2007 The pennant PCA Pen Repair Pen repair directoryINKPEN VINTAGE FOUNTAIN PENS BROADWAY PENS BRAD KNAPP 456 S. Broadway, Lebanon, OH 45036 Home: 513.932.2220 • Work: 513.932.6070 FAX: 513.932.9988 bknapp@go-concepts.com • www.broadwaypens.com Repairs most brands including Parker Button Fill($20) and Vacs($25); Sheaffer Snorkels($25); Sheaffer and Wahl Plunger Fillers($30). FOUNTAIN PEN HOSPITAL 10 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007 800.253.7367 • 212.964.0580 • FAX: 212.227.5916 Website: fountainpenhospital.com Email: info@fountainpenhospital.com Repairs & restorations for all pen makes, models and filling mechanisms. THE FOUNTAIN PEN RECYCLER MIKE CARTER Mail: P.O. Box 28083 Store: 7000 57th Ave. N., Ste. 103, Crystal, MN 55428 Home: 763.434.7921 Work: 763.535.1599 FAX: 763.535.1892 Email: carterinx@aol.com • website: fountainpenrecycler.com Repairs to all makes and models.Repairs on most vintage pens, including Sheaffer vacs–fast turnaround, excellent communication. RICHARD BINDER 31 Fairmount Street, Nashua, NH 03064-2523 Phone: 603.882.5384 Email: richard@richardspens.com • Website: richardspens.com Expert, respectful repairs on modern and vintage pens, including celluloid and safe reblackening of hard rubber. Nib adjustment and repair, retipping and regrinding, custom modification including adding or increasing flex. GALLERY 9926 RON MELOCHE 9926 Maine Ave.,Lakeside, Ca. 92040 Phone: 619.316.6577 Email: rmelo12089@cox.net Repairs on most pens including Parker and Sheaffer vacs as well as snorkels. Minor nib repair-straightening and smoothing. All work guaranteed. PENTIQUES.COM AARON SVABIK PO Box 2866, Youngstown, OH 44511 Phone: 330-507-PENS(7367) Email: Aaron@pentiques.com Website: www.pentiques.com Fastest turnaround anywhere. Superior customer service. Repairing all models including exotic filling systems. Specialize in plastic crack repair, lever replacement, reblacking. Extensive parts inventory. One year warranty on all work. PENOPOLY ROGER CROMWELL & VICTOR CHEN 1271 Washington Avenue, PMB 598, San Leandro, CA 94577 Email: roger@penopoly.com • Website: penopoly.com Phone: 510-415-9080 Restoration and repairs on all makes and models. The pennant FALL 2007 JOEL R. HAMILTON 1602 Arizona Avenue, Alamogordo, NM 88310 Phone: 575.437.8118 • Email: inkpen5326@aol.com SHERRELL TYREE 10009 Roe Avenue, Overland Park, Kansas 66207 Phone: 913.642.3216 Email: st3836@swbell.net • Website: ink-pen.com Repairs on most vintage pens, including Sheaffer and Parker Vacs, PFM’s, etc. Excellent communication and all work is guaranteed. “Your Pen Is Our Priority” PEN HAVEN BERTON A. HEISERMAN & Louis wofsy 3730 Howard Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895 Home: Berton, 301.365.4452; Louis, 703.323.1922 Work: 301.929.0955 • Fax: 301.365.4750 Website: thepenhaven.com Email: bheiserman@comcast.net, or lwofsy@cox.net Specialties: Total restoration to all models. Plastic crack repairs. Replace bands, rings and crowns, Waterman 100 Yr. barrel ends and cap-tops. Plating. THE SOUTHERN SCRIBE RICK HORNE 1868 Mt. Meigs Road, Montgomery, AL 36106 Home: 334.263.4169 • Work: 334.263.4169 • FAX: 334.263.4169 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST Monday thru Friday Email: penfix@thesouthernscribe.com Website: thesouthernscribe.com Expert repair on Eyedroppers to Snorkels, difficult & unusual repairs including cracks, goldplating, black hard rubber color restoration, mother of pearl and abalone panel replacement. Now re-tipping nibs. CLASSIC FOUNTAIN PENS JOHN MOTTISHAW 717 N. Highland Ave. Loft #27, Los Angeles, CA 90038 323.655.2641 Email: sales@nibs.com • Website: nibs.com Classic Fountain Pens specializes in nib repair and customization, including crack repair and re-tipping, to the writing style of your choice. We also make subtle adjustments to nibs, increasing flexibility and altering ink flow characteristics. We do these processes to new and vintage pens, when appropriate. For more information see the repair page on our web site: www. nibs.com or call or email. Y Advertise your pen repair service in The Pennant’s Pen Repair Directory. Your listing reaches nearly 2,000 members three times annually. $75 for three consecutive issues. Mail, fax or email your listing. Please include your name, address, phone number, e-mail and a brief description of your repair services. PCA—Pen Repair Directory P.O. Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627 Fax: 319.372.0882 or email: Terry Mawhorter, AdvertisingManager, tmawhorter@columbus.rr.com 55 PCA PCA Contributor guidelines Board of Directors The Pennant invites you to submit articles of interest to the PCA membership. Contributions should be submitted as email attachments, on floppy disk or on CD, using standard word processing software. Articles: We welcome articles dealing with pen collecting, writing instruments, pen manufacturers, ephemera, news about your recent finds, and Letters to the Editor. The Pennant “Author’s Guidelines” document is available upon request, and members of the editorial staff and PCA Board are available to assist you. Submit your article in Microsoft Word. Please do not use auto-numbering or imbed your images in your text file. Illustrations/Photos: When submitting images, be certain that they are scanned at no less than 300 pixels per inch. Photos look best on a non-reflective white background (lucite is good and foam board works well). Images may be submitted as email attachments or on CD as JPG images. We cannot use images imbedded in text documents or spreadsheets. Deadlines: Available on request. Contributions are subject to editorial review and should be sent to: PCA, Attn: Editor, The Pennant, PO Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627-0447 or via email to: info@pencollectors.com. The PCA Board Linda Bauer Dennis Bowden Dan Carmell Bill Hong Bruce Mindrup Rick Propas Joel Hamilton Dan Reppert lbauer@prairienet.org drblaw@kc.rr.com dcarmell@earthlink.net WHong@ida.org brucem@gtec.com rickpropas@comcast.com 575.437.8118 inkpen5326@aol.com 319.372.3730 wasp1908@mchsi.com AnnMarie Hautaniemi 607.257.8502 fpinks@lightlink.com _______________ All opinions expressed in The Pennant are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the PCA, its directors, or members. M arket place 51 DENT REMOVAL: Help me pay for my new tools. RESTORATION: The Write Pen restores your foun- Send me your Parker 51 cap for basic dent removal. Email for tain pens. Fastest turnaround in the business. References avail- special price. MLKIRK@SBCGLOBAL.NET able. www.thewritepen.net Remember the Arkansas Pen Show, FOR SALE: Beautiful all Sterling Silver Parker 51 Israel March 7 and 8, 2008, Little Rock. LE from dovrandel@yahoo.com , tel: +972 52 242 5784 Each WANTED: Camel(New Jersey made) pens, pencils, ads, handcrafted by A. Kullock. Also available in all stainless steel parts and ephemera. Reasonable prices paid. Email thomas73@ or Sterling Cap/resin, $350-550. http://tinyurl.com/2e3oac aol.com or call 215-817-8273 WANTED: Parker Ink Tablets. Looking for the WW1-era WANTED: Conklins and Conklin ephemera. Have many tablets, in either tubes or a box of tubes. Please contact John Conklin parts available, sell or trade. Repairs and restoration, Danza at jdanza@wideopenwest.com most brands. Contact Pete Kirby at conrad.kirby@sbcglobal.net 972-529-6364 • Buy • Sell • Trade in The Pennant Marketplace. Your classified ad reaches over 2,000 pen enthusiasts. PCA members are entitled to one or more free classifieds annually based on membership level. Free ad may be up to 25 words in length. Marketplace ads $.50 per word. Deadlines for publication: Feb. 15, June 15 and Oct. 15. Mail to: PCA Marketplace, P.O.Box 447, Fort Madison, IA 52627 or FAX to 319.372.0882 or email: Terry Mawhorter, Advertising Mgr. tmawhorter@columbus.rr.com 56 FALL 2007 The pennant The Twentieth Los Angeles International Pen Show February 14–17, 2008 (President's Day Weekend) • Vintage and Modern Pens • Limited Editions • Inks • Reference Books • Inkwells • Papers and more Ballroom open: at 8 am, Thursday, Friday, Saturday for Table Sharing, Weekend Traders Welcome to Exhibit Public Show: Sunday February 17, 10 am to 5 pm Manhattan Beach Marriott 1400 Parkview Ave. @ Rosecrans & Parkway Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 310-546-7511 Fax 310.546.7520 Pen Show Rate: $134/night Make Reservations by Jan. 19 Info: 281.496.7152 E-mail: LAPenShow@gmail.com Details at www.LAPenShow.com STYLUS The pennant Co-sponsors: DELTA MONTEVERDE FALL 2007 57 Early filligree overlays, and hard rubber pens, vintage and modern maki-e, limited editions, and other fine fountain pens Rare Waterman 516 14K Solid Gold Filligree circa 1910 Tel. 757.425.2162 • FAX 757.425.2165 Toll free: 888.340.7367 1560 Laskin Rd. #158, Virginia Beach, VA, 23451 58 FALL 2007 The pennant The Writing Equipment Society Journal is published in England and covers the history and development of writing equipment. For just $65 a year you will receive three colourful issues of the Journal packed with information and gain easy access to the 600 members who are collectors and dealers in the U.K. and Europe. To become a member of the Society, contact: membership@wesonline.org.uk membership@wesonline.org.uk www.wesonline.org.uk Ohio Pen Show A premier vintage Pen show Nov. 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2008 Exceptional Pre-Show Buying ✒ 40+ Tables Thursday, 159 Tables Friday Vintage Pen Auctions ✒ Seminars, Workshops & Parties Featuring Long Time Exhibitors ✒ Many Exclusive To The Ohio Show! Public Show 159 Tables Saturday and Sunday Vintage and modern pens, inkwells, and a full range of pen related items Crown Plaza Hotel • Dublin, Ohio ( 614.764.2200 or toll-free 866.372.5566) Weekend Registration: $50 (Includes Significant Other And/Or Child) Terry and Sonya Mawhorter, Show Organizers Phone 614.619.5025 ✒ www.ohiopenshow.com Show Patrons The pennant Bexley Pen Co. Nibs.com FALL 2007 PenWorld Magazine pentrace.com Pendemonium Stylus Magazine 59 Pen Haven 3730 Howard Ave • Kensington, MD 20895 The Southern Scribe Expert Pen Repair Photos on my Website • Vintage Pens Sold Single Pieces & Collections Purchased & Appraised Now re-tipping nibs in-house with 4–6 weeks 9–5 CST • Monday–Friday turnaround www.thesouthernscribe.com Rick Horne • 334.263.4169 1868 Mt. Meigs Road • Montgomery, AL 36107 Open: Sat–Sun, 12 p.m.–5 p.m. 301.929.0955 Consignments Wanted For Vintage Fountain Pens & Accessories Berton A. Heiserman 301.365.4452 Louis Wofsy • 703.323.1922 Email bheiserman@comcast.net, or lwofsy@cox.net www.thepenhaven.com Call now or email to discuss consigning quality vintage pens, groups of pen parts and pen related ephemera Ohio Pen Show Auctions Fax 301.365.4750 Professional Repair & Restoration November 6 and 8, 2008 Limited space available Terry Mawhorter 614.619.5025 Email: tmawhorter@columbus.rr.com 5th Research Triangle Raleigh/Durham /Chapel Hill, N.C. Pen Show June 5, 6, 7 and 8, 2008 Vintage Parts Exchange Thursday 30 tables Thursday (beginning at 10 am) • 90 tables Public Days • June 6–8 Vintage Pen Auction Saturday June 7 Vintage and modern pens • Full range of pen items • Seminars • Workshops Embassy suites hotel • Cary, north Carolina (Raleigh suburb) call 1.800.embassy or 919.677.1840 free hot breakfast and evening reception included in room rate with free airport shuttle Full-show admission: $40 (includes all events beginning Thursday for you and significant other) Terry & Sonya Mawhorter, show organizers www.raleighpenshow.com • Phone: 614.619.5025 Show Patrons SharonLuggage.com 60 Bexley Pen Swisherpens.com Sailor Pen Stylus Magazine Franklin-Christoph FALL 2007 The pennant Tuesday–Friday, 9–4. Most Saturdays 10–3. Call to Verify. The Pen Mechanic Repairs, most makes of vintage fountain pens & pencils Specializing in Waterman’s Rivet Clips and 100-Year Pen Barrel End replacements. Reasonable rates and fast turnaround. Bill Enderlin 301.585.0600 P.O. Box 197, Kensington, MD 20895 Todd Nussbaum P.O. Box 32166 Mesa, AZ 85275 Email: pen-king2@cox.net Website: www.isellpens.com E-mail: thepenmech@aol.com Are You Looking for the Perfect Gift for a Favorite Pen Collector? Consider a Gift Membership in the PCA Now you can give a gift that will inform, delight and remind someone you know that you are thinking of them everyday of the year! Complete all of the requested information below, print clearly and send this form, along with your check or money order, made payable to: Pen Collectors of America, Attn: Roger Wooten, PCA Treasurer P.O. Box 174 • Garden Prairie, IL 61038-0174 Please send a Gift Membership for (check one): Inside the U.S.: Outside the U.S.: n One year $40 U.S. n One year $60 U.S. n three years $105 U.S. n three years $150 US Send membership to: Name of Gift Recipient_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mailing Address_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ City _ _________________________________________ State/Province ___________ Country _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Postal/Zip Code_ ________________________________ Email _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone (______)_ ________________________________ FAX (______)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Gift card message _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Check this box if this name should be omitted from publication as a PCA member. n Your Name_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Mailing Address_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ City___________________________________________ State/Province___________ Country _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Postal/Zip Code_ ________________________________ Email_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone (______)_ ________________________________ FAX (______)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The pennant FALL 2007 61 The Long Island Pen show Now in its Second Year Friday & Saturday, March 14-15, 2008 Hofstra University, Hempstead, LI, NY Featuring: Over 80 tables of Vintage and Modern Pens Pen Paraphernalia, Inks, Paper, Pen Wraps & more Nib work by Richard Binder of www.richardspens.com Repairs by Ron Zorn of www.mainstreetpens.com Free Parking & Convenient Abundant Food and Beverages on site Stay at the Nearby Long Island Marriott Hotel 516-794-3800 Weekend Trader Registration only $20.00 (includes one guest and table space Fri., 8 am-12 noon & Sat. 8 am-10 am) Organizers: Mike Bloom 516-502-5005 & Terry Brack 631-235-4690 www.LIpenshow.com TIRED OF DEALING WITH THE UNKNOWN ON THE INTERNET? How about internet prices on a vintage pen list? If you're not on our mailing list, you should be! THE FOUNTAIN PEN RECYCLER • OLDEST CONTINUALLY PUBLISHED VINTAGE PEN LIST IN THE U.S. • FULL-SERVICE RETAIL PEN STORE • VINTAGE PEN REPAIR & RESTORATION Mike Carter, owner Celebrating our 17th year! 7000 57th Ave North, Ste 103 • P.O. Box 28083 Crystal, MN 55428 Tel. 763.535.1599 Web: fountainpenrecycler.com Email: carterinx@aol.com 62 •OF ThEPhiladelphia • Pen Show January 25, 26 & 27, 2008 Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel 17th & Race Streets Just off I-676 Phone: 215.448.2000 Vintage Pens-Modern Pens Seminars-Workshops Pen Repair On Site PUBLIC INVITED ALL THREE DAYS 10 am EACH DAY DOOR PRIZES DAILY Contact: Jim Rouse BERTRAM'S INKWELL 410.539.7367 or 443.790.3103 EMAIL: jimrouse@bertramsinkwell.com www.philadelphiapenshow.com SHOW SPONSORS: AURORA OMAS LIBELLE STYLUS MAGAZINE FALL 2007 The pennant Inkpen Vintage Fountain Pens ™ Sales • Search • Purchase Repairs on most vintage pens including Parker and Sheaffer vacs. Excellent communication All work guaranteed Joel Hamilton 575.437.8118 inkpen5326@aol.com Sherrell Tyree 913.642.3216 st3836@swbell.net Visit our website www.ink-pen.com “Your Pen is Our Priority!” Fine Fountain Pens & Writing Supplies Norman G. Haase hisnibs@hisnibs.com www.hisnibs.com Phone: 510.415.9080 The pennant FALL 2007 63 Society of Inkwell Collectors Join Us! Newsletter Convention Books & Accessories Networking P.O. Box 324 mossville, il 61552 Phone: 309.579.3040 inkwellsociety@aol.com WWW.SOIC.COM 64 FALL 2007 The pennant Fountain Pen Hospital The Showcase of Fine Writing Instruments Since 1946 World’s Largest Selection Visit our newly expanded showroom for an experience unlike any other. The world’s largest selection of contemporary, limited edition and vintage pens. Call or Email for Free pen catalog 10 Warren Street New York, NY 10007 800.253.PENS T. 212.964.0580 / F. 212.227.5916 info@fountainpenhospital.com www.fountainpenhospital.com Just click www.fountainpenhospital.com