The Parker Archives

Tony Fischier was very priviliged recently to be invited to visit the Parker Archives in Newhaven. If you are not familiar with the Archives, they contain the history of the Parker Pen Company and it's products. An astounding collection, that has been completed by the hard work of a few dedicated Parker employees, particularly Dave Ruderman, the caretaker of the archives, and others

Tony has published a fantastic account of his experience, available here on his website. Well worth a read.

Forgotten Waterman pens

I’ve recently discovered a category of pens which I’ve found a delight to use, and beautiful to look at. But, I see very few mentions of them in the pen collecting community. This may just be my perception though, and I’ll probably find quite a number of ardent Waterman specialists who will tell me otherwise!

The pen community talks about the Parker 51, Vacumatics and Duofolds, a whole range of Sheaffers, the Wahl Eversharp Skyline, Ringtops, The Waterman 52, Red Ripples, Patrician and 100 Year pen, Conway Stewart Dinkies and 58s to name but a few of the stars, but seldom talk about the Watermans of the 1940s. A time which was tough for Waterman.

What’s more interesting is you see plenty of them about on Ebay and pen selling sites. The pens I’m talking about are the English W2, W3, W5 and a few other similar pens from the same era made in the States and Canada. The pictures here show a good ol' US of A version.

I’ve now got a number of these, and I love them. I wonder if they get overlooked because they are quite functional – or they appear so in the photography of sites selling them. But in the flesh, the plastics used are wonderful. Reflective, deep, changing colour when viewed in different light. The nibs on each one of mine are a delight to use too, fine with varying degrees of flexibility and fun.

Best of all, they’re not particularly expensive. You should try one. Hmmm. Maybe this is another secret I should have kept to myself?

Covent Garden market

During my lunch hour I wandered over to the Jubilee Market at Covent Garden. I used to go there quite often in my lunch hour, but as I’ve changed jobs I’m no longer within short walking distance. So my trips there only average about once every six months. On a Monday they have an antiques market. More of a house clearance / flea market actually. There are no specialist pen sellers. There used to be one about five years back, but not any more. The collection she had were not the best quality anyway, and quite expensive. Still it did give you the opportunity to browse some fountain pens in the flesh, a rare joy in the days of the internet. There are however a few pens to be found on the general stalls. Don’t expect to find anything fantastic, I’m sure the specialists get a look at anything before it ends up here. But there are one or two more modern and slightly battered pens to pique your interest. I have bought a few pens from here, and passed on a couple that in hindsight I should have had. Ones that have made it home with me were an Eversharp demi-Skyline set in green moiré. Nice looking and boxed, but the nib was XXF and pretty scratchy. I also got a couple of Parker 51 Vacumactics, £15 for the pair. The body was blown on one, from a poorly replaced diaphragm I guess, but it did have a great gold-filled blue diamond cap which was well worth the £7.50. Today I found a teal Parker 51 special with a good broad nib and a great condition transitional Esterbrook in green for £5, my first Estie. The amusing chat with the stallholder was worth the trip alone.

There'll be tears...

This snow has made me change my going to work gear. I've put on my walking boots, Goretex jacket and, of course, some thermal underwear. I've also swapped my briefcase for a rucksack, easier to put on my back and keep my balance on the ice. I put my Lamy pen case in the front pocket which has a vertical zip down the side of the rucksack. This morning on my way into work, I realised the pen case wasn't there. A frantic rummage revealed no joy. Got into work, emptied everything out. Still no pens. Where could it be? I finished my book last night on the train home, so in the evening I had put it on the bookcase and put a fresh one in my bag. Maybe the pen case had fallen out and was on the floor? Sent my wife a text asking her to check , text back "sorry not here". So I've come to the conclusion that it must have fallen out my bag when I got off the train and put my book back in the bag. I'm sure I remember seeing it then, and I'm sure I was careful, but ... And, what pens were in there you may ask. Sadly two of my favourites. Not the usual Safari's or Lamy Studio that are my most usual companions to the office and could have been replaced easily, but a 1940's Parker Duofold AF with a beautiful cursive italic nib and a Parker 51 with the smoothest nib and most perfect ink flow I own (owned?) - all the better that I bought it for just £20 five years ago. Gutted. Oh, and my other thought as I travelled to work - I'm going to have to use a ballpoint today.

Maybe, for once, I'll get there?

For the past few years I've always had the London Writing Equiment Show and its predecessors on my calendar. But, for the past few years I've never made it (holiday, holiday, ill, busy...) Maybe this year I'll make it.... London Writing Equipment Show 12 October 2008 Kensington Town Hall, London Website: www.londonwritingequipmentshow.org.uk

Pens I want

Just a short post today to share. Anybody who is into fountain pens always has a list of pens they want, even if its not very formal. Here's my current top five:

• Pilot Myu 701
• A Conway Stewart from the 1930s
• Conway Stewart 58 with a Duro nib (An original from the 1950s, not one of the modern ones)
• Nakaya Cigar Piccolo in Black-red (the picture at the top of this post)
• A full-sized Eversharp Skyline (I did have one, but I dropped it and the body snapped - a sad day!)

It all started with a trip down memory lane

When I was 10 or 11, my Grandparents gave me a fountain pen as a present. This was during my school days and sadly it was stolen a few months afterwards. I was heartbroken. Then a few years ago, I had a desire to replace it – a desire to connect with my late Grandfather – and so began my quest.

Parker 45 GT

Having searched the web and my memory I discovered the pen was a blue, gold-trimmed Parker 45. I can even remember, quite clearly, visiting Pen Corner in Hull to have a new nib fitted. I wanted a fine and not a medium. I have a feeling I'd dropped the original too and had bent it out of shape. My search started to find just such a pen and after seeing their site on the web, a visit to Penfriend in London

I didn't find the pen I wanted there, but discovered the world of fountain pens again. The Parker 51, Duofold and Vacumatic. Manufacturers such as Waterman, Pelikan and Mont Blanc. It was the 51 that really grabbed me, amazed by the smoothness of the nib, the beauty of the object and the joy of writing with such a pen.

But, the 51s they stocked were beyond my budget for a fledgling hobby. I didn't leave empty handed though. A bargain bucket, Parker Duofold AF from the 1940s left with me - my choice for an everyday writer.

The 51 kept coming back to haunt me though. A few days later a trip to Ebay performed the release, in the shape of a 1950, medium nibbed 51 for just £20. This was closely followed by a 1930s Vacumatic, an Eversharp Skyline, a Parker Slimfold .... and thus began my passion.

A static, static site

A couple of years back, I created website on vintage fountain pens. A peculiar passion of mine, not the website but the pens. I was very keen in the first place, like many people who start out on such a journey. I had visions of creating a small but worthwhile resource. Looking at many of the topics not covered by other fountain pen websites, such as pricing, repairs, simple dating techniques, identification. I wanted it to appeal to those new to the hobby, and those who just had a passing interest. Those who may have inherited pens and wanted to know more – to create a connection with those they had inherited from, or simply to know whether said pen was worth putting on ebay. I was particularly interested in saving inherited pens from ending up in the trash, so that at least they could end-up with use collectors and users. But despite the optimistic start, the pressures of work and wanting a life away from work meant I did not have the time to add to the content of the site. I did well up until about the middle of 2006. Then my little site became a static place of static information. I didn't want this to be the case, so I've opted to switch it to a more informal repository – a blog. And, I plan to transfer much of what was useful on the old site to here. In fact, a blog is probably more in keeping with my passion. It is something that is constantly with me. I use fountain pens at work, and I sit at a desk where I have the power to constantly find ever more little titbits about my hobby through the internet. There are hundreds of site out there who do a consideraably better job than I, and of course there is the old faithful – www.fountainpennetwork.com. So from now on, its the blog for me.