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tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 09:42 AM
unedited phone shots of antique brass rat on feather openerhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/sets/72157633341935369/
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8259/8682798249_37b9b6fece_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8682798249/)
2013-04-26 11.02.01 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8682798249/) by HistoryLivesInButtonBaskets (http://www.flickr.com/people/historylivesinbuttons/), on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8683912936_24857115d9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8683912936/)
2013-04-26 11.01.34 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8683912936/) by HistoryLivesInButtonBaskets (http://www.flickr.com/people/historylivesinbuttons/), on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8683911264_63692a9d10_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8683911264/)
2013-04-26 11.00.02 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/8683911264/) by HistoryLivesInButtonBaskets (http://www.flickr.com/people/historylivesinbuttons/), on Flickr

KrazyIvan
April 26th, 2013, 09:47 AM
unedited phone shots of antique brass rat on feather openerhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/historylivesinbuttons/sets/72157633341935369/
tried to load photos directly but they were to big, so here is a link to photo host.

When you share the photos, there is a drop down where you can choose the size that gets displayed.

Nice letter opener. Is it heavy? I just have a cheap office metal thing that bends easily. Or I use my Gerber muli-tool knife blade. :p

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 09:51 AM
yes, it's as heavy, or more, than the largest chef knife in my kitchen.
(Miss Scarlet, in the library, with the letter opener ;)

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 09:56 AM
yes, it's as heavy, or more, than the largest chef knife in my kitchen.
(Miss Scarlet, in the library, with the letter opener ;)

Ivan, I retried to Insert Image, but could not find a place to resize.. where are you seeing this please?

OakIris
April 26th, 2013, 09:58 AM
I had ratties as pets for several years. Once I brought Dachshunds into my house I couldn't have rats anymore since rodents are their natural prey. Hard to have a rat on your shoulder and a mini-Dachshund in your lap - not a good combo! Anyway, I do like rats - the small, domesticated pet kind, not talking about city or swamp rats - so I really like your letter opener, pen2paper. :)

I have 2 or 3 letter openers, including one that my mother used for as long as I can remember, but I don't have any pictures of them. I need to take some and post them here when I get a chance, though none of them are as interesting and detailed as yours.

Holly

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 10:03 AM
Thanks Holly.. I beg to differ however.. they are interesting because they are yours, from your mother's era, and history. Please do share when you have the chance. My photos are just quick snaps on my phone. Because lighting here is poor I didn't even try for macro. I think the shots are clear enough to get the gist of the playfulness of some early openers.
PS, I hear you about the smart and sweet ratties... I had a Westie once, plus I observe barn owls, the best rodentcide on the planet. So I have to separate my appreciation of rodentia.

KrazyIvan
April 26th, 2013, 10:24 AM
yes, it's as heavy, or more, than the largest chef knife in my kitchen.
(Miss Scarlet, in the library, with the letter opener ;)

Ivan, I retried to Insert Image, but could not find a place to resize.. where are you seeing this please?

Here you go. Numbers are the order I clicked and where, Just make sure the BBcode radio button is selected. It is right under the number three drop down menu.:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8114/8682925201_ee585f5945_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/8682925201/)
flickr size chooser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivan_romero/8682925201/) by IvanRomero (http://www.flickr.com/people/ivan_romero/), on Flickr

OakIris
April 26th, 2013, 11:26 AM
Thanks Holly.. I beg to differ however.. they are interesting because they are yours, from your mother's era, and history. Please do share when you have the chance. My photos are just quick snaps on my phone. Because lighting here is poor I didn't even try for macro. I think the shots are clear enough to get the gist of the playfulness of some early openers.
PS, I hear you about the smart and sweet ratties... I had a Westie once, plus I observe barn owls, the best rodentcide on the planet. So I have to separate my appreciation of rodentia.

You have convinced me, tytoalba. :D I will have to wait until after work to take a picture or two, at least of my mother's letter opener.

I like owls, too, though I don't want to watch them catching and eating a rat or mouse. (Squeamish, I probably wouldn't make a good hunter, either, like to have my meat unrecognizable as a fellow animal, all nicely wrapped in plastic....)

Holly

OakIris
April 26th, 2013, 01:15 PM
Here are a couple of shots of my mother's letter opener that I took during my lunch break; the quality is not stellar but hopefully you will overlook my lack of skills as a photographer:

2152

2153

The handle is made out of sterling silver. The blade appears to be stainless steel and is unmarked. One side of the handle is marked "Sterling Denmark" and the other side is marked "Georg Jensen & Wendel A/S." (I think it says "&" anyway - can't really make it out so it might be a hallmark instead of an ampersand.) The pattern is their Cactus pattern. I do not know the exact date when it was made, but from what I have read, they didn't start using sterling silver exclusively until after 1933; I think this letter opener may be from the 1940's.

The "Wendel" on the handle is partially worn off - my mother used this almost daily for probably at least 50 years; she lived during the time when letter writing was alive and well and the main source of communication. I wonder how many of my letters she opened with it, to say nothing of the many other letters she opened and read. I regret not having written to her more often because I know how she enjoyed receiving and reading letters from friends and family. The last year or so of her life our communication was primarily via telephone and, to be honest, I have written very few letters since she died.

Holly

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 01:27 PM
OM! Georg Jensen!!! It's gorgeous Holly! You mother had fine taste.
Love Jensen pieces.
I even have a Jensen made button in my collection.
Wish you knew how she came to select this fine piece, or if it was a gift... Do you recall any comments she made?

OakIris
April 26th, 2013, 02:39 PM
OM! Georg Jensen!!! It's gorgeous Holly! You mother had fine taste.
Love Jensen pieces.
I even have a Jensen made button in my collection.
Wish you knew how she came to select this fine piece, or if it was a gift... Do you recall any comments she made?

I think it is beautiful too, and would love to see more of his (or the company's) vintage work; this is the only piece that I have. And I did not know the company made buttons - that's pretty cool that you have one! The company is actually still in existence, as you probably know, but, like Bailey, Biddle & Banks, I don't think they are the same fine company they once were. (Although at least they didn't get bought out by Zales like B B & B did. :rolleyes: )

Sadly, I don't remember talking to my mother about the letter opener. I can not remember a time when she did not have it. She may well have had it before I was born, but I really can't be sure. That was a very long time ago! One of the many things I wish we had discussed, now that it is way too late. :(

Holly

BikerBabe
April 26th, 2013, 02:46 PM
Hello OakIris. I can help by shedding some light on the origins of your beautiful letter opener.

It is definitely from Georg Jensen & Wendel A/S, who made the Cactus cutlery and accessories, with design by Gundorph Albertus for Georg Jensens Sølvsmedie (silver smithy) in 1930.

Gundorph Albertus (1887-1970) began working at Georg Jensen's silver smithy in 1911, while at the same time studying sculpting at The Royal Danish Academy of Arts in Copenhagen.
Before this, he had worked as a silver smith in München and Paris for several years.

Albertus belonged to a group of artists, who, during the first half of the 20th century, did their best to preserve Georg Jensen's ideals, at the same time updating said ideals and making them more modern.

This was done by adding a new simplicity to the existing ideals, and this simplicity was partly inspired by the leading Art Déco movement.
Through his entire career, Gundolph Albertus strived to give his work the greatest possible quality, and he was known to be a perfectionist.
He was awarded a gold medal at the World Fair in Paris in 1925, and the honorary prize in 1937.

Georg Jensen's Sølvsmedie was founded in 1904 by Georg Jensen (1866-1935), and in 1924 Georg Jensen himself retired as managing director, but he continued to work as artistic director from 1926 until his death in 1935.

Georg Jensens Sølvsmedie was very succesful, they opened shops in the finest business streets in a number of big cities.
In the 1930's, Georg Jensen had shops in London, Paris, Berlin, Bruxelles, Geneve, Barcelona, Stockholm, St. Thomas, Buenos Aires and New York.

So if your mother have ever lived in or near New York - or knew someone, maybe worked there, then that might be how she either bought the letter opener, or received it as a gift.
And it was a costly gift back then. Georg Jensen's silver works was definitely high end design.
If you would like to find matching cutlery, please google "Georg Jensen cactus silverware", since the name of said design is "Cactus" - or "Kaktus" in danish.

And take good care of your letter opener (- I bet that you already do... ;) ), because I just managed to find one on a danish antique dealer's site
The price is 1850 DKK, that's approx. 323 USD.

http://www.antikringen.dk/stort.asp?selbinr=156430

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 02:51 PM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

BikerBabe
April 26th, 2013, 02:59 PM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

You're certainly most welcome. This site gives me so much information about pens, the least I can do is try to help whenever something in the scandinavian region pops up. :)

tytoalba
April 26th, 2013, 07:32 PM
thanks for the help Ivan, it finally clicked : )

Barbara
April 26th, 2013, 08:00 PM
Here are a couple of shots of my mother's letter opener that I took during my lunch break; the quality is not stellar but hopefully you will overlook my lack of skills as a photographer:

2152

2153

The handle is made out of sterling silver. The blade appears to be stainless steel and is unmarked. One side of the handle is marked "Sterling Denmark" and the other side is marked "Georg Jensen & Wendel A/S." (I think it says "&" anyway - can't really make it out so it might be a hallmark instead of an ampersand.) The pattern is their Cactus pattern. I do not know the exact date when it was made, but from what I have read, they didn't start using sterling silver exclusively until after 1933; I think this letter opener may be from the 1940's.

The "Wendel" on the handle is partially worn off - my mother used this almost daily for probably at least 50 years; she lived during the time when letter writing was alive and well and the main source of communication. I wonder how many of my letters she opened with it, to say nothing of the many other letters she opened and read. I regret not having written to her more often because I know how she enjoyed receiving and reading letters from friends and family. The last year or so of her life our communication was primarily via telephone and, to be honest, I have written very few letters since she died.

Holy

What a lovely letter opener. I would love to find one as nice one of these days.

OakIris
April 27th, 2013, 10:12 AM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

+1 :hail:

Wow, wonderful information, BikerBabe, more than I was able to find with a quick Google search. Thank you! My mother (and father) did indeed live in New York for a while; my brother was born there in 1950, and I think (why don't I know?!? :( ) that my mother lived there during WWII as well.

And, yesterday I said the letter opener was all I had of Georg Jensen's but I have discovered I do in fact have more of his (or at least of his company's) work after all. I started to think about my parents' "good" silverware, which I now have. Lovely stuff, quite art deco in design, and I took a look at it this morning suspecting that it might indeed have been made and designed by the company. Sure enough, "Georg Jensen Silversmith" and "Sterling Denmark" is stamped on all of it. Not the Cactus pattern, but still:

2210

Whether they got a start on this set as a wedding present or chose and purchased this themselves, I do not know; there is no paperwork in the storage box and though I remember cleaning it and using it while growing up, I never discussed the silverware with my parents. Sorry to go more than a bit off topic, but I am honored to have these lovely things in my possession. I will indeed take good care of all of it.

I hope you are able to find a letter opener you like and will enjoy using, Barbara. My letter opener was stored in the Gerstner tool chest where I keep all of my pen repair tools, etc., but now I am going to start using it again, even though it will be mostly for mundane things like opening up bills!

Holly

jbb
April 27th, 2013, 10:40 AM
Thanks for getting this started tytoalba. I love the rat. My daily letter opener is a good one to use but plain this agate one is prettier but not as sturdy.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/7609625820_0b625bc421_o.jpg

tytoalba
April 27th, 2013, 03:53 PM
Your agate opener with details on the metal are beautiful jbb!
It was a pleasure to start the ball rolling. Thank You for suggesting the Pen Related Objects subforum, and FPG's Dan for responding so quickly!

Holly, am Thrilled for you! What discoveries you've made!!! The pattern screams Deco, and is just lovely. I hope you will now put these objects into service and thoroughly enjoy them. I love the shape of Jensen silverware, and in fact, looked for a similar shape for my everyday ware. So happy for you!

jbb
April 27th, 2013, 04:14 PM
Your agate opener with details on the metal are beautiful jbb!
It was a pleasure to start the ball rolling. Thank You for suggesting the Pen Related Objects subforum, and FPG's Dan for responding so quickly!

Actually those thanks go to OakIris... so I'll add my thanks to her too... and to Dan of course.

A letter opener is pretty handy. I use mine just about every day. Do most people have one?

BikerBabe
April 27th, 2013, 05:54 PM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

+1 :hail:

Wow, wonderful information, BikerBabe, more than I was able to find with a quick Google search. Thank you! My mother (and father) did indeed live in New York for a while; my brother was born there in 1950, and I think (why don't I know?!? :( ) that my mother lived there during WWII as well.

And, yesterday I said the letter opener was all I had of Georg Jensen's but I have discovered I do in fact have more of his (or at least of his company's) work after all. I started to think about my parents' "good" silverware, which I now have. Lovely stuff, quite art deco in design, and I took a look at it this morning suspecting that it might indeed have been made and designed by the company. Sure enough, "Georg Jensen Silversmith" and "Sterling Denmark" is stamped on all of it. Not the Cactus pattern, but still:

2210

Whether they got a start on this set as a wedding present or chose and purchased this themselves, I do not know; there is no paperwork in the storage box and though I remember cleaning it and using it while growing up, I never discussed the silverware with my parents. Sorry to go more than a bit off topic, but I am honored to have these lovely things in my possession. I will indeed take good care of all of it.

I hope you are able to find a letter opener you like and will enjoy using, Barbara. My letter opener was stored in the Gerstner tool chest where I keep all of my pen repair tools, etc., but now I am going to start using it again, even though it will be mostly for mundane things like opening up bills!

Holly

Hi again Holly. :)

You're welcome, it's always fascinating for me (as a history geek) to find out more about our danish designers and the history of the various items. I like doing detective work, apparently! ;)

The Georg Jensen pieces that you got is part of the "Pyramide" (Pyramid) dinnerware set, designed by Harald Jensen in 1927.

HARALD NIELSEN (1892 - 1977)
Harald Nielsen first aspired to be a painter but as the younger brother of Georg Jensen's third wife, Johanne, he was drawn into the Georg Jensen silversmithy. He started as a chaser's apprentice in 1909 and worked his way up to designer/director of the smithy school of apprentices.
In 1954, he became the smithy director and in 1958 he became artistic director of the Company, a position he held until 1962.

He was Jensen's closest colleague and his design style was very similar to Johan Rohde.
Both eschewed ornamentation in favor of form and line.
He became the interpreter of Jensen's and Rohde's designs as he turned their rough design sketches, Jensen's often being on paper napkins, into precise drawings that were used by the silversmiths to create the pieces.

Nielsen's role as head of the apprentice school was particularly important after Jensen died in 1935, since Nielsen insured the continued high quality of the firm's design and output by recruiting talented young silversmiths and designers; and training them according to the Jensen Silversmithy standards.
Perhaps his most famous recruit was Henning Koppel.
He was also responsible for the smooth transition from the first generation of Jensen designers, namely Jensen himself and Rohde to the generation which followed.

Nielsen designed many pieces of jewelry and hollowware, much of which is still in production, and created the Pyramid flatware design.

And by the way, if you keep this up, I'll end up becoming our resident Georg Jensen expert! :D

Cheers,

Maria.

tytoalba
April 27th, 2013, 06:05 PM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

+1 :hail:

Wow, wonderful information, BikerBabe, more than I was able to find with a quick Google search. Thank you! My mother (and father) did indeed live in New York for a while; my brother was born there in 1950, and I think (why don't I know?!? :( ) that my mother lived there during WWII as well.

And, yesterday I said the letter opener was all I had of Georg Jensen's but I have discovered I do in fact have more of his (or at least of his company's) work after all. I started to think about my parents' "good" silverware, which I now have. Lovely stuff, quite art deco in design, and I took a look at it this morning suspecting that it might indeed have been made and designed by the company. Sure enough, "Georg Jensen Silversmith" and "Sterling Denmark" is stamped on all of it. Not the Cactus pattern, but still:

2210

Whether they got a start on this set as a wedding present or chose and purchased this themselves, I do not know; there is no paperwork in the storage box and though I remember cleaning it and using it while growing up, I never discussed the silverware with my parents. Sorry to go more than a bit off topic, but I am honored to have these lovely things in my possession. I will indeed take good care of all of it.

I hope you are able to find a letter opener you like and will enjoy using, Barbara. My letter opener was stored in the Gerstner tool chest where I keep all of my pen repair tools, etc., but now I am going to start using it again, even though it will be mostly for mundane things like opening up bills!

Holly

Hi again Holly. :)

You're welcome, it's always fascinating for me (as a history geek) to find out more about our danish designers and the history of the various items. I like doing detective work, apparently! ;)

The Georg Jensen pieces that you got is part of the "Pyramide" (Pyramid) dinnerware set, designed by Harald Jensen in 1927.

HARALD NIELSEN (1892 - 1977)
Harald Nielsen first aspired to be a painter but as the younger brother of Georg Jensen's third wife, Johanne, he was drawn into the Georg Jensen silversmithy. He started as a chaser's apprentice in 1909 and worked his way up to designer/director of the smithy school of apprentices.
In 1954, he became the smithy director and in 1958 he became artistic director of the Company, a position he held until 1962.

He was Jensen's closest colleague and his design style was very similar to Johan Rohde.
Both eschewed ornamentation in favor of form and line.
He became the interpreter of Jensen's and Rohde's designs as he turned their rough design sketches, Jensen's often being on paper napkins, into precise drawings that were used by the silversmiths to create the pieces.

Nielsen's role as head of the apprentice school was particularly important after Jensen died in 1935, since Nielsen insured the continued high quality of the firm's design and output by recruiting talented young silversmiths and designers; and training them according to the Jensen Silversmithy standards.
Perhaps his most famous recruit was Henning Koppel.
He was also responsible for the smooth transition from the first generation of Jensen designers, namely Jensen himself and Rohde to the generation which followed.

Nielsen designed many pieces of jewelry and hollowware, much of which is still in production, and created the Pyramid flatware design.

And by the way, if you keep this up, I'll end up becoming our resident Georg Jensen expert! :D

Cheers,

Maria.
Um, Maria, I think you already Are our resident Jensen expert..
And thanks : )

BikerBabe
April 27th, 2013, 10:43 PM
Um, Maria, I think you already Are our resident Jensen expert..
And thanks : )

...ehhh, okay then. :D
You're welcome. ;)

OakIris
April 29th, 2013, 06:51 AM
Thank you Biker Babe for enriching this thread with your history of Jensen!
I was secretly hoping you might know something and join in... wonderful information.

+1 :hail:

Wow, wonderful information, BikerBabe, more than I was able to find with a quick Google search. Thank you! My mother (and father) did indeed live in New York for a while; my brother was born there in 1950, and I think (why don't I know?!? :( ) that my mother lived there during WWII as well.

And, yesterday I said the letter opener was all I had of Georg Jensen's but I have discovered I do in fact have more of his (or at least of his company's) work after all. I started to think about my parents' "good" silverware, which I now have. Lovely stuff, quite art deco in design, and I took a look at it this morning suspecting that it might indeed have been made and designed by the company. Sure enough, "Georg Jensen Silversmith" and "Sterling Denmark" is stamped on all of it. Not the Cactus pattern, but still:

2210

Whether they got a start on this set as a wedding present or chose and purchased this themselves, I do not know; there is no paperwork in the storage box and though I remember cleaning it and using it while growing up, I never discussed the silverware with my parents. Sorry to go more than a bit off topic, but I am honored to have these lovely things in my possession. I will indeed take good care of all of it.

I hope you are able to find a letter opener you like and will enjoy using, Barbara. My letter opener was stored in the Gerstner tool chest where I keep all of my pen repair tools, etc., but now I am going to start using it again, even though it will be mostly for mundane things like opening up bills!

Holly

Hi again Holly. :)

You're welcome, it's always fascinating for me (as a history geek) to find out more about our danish designers and the history of the various items. I like doing detective work, apparently! ;)

The Georg Jensen pieces that you got is part of the "Pyramide" (Pyramid) dinnerware set, designed by Harald Jensen in 1927.

HARALD NIELSEN (1892 - 1977)
Harald Nielsen first aspired to be a painter but as the younger brother of Georg Jensen's third wife, Johanne, he was drawn into the Georg Jensen silversmithy. He started as a chaser's apprentice in 1909 and worked his way up to designer/director of the smithy school of apprentices.
In 1954, he became the smithy director and in 1958 he became artistic director of the Company, a position he held until 1962.

He was Jensen's closest colleague and his design style was very similar to Johan Rohde.
Both eschewed ornamentation in favor of form and line.
He became the interpreter of Jensen's and Rohde's designs as he turned their rough design sketches, Jensen's often being on paper napkins, into precise drawings that were used by the silversmiths to create the pieces.

Nielsen's role as head of the apprentice school was particularly important after Jensen died in 1935, since Nielsen insured the continued high quality of the firm's design and output by recruiting talented young silversmiths and designers; and training them according to the Jensen Silversmithy standards.
Perhaps his most famous recruit was Henning Koppel.
He was also responsible for the smooth transition from the first generation of Jensen designers, namely Jensen himself and Rohde to the generation which followed.

Nielsen designed many pieces of jewelry and hollowware, much of which is still in production, and created the Pyramid flatware design.

And by the way, if you keep this up, I'll end up becoming our resident Georg Jensen expert! :D

Cheers,

Maria.
Um, Maria, I think you already Are our resident Jensen expert..
And thanks : )




Um, Maria, I think you already Are our resident Jensen expert..
And thanks : )

...ehhh, okay then. :D
You're welcome. ;)

I must agree with tytoalba - you are the Jensen expert! It was very nice to find out the name of the designer of my silverware pattern, as well as the name of the pattern, and to find out when the design was first introduced by the Georg Jensen company. Now, did they ever make fountain pens? :p Wish the company had done so; I imagine they would have been unique, beautiful, and great writers.

@jbb - your agate letter opener is indeed lovely - is that an Iris on the blade? (I know you see what you want to see, but that is what it looks like to me.)

I do hope that others will post photos of their letter openers, too; we can never have too much eye candy!

Holly

jbb
April 29th, 2013, 07:07 AM
Early 20th century writing sets frequently included a letter opener. Those were the days.... when your dress, hat, gloves, purse and shoes all matched.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8091/8391254284_f0174f1462_o.jpg

BikerBabe
April 29th, 2013, 02:41 PM
I must agree with pen2paper - you are the Jensen expert! It was very nice to find out the name of the designer of my silverware pattern, as well as the name of the pattern, and to find out when the design was first introduced by the Georg Jensen company. Now, did they ever make fountain pens? :p Wish the company had done so; I imagine they would have been unique, beautiful, and great writers.

@jbb - your agate letter opener is indeed lovely - is that an Iris on the blade? (I know you see what you want to see, but that is what it looks like to me.)

I do hope that others will post photos of their letter openers, too; we can never have too much eye candy!

Holly

Hi again, Holly. :-)

Yes, Georg Jensen have made fountain pens too, I googled around a bit and found a few models.

I found the first at a danish online auction house - one of the biggest here in DK.
It's a sterling silver fp with bordeaux chinese lacquer.

http://www.lauritz.com/da/auktion/georg-jensen-fyldepen/i2066378/#

There's a few others on eBay:

http://stores.ebay.com/Silvergroup-dk/GJ-Pens-/_i.html?_fsub=6008037

And this beauty:

http://www.penexchange.com.tw/en/products_view.php?type=coll&id=878

To stay on topic, I managed to find myself a nice letter opener at a thrift shop today. :)

2234

I used to use my grandfather's old pocket knife - I love it. It's easy to use, very easy to keep razor sharp (unlike those horrible stainless steel knives you get today), and - well, it used to belong to grandfather. :)

2235

And then there's this funny looking thing I bought many years ago. It looks kinda like something you'd get at a souvenir shop, and it probably is, but it works just fine for opening letters:

2236

tytoalba
April 29th, 2013, 02:52 PM
jensen made silver fountain pens! jensen on the nibs!

OakIris
April 30th, 2013, 05:57 AM
I must agree with pen2paper - you are the Jensen expert! It was very nice to find out the name of the designer of my silverware pattern, as well as the name of the pattern, and to find out when the design was first introduced by the Georg Jensen company. Now, did they ever make fountain pens? :p Wish the company had done so; I imagine they would have been unique, beautiful, and great writers.

@jbb - your agate letter opener is indeed lovely - is that an Iris on the blade? (I know you see what you want to see, but that is what it looks like to me.)

I do hope that others will post photos of their letter openers, too; we can never have too much eye candy!

Holly

Hi again, Holly. :-)

Yes, Georg Jensen have made fountain pens too, I googled around a bit and found a few models.

I found the first at a danish online auction house - one of the biggest here in DK.
It's a sterling silver fp with bordeaux chinese lacquer.

http://www.lauritz.com/da/auktion/georg-jensen-fyldepen/i2066378/#

There's a few others on eBay:

http://stores.ebay.com/Silvergroup-dk/GJ-Pens-/_i.html?_fsub=6008037

And this beauty:

http://www.penexchange.com.tw/en/products_view.php?type=coll&id=878

To stay on topic, I managed to find myself a nice letter opener at a thrift shop today. :)

2234

I used to use my grandfather's old pocket knife - I love it. It's easy to use, very easy to keep razor sharp (unlike those horrible stainless steel knives you get today), and - well, it used to belong to grandfather. :)

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And then there's this funny looking thing I bought many years ago. It looks kinda like something you'd get at a souvenir shop, and it probably is, but it works just fine for opening letters:

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Pretty cool that Georg Jensen made some fountain pens, but these are all relatively modern, aren't they? I was thinking more of vintage pens, like 1930's and 1940's, when I think they would have shown the same strong art deco influence of their other works at that time. None the less, thank you once again for expanding our knowledge of this creative company.

I really like your letter openers, BikerBabe, especially the one you found at the thrift store - beautiful! And I bet you will continue to use your grandfather's pen knife, too. :thumb:

Another nice desk set, Jill - playful and useful!

Holly

jbb
May 2nd, 2013, 06:12 PM
@jbb - your agate letter opener is indeed lovely - is that an Iris on the blade? (I know you see what you want to see, but that is what it looks like to me.)



This is a bit off topic but we were at the park and when I saw this beautiful display of iris under an old oak tree so naturally I had to get you a picture. To make it at least a bit more pen-ish, this park is filled with oak galls for making iron gall ink. You just have to get them down from the trees tops.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8131/8703611658_c539b73982_o.jpg

tytoalba
May 3rd, 2013, 07:10 AM
Here is a link to view some letter openers: both completed sales, and on the market, (no association yadda yadda).
Jensen, btw, was mentioned in the brief article on openers : )
The (currently) most watched is a one sided fox, some similarities to my 2 sided rat opener, but not the intricate details.
Quality varies, and there may be reproductions, but the price of openers seems reasonable. As always, ask questions, and buy only what you truly like.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/office/letter-openers
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/office/letter-openers/auctions

OakIris
May 3rd, 2013, 07:20 AM
@jbb - your agate letter opener is indeed lovely - is that an Iris on the blade? (I know you see what you want to see, but that is what it looks like to me.)



This is a bit off topic but we were at the park and when I saw this beautiful display of iris under an old oak tree so naturally I had to get you a picture. To make it at least a bit more pen-ish, this park is filled with oak galls for making iron gall ink. You just have to get them down from the trees tops.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8131/8703611658_c539b73982_o.jpg

What a nice photo! Thanks, Jill! Considering that we went from 80° on Monday to low 50's on Tuesday, more snow on Wednesday and subsequent temps in the teens, it is nice to see that someone is enjoying some real spring weather and spring flowers. I know some of our spring flowers, including those on early flowering fruit trees, have probably been zapped by this weather.

Here a couple of wooden letter openers I have; the one with the African motif was given to me by my brother back in the 1970's. I have no idea where or when I acquired the one that was obviously hand carved out of a tree branch. They are kind of silly, but they both actually work. I have had them for a long time so apparently they are keepers. :p

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Holly

Bogon07
May 4th, 2013, 07:28 PM
A Commonwealth of Australia Letter Opener in Stainless Steel.

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ndw76
May 4th, 2013, 07:43 PM
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This is a letter opener I made for myself using buffalo horn and some brass scraps. Works much better than the pairing knife I used to use.

OakIris
May 6th, 2013, 06:06 AM
Cool to have a letter opener made for "the state" (country) Bogon. :)

And Nathan, that is a very nice letter opener that you made; I like the combination of colors and materials.

Holly