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ianmedium
June 20th, 2012, 10:04 PM
This pen has a great deal of meaning for me. As a young child I had some learning difficulties due to some early childhood trauma. This affected my learning speed somewhat and it also affected my brain so that I used to think way ahead of what I was writing so my handwriting was always atrocious. One day my teacher looked at my handwriting (I wrote with a ballpoint) and handed me his sleek gold fountain pen and said, "write with it"!

I started to write and I kid you not my handwriting was transformed. The pen had this magical ability to slow my thoughts down to match writing speed. This pen was the Sheaffer Imperial 777. Obviously this gold filled beauty was not something to give a 7 year old boy to take to school but after talking with my teacher my Mum purchased a fountain pen for me. If memory serves I think it was a Parker.

Anyway. Fast forward to earlier this year and I happened upon Peyton street pens and there was the pen. N.O.S and Terri had marked it seconds as there were two small amounts of the gold fill missing from the clip. I pounced on it and it has now become one of my favourite writers. The nib has a little flex in it, is juicy and just writes like a dream.

It feels so good to own the same model of pen that started me down the road of better penmanship!

Here are some pictures!

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/L1000640.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/L1000634.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm225/ianmedium/L1000650.jpg

gwgtaylor
June 21st, 2012, 12:13 AM
Beautiful pen and lovely story. Also your hand writing is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Maja
June 21st, 2012, 12:36 AM
I've seen Ian's Imperial 777 fountain pen in person at our pen club meetings, and it's gorgeous :)

melissa59
June 21st, 2012, 12:36 AM
Have you ever read something that made your nose sting because you tried so hard not let tears form in your eyes? Well, this post did that for me.
What a special teacher he must have been to let you use his fountain pen!
And such a beautiful pen. For some reason, the photos make me think it is a pen that James Bond would have used.

Oh ... and I almost forgot ... your writing has come a LONG way since you were 7! It's beautiful, lots of personality--just like your pen.

FP_GaF
June 21st, 2012, 12:57 AM
Very, very beautiful pen.

And thank you for sharing your story with us. It is this kind of connection that makes fountain pens so special. I don't know about you but I have never heard any such story about ballpoint pens, may about pencils. But then I wouldn't join a ballpoint pen forum, would I. :)

peterpen53
June 21st, 2012, 02:16 AM
Curious story, Ian. And a phenomenon not unknown me. I'm not suggesting I was traumatized in any way but for a long time I sometimes skipped entire sentences or at least part-sentences when I was writing longer pieces, probably because I was thinking forward to what I was going to write later. And to this day it happens to me occasionally. But then I was not so fortunate to have had a teacher who lent me his gold Sheaffer fountain pen. However, it taught me to always re-read (and very often edit) what I just wrote down.

And it is a very lovely pen indeed. I think the pens Sheaffer made at the time are far superior to what they do today. Only the Legacy comes close. And it graces your handwriting (although I like it most when you're using one of your Stipula italics :), but that's me!)

Cheers,
Peter

writingrav
June 21st, 2012, 03:41 AM
Beautiful pen, great story. My own handwriting is still far from beautiful, but compared to what it was before I got hooked on Fountain pens, it is also transformed.

manoeuver
June 21st, 2012, 04:49 AM
very sweet. excellent handwriting, too.

goldiesdad
June 21st, 2012, 07:01 AM
Love the story and what great handwriting ...

ianmedium
June 21st, 2012, 08:47 AM
Thanks so much everyone. It really is a joy to use. I keep pinching myself that I am fortunate to have lovely fountain pens to write with. Peter. One of the things I have learned over the years and now in part use in my work is that many more people unfortunately have experienced some form of violent trauma early in life that one would ever realize.

The power and determination of the human spirit over adversity always amazes me and I get to see it in clients I meet most days. It also manifests itself is so many ways one cannot just pigeonhole people with broad strokes which is what society likes to do so that it feels comfortable I find!

KrazyIvan
June 21st, 2012, 01:45 PM
Nothing more to say than just aswesome. I really like the inlaid nib. Great story! I hope you use it in good health. :)

Maja
June 21st, 2012, 04:49 PM
Sorry Ian---didn't mean to gloss over how you came to be a fountain pen user. What a touching story and what a thoughtful teacher! Your handwriting is really nice and I know you use your fountain pens a lot.... and appreciate them even more. Thanks again for sharing with all of us :)

ianmedium
June 21st, 2012, 10:32 PM
Thank you Maja, it was lovely seeing you at the meeting tonight, a great turnout as usual! I love the Omas you got!

Maja
June 23rd, 2012, 11:00 AM
Thanks muchly, Ian! :)

miatapaul
August 21st, 2012, 07:40 PM
I have to say the fountain pen does improve my handwriting. Wish someone showed me that in grade school!

Oh and that is a sweet pen, surprised a teacher would let you use it even supervised! Given a teachers salary I am sure it was quite the prized possession.

Jon Szanto
August 21st, 2012, 09:52 PM
In addition to what everyone else has mentioned, I should add the following: this isn't the first time Teri Morris has made dreams come true. She is one of the real gems of our small 'pendom', and having dealt with her for over a year, from the very beginnings of my re-interest in fountain pens, I can truly say that she is as good as the gold on that pen.

May you have many, many years of comfortable and gracious writing, courtesy of a piece of history that just happens to apply ink to paper.