New Print Magazine for Pen Collectors: The Fountain Pen Journal

[david i]

August 13, 2014

Greetings,

I invite members of FP Geeks to consider subscribing to a brand new print magazine for pen collectors, Fountain Pen Journal, founded and edited (among other functions) by my friend Paul Erano. Additionally I've created this niche forum at Fountain Pen Board to facilitate chat about articles from the magazine, with the first issue likely ready for printing within the next couple weeks. You can see that on the main page over at http://www.fountainpenboard.com

Amazingly, we've managed to score the domain name consistent with the mag's name, fountainpenjournal.com


Fountain Pen Journal Homepage (http://www.fountainpenjournal.com)

http://fountainpenjournal.com/coreimages/fpj_fountainpenboard_header1.jpg

The Journal website will host the famous secret group, the Black Pen Society. A gentle paywall will be implemented in time, allowing subscribers access to supplementary information for some of the pen articles, to older articles that had been offered elsewhere by some of our authors, and perhaps archived PDFs of old EQPR and FPJ, once hard copy back issues are sold out.

Paul's written credits in our hobby include at least:


Author of best selling collecting guide Fountain Pens Past and Present
Owner/Editor of EQPR: Erano's Quarterly Pen Review
Contributing writer to Pen World International, Stylus Magazine and PENnant Magazine
Editor Emeritus of PENnant Magazine, during a particularly successful run



Fountain Pen Journal embraces the trappings of a fancy glossy magazine, while maintaining the grounded narrative of the old EQPR. The use of "Journal" leaves open many paths.

With Paul's exit from PENnant and founding of Fountain Pen Journal, many regular contributors pf articles to pen magazines and online message boards have stepped up to the plate, expressing interest in writing for FPJ, including at least the following (please contact me if you would like to be added to the list or have been listed in error).


Paul Erano
David Isaacson
Nicholas Ayo
Rick Krantz
John Danza
Pete Sacopolous
Roger Wooten
Michael McNeil



The first issue, due out soon, offers the following content:


Introduction to Wahl-Eversharp's Equi-Poised.
Peter Miller remembered
The Black Pen Society
The Pens of Paul Duclos
... and more...



Fountain Pen Journal is very pleased to have lured to the project graphic designer Francine Conn, who produced the PCA's Pennant Magazine for 12 years.

Subscriptions will run $25 per year (3 issues) with special website access included. The mag is being started on a shoestring budget, but still will offer a full color glossy magazine, with potential to grow as the subscription base increases. By word of mouth alone at the Washington DC Supershow last weekend, many people signed up.

In a gesture of faith in a mag that has yet to see its first issue in print, several advertisers have ponied up year contracts for the available three covers (front inner, back outer and inner), something that other pen hobby mags have not managed to do the last few years. Thanks to Bert Oser of Bertram's Inkwell, Syd Saperstein of the rebooted Wahl-Eversharp and Richard Greenwald (plastics, pen parts, repairs) of http://www.richardlgreenwald.com . Other interior advertising has been claimed as well.

Time will tell if Fountain Pen Journal thrives. Offering Paul's proven approach to pen commentary and offering an alternative to cranky committee-managed niche hobby mags, I suspect readers truly will enjoy.


link-Fountain Pen Journal-link (http://www.fountainpenjournal.com)

regards

David

[sharmon202]

I'll give it a try.

[orfew]

Sounds good.

[manoeuver]

Paul's got my money!

[Bogon07]

$25 (or appropriate international subscription fee) :confused:

A fluidly ambiguous amount - does the international postage component of the the subscription vary across countries or is it a standard rate outside the US ?

[david i]

$25 (or appropriate international subscription fee) :confused:

A fluidly ambiguous amount - does the international postage component of the the subscription vary across countries or is it a standard rate outside the US ?

I really don't know. It depends no doubt on whether the postage rate varies from place to place. I believe Paul is not trying to charge just some overwhelming fixed extra fee that can cover any international shipping. I would imagine it costs a bit more to ship to Australia than to Mexico/Canada. Paul already has had a couple subscriptions from Mexico and from Sweden at least, so I believe he is at work sorting the details. We want people all over the world to enjoy the mag. I hope the cost of sending three mags in paper envelopes will not prove prohibitive to collectors.

regards

david

[bulbboy]

I'll subscribe!

[david i]

$25 (or appropriate international subscription fee) :confused:

A fluidly ambiguous amount - does the international postage component of the the subscription vary across countries or is it a standard rate outside the US ?

Here's the link to the subscription page, with contact info for Paul. He can get you the figure.

http://fountainpenjournal.com/mainpages/fpj_subscription.html

regards

d

[dannzeman]

Count me in!

[Hawk]

My check is in the mail.

[Mags]

David count me in too. I sent an email to Paul and left him my card at the DC show to confirm the international pricing to Canada before I can paypal the correct amount.

I looked at the mock up at Paul's table and this looks like it will be a quality magazine. Thanks to everyone involved in getting this magazine up and running.

If I can help with writing the odd article from up here in Canada I would be delighted to do so.

[sharmon202]

Sent in my subscription via snail-mail.

[top pen]

Is there any sample content that I could check out?

[david i]

Is there any sample content that I could check out?

Not yet, though first issue should go to printer shortly.

regards

david

[david i]

Actually here is a very low res snippet of a prelim of the Equi-Poised article. Likely useful as little in print has been offered on collecting the ~4 year run of very high quality Wahl pens from 1929-1932 or so. IIRC, David Nishimura is working on a related article exploring in depth one of the points I raise more shallowly in this survey article.

http://vacumania.com/penteech2/grab_equipoised_article_august2014.jpg

regards

David

[Kurt S]

I'm a subscriber!

[Crazyorange]

Check in the mail.

[david i]

Thanks, people.

Keep 'em coming.

Goals/Targets are a bit nebulous, but I suspect hitting about 600 subscribers within a year of launch would be good.

regards

david

[david i]

David count me in too. I sent an email to Paul and left him my card at the DC show to confirm the international pricing to Canada before I can paypal the correct amount.

I looked at the mock up at Paul's table and this looks like it will be a quality magazine. Thanks to everyone involved in getting this magazine up and running.

If I can help with writing the odd article from up here in Canada I would be delighted to do so.

Hi,

Material of course will be important to making the magazine work. We've been blessed to see many people step up to the plate, but more the merrier. Drop a note to Paul about topics, etc.

regards

david

[david i]

Boys and Girls,

I'm told the first issue of Fountain Pen Journal has been sent to the printer. Fran Conn, who had designed PENnant for the last decade or so, did an outstanding job on layout for this premier issue. The mag is jam packed, a tight journal. Based on the flood of offers for article contributions, there is good chance the page count will grow after a couple issues.

Regards

David

[blopplop]

Thanks David I. I'm excited to hear about this mag. I just signed up for a subscription. :)

Dave

[david i]

Thanks David I. I'm excited to hear about this mag. I just signed up for a subscription. :)

Dave


Excellent! :)

Do spread the word. This thing really will be a process-in-evolution for some time to come. Feedback will be sought. A testimonials page will be built. Arguing about details of content can be done here or of course in the dedicated forum next door at FPB.

This really should prove interesting.

best regards

David

[david i]

First issue just ship ship shipped!

I handled copies at the Boston Show.

It looks great. And it will get only better.


regards

David

[sharmon202]

Wow, looking forward to this. Nice mail suprise this week. Thanks

[alc3261]

Would a digital copy be available? I'm in the UK so postage might be expensive.

[david i]

Would a digital copy be available? I'm in the UK so postage might be expensive.

Hi,

Fair question though I fear for the time being the answer is "no". The website is not yet set up for a password paywall. I suspect shipping won't be brutal. We do have subscribers from across the globe. Do email Paul via the Fountain Pen Journal website link in my signature space below. I can't make promises, but I doubt shipping to England would add $10 to the $25 subscription cost.

regards

david

[Mags]

I am excited to see the magazine David. Thanks to you for your help promoting it.

[david i]

I am excited to see the magazine David. Thanks to you for your help promoting it.

My pleasure.

Copies should be in all mailboxes in USA by now.

Do let us know.

regards

david

[Wrathen]

Interesting

[david i]

Interesting

I hope so :)

-d

[reprieve]

I just saw this and just signed up. Do you know if I'll get the first issue, or will my subscription start with the next one?

[david i]

I just saw this and just signed up. Do you know if I'll get the first issue, or will my subscription start with the next one?


Hi,

You should start with the first issue. Do drop a letter to Paul. He's a very approachable fellow.

regards

David

[Mags]

Pen World arrived yesterday so hoping FPJ arrives also this week.

[david i]

A peek at issue 1.1 of Paul's Fountain Pen Journal. I'm happy to be a contributing editor. First issue printed about 2 months after first chat about creating the magazine. In mailboxes now in the USA

http://vacumania.com/paul/fountainpenjournal_issue1.1.jpg

[david i]

Per Paul, next issue should be four pages longer, though with advertisers lining up (Paul is good at that sort of networking), a couple of those pages will be ads from pen people.

There will be at least two core articles on collecting old pens.

regards

David

[Mags]

Still no delivery to my Canadian address of this magazine. Has anyone seen their magazine arrive yet outside of the U.S.?

[david i]

Still no delivery to my Canadian address of this magazine. Has anyone seen their magazine arrive yet outside of the U.S.?


I hope soon. They were sent bulk rate, and I'm not shocked the internationals are taking bit of time. I hope the read is worth the wait.

regards

d

[Mags]

Oh I am confident the magazine you and Paul are helping to create will be worth the subscription price. I just so want it to arrive already.

[david i]

Oh I am confident the magazine you and Paul are helping to create will be worth the subscription price. I just so want it to arrive already.

Hi,

Did the magazine reach you?

regards

david

[Mags]

No magazine yet but Paul sent me an email about an hour ago that he is trying to send me a copy one more time. Thanks for checking in with me David.

[reprieve]

It will be worth the wait. I received my copy last week and read it cover to cover. Learned a lot about the Wahl Equipoised. Also, there's something called The Black Pen Society!; I must get to a pen show so that I can join that venerable group. Very glad I subscribed to FPJ.

[david i]

It will be worth the wait. I received my copy last week and read it cover to cover. Learned a lot about the Wahl Equipoised. Also, there's something called The Black Pen Society!; I must get to a pen show so that I can join that venerable group. Very glad I subscribed to FPJ.

Glad to hear :)

Interesting times. So, Paul Erano, who wrote the best selling collector book "Fountain Pens Past and Present" and who edited PCA's Pennant for several years, started this new mag Fountain Pen Journal from scratch. It arrived ahead of schedule put together from first jabber to delivery in about two months. Pennant meanwhile has continued on with full backing of a hefty organization. I received my copy today, Nov 4, featuring an ad inside for an October 11 pen show. Sigh.

Think I'm glad I tossed my pen article efforts to the new magazine, recognizing my political bias ;)

-d

[david i]

2nd issue has been out for couple months.

Sheaffer's Original Crest, Cracking the Chilton Code, and more...


http://fountainpenjournal.com/images2/fountainpenjournal_issue1.2a720.jpg

Website http://www.fountainpenjournal.com

regards

David

[Mags]

I enjoyed your Crest article David.

[fqgouvea]

I want it! Just sent in my $25.

Fernando

[Jon Szanto]

For any of you who are subscribers to the magazine and happen to live on the West coast: the latest issue (1.3) is out, and seems to have made it to a number of people back in the beginning of the week. Is it being slow to make it West, or did mine get lost in the USPS... or other?

[Mags]

The mail has been slow lately. I hope your copy arrives soon.

[Jon Szanto]

Aaaaand... it arrived today. I was even there to great my great mailman, and avoided any folding!