Intangible Pleasures: Betzler and Wilson eyedropper

I just bought and received this pen http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread....rl-amp-Abalone.

It's beautiful. I have a fondness for antique eyedropper pens, particularly those with unique embossing patterns and mother of pearl, abalone or both. But the best part of this one: Not the gold, not the abalone and MOP barrel, not the nib, not the black hard rubber, not even the elegant slender lines. It was how it smelled as I opened the parcel. It had that distinctive aroma of dried black ink. I was instantly transported back to the pen when it was originally used, even if I'm 40 years younger than that. I love the smell of a good ink. Not a scented ink, just a good black or blue ink as it dries.

You did well with that purchase, I think. Smell is the most evocative of the senses but if you fill the pen you'll lose that aroma that transports you back to the days of horse-drawn cabs and tall hats. To ink or not to ink. that is the question!

That early 20th century pen style is my favorite look. I have a few incomplete ones that I use as dip pens.