...about why the Aurora Hastil, a pen I've never seen recommended or discussed with great passion, is THE fountain pen in the MoMA's collection. It seems to me that six writing instruments in the collection were chosen with an awareness of the others, so that there is one model representing each writing mode or purpose (ballpoint, ergonomic pen, pen/pencil set, and felt-tip (a therapeutic one, nonetheless)). This leads me to believe their presence--including the Hastil's--in the collection is not some fluke or whim, but rather a meaningful artistic choice. What do you think? (you can view and search the entire collection online at moma.org). The museum opened to the public in 1929, and it seems from some very brief browsing that even early on, architects and industrial designers were in its milieu and represented in its collection, so one might expect something like a pen would've been added earlier than Hastil in 1969 (like many of the pieces under 'product design', a gift from the manufacturer). It could come down to timing--maybe curators early on didn't have much interest in mass-produced objects outside of tea and cutlery sets, and by the time someone thought to expand the product design collection into other areas, it past the fountain pen's prime? But it also seems plenty--most--works in the collection were acquired well after their date of manufacturer or completion, so why, in that case, was the Hastil picked?
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