Quote Originally Posted by Blue Note View Post
Iconic: currently one of the most overused, misused words in the English language. Starting to rival "genius" and "unique" (more often the appalling "very unique") for most inappropriately used words. The Volkswagen Beetle might be an icon, JS Bach was certainly a genius and Jackson Pollock had a unique way of putting paint on canvas. Fountain pens? There's really only the Parker 51 that comes close to fitting the definition of any or all of those three words.
No, the Sheaffer Balance qualifies too. More so in that it defined the popular image of a fountain pen. (A lot of people wouldn't be able to say for sure that the 51 is a fountain pen if you showed it to them...)