I've Inherited a Pen Cabinet (and Pens)

[fstop]

A relative passed away recently and left to me, among other things, his collection of fountain pens. There are 15 in all, and they are stored in this case. As I know very little about any of this, I am wondering if someone here might be able to tell me what kind of wood this case is made of. I think it is inlaid burl wood, but I have no idea what the inlay may be. The cabinet is very highly coated with a clear varnish of some kind, similar to clear coat on an automobile. AS for the pens themselves, I will be photographing each of their bodies and nibs and will post those in the pen section of the forum. In the meantime, any help or ideas about this cabinet are much appreciated.

[Lady Onogaro]

I don't know anything about the woods, but it's a very nice cabinet.

[Jon Szanto]

I'm only surmising, but I think this is likely something either made by him or for him, either out of an existing box (possibly a jewelry box) or made for the purpose. The wood and exterior treatments are lovely and would be high-end for pen boxes. The thing that leads me to think it was hand-made rather than from a production company (even if small) is that the slots for the pens aren't of even width across the drawers, especially notable at the sides of each. I don't say this to devalue the box, as it is quite handsome, but only that it may not be possible to source a maker.

Looking forward to the shots of the pens (I can identify only one at this point)!

[fountainpagan]

Very nice cabinet, and I see some nice pens.

The darkest wood is very likely to be cherryl burl. The lightest one, on the top, is a burl wood too, but I cannot help you there.

[grainweevil]

My condolences on your loss, but what a lovely box. Can we see the pens too?

Anyway, it's kinda hard to tell you much with such a small photo, and wood identification is virtually impossible. As it's always better done in person anyway, I suggest you take box in hand, and point your browser to Hobbit House and laboriously scroll through to find similar woods.Then narrow it down from there. I think we can safely knock Bird's Eye Maple off the list to start, fwiw.

My guess is it's unlikely to be inlaid but rather veneered - a technique that gets a bum rap these days owing to factory tat being churned out trumpeting "real wood veneer", but actually the only stable way to use these highly figured woods. Nowadays the most stable substrate would be MDF, and if it weighs a good deal chances are that's what you've got there. Otherwise might be anything from pine to mahogany.

And I think Jon's correct that it's likely benchmade rather than factory; not so much from the pen slots, but because the maker appears to have messed up the mitring of the banding, which suggests the rectangle form may be slightly less rectangular than desired. It's an absolute nightmare to get right, so the mystery maker has my deepest sympathy.

[MY63]

Hi fstop welcome to FPGeeks, like others I am sorry for your loss it is fortunate that your relative left his pen collection to someone who appreciates them and also the great box that they live in.
Here are my thoughts on your box for what they are worth, I think it is likely to have started its life as a cutlery box (flatware).
I think Grainweevil was actually quite close with maple not birds eye maple but burl or as we in the UK say burr maple.
Around the maple is an inlay banding most likely satin wood (light) and walnut (dark).
The outer part is possibly cherry burl / burr as Fountainpagan has said as it looks to have a slight reddish tint.
I am pretty sure the pen slots have been made using dowels with lined card over the top the same way that I make my own.
Your relative may have had this made for their pens or may have made it themselves veneering at this level is not as easy as it looks
Hope this helps.
Michael
Don't forget the pen pictures

[FredRydr]

fstop,

Your relative collected modern pens from what I can see, from the last 40 years or so. That green/turquoise Auroloide Aurora Optima peeking from the top drawer is a pretty pen; mine with an M nib has been a long-time favorite. I also see another pen I owned until recently; the smooth sterling silver pen in the bottom with the gold band looks like a Sheaffer Legacy 1, a lovely pen. And then, are those Montblancs (black 149 and bordeaux 144) in the top drawer? I don't know my modern crescent Conklin model names, like that blue one in the bottom drawer.

Perhaps we should all try to guess the pens before the close-ups are posted.

[jar]

You guys are better than me; I can't identify any of them.

[Marsilius]

What a lovely gift. I look forward to the photos, and welcome to the forum.

[FredRydr]

You guys are better than me; I can't identify any of them.

I'm using a loupe.

[Jon Szanto]

I'm pretty poor at this, but one that I'm familiar with lept out: I'm pretty certain the left-most pen in the bottom row is a Waterman Phileas in Indus Grey.

[Jon Szanto]

That green/turquoise Auroloide Aurora Optima peeking from the top drawer is a pretty pen; mine with an M nib has been a long-time favorite.

That photo could be an advert for how lovely those pens are - it just pops off the screen!

[SIR]

pelikan of some sort top row, one from end on right;
teal marble to left of it looks quite modern, Japanese maybe?

[Jon Szanto]

teal marble to left of it looks quite modern, Japanese maybe?

That's the pen that Fred has already (correctly) identified: an Aurora Optima in blue/green "Aurolide" material. Not only the body but the cap band are dead giveaways in this case.

[VertOlive]

I'm sorry you lost a relative, but what a fine thing he's left you to remember him by!

And you've left us some fine sport in the guessing of the pens. Yes, pretty sure the blue one, the 9th in the top drawer, is a Pelikan. That's as far as I would know...

[fstop]

Wow, this is impressive. You are, I believe, correct is each and every one of your identifications. It will be a few days before I am able to post the individual pen shots, so any further guesses are both welcome and fun.

[fstop]

Yes, VertOlive, you are correct about the Pelikan.

[fstop]

Jon, you are correct. Impressive. (To me, anyway.)

[fstop]

Fred,
You are correct in each and every ID, but here's a little bonus that you could not possibly have guessed. . .the bordeaux Montblanc 144 has an italic nib. For me (who knows next to nothing about any of this), that is cool.

[Jon Szanto]

Jon, you are correct. Impressive. (To me, anyway.)

Actually, not impressive. The Phileas was a favorite slightly-better-than-entry level pen and Waterman made them for quite a few years. They came in about 6 color/patterns that only changed once, and that particular color/pattern - Indus Grey - is one of the harder to come across. The pens are still valued as solid pens, especially for those new to pens and not a lot of cash, so they don't go too high (current market value is around $50-70). I've got one in that color and there just aren't other pens that look like that. Considering I only answered one pen, it's hardly impressive, but we're glad to help.