Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 21

Thread: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Brazil
    Posts
    28
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    I often find myself thinking about these things...

    The last pair of pens I bought are from around 1983, and this make them 37 years old.

    I was just a five year old kid, who didn't even knew how to write, when someone made these nice pieces of art in West Germany. Berlin Wall was still up with people trying to escape it and I had no idea. Meanwhile someone was polishing the tip of the nib in multiple, hypnotic, figure eights so that I could write smoothly so long after.

    I'm a big fan of handcrafed things, and these thoughts (stupid or not) make me respect the pens and their makers. I wish I could make something that would still be appreciated after 37 years.

    Makes me womder: Who crafted them? Is the person who tested the pens still alive? What is he (or she) doing these days? Do they own a montblanc pen today?

    Does this nonsense ever cross your mind? Share your thoughts....

  2. #2
    Senior Member silverlifter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    616
    Thanks
    359
    Thanked 772 Times in 355 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    I wonder who owned these pens before me. What they used them for, inked them with, those sorts of things.

    For a pen that is 75-100 years old, it may have had several owners, each of whom may have viewed the pen quite differently. What is clear, given the state of these pens, is that each of my predecessors cared for the pens, otherwise they would not be here for me to enjoy all these decades later. It therefore behoves me to be just as considerate, and ensure that they go on to lay down beautiful lines for the fpgeeks that will come after me.
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to silverlifter For This Useful Post:

    Deb (July 14th, 2020), Scrawler (July 16th, 2020)

  4. #3
    Senior Member Fermata's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    488
    Thanks
    187
    Thanked 598 Times in 298 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by silverlifter View Post
    I wonder who owned these pens before me. What they used them for, inked them with, those sorts of things.

    For a pen that is 75-100 years old, it may have had several owners, each of whom may have viewed the pen quite differently. What is clear, given the state of these pens, is that each of my predecessors cared for the pens, otherwise they would not be here for me to enjoy all these decades later. It therefore behoves me to be just as considerate, and ensure that they go on to lay down beautiful lines for the fpgeeks that will come after me.

    That is almost the script for The Yellow Rolls Royce

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059927/

    Each successive owner treating their pen, or car, in a very different manner.

    Pen history is my interest, pens with a past, but I also think of the person who sat at their work bench 90 years ago, perhaps being paid on piece rates, putting the eleven pieces of the Duofold together and never imagining that it would still be in use in 2020, possibly by their great grand child.

  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Fermata For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (July 15th, 2020), Scrawler (July 16th, 2020)

  6. #4
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,909
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    ...Pen history is my interest, pens with a past....
    You might want to seek out pens engraved with the original owner's name. I make it a habit to enter such names into a search engine to see what turns up, and I've been able to sell pens with interesting history (even with photos), e.g.: Florida department store magnate Sol Mass's red ripple Waterman 55 or Saturday Evening Post/Cosmopolitan illustrator Harrison Fisher's blue nib Waterman 7.

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (July 15th, 2020), Deb (July 14th, 2020)

  8. #5
    Senior Member Fermata's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Posts
    488
    Thanks
    187
    Thanked 598 Times in 298 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    ...Pen history is my interest, pens with a past....
    You might want to seek out pens engraved with the original owner's name. I make it a habit to enter such names into a search engine to see what turns up, and I've been able to sell pens with interesting history (even with photos), e.g.: Florida department store magnate Sol Mass's red ripple Waterman 55 or Saturday Evening Post/Cosmopolitan illustrator Harrison Fisher's blue nib Waterman 7.
    I have done the same Fred, even tried to return the pen to any descendants if the engraved name is sufficiently unusual.

    I have only had one very distinctive name engraved on the cap, this was from an artist who worked in London doing posters for the Indian Railways and then moved to America where he painted many of the posters for American War Bonds, his name was William Spencer Bagdatopoulos.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willia..._Bagdatopoulos

    Due to the unusual last name I managed to trace his daughter, I told her that I had her father's pen and would she like to have it, as a gift. Even though it was more than a few years ago I can remember the sweet words in her email back to me as if it was yesterday.

    'That bastard left me and my mother for a whore in California, keep the damn thing.'
    Last edited by Fermata; August 12th, 2020 at 05:10 PM.

  9. The Following 10 Users Say Thank You to Fermata For This Useful Post:

    Ahriman4891 (July 14th, 2020), carlos.q (July 14th, 2020), ChrisJ (July 24th, 2020), Deb (July 14th, 2020), FredRydr (July 14th, 2020), manoeuver (July 15th, 2020), Ole Juul (July 14th, 2020), penwash (July 14th, 2020), Scrawler (July 16th, 2020), Stands on Feet (July 23rd, 2020)

  10. #6
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,909
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    ...I can remember the sweet words in her email back to me as if it was yesterday. 'That bastard left me and my mother for a whore in California, keep the damn thing.'
    Great story! That factoid could be added to the Wikipedia page for readers to have a better understanding of Mr. Bagdatopoulos.
    Last edited by FredRydr; July 14th, 2020 at 07:35 AM.

  11. #7
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,698
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,817 Times in 797 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    ...Pen history is my interest, pens with a past....
    You might want to seek out pens engraved with the original owner's name. I make it a habit to enter such names into a search engine to see what turns up, and I've been able to sell pens with interesting history (even with photos), e.g.: Florida department store magnate Sol Mass's red ripple Waterman 55 or Saturday Evening Post/Cosmopolitan illustrator Harrison Fisher's blue nib Waterman 7.
    And sometimes, when you can't find the pen's history you can indulge in some creative fantasy and write up a story:
    https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...163&viewfull=1

  12. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to carlos.q For This Useful Post:

    Fermata (July 14th, 2020), FredRydr (July 14th, 2020)

  13. #8
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post
    Due the unusual last name I managed to trace his daughter, I told her that I had her father's pen and would she like to have it, as a gift. Even though it was more than a few years ago I can remember the sweet words in her email back to me as if it was yesterday.

    'That bastard left me and my mother for a whore in California, keep the damn thing.'
    That is a sobering account of something that I tend to keep in a romanticized state in my mind whenever I see a person's name on the pen I am restoring.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  14. #9
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,404
    Thanks
    6,876
    Thanked 10,363 Times in 3,978 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fermata View Post

    Due the unusual last name I managed to trace his daughter, I told her that I had her father's pen and would she like to have it, as a gift. Even though it was more than a few years ago I can remember the sweet words in her email back to me as if it was yesterday.

    'That bastard left me and my mother for a whore in California, keep the damn thing.'
    Wow! It just goes to show that you never know what stones you might be turning over when you make contact with someone who may once have been connected to a specific pen.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  15. #10
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,349
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Reverting to the original question I generally know which company made a pen though there are many insoluble mysteries around, especially among 1920s/30s giveaways. If something more particular is intended, like which worker made the pen - yes, I do think about that though it was most likely a fairly large group of people who saw the pen through from raw materials to the finished article. I think especially about the people who made vintage nibs and I wonder why so few manufacturers today can do such a good job.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  16. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    US
    Posts
    6,791
    Thanks
    642
    Thanked 897 Times in 689 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    I have an Autopoint Rocket mechanical pencil with Arthur Fleagle imprinted on the barrel. There is a small paper inside the box reading that Jig Woods gave it to him in 1947. This is one of the premium versions of the Rocket in gold and burgundy.

  17. #12
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,118
    Thanks
    874
    Thanked 2,528 Times in 1,299 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Great name! Fleegle was one of the Banana Splits - it was fun being young.

  18. The Following User Says Thank You to Empty_of_Clouds For This Useful Post:

    Chuck Naill (July 15th, 2020)

  19. #13
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,909
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Deb View Post
    ...I think especially about the people who made vintage nibs and I wonder why so few manufacturers today can do such a good job.
    'Tis true. Of course, they were making new nibs at the time. ;-)

  20. #14
    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Brooklyn NY
    Posts
    775
    Thanks
    381
    Thanked 618 Times in 344 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    I lived near Janesville when i was young. Parker workers were people like my neighbors. However, although many of our neighbors worked in Janesville, all of them worked in the GM plant (also closed now).

  21. #15
    Senior Member pajaro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Tecumseh, MI
    Posts
    1,373
    Thanks
    561
    Thanked 614 Times in 411 Posts
    Rep Power
    13

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    I have wondered whjo made the resin my 144Rs and 164Rs were made from. They are pretty pens with that particular combination of red and gold trim.

  22. #16
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Brazil
    Posts
    28
    Thanks
    13
    Thanked 10 Times in 6 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Thank you all for sharing your stories and thoughts. I no longer feel weird about thinking about these things

    To be honest, I used to avoid pens with initials or names, but reading some notes above, I changed my mind. The stories behind these names may be cool things to know (or make).

    Best regards.
    Walter Mundstock

  23. The Following User Says Thank You to Wmundstock For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (July 22nd, 2020)

  24. #17
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,662
    Thanks
    3,364
    Thanked 6,703 Times in 1,972 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wmundstock View Post
    Thank you all for sharing your stories and thoughts. I no longer feel weird about thinking about these things

    To be honest, I used to avoid pens with initials or names, but reading some notes above, I changed my mind. The stories behind these names may be cool things to know (or make).

    Best regards.
    Walter Mundstock
    Walter, pondering the history of the pens we have is part of the enjoyment of having a pen collection. At least to me it is.

    I have always been fascinated with retro/vintage/antique things. But fountain pens have the seldom-found balance between utility + ease-to-use + history + craftsmanship + accessorizing + tinkering + curiosity. This combination makes collecting and using them so fascinating to me.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  25. #18
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    On a hill in Puerto Rico
    Posts
    1,698
    Thanks
    2,214
    Thanked 1,817 Times in 797 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    This thread made me look up some of the names on my "personalized" pens. I have a Parker 51 with the name "Alex Toth" who, according to Google, was a famous cartoonist... or maybe a college professor in Tampa... or a baseball player... who knows?

  26. #19
    Senior Member Johnny_S's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    112
    Thanks
    31
    Thanked 73 Times in 46 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Sometimes your mind works overtime. I bought a boxed Parker set from the 1940s, inside was a note written on the box lid.

    'Happy Christmas William, think of David whenever you use these pens, Mother.'

    The pens had never been used.

  27. #20
    Senior Member guyy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Brooklyn NY
    Posts
    775
    Thanks
    381
    Thanked 618 Times in 344 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Do you ever think "who made this pen"?

    Sad to say but The Inevitable has recently visited former owners of my pens. Many if not most obituaries are now on line, bringing to the surface the personal details of people who lived mostly before the internet. Before death, one might have had to do some tedious & potentially fruitless research in government records or historical society archives, but upon death information suddenly becomes available to the armchair researcher. I am not curious enough to do any serious digging, but dilettante that i am, i will try an internet search.

    For example, Gertrude Martin, who had an Autograph Snorkel set lived long — 102 years — and prospered as a grocer. James B Hillestad who acquired a nice Parker 51 set as a young man lived to the same age as my own father and died just a few days after him in a nearby town.

    Names on older pens are harder to trace unless they’re unusual. I know Bernard Gackstatter married in 1933 in Rockford, Ill & died in his forties in 1949. I’ve had his first year Parker 51 longer than he did. Harry W Colby? I don’t think i’m going to know anything about him other than he kept his red-veined grey pearl Balance in great shape.

  28. The Following User Says Thank You to guyy For This Useful Post:

    RobJohnson (July 28th, 2020)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •