A little contribution

[penwash]

Well, a *tiny* contribution is more accurate.

My obsession with obscure vintage pens finally allowed me to contribute a tiny bit to what ended up being published as the Spring 2021 edition of the Pennant magazine courtesy of ... the Pen Collectors of America (PCA).



This being my first Pennant magazine, I am so impressed with the quality, not only from the production (with PenHero himself at the helm, how can it not be impressive), but also at the amount of in-depth research on the articles.



One of these photos is mine, taken as I restored the little Victor pen.

So now I am taking my time to enjoy the writings at a leisurely pace.

[Jon Szanto]

Well, a *tiny* contribution is more accurate.

This issue is the best in a long time, and it has been on a real upward swing. Great graphics, and I'm glad you got to add to that spread. I have a green striped VictaPen like one of those shown, remarkable little pen.

For anyone who values vintage pens or the capture of the history of these writing instruments please consider a membership in the PCA. It's for a good cause and you'll get some very nice pen info and eye candy 3 times a year.

Congratulations, Will!

[Jon Szanto]

One addendum: I noticed the old Sheaffer WASP advert in the inside front cover and as I looked at it... I realized I had one of the pens shown!

But the best part is that it was an auction pen I won in the "Screaming Souls" celluloid, which took just a 3" drop on my desk to break in half, signs of an earlier (poor) repair. Who had the expertise to fix it? None other than Todd Eberspacher, VP and Membership Director of the PCA! I took a quick-and-dirty phone pic to send him, here you go:

WASP_ad_w_pen_sm.jpg

[lsmith42]

Still name dropping I see...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yazeh]

Congrats Will!

Jon the link doesn't work..

[mizgeorge]

That's lovely Will - I'd be chuffed to bits

Jon, that's such a cool picture

I wish the PCA offered a digital subscription option. I have no space for hard copies of magazines any more, and the additional cost for overseas members is entirely made up of additional postage. I suspect a lot more people would join if they weren't having to carry the cost of print and mailing in an age where we can 'read' everything almost as well on a screen.

Many guilds and associations don't even offer a printed version of their journals any longer, especially those that are published for subscribers only rather than being on general sale. I realise it's never quite the same as flicking through the real thing, but it's a lot kinder to the planet in so many ways.

[penwash]

That's lovely Will - I'd be chuffed to bits

Jon, that's such a cool picture

I wish the PCA offered a digital subscription option. I have no space for hard copies of magazines any more, and the additional cost for overseas members is entirely made up of additional postage. I suspect a lot more people would join if they weren't having to carry the cost of print and mailing in an age where we can 'read' everything almost as well on a screen.

Many guilds and associations don't even offer a printed version of their journals any longer, especially those that are published for subscribers only rather than being on general sale. I realise it's never quite the same as flicking through the real thing, but it's a lot kinder to the planet in so many ways.

I will bring this up to Jim Mamoulides (Pen Hero). The printing workflow that produce the Pennant surely would have to go through digital-proofing at some point, and thus a platform like Issuu would be perfect for anyone in the world who would love the content.

[penwash]

But the best part is that it was an auction pen I won in the "Screaming Souls" celluloid, which took just a 3" drop on my desk to break in half, signs of an earlier (poor) repair. Who had the expertise to fix it? None other than Todd Eberspacher, VP and Membership Director of the PCA! I took a quick-and-dirty phone pic to send him, here you go:

We know him around here as Farmboy, don't we?

[penwash]

Congrats Will!

Jon the link doesn't work..

Thanks, Yazeh. It does feel good to contribute to the hobby, even in a tiny way.

[Farmboy]

Try: https://pencollectorsofamerica.org/membership/

The board has considered digital only memberships on a number of occasions. Most recently when it was considered there were very few interested members. I can raise the subject at a board meeting again. Unfortunately unless you go all digital there is not much cost savings to reduce the print run by a few copies.

International postage is certainly the driving cost issue, even domestic postage has gone up in the last few years but is quite reasonable when sending as bulk mail through the printer.

[Jon Szanto]

We know him around here as Farmboy, don't we?

This is allegedly true.

[mizgeorge]

Try: https://pencollectorsofamerica.org/membership/

The board has considered digital only memberships on a number of occasions. Most recently when it was considered there were very few interested members. I can raise the subject at a board meeting again. Unfortunately unless you go all digital there is not much cost savings to reduce the print run by a few copies.

International postage is certainly the driving cost issue, even domestic postage has gone up in the last few years but is quite reasonable when sending as bulk mail through the printer.

It's not so much interested members, surely, as interested prospective members, especially overseas ones, who might happily pay a perhaps very slightly reduced amount for a digital subscription, but will baulk at the additional cost of international postage - which has become really quite high from the US and adds a lot to the annual cost. Perhaps even ask the question here on FPG, to see if there are others outside the US who might find that appealing?