penchantment

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In Norfolk for a reunion, so I popped over to Virginia Beach. This is a great shop, and the owner is great. She let me try the Murasaki-shikibu, which is MUCH more deep and rich than the color on the box. Also a complimentary 2025 magnetic calendar.. Just what I wanted in a purple. Picked up a Platinum Curidas in red, EF nib. And the Monteverde Monza in purple, the 3 in 1 set with fine, medium, and omni-flex. But not just the nibs, a whole separate section and converter for each, as well!

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What a great day! Took Metra from Waukegan to Downtown, and took in the Atlas Stationers 37th Annual Sidewalk Sale...

Which is basically a pen show. Yeah, my penabler husband let me run a little wild.

Honestly, the best part was chatting with all the other pen nerds. Including DAVID FREAKING OSCARSON. I did get a trifle fan-girly. But he is a genius, and also smoking hot!

Laban 3952 Fine nib, Sakura

Platinum Plaisir Medium, Nova Orange

Faber-Castell Grip, Fine, in Rose Copper

(Plus free swag from F-C--a rollerball, pencil, and ink cartridge)

2 Maruman N236 notebooks

Pocket notebook that looks like a Canadian passport 😋

KWZ Sheen Machine ink

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This is a c. 1923-1929 silver eyedropper fountain pen with hand engraved double peony (botan 牡丹) panels. The base of the cap and the barrel are both marked SILVER. The look of the pen is obviously inspired by the Parker Jack Knife Safety with the same basic cap and barrel shape, similar washer clip, and similar hard rubber cap top and barrel end. The clip is stamped POCKET CLIP on the face and 18K for 18 karat gold plate at the top. The cap band is stamped K14 for 14 karat gold plate. The gold nib is stamped WARRANTED over 14K over RT in a hexagon over 9. It’s 5 1/16 inches long capped. It's an eyedropper filler with an ink shut off valve. The hard rubber barrel end cap is stamped with three patent numbers, 64039, 67423, and 126473.

Read the story about this interesting pen here:

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Cursive Is Making A Comeback

The value of learning cursive has been known for years and is finally being acknowledged in school systems nationwide. Check out this editorial by Dr. Daniel Coupland about cursive and its benefits. https://flic.kr/p/2eG2wNV  

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Fyi...cartridges only, Cross converter does NOT fit.

eBay Feature:

Cross Bailey Light Fountain Pens - $7.50 each

An insane price on these neat pens!

Teal - fine or medium

Gray - fine or medium

Coral - fine or medium

Only in our eBay store.

Sale through midnight ET January 31!

Search BAILEY

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Here’s an array of True Blues!

In 1929 Parker introduced one of the most sought after of their low-priced school pens, known today by collectors as the "True Blue." This new slender blue and white swirled Permanite celluloid pen was called the "Three Fifty" in early Parker advertisements and the 1929 Parker catalog. The color was called "Modernistic Blue" in 1929 ads and the 1929 Parker Catalog and "True Blue" in 1930 ads and the 1930 Parker Catalog. The earliest Parker advertisement I could find showing this new pen line is in the May 19, 1929 Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. The True Blue does not appear in the 1932 catalog, indicating that the line probably ran from 1929 through 1931.

Read the story about these interesting pens here:

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The Gillette Co, 1968

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I would like to wish everyone an uneventful new year

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When is a knock off worth the fun? Jinhao 82

Ana and I met up this past Saturday to exchange holiday gifts, sip coffee, chat stationery and knit. She presented me with a beautifully wrapped package and the first thing I opened was a fountain pen. For a second I gasped, but then she assured me it wasn’t what I thought it was. Ana had bought me a Jinhao 82 ($8.98 on Amazon). If you don’t know anything about fountain pens, Jinhao is a series…

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Likes to charge, reblogs to cast

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At first glance the two Conklin pens in this article could be Endura Symetrik pens from 1930s. They have all the elements shown in the A. Bienenstein Symetrik design patent, D83,592, awarded March 10, 1931: a rounded balance shape, a spring loaded clip, two cap bands, a crescent symbol on the cap, and a crescent symbol on the nib. The clip, the 1936 Conklin patented type, and nib, a Cushon Point type, could date the pen possibly as early as 1936. The barrel imprint tells a different story. It’s stamped THE Conklin PEN CO. over CHICAGO, ILL. U.S.A. over ENDURA – D- 83592 over REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. This is a Chicago Conklin. A Chicago syndicate consisting of A. J. Parrson, M. H. Jacobs, and Max Horwitz purchased Conklin on July 13, 1938, and moved existing stock of unfinished pens and parts to Chicago. This dates it no earlier than mid 1938, and likely later as there would have to be some amount to transition time from Toledo to Chicago operations and production.

Read the story about these interesting pens here:

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This is a Stratford fountain pen in emerald green metallic pearl c. 1940.  It is very similar to and appears to be the immediate predecessor if not the basis for the the c. 1940-1943 Stratford 77.  Advertisements for this pen appear only in 1940.  The primary differences are the clip style, cap bands and nib.  It's a 4 7/8 inch button fill fountain pen that uses a striped celluloid very similar to the 1st generation Conklin Nozac Penline.  The pen fills by removing the blind cap from the end of the barrel, inserting the nib in ink and pressing the button to compress the ink sac and fill the pen.  The clip is stamped with the Stratford logo.  The cap band has a fletching or arrow feathers design.  The cap top band has two thin lines.  It features a Lucite ink view section.  The trim and the nib were lightly gold plated and shows typical heavy plating loss.  The nib is stainless steel and stamped Iridium over TIPPED over MADE IN over U.S.A.  The color has faded and the blind cap is brown.  The similarity of the celluloid to the Stratford 77 probably means this model was also offered in striped emerald green, silver grey, and golden brown metallic pearl and jet black.  It sold for 49 cents in 1940.

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PenHero.com Feature Article:

BIC Vermeil Silver Anniversary Pen c. 1975

In the twenty-two years I've been writing about pens and the eighteen years since first posting this article, it continues to be one of the top generators of questions and comments. They range from “My dad had one of those!” to “I just found one of those!” to “How much do you think they are worth?” What’s also interesting is the very little additional information I've been able to find out about them in all those years. Given some recent questions and sales valuations, I thought I’d give the article an update. Find out more in the article!

Let's see yours!

Read the story about this interesting pen here:

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PenHero.com Feature Article:

Unbranded Gold Plated Engraved Leaf Pattern Fountain Pen c. 1954-57

A final stop on this journey visiting leaf engraved Japanese pens is this bright gold plated example. At first look it’s as if the pen maker took the cap and barrel from a rare 1930s era Platinum silver hand engraved leaf pattern lever-fill fountain pen and dipped it in gold. It’s so bright and shiny it’s almost gaudy and I had to check it for hallmarks. Could it be gold over silver vermeil? Lacking any silver hallmarks makes me believe it’s gold plated brass. Find out more in the article!

Read the story about this interesting pen here (or go to PenHero.com – top of page):

https://penhero.com/PenGallery/UnbrandedJapanese/UnbrandedGoldLeafEngraved1950s.htm

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Nota Bene Papeterie. Clairefontaine notebooks, Pilot inks (Iroshizuku Kon-Peki and Pilot Blue-black).