Journal of the Writing Equipment Society No 92 Winter...
60
Journal of the Writing Equipment Society No 92 Winter 2011 www.wesonline.org.uk
Transcript of Journal of the Writing Equipment Society No 92 Winter...
Journal of the Writing Equipment SocietyNo 92 Winter 2011
www.wesonline.org.uk
24 BOOK REVIEWJOTTER: HISTORY OF AN ICON
28 BALLOGRAPHTHE WORLD FAMOUSSWEDISH BALL PEN
34 REFLECTIONS ONPEN VACUUM &PISTON REPAIR
38 WRITE here!SHREWSBURY GEM
40 TRADE TALK
42 BOOK REVIEW LEARN WORLDCALLIGRAPHY
44 ANDREWS TO ZOCCOLA THE100 MOVERS OF THE ENGLISHFOUNTAIN PEN INDUSTRY
48 ORIENTALSTAMP BOXESSPRING MEETINGOF THE STAMPBOX SOCIETY
52 BOOKREVIEW STYLUSPEN ANNUAL2011
2 EDITORIAL
4 IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
6 CHAT FROM THE CHAIRIT’S GREAT TO BELONG
8 LWES 2011 A PHOTOGRAPHICRECORD OF THE GREAT DAY!
10 WHAT’S IN A NAME?MUDIE’S SQUEEZER NIBS
14 PARKER PENREPAIRS IN PRAISE OFELIZABETH MARYMcCLUSKIE
16 PORTABLE INKWELLS:PART 2 INKWELL STUDY GROUP MEETING
20 EDELBERG A NEW STAR IN THEPEN FIRMAMENT
22 PEN PROFILEKELLY LAWRENCE
1
Cover photograph detail of a pen nibdress designed byJohn Nussey andSteven Tai. Seepage 41.
Journal of the Writing Equipment SocietyNo 92 Winter 2011
www.wesonline.org.uk
CONTENTS
DESIGNED BYTeresa Shepherd) 01273 [email protected]
PRINTED BYOne Digital54 Hollingdean Road Brighton BN2 4AAwww.one-digital.com
Trade Liaison OfficerCharles WhiteheadPastures Edge, Tregenna Road Blisland, Cornwall PL30 4JS) 01208 [email protected]
Advertising ManagerDr Mike West9 Bell Lane, Monks Kirby,Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 0QY) 01788 [email protected]
Librarian/ArchivistJeremy Collingridge1 Coventry Road, Narborough Leicester LE19 2GD) 01162 [email protected]
Meetings SecretaryBill Linskey32 Stockwell Green London SW9 9HZ) 0207 274 [email protected]
Journal EditorDavid Shepherd60 Surrenden Crescent, Brighton East Sussex BN1 6WF) 01273 [email protected]
WebmasterDavid Wells40 Mill Lane, Herne Bay Kent CT6 7EB) 01227 [email protected]
REPRESENTATIVESOVERSEASUSALen Provisor) 00 1 847 566 [email protected]
Sri LankaDr Sam Hettiarachchi) 00 941 [email protected]
South AmericaHugo and Helena CastelloBased in [email protected]
2
Where do the years go? It seemsonly yesterday that we wereplanning the first LWEShow. Andnow we have just held numberfive, this time organized superblyby Graham Hogg, GeraldHarrison and their team of volunteers. Jeremy Collingridgehad a sabbatical this year, but theformat he created is tried andtested and worked well with thenew team. In spite of the untimelyclosure of the High StreetKensington tube station, theshow was again a great successwith an increased participation. Ican only endorse Graham’s sentiments and thank everyoneinvolved for all their efforts.When our new Chairman was
elected a year ago the Societywas really electing ‘Team Hogg’.The real ‘power behind thethrone or chair’, as we all know,is of course Christine. Elsewherein the Journal, Graham hasalluded to the fact that they arejoined at the hip. What a goodanalogy. Following my recentsurgery I can recommend havinga partner who does all the workand allows me to take the credit!May I take this early opportunity
to wish you a happy Christmasand I hope you find some ideasand inspiration for seasonalpresents in the current Journal.
David ShepherdEditor
EDITORIAL
www.wesonline.org.uk
PRESIDENTDr Maureen GreenlandCartledge Cottage76 Cartledge Lane Holmesfield, DronfieldDerbyshire S18 7SB) [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENTSJohn DanielsNorris GilbertArnold GreenwoodAlan HobbsStephen HullGeoff RoeHarry ScharfMichael Woods
COUNCILMEMBERSChairmanDr Graham Hogg JP185 Preston New Road,Southport, Merseyside PR9 8NS) 01704 [email protected]
SecretaryGerald Harrison57 Furlong Lane, Alrewas Burton upon Trent DE13 7EE) 01283 [email protected]
Membership Secretaryand Marketing OfficerIan Williamson79 Trent Valley Road Lichfield WS13 6EZ) 01543 [email protected]@wesonline.org.uk
TreasurerAmos Peek7 De-Havilland Road Upper Rissington Cheltenham GL54 2NZ) 01451 [email protected]
Back numbers of the WESJournal can be obtainedthrough the Librarian whocan be contacted as shownon this page.
Copyright © Writing EquipmentSociety & authors. All rights reserved. No part ofthis Journal may be reprinted orreproduced in any form, orused in any information storageand retrieval system, withoutthe written permission of theWriting Equipment Society andauthor(s). Opinions published inthe WES Journal are those ofthe contributors, and do notnecessarily represent the viewsof the Editor, or of the WESCouncil. Advertisements arepublished in good faith. TheSociety cannot accept anyresponsibility for the goods orservices offered.
Important reminderWould membersplease advise membership secretary Ian
Williamson of anychange to email
address
ISSN 1758-5406
3
Shop : 14 Fountain Court, Market Place, Epworth, North Lincolnshire, DN9 1EG© Penbox 25.08.10
4
IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
SPRING MEETINGTHE BLUECOAT ROOM THE GUILDHALL GLOUCESTER SATURDAY 31 MARCH 2012
Apart from the AGM, our next meetingwill be held on Saturday, 31 March2012 in Gloucester.We will be in the Bluecoat Room of
Gloucester Guildhall, where we had ourmeeting last year. This proved to be avery good venue; in the heart of the Citybut easily accessible both by publictransport and by car.
It has been the traditionof our spring meeting tobase it around a theme,giving people the oppor-tunity to bring items fromtheir collection to talk
about which fit the theme, no matter whatthey collect. This year we had items madefrom animal products. We have not yetdecided the theme for next year’s meetingand I am open to suggestions. TheOlympics and Sport occurred to me butI’m not sure that there are enoughcommemorative items out there to makeit a good topic. In any case, we’ve not yet
even started the Olympics year andalready it seems to me somewhathackneyed – let me have your sugges-tions.Put the date in your diaries. I’ll have a
reminder and further details circulated byemail in the New Year. If you are not onemail but may wish to come, let me knowby letter or phone and I will ensure youreceive the information.
Bill Linskey, Meetings Secretary32 Stockwell Green, London, SW9 9HZ) 020 7274 [email protected]
Saturday 26 November 2011The Function Room, The Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club25 Alvaney Gardens, London NW6 1JD
31ST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGThe Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club is in Alvaney Gardens offLymington Road, which is itself off Finchley Road opposite theCamden Arts Centre. CAR: There is very limited on-street parking. The nearest largecar park is at the O2 Centre; its entrance is 50m north of theFinchley Road underground station down a service roadbetween the O2 Centre and the railway bridge. UNDERGROUND: The nearest station is Finchley Road, on theMetropolitan and Jubilee lines, from which it is about a ten-minute walk. Alternatively, Hampstead station on the NorthernLine is not much further to walk. Please note: in recent yearsthe underground has suffered from disruption due to plannedengineering works at the weekend. We generally only find outabout any disruption on the Thursday before the weekend. Wewill try to email members who use email, but everyone isadvised to check before travelling. For London travel information)0843 222 1234 (24 hours a day). OVERGROUND: Finchley Road & Frognal station is on theNorth London Line and only a few minutes’ walk away.NB This meeting is for members only and for security reasonsmembers will be asked to sign in.
Programme
10am Registration Tea/Coffee will be served.
11am Annual General Meeting
1pm Lunch Hot buffet (vegetarians catered for) withchoice of main courses and desserts. Price: £18 without wine (house wine will available to buy on the day: £8 white & £10 red per bottle). If you wish to make your own arrangements for lunch there are plenty of eating places in Finchley Road.
2.30pm Exchange and mart of writing antiques and collectables.
3.30pm Afternoon tea will be served until 4pm
5pm Meeting closes
If you wish to have a buffet lunch please return the enclosed booking slip with your cheque (payable to TheWriting Equipment Society) to: Bill Linskey, 32 Stockwell Green, London SW9 9HZ before 19 November 2011.Sorry but no bookings can be accepted after this date.
5
Would members dealing on ebay please considermentioning the WES at thecompletion of a transactionEPHEMERA
SOCIETYBAZAARSunday 4 December 2012
11am–4pm Admission £3 Holiday Inn
Coram Street, Bloomsbury London WC1N 1HT
WES
MEM
BERS
HIP2
011
WES
MEM
BERS
HIP2
011
The Writing Equipment Societywww.wesonline.org.uk
sfountainpenslsquillspaperkchatelainestandsblotterssinkstandswritingslopessephemera
Contact Ian [email protected]
PEN SHOWS IN UK
Sunday 12 February 2012 South West Pen ShowHilton Hotel Bristol
Sunday 25 March 2012 Eastern Pen ShowDoubletree by Hilton HotelCambridge
Sunday 22 April 2012 Northern Pen ShowClifton Arms Hotel West BeachLytham
www.ukpenshows.co.uk
PEN SHOWS USA
20–22 January 2012Philadelphia Pen ShowSheraton Philadelphia Center City Hotelwww.philadelphiapenshow.com
16–19 February 2012Los Angeles Pen ShowManhattan Beach MarriottBoris Ricewww.lapenshow.com
3–6 May 2012Chicago Pen Show Westin O'Hare, RosemontDon [email protected]
Frank Hull 1918–2011Frank Rowland Hull, Lt Col (Retd),died peacefully at his home in the south of France on 3 October, aged 93.
Frank was one of the originalmembers of the Writing EquipmentSociety and along with several
others, such as Arnold Greenwood,Bernard Pearl, Andy Lambrou,Geoff Roe, Dominic Nudd and
Jonathan Steinberg, specialised inthe collecting of fountain pens.
His son, Steve, WES Hon VP, will provide a longer tribute toFrank in the next Journal.
MEMBERS WHO WISH TOPURCHASE ANYTHINGFROM THE LIBRARIAN FORDELIVERY AT THE AGM ONNOVEMBER 26, PLEASECONTACT JEREMYCOLLINGRIDGE) 01162 [email protected]
MEMBERSHIPSECRETARYFollowing the resignation ofMartin Roberts the newMembership Secretary is IanWilliamson, who is combiningthis role with his present positionas Marketing Officer. In Spring 2012 he will beproducing a current Member’slist. The Society apologises tothe membership for the delay inproducing this valuable resource.
6
CHATFROM THECHAIRI am writing this still on a high from theterrific buzz I got from the LWES showon Sunday, 2 October. This was the5th show that has been run on behalfof the Society and another greatsuccess given the initial commentsappearing on the Fountain PenNetwork. Running such a show hasmany hidden benefits for the Society:it raises our profile in the writingequipment world and as such is afantastic marketing tool; we gain newmembers who may not otherwisehave heard about us – 10 on thisoccasion (my thanks also go to UKPen Shows Ltd who, throughout theyear, allow the Society to have a tablef.o.c. at their events enabling us torecruit new members); we enjoy thefellowship of other members, ratherlike an informal meeting; the oppor-tunity to purchase from dealers; and,on this occasion, the opportunity tosell via the WES Bourse table – andextremely busy it was too, with grosstakings of around £3,400, an amountany trader would be extremelypleased with. The WES table wasalso very productive. But pleaseremember that none of this wouldhave run without the members of the
Society who volunteered and appliedthemselves in a slick and professionalway – thank you. In fact, the meeting on the Saturday
provided an appetiser for the show: itwas a great venue, with great speakersand great fellowship – epitomising whatmeetings of the Society are all about.However, one of my low points asChairman this year was when BillLinskey phoned me to say that he wouldhave to cancel the meeting and visit toDiamine Inks on Saturday 24 Septemberdue to lack of interest. This was a blowto me, to the few members who hadsigned up and were looking forward tothe event, to Bill who had taken thetrouble to organise the event, and toDiamine Inks who had agreed to talk tomembers and had arranged a factoryvisit. It would be most unsatisfactory ifthis is repeated at future meetings; if youwould like to have meetings arranged ina different format or perhaps as aSociety weekend then I would verymuch like to hear your views.
As we approach the AGM and Ireflect back, I am immensely proud ofwhat the Society has provided for itsmembers this year. I would like to thankDelma Harrison who has allowed Geraldto spend more time with me than her,and has provided me with food anddrink when I visited their home on WESand LWES business. Like me, this isGerald’s first year on Council and toarrange LWES 2011 as well as fulfil hisduties as Secretary shows massivecommitment to the Society – and forthat I am particularly grateful. CatherinePeek has allowed me to raise herhusband’s blood pressure by 20 pointsas we grapple with the accounts andmake them simpler for all concerned,especially as the Society’s turnover israther similar to that of a small business.Andrea Collingridge has allowed Jeremyto drive her soft top Saab around thecountry on his way to run repair classes– an extremely popular weekend past-time for WES members; as well as useher holiday home to store librarianparaphernalia. Anne Whitehead’shusband has gone missing for days at atime as he treks to WES Councilmeetings, and her computer hasgroaned and crashed on severaloccasions as Charles introduces yetanother trade liaison contact. Liz West
has allowed her husband to interrupt hersummer holiday in Majorca on numerousoccasions as he sits on the apartmentstairs trying to pick up stray wi-fi signalsin an effort to amass advertisingsponsorship so designer,Terry Shepherd,can maximise the quality of our journal.And that is exactly what is happening –David Shepherd has had to buy a newestate car so he can cart his photo-graphic material around the country andtake photographs of writing equipmentfor the journal – he told his wife heneeded it for his golf clubs – as if –especially with the number plateDS51PEN! (If anyone knows of thewhereabouts of the recently issuednumber plate BA11PEN – the chairmanwould like to buy it!) The journal is goingfrom strength to strength and, becauseof contributions on a more jovial notefrom members who pick up anecdotes,share newspaper cuttings, and other funitems David and I have made consid-erable effort to move it away fromreading like the British Dental Journal(we were both dentists in an earlier life.) Diana Linskey decided that Bill
should not only spend a considerableamount of time arranging fantasticmeetings, but should also run the LWESBourse table under her tutelage – andwhat a great job they did, not only forthe benefit of members trying to sell thatitem they don’t want and which washidden at the back of a drawer foryears, but as a financial benefit for theSociety. Such financial benefits havehelped to keep membership fees frozenfor yet another year. Martin Roberts, the Membership
Secretary has stood down and hascurrently been replaced by IanWilliamson. I would like to take thisopportunity to thank Martin for five yearsdiligent service on Council and forassisting in a seamless transfer to Ian,who was kind enough to agree toamalgamate the positions of Marketingand Membership (he reckons he coversboth posts but behind every good manis a great woman – thank you Ann.)Please note that your annualmembership will be due for renewal on31 December 2011 – I hope you haveenjoyed the benefits of being a memberof WES this year and will considerrenewing your membership next year.Sally Wells now has to share her life with
7
an iPad as well as David and it seemsthat it might be the iPad that is gettingall of the attention at the moment as helooks at updating the present Societywebsite, but just to keep him busy wethrow in the odd newsletter to send out– please make sure the Society has yourup-to-date email address otherwise youwill be missing out – watch this website!Many thanks to our erstwhile
chairman, Mike Woods, who has helpedin starting and developing an inkwellstudy group – we ballpoint collectorsdon’t know what an inkwell is – but, hey,I am glad someone takes an interest inthem (words often uttered in my earwhen I talk about my collecting habits;my wife thinks it is one of my dirty habits. . . yes, ballpoints also leak ink.) Ahyes, my wife, I would like to thank mywife who allows me to indulge mypassion of writing instruments – many ofyou know we are joined at the hip – sheknows more about WES business than Ido, so if you ring our house about WES,ask for her not me, as I am usually busythanking all the people who have helpedat LWES, on the WES table, proof-reading the journal (it seems rather likewrapping your own Christmas presentsto me), scanning pieces for the archive,writing articles for the journal, and so thelist goes on . . . but the editor has askedme to STOP as I am using too muchjournal space! So if I don’t get round tochatting to you it is because I amanswering the 1,350 emails I havereceived to date; funnily enough I havehad less than 10 handwritten letters!I hope you have a pleasant Christmas
and will renew your membership for2012 – perhaps a rather nice Christmaspresent?In the words of Tim Cook, the new
CEO for Apple, when launching the newiphone, and my words when introducingyou to Council “Don’t be deceived,inside its all new”. And in the words ofWES, and I have no doubt ourPresident, Maureen Greenland willconcurr as she has been in it from thestart, “It’s Great to Belong.”
DAVE RUDERMAN RECEIVES HIS HONORARY LIFEMEMBERSHIP AWARD FROM DAVID SHEPHERD,WES JOURNAL EDITOR.
Dave Ruderman has recently retired from his position as the Royal WarrantHolder and Director of Heritage Products at the Parker Pen Company. He alsohad an additional remit as the custodian of the Company Archives. Thecollection contains thousands of documents and in excess of 15,000 pensdating from 1888 to the present day. He started work at the Parker plant inNewhaven in 1976 as a laboratory technician in the Research and Developmentdepartment. Two years later he moved into Quality Engineering and QualityManagement. Under his guidance the Newhaven site was accredited toBS5750 Quality Management Systems in 1988.He has always been an enthusiastic and loyal friend of the Writing
Equipment Society and it was his efforts to arrange the Parker sponsorship ofthe first LWEShow in 2007 that guaranteed the success of the event. As anacknowledgement of the contributions he has made to the London WritingEquipment Shows, Dave has been made an Honorary Life Member of TheWriting Equipment Society.
Calligrapher,Davina Chapman
preparing theaward certificate
at the LWEShow inLondon on
Sunday 2 October
WES LONDON WRITING EQUIPMENT SHOW
LWES2011
00
All the photographs courtesyof Richard Maguire.
00
THE FIFTH LWESHOW WAS HELD ON 2 OCTOBER 2011 AT THE KENSINGTONTOWN HALL ON PROBABLY THE WARMEST DAY OF THE YEAR. JEREMYCOLLINGRIDGE HAD A SABBATICAL REST THIS YEAR AND THE SHOW WASORGANIZED BY GRAHAM HOGG, GERALD HARRISON AND THEIR TEAM OFVOLUNTEERS. DESPITE THE UNTIMELY CLOSURE OF KENSINGTON HIGHSTREET TUBE STATION, MANY COLLECTORS STILL MANAGED TO FIND THEIRWAY TO SPEND MONEY. WITHOUT DOUBT THE STAR ENTREPRENEUR WAS BILLLINSKEY WHO HAD GROSS TAKINGS OF £3,400 ON THE WES BOURSE TABLE.
10
WHAT’SINANAME?IT ALL BEGAN WITH A CASUAL GLANCE AT ANADVERTISEMENT IN THE LOCAL PAPER FOR AGENERAL AUCTION SALE AT ALDRIDGES OFBATH. AN EDWARDIAN MUDIE’S PATENT‘SQUEEZER’ CARD TABLE WAS LISTEDAMONGST THE SELECTED ITEMS. BRENDA FRYDID A ‘DOUBLE-TAKE’. IN HER COLLECTION OFPEN NIBS IS A BOX OF MUDIE’S SQUEEZERNIBS – COULD THERE BE ANY CONNECTION?HERE SHE TELLS THE STORY.
I rang WES member, Michael Woods, to find that he has two nib-boxes,identical except for business addresses – one at 15 Coventry Street,London and the other at 115 New Bond Street, London. The design onthe boxes seemed to confirm that there must be a link between the tableand the pen nibs. He was intrigued by my story and we both wanted toknow more. Research, courtesy of my
daughter, revealed thatCharles Edward Mudie wasa publisher and the founderof Mudie’s Lending Library.His business began bylending books to LondonUniversity students whopaid a guinea a year toborrow a volume at a time. The success of this venture developed intolending libraries for the general public in London and eventually in York,Manchester and Birmingham. The cost of novels in the 19th centurywas high and thus people of modest financial meanscould not afford to buy them. Lending librariesstrongly influenced what people read throughtheir choice of authors and Mudie refused tostock what he considered to be “immoral”novels. As the success of these venturesgrew then reference books were included onthe shelves and it is interesting to note thatCharles Mudie purchased 500 copies ofCharles Darwin’s On the Origin of theSpecies in 1859.Alongside his publishing and library
businesses Charles Mudie (by now Mudie andSons) was also an importer of playing cards fromthe New York Consolidated Card Company (NYCCC).Another internet search, this time by Michael Woods,threw up the valuable help of Peter Way, a leading collector of playing
Two Mudie’s Squeezer Pen boxes showingtwo different addresses in London –15 Coventry St. London W and 115 New Bond St. London W1.
11
cards who runs a website: www.collectorsplayingcards.co.uk.He responded generously to Michael’s request for informationabout the origin of the word ‘Squeezer’ and led us to understandsomething of the evolution of the design of playing cards. We areindebted to Peter for providing most of the information and illus-tration that comprises this article.Around 1850–60, in Europe and America, playing cards were
printed without numbers and court cards were depicted with full-length figures. Thus they could not be held in a ‘fanned’ configu-ration. Court cards picked-up upside down had to be rightedgiving valuable clues to other players and number cards had tobe moved about to check the symbols. To overcome theseproblems, the first step in the 1850s was to double-end the courtcards. Later, around 1870, indices were introduced and addedto the diagonally opposite corners. Two styles emerged – thefamiliar arrangement found on today’s cards and another showingminiature cards in the corners, known as ‘Triplicate’ design (socalled because there were three images of the card on eachface). Both could now be compactly ‘fanned’, or ‘squeezed’, toenable players to study the contents of their hands easily.
‘Squeezers’ was a term introduced by SamuelHart and Lawrence Cohen who went on with twoother colleagues to form the New YorkConsolidated Card Co. in 1871, after which theirwhole range of card products were known as‘Squeezers’. ‘Triplicate’ cards were manufac-tured by a rival company (The AndrewDougherty Card Co) and this rivalry is demon-strated well by an illustration taken from theback of a pack of cards. The two dogs, onewith a collar marked Trip and the other with acollar marked Squeezer, are fighting over the‘bone’ of commercial prosperity which wouldresult from the domination of the market by theproducts of one or other of the companies. Bythe 1930s, however, commercial pressures ledto the arch-rivals merging to become theConsolidated-Dougherty Card Co. Inc.
12
Back to Mudie and Sons, the UK importers of theNYCCCo’s ‘Squeezer’ playing cards. It seems from adver-tisements in a Whist Manual by R F Foster of New Yorkpublished in London by Frederick Warne & Co that playingcards and associated publications and equipment mighthave been a profitable part of their business for someyears. It is in this manual that we find a drawing of thevery ‘Squeezer’ card table sold recently by Aldridges ofBath and, on the opposite page is an advertisement for‘The Squeezer Pen’.At first the connection between packs of playing cards
and boxes of pen nibs may seem tenuous. But just thinkabout the clever play on words on the box label – ‘Suits allhands’ and consider how many boxes of nibs would be incirculation at a time when written communication wasburgeoning. Mudies and Sons with their publishingbusiness and string of lending libraries would have beenwell placed to promote an effective advertising campaignfor all aspects of their business through their boxes of nibs.It was very common for writing materials to be sold throughprinters, publishers and booksellers across the land.What an interesting journey we have taken from the
chance observation of the word ‘Squeezer’ in an adver-tisement for a sale of ‘Victorian and general householdfurniture and effects’ in a local newspaper!
WHAT’SINANAME?
14
PARKERPEN REPAIRSAND SERVICING AT NEWHAVENMANY OF YOU, AND NOT JUST PEN COLLECTORS,WILL BE AWARE THAT THE PARKER PEN COMPANYNO LONGER OPERATES IN NEWHAVEN, EAST SUSSEX.THE COMPANY CLOSED THEIR NEWHAVEN PLANT ONFRIDAY, 27 AUGUST 2010, AND THE GATES WEREFINALLY LOCKED ONE MONTH LATER. GRAHAM HOGGIN PRAISE OF MARY ELIZABETH McCLUSKIE.
When the Parker Pen Companyexpanded its operation in the USA in themid-1920s it also moved to offices inBritain, but it was not until the 1940s thatit took over the premises of the ValentinePen Company in Newhaven and becamefully established in Britain. Parker beganto manufacture and distribute from thislocation, and subsequently offered aparts and repair service. Many a WESmember who collects Parker writinginstruments will be familiar with theParker Service and Repair manual.Before the advent of mass-production
of items that could not be disassembled,pens could often be broken down andtheir component parts replaced orretuned – very apparent to those whohave completed the excellent WES repaircourses. Parker offered variousguarantees on their products, usually fora fixed period, but occasionally for alifetime. From 1977, whether pens werereturned to the factory by the purchaseror a stationer they would arrive on MaryMcCluskie’s desk.
Mary Elizabeth McCluskie was bornin London and still retains her accent, sothose of you who have spoken to her onthe phone can be forgiven for thinkingParker’s repair department was not inNewhaven. Mary had moved toBrighton to set up a business, she hadskills in hotel management, so when shetook a job at the Parker Pen Companyin Newhaven she envisaged this being atemporary post for about three months,not for almost the 33 years that sheended up working there!Mary started work in March 1977
when the company was producing penslike the 61, 65, 75, 45, and 25, and thelimited edition Queen’s Silver Jubileemodels. At that time Mary had nointerest in writing instruments andworking in the Despatch Departmenthardly ignited any passions. But sixweeks later she joined the ServiceDepartment. At that time this was alarge department as Parker not onlytrained their own staff, but trainedretailers to carry out repairs in their ownshops. Parker obviously saw Mary’stalent because they trained her in thedepartment, but Mary followed themanagement route and by 1984 shehad become under-manager or leadinghand and was to be considered for thepost of manager, which was achieved in1986 when there were 24 staff in thedepartment. During her time in the
15
who sold the writing instruments divisionin 2000 to Newell Rubbermaid.Around 2005 Parker introduced an
extended 2-year guarantee on itsproducts, but these repairs are nowcarried out in France at the Nantes factory.Mary’s final position within the
company was in the Company Archivewhere she continued to log products –again, her skills and knowledge of productrecognition helped. It was during thisperiod that she assisted the author andthe WES editor to find their way aroundthe Archive when writing their books –both would like to express their thanks. During her work in the Archive, Mary
became aware of the company’s history,how Parker had beenbuilt into a dynamic,iconic brand, the wayit had been drivenand marketed tomake it successfuland a householdname, with theemployees beingdedicated to thebrand. It wasobvious from myinterview with Marythat she was sad to
see Newhaven close, she was one ofthe last to be made redundant. However,the Service department do meet periodi-cally for a night out to reminisce. When I asked Mary what was her
favourite line of pens produced by Parkershe stated the Premier, introduced in 1983– “It was slim, elegant and had a classicstyle.” About the time Mary left Parker, thecompany had started to produce a newPremier line – made in France.Parker has a very small museum as a
token of their presence in Newhaven inParadise Park, being part of the localmaritime museum operated by theNewhaven Historical Society.
Addendum: Parker also has a smalloffice on Denton Island, Newhavenwhich included Dave Ruderman’s officebefore his recent retirement. Dave hasrecently been awarded an honorary lifemembership of WES in respect of thecontributions he made to the LondonWriting Equipment Shows organised byWES Events Ltd (see page 7).
The author would like to thank MaryMcCluskie for sharing her anecdotes andallowing them to be published.
department Mary has encounteredrepairs on many models including the
popular 51 and Duofold, as well asolder family heirlooms. Repairsthat are most memorableinclude a request from theauthor Colin Dexter whoclaimed he had lost the springin his favourite Parker ballpointand felt he couldn’t continuewith his next story of Inspector
Morse until it was operational again.And a request from Highgrove Houseand St James’s Palace for her to repairpens owned by Prince Charles – not ajob for the faint hearted! But on aMonday morning Mary always had asmile on herface when sheread the lettersthat arrived onher deskclaimingcompensationfor Parker Quinkink stains onundergarmentsvarying fromexpensive brasto string vests.Mary alwaysasked for proof so the company becameexpert in delicate fabric cleaning.Mary became a European manager
for Parker in 2005. This enabled her tovisit all European countries and she wasinstrumental in the amalgamation ofBenelux after-sales with Newhaven.She also had opportunities to visitRussia, Poland, Austria and India, butthis didn’t stop her from travelling allaround the UK visiting retailers andensuring that her department offeredexcellent service with a rapid turn roundtime, customer service being key whenstrengthening the brand. Mary, becauseof her skills and knowledge, also workedclosely with other departments includingResearch & Development, and Quality toimprove products, and with Marketingpromoting after-sales services.Parker provided considerable
employment in the town of Newhavenand, in fact, Mary’s husband worked inthe Moulding Department and herdaughter worked in Distribution duringthe school holidays. But employeeshave seen many changes at Parker sincea management buyout in 1987 movedthe Parker headquarters to Newhaven.In 1993 Parker was acquired by Gillette,
16
PORTABLEINKWELLS
PART 2 OF THE INKWELLSTUDY GROUP
MEETING SATURDAY
5 MARCH 2011 REPORT BYPETER HUNT
Portable wells were also incorporated into novelty gift items, often fortourists, in the Victorian and Edwardian years. Members brought miniatureglobes, a violin case, hats, an umbrella and an egg. The egg in this pictureis of olive wood with a fixed glass well and is a souvenir from Jerusalem.
Before the reliable fountain pen, and when men wore heavierjackets than today, a small portable inkwell in silver or electro-plate was handy for their pocket and, engraved with amonogram of the recipient’s initials, made a welcome gift in thelate 19th and early 20th centuries.
17
Leather cased brass wells, often embossed with ‘Ink’in gold on the lid, were made in various shapes, sizesand combinations of wells, pen wiper and telescopicpen from the mid 1800s onwards. This has a penand a pencil which are pushed out by knobs alongslits on each side of the brass cylinder. Brought byStirling Maguire, this has a hinged brass candleholder. Others, such as the pair from Colin Baxter’scollection marked “Ink” and “Light”, which carriedvestas and a hinged strip of metal for striking, hadprobably been part of a boxed travel set.
At one time manufacturerssuch as Onoto, Parker andStephens produced screwtopcases for customers to carrytheir glass bottles of inksafely when travelling.
Made in England in the 1750s this beautifully designedset has a silver pen and a claw with sliding ring to gripa fine charcoal pencil. Its four sections are housed inthe back of the black fish skin box which has an ovalpress button release. The silver well is covered by aswivelling lid and sealed by a butterfly screw.
Mike Lishman was unable to attend the meeting but Stirling Maguirebrought this French walking stick from his collection on Mike’s behalf. Itsfour sections unscrew to reveal a pen, a pencil, a well with cork stopperand, in the silver top, a Stanhope with a view of L’Eglise du St Sepulcre.
18
PENNERSPenner is the name generally accepted as meaning a case forholding a pen or pens and inkwell and often a sander andwafers and having a tubular shape which is generally cylindricalbut can also be oval, rectangular or like a tobacco pipe.
An unusual ground glass stopperon the well in this shagreencovered case from the 1820s.
With a twisted metalhandle and hook catchesthis small Morocco leathercase has two silvertopped glass wells and isfrom about 1800. The rearspace is for quills and thefront section for wafers.
Only four inches long when assembled this English silver pennermade by Joseph Taylor in 1790 was one of the smallest and neatestwe had seen. In four sections its top pulls out to reveal the inkwell.
This horn penner is a foot long. It has a well, quill holder and sander and is probably from the mid 18th century.
The four sections of this early 19th century English woodpenner consist of a sander, wafer tray and a lid which coversa glass well with an inverted cone to prevent spillage.
19
QALAMDAMThe qalamdam was usually made of brass and wasoften engraved with complex patterns or, as with thisexample from Egypt, Arabic calligraphy. However itsdesign varied considerably throughout the MiddleEast and some, such as those found in the Museumof Islam in Sharjah, are indistinguishable from theJapanese yatates.
EXCISE WELLSRiding on horseback oreven walking with anopen glass well full of inkin your pocket or hanging from a cord on your chest withoutspilling the ink or breaking the glass could be worrying. Butthat was the challenge for excise duty collectors in Englandin the early 18th century. Fortunately the invention of flintglass wells, which were robust, cheap to make and could bemass produced, followed by the design of an inverted coneinside the neck to prevent spillage, made life easier for theexcise men. Later, to make it extra safe and non-spill, asecond inverted cone was added. However there remainedthe problem that, when it rained, water could get in throughthe open top and dilute the ink.
Left, an early 1830s example of TunbridgeWare this wooden penner incorporates aglass well and space for pens or quills.
Mike Hughes brought ten examples of the wellsfrom his collection which ranged in height from50mm to 110mm (2 to 41⁄4 inches). The one on theright sits in a leather thong with a hole at the top tohang on a hook or a button. At the end of the 19thcentury ink bottles like these were being sold as“Glass Pocket and Other Ink Bottles” by a wholesalestationer at prices ranging from 1s 2d to 7s 0d adozen and the note: “Excise Inks – Plain or lippedsame price – Cut bottoms 5d per dozen extra”.
This one from John Keller’s collection,has a similar construction and purposeto the yatate although its deeper shaftgives space for two or three reed pens.
YATATESYatates have been used as writing instru-ments in Japan since the Middle Ages.
This one above, bought by Peter Hunt whenhe was in Kamakura in 1975, is probably fromthe 19th century. Made of a bronze-like metalits shaft is for holding writing tools, usually afine brush, and sometimes a knife, and there isa half inch long oval hole near the top end ofthe shaft presumably to allow the brush to dry.The hinged lid to the well has a projecting rightangled metal strip so that, when the lid isclosed, it will cover the open end of the shaftand stop the brush or knife from falling out.The well was usually filled with old cotton orsilk fibre and saturated with ink which, even ifit dried out, could be regenerated with water.From the side of the well to the underside ofthe shaft is a curved link making a hole for acord so that the yatate can be easily hungfrom a belt or over the shoulder.
20
EDELBE A NEW STAR IN THE PEN FIRSAM HETTIARARCHCHIREVEALS A NEWCONCEPT OF FINEWRITING INSTRUMENTS:EDELBERG CREATED BYDESIGNER, RESEARCHERAND BUSINESSMAN,CARLO E NALDI.
BIRTH OF A BRANDThe spring of 2010 marked the birth of anew brand, Edelberg, launched by CarloNaldi, an entrepreneur and designer, wellknown in the Swiss pen industry. Thecollection had its premiere at theBaselWorld in March 2011. Carlo has had a life long interest in
collecting writing instruments and objectsof archaeological beauty. Based in Zug,Carlo is a distributor of many top qualitybrands of pens and accessories andoperates an exclusive pen shop, whichalso offers accessories produced by himunder the Naldi name. The launch of thenew brand and the Edelberg Collectiontook place on 7 October in Geneva atBrachard, the exclusive Geneva WritingRoom, on its 170th birthday.
MOVING ALONG THE PATH OFPASSIONWith the experience of having been theexclusive distributor in Switzerland for awide range of famous Italian brands ofpens and accessories, Carlo opened‘Style’, in the spring of 2008, a uniqueboutique shop for pens and accessoriesin the picturesque city of Zug. Theinterior design of ‘Style’ is in the form ofa pen arcade with areas dedicated todifferent brands, using their own tradi-tional advertising settings and comfortzones. Carlo’s wife Antonina managesthe shop in a very stylish way.
One of his many skills has been thecreation of truly spectacular handmadeexquisite boxes for storage of pens andwatches under the Naldi name. Penscannot enjoy greater luxury than beingstored in Naldi specialist boxes.
EDELBERG – YOU LOOK HAPPY TOGREET MEGiven this respect for brands, it is notsurprising that Naldi decided to launchhis own brand, Edelberg. Over the lastfew years he has spent considerabletime and energy in planning and devel-oping his new concept. A team ofcreative minds, led by Naldi haveplanned and created the products,which have undergone rigorous proce-dures for quality and durability.The name ‘Edelberg’ comes from the
combination of Edelweiss and
21
RG RMAMENT
Gutenburg. Edelweiss, a national symbol,is the unmistakable Swiss flower, whichthrives on the high alpine pastures.Johannes Gutenberg was a Germanblacksmith, goldsmith, printer andpublisher who introduced modern bookprinting. His invention of mechanicalmovable type printing started the printingrevolution and is widely regarded as themost important event of the modernperiod. He was the first European to usemovable type printing in 1439, and theglobal inventor of the printing press. His major work, the Gutenberg Bible,
also known as the 42-line Bible, hasbeen acclaimed for its clarity andtechnical quality. Thus the nameEdelberg was created to reflect naturalSwiss beauty, craftsmanship andinnovation, which are important corevalues of the brand. Naldi’s intentionwas to develop a unique product with astand-alone character and in thiscontext he has invested heavily in newmaterials and modern mechanisms. Thewriting instruments are distinguished bytheir advanced technology and contem-porary design using carbon fibre,stainless steel, aluminium, gold andtitanium and fine woods.The Tachys Collection is composed of
pens and rollerballs in nine differentversions. The fountain pen is thick andstylized and takes its name from the Greekword for speed. It is made in fine resinwith details in 316L stainless steel. Its clipis a hallmark of the series with a designbased on the pointer of a speedometer.The Sloop Collection is very contem-
porary in style and comprises a range oftwelve ballpoints, distinguished by theirstriped bodies, inspired by the shape ofa sailing yacht’s hull. The Sloop uses avariety of materials, resin, carbon fibre,lacquer and black PVD. The clip has asophisticated disappearing mechanism.
22
About me: Since an early age I’ve always been drawn to stationery, writingequipment and styles – if you’ll pardon the pun . . . Sadly, unable to use my handswell, I have never been able to create the intricate designs of calligraphy. I canhowever still appreciate the beauty and skill involved and as well as being a bit of abookworm I’m very interested in writing equipment, particularly from the past.
What I collect: I collect dip pens, inkwells, particularly travelling inkwells, desksets and pencils. I started out with writing slopes and stationery boxes and still dooccasionally pick these up, that said with the limited space available to me, thesmaller items are so much easier to display and find homes for.
Best Finds: My best finds are those with a personal history attached to them,something to look in to. Some examples would be a blotter I bought which had areceipt in it, a bible with family details – a full history of births, marriages etc, a lovelydeed box with newspaper cuttings, letters etc. I love the social history and the era – Iwas definitely born in the wrong century, or was I, now at least I get to collect thesewonderful pieces of history!
Areas of expertise: If I have any, they definitely aren’t around writingequipment. It is too soon to say I have any areas of expertise, especially to the wellinformed readers of this journal. I am very much a beginner with a steep learningcurve and loving every minute of it. If I had to name a topic, the best part of mylimited knowledge would be ‘Sampson Mordan’, who I stumbled upon completely byaccident after buying a pencil and then researching the markings. I thoroughly enjoythe research and love to learn.
Burning questions:Where are all the blotters? Not rocker blotters. I havemanaged to find two blotters, both with letters, cuttings or pieces of social history. Theyseem quite hard to get hold of. Not only that, but what is the correct term for them? Is itjust ‘blotter’ is it a ‘blotter book’; perhaps that’s where I’m going wrong? I did say I wasnew to this!! The other challenge I have is I mainly purchase on line. I’d love to be able togo trawling through the treasure troves around but my large wheelchair never fits throughtheir doors and I would destroy more than I could buy! If anyone does know of any easilyaccessible places and/or where blotters can be found – I’d love to hear from you.
Latest Acquisition: One of my latest and most sensible acquisitions was aqalandan and several books, purchased from Jim Marshall after finding his details in aprevious WES journal. I do tend to go with my heart and collect what I like, which Ibelieve is the way it should be done, but it won’t hurt me at all to gain someknowledge from the helpful books out there. Thanks Jim!
Dream find: I guess it could be debatable whether my dream find technically fitsinto this journal, so I’ll let you decide. My dream find is a book – a first edition of theCount of Monte Cristo is what I would love to discover. I recently read this on my eBook,which I use out of necessity due to my disability, and I loved it, one of those books Ifound very difficult to put down. I think a book fits in fine in this section, what with all thewriting materials used to create these beautiful items of craftsmanship. Without meaningto spark off a whole new debate now – I believe there is a place for eBooks – I’m a casein point. That said I personally hope we never come to the stage where books are nolonger used. Then again, I guess my eBook is the antique of the future . . .
One final word: I have learnt a great deal already from this journal and havefelt very welcome; especially by Harry Scharf who kindly wrote to me after the lastjournal, so thank you very much and I look forward to meeting many of you at theOctober Pen Show, my first ever.
KELLYLAWRENCEPEN
PROFILE
23
ANTIQUE INKWELLS l FOUNTAIN PEN & CALLIGRAPHY INKSWRITING INSTRUMENTS l PEN REPAIR SUPPLIES l FINEWRITING PAPERS l REFERENCE BOOKS
VISIT OUR ONLINE SHOPwww.pendemonium.com
PO BOX 447FORT MADISONIOWA 52627-0447PHONE 319-372-0881FAX 319-372-0882EMAIL [email protected]
Worcester Pen CompanyFine Writing Instruments – Created For You
Made In Englandwww.worcesterpencompany.co.uk
Carneil Pens
REPAIRERS & RESTORERS OF VINTAGE & MODERN FOUNTAIN PENS
) 01383 [email protected]
24
BOOKREVIEW
Jotter: History of an Iconby David Shepherd, Graham Hogg,Geoffrey Parker and Dan Zazove
Hard cover210mm x 280mm330 pagesISBN 0-9546875-4-X
£40 plus p&p
Published by Surrender Pens Ltd
Available from Surrenden PensDavid Shepherd60 Surrenden CrescentBrighton BN1 6WF
[email protected] 554378
Book review by John Martinson
If you’ve ever encountered an adver-tising ballpoint and looked at the refill,you’ll most likely find one with anoversized reservoir and a plug with aratcheted shape designed to rotate thewriting tip a quarter turn with each clickfor even wear. Few people realize thatingenious little refill was created inJanesville, Wisconsin, by a joyouslymethodical body of men and women atthe Parker Pen Company. Now, finally,after aiding the world’s thoughts andideas on paper for 57 years in silence,the Parker Jotter speaks.
Jotter: History of an Icon is a 329page compendium of history dedicatedto Parker’s foresight, an outstandingcontribution to society reverberates tothis day, through the production ofJotter. With extensive interviews andnever before seen photographs, TheJotter Book as it’s affectionately known,significantly illustrates, chapter bychapter, each painstaking step in theJotter’s creation. It is a fitting tribute tothose whose collaborative effortsbrought to life the clever little ballpointthat changed all.The post-war decade saw tremendous
changes in America, and with it, greatconfidence sparking creativity and inven-tiveness. Lázló Biró, an innovativeHungarian from Argentina, decadesbefore the war, simply wanted a betterwriting pen with a smudge free, quickdrying ink. After improving his invention,
consistent efforts still produced consistentfailures. Deep in debt, Biró sold theAmerican rights of his patents toEversharp in 1944. When Eversharp intro-duced the pen, it caught the eye of asavvy salesman Milton Reynolds. In 1946, Reynolds, ready to make
quick cash, hired a manufacturer inChicago to construct a pen madeentirely of munitions-based aluminium,with little or no design testing andcreated the International Ballpoint Pen.Through sensational salesmanshipstunts, including a record breaking flightno less, Milton Reynolds sold millions ofballpoint pens. In less than two years,Reynolds was gone along with millionsof dollars from unsatisfied customers. Despite poor performance, the
surprisingly prosperous ballpoint salescaught Time magazine’s attention, whoquestioned why another company,Parker, had yet to enter the market witha ballpoint. Parker was enjoying itssales of fountain pens and pencils, withmore earnings than anyone else, whynot join? The reply came directly fromKenneth Parker himself, President ofThe Parker Pen Company, “If and whenwe bring out a ballpen, it won’tresemble anything now on the market.”This was the birth of an icon.The book chronicles in detail the
developments of the Parker Jotter’shistoric rise, from concept to product,and profiles each individual who made
203202
parker-garrick incspeciality advertising
PARKER-GARRICKSALESMAN’S WALLETDISPLAYING SAMPLES
AD SPECIALTYCALCULATOR USED BY PARKER SALESMENFOR ESTIMATING THEDISCOUNT ON BULKPURCHASES
In 1979, Parker Pen formed a new subsidiary, Parker-Garrick Inc., with headquarters in Dallas, Texas.The new firm produced and marketed etched glassware and provided imprinting on Parker writinginstruments for USA speciality advertising and the business premium industry. Parker-Garrick Inc.was the result of consolidating the Garrick Company, which had been owned by Parker since 1972,and Parker’s premium products division which had been operatingunits in Janesville and Fort Lauderdale. In 1982 the glass-etchingdivision was sold and the imprinting division was consolidatedwithin Janesville.
25
BOOKREVIEW
which produced millions of Jotters forcustomers throughout the world
Jotter: History of an Icon deservespublicity and availability outside of thepen community. The Jotter’s legacy isthe example of quality, value andtimeless design so intricately complex inits simplicity, it could be mistaken as art.This book should be required reading forengineering and design students inter-ested in accomplishing everlastingcontributions to society.
5958
end of scramble
Later on as stocks built up, all 1,600employees were each given theirown Jotter. On the afternoon of 5February 1954, Phil Hull stepped upto the microphone in the broadcastroom of Arrow Park and announced:“In a moment your foreman will giveeach of you a new Jotter pen. Withthe exception of those given to thesalesmen, these are the first modelsto be released from inventory. Wewant you to be the first to own andtry one. The pen is yours to keep“.
The pen was available in fourcolours, black, grey, green and red(rust), and the list price was $2.75.The Sales Department had alsorequested 32,000 clear crystalmodels for demonstration purposes.Three point sizes were availableinitially: fine,medium andbroad. A choice offive coloured inkswas available:blue, blue-black,black, red andgreen and a newrefill cost 69c.
The stakes were high for the first Parker ballpen. Despite fears that the deadline would not bemet, the first 100 Jotters were completed on Tuesday 22 December 1953. This was announced ina bulletin from Helen Morrisey, the company secretary. The next afternoon, all of the productionstaff were given the opportunity to inspect and write with the finished product.
HELEN MORRISEY,THE COMPANYSECRETARY
A FIRST LOOK AT THE JOTTER ONWEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER 1953
THE FIRST JOTTER COLOURRANGE AVAILABLE IN 1954FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: CLEARCRYSTAL DEMONSTRATOR,RED (RUST), BLACK, GREYAND GREEN.
UNMARKED DOMED TOPOF ACTUATING BUTTON
In September 1958 Parker introduced a completerange of feminine-styled pens called Princess andDebutante Jotters. With a totally new approach toballpoint marketing, the models came in a variety of pastel shades, all delicately engraved, some byhand. The pocket clip was removed.
125124
princess jotter
The Princess line was a continuationof Parker’s traditional emphasis onseparately styled pens for women
which began in 1922 with a group ofpastel coloured, lady-size fountainpens. Ever since the appearance of
the Parker Duofold, a spectacularscarlet pen which burst on thescene in the 1920s, writinginstruments had become morecolourful. Before that, practically allpens were black.
Until 1958, all ballpoints had beenneutral colours, suitable for use byeither sex, according to H Nutley,the Parker design chief. “But withthe increased emphasis on stylingbeing put into women’s accessories,it became obvious to us that afunctional writing instrument like theJotter should be feminised”.
The Princess pens had elaboratedesigns and were offered in threeprice bands. Top of the range, at$10, was a delicate hand-engravedivy design on white or black capswith an electro-plated gold barrel. Itwas also available in all Black or allWhite. The $7.50 model had anengraved cap and barrel in a choiceof five colours, Pink, Beige,Turquoise, Blue and Black. The $5model was produced in the samecolours but had a filigree-engravedcap and an electro-plated goldbarrel.
ENGRAVED IVY DESIGNON BLACK CAP WITHELECTROPLATED GOLDBARREL $10 AND IVYDESIGN ON WHITE CAPWITH BLACK BARREL
FROM LEFT, TURQUOISEFILIGREE ENGRAVEDCAP WITH ELECTRO-PLATED GOLD BARREL$5; BLACK FILIGREEENGRAVED CAP ANDBARREL $7.50; PINKENGRAVED CAP ANDBARREL $7.50; BLACKFILIGREE ENGRAVEDCAP AND ELECTRO-PLATED GOLD BARREL $5
lasting contributions to the design.Each chapter is a crisp and clearnarrative detailing the Jotter’s devel-opment and evolution. It is invitinglyeasy to read; good for first timehobbyists and veteran collectors alike.There is an importance to this book,
which should not be overlooked. ParkerJotter isn’t just about a ballpoint pen ora refill, or the company, who, late in lifeall but disappeared from Janesville, andlater Newhaven, UK, but about the
people of Parker Pen. It is about themen and women who devoted their livesto a company that cared for theircommunity. Parks with swings andslides were created, because of theJotter. Generations of teens graduatedfrom high school because of the Jotter.College scholarships were createdbecause of the Jotter. Peoplepurchased their first homes and livedbetter lives because of the Jotter. All thisbecause of the Jotter and Arrow Park,
26
25
TheMagnaClassic Range
Head Office
The Onoto Pen Company Limited
Colney Hall
Colney
Norwich
NR4 7TY UK
Tel: 01603 811165
Email: [email protected]
w w w . o n o t o . c o m
A passion for writing…
beautifully!
E S TA B L I S H E D I N E N G L A N D 1 9 0 5
®
26
MOST SCANDINAVIANS HAVE A SPECIALEMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO THE
BALLOGRAF PEN AS TONY FISCHIERDISCOVERED WHEN HE VISITED
THEIR FACTORY
29
BALLOGRAFIn the 1960s the Ballograf was the first ballpoint penthat you were allowed to use in schools, and for manythe brand is synonymous with that special pen youreceived as a Christmas present, birthday or gradu-ation gift, perhaps with your own name engraved on it.If not, most Scandinavians are sure to have used aBallograf when visiting a bank, post office or any localgovernment office. Often, the pen was imprinted withthe text ‘Tillhör Statsverket’ (Property of the StateAdministration) in white block letters and maybe restingin a simple round desk stand, with a chrome chain.The Ballograf factory is situated in Västra Frölunda in
Gothenburg, Sweden. Although being a pen collectorand living nearby, I have passed it hundreds of timeswithout ever really reflecting what went on in the largestorage-looking warehouse. The building is huge, hasno windows on the sides, painted blue and white andhas a fairly modest sign with the familiar Ballograf logo.Now I have been invited by the Ballograf CEO, Jan
Johansson to take a look inside the forbidding walls tosee the premises where Ballograf pens have beenproduced since the 1960s. The truth is, I took it forgranted that this factory was just an assembly plant,putting together pens from parts manufactured inChina and India. As it turns out, I could not have beenmore wrong.As most people know, the first reasonably functioning
ballpen was manufactured in Argentina in the early 40sby the Hungarian brothers George and Lászlo Biró, butthey were soon overtaken by the American, MiltonReynolds, who actually stole Birós idea and in 1945flooded the American market with his ReynoldsInternational, selling it with a massive ad campaignwhere he promised it would have magical properties.Well, the only magical thing about it was that it sold inmillions even though it did not work properly.We started the tour of the factory in the exhibition
room where we learnt about the company’s history.In Sweden, a Jewish watchmaker Eugen Spitzer,
who had earlier fled from Nazi occupied Austria, heardabout the new miracle, and in 1947 he bought aReynolds pen from the USA for 30 dollars.Togetherwith a friend and engineer, Friedrich Schaechter hecopied the principle and then experimented with acustomised design. They called the new ballpenBallograf: ball for the writing pellet and graf for writing.In a garage on St. Pauligatan in Gothenburg they
produced a number of pens that they managed to sellto the large Swedish department store chain UnitCompany, EPA. All the pens, the first ever built inSweden, were returned the next day, because they allleaked. But Spitzer and Schachter did not give in that
easily, and soon they created adesign that actually worked.In 1949 a Ballograf Pen cost
an amazing 99 kronor (about £9)while most other pens sold for 70kronor (about £6) or less. But the pensworked, they were made locally, andthey sold! Two years later the company,Ballograf Verken, had been establishedand it moved into new premises onKrokslättsgatan in Mölndal, outsideGothenburg.We leave the exhibition room and
move further into the factory. Jan
Ballograf CEO, Jan Johansson
30
Johansson greets and nods to the staff. Most of the workis about monitoring automated processes. The factoryhas shrunk in just a few decades, from hundreds ofemployees down to 32, but without having tocompromise production volume or quality.We are entering the machine shop and it is surprisingly
quiet. Two men are standing by the windows, chatting. Thewindows let in a yellowish light from the street. Maybe it’swork-talk. Maybe it's a coffee break. This departmentcarries out repairs to the machinery used in the production.Parts wear out and need replacing, adjustments need to bemade, and some smaller machines are built from scratch. In a room further back half a dozen machines are
humming, clicking and hissing. We have entered theplastic workshop. Here all the small pieces of plastic andrubber used in the Ballograf pens are being manufactured. The machines are mostly modern, but some have
been sitting here for decades. I would have expected adusty, rattling, oil-smelling factory floor and sure, some ofthe machines are moaning and puffing and panting, butdirty it is not. Plastic pellets are melted and then automati-cally transformed into mechanical parts, caps and penbodies, which eventually end up on the assembly linewhere all the parts are prepared for final assembly. A few of the components are manufactured elsewhere,
like Spain and Germany, but no parts are manufacturedoutside of Europe. One of the few things that are outsourcedto a subcontractor is the nickel-plating. Jan Johansson saysthat nickel plating is toxic and dirty work and that it is betterto let the real experts do it. A workshop, nearby inKungssten, have been doing nickel-plating for Ballograf fordecades. A relationship that works well. “It's all about quality.By keeping the production as near as possible, we canensure the high quality we want”, says Jan Johansson.During the late 1940s and early 1950s, 20 pen
manufacturers were making pens in Sweden and thecompetition was fierce, but Ballograf had establishedthemselves as makers of quality pens and when in 1952they introduced the model New Copy R55, a push-buttonactuated ball pen in a modern design, the competitorsbegan falling away. The capless design with its hiddenpoint, assured that the Ballograf pens could now becarried in pockets and handbags without smudging.The year before, across the Atlantic, the production of
the Reynolds ball pen had ceased, Reynolds himself wasbankrupt, and Parker would not launch their legendaryJotter until two years later.
On the other hand, the French Baron Bich had alreadycut an ‘h’ from his last name and had started to massproduce hyper-cheap ballpoint pens under the brandname Bic. Within ten years Bic was destined to take over90% of the ball pen market.During the early 50s the technicians at Ballograf had
developed a technique in which the writing ball was fittedin a way that the angle of writing was not as important.The first ballpoint pens had worked only when the penswere used completely vertical. Now writing was muchmore comfortable.We are entering another department of the Ballograf
factory, the turning room. Here all the metal parts aremanufactured. Here sits the most important machine in
BALLOGRAF
31
the production line. It’s a high, misty cylinder. Largebarrels of plastic and metal are attached, filled withsmaller cylinders, wires and pipes. They seem to bereplicas from the movie The Fly. But this is not sciencefiction. This is the heart of Ballograf. Jan Johansson, leansforward and picks up a tiny little piece of metal, maybeten millimeters long and about two millimeters wide. Ihave to stretch my neck to see what he’s holding.Two small containers are feeding the machine. One with
thin pieces of steel pipes, the other with small steel ballsthat go into the machine. It all looks incredibly complicated.Inside the machine the pipes are cut, moulded, pressed,drilled, aligned, fitted with the ball that will eventually turninto the ballpoint itself, and finally squeezed together. Thereis no room for misalignment. We’re talking about a smallsteel ball of a size less than a millimeter, which is fitted intoa tube with a tenth of a millimeter thick walls. This with an accuracy of one thousandth of a millimeter.
The ball is made from tungsten carbide, it’s as hard as asapphire and denser than steel or titanium. The samematerial is used as the cutter in rock drilling equipmentand in armour-piercing ammunition.The balls have smallgouges to increase friction against the paper. “I know thereare pens that use smooth balls, but not in quality pens”,says Jan Johansson.The machine is labeled Mikron. A Mikron ballpoint
machine, or an older sister named Albe, is used in 90% ofall pen factories worldwide. Two Swiss watchmakers,Sauro Albertini and Guido Bertoglio, patented the firstmachine in the early 1960s. Parker, Waterman,Montblanc, all installed an Albe/Mikron machine for theirhigh quality pens. They are purely mechanical and operatewithout modern computer technology. The Mikronrequires 18 different operations to create each ballpoint.Again, the rest of the production is virtually fully
automated. Servo robots from Wittmann ensure that allparts are fitted in the right place. In fact, the robotscontinue to work even when the staff have gone home.The big boost for Ballograf came in 1956 when they
developed a cartridge with a permanent, light-resistant ink.Until then, it was forbidden to use ballpoint pens to signofficial documents or even in school, as the ink was notpermanent. The cartridge was also made in a jumbo size,and contained so much ink that it was possible to write aline of eight kilometers before it ran out. This also pavedthe road for a big breakthrough internationally. The sametype of cartridge is produced even today by Ballograf.We walk into the room where the Ballograf ink-cartridges
are manufactured. It’s not a secret that it is the cartridgesthat have been the basis for the Ballograf success. Therewas a time when even Montblanc bought their cartridgesfrom the small Ballograf factory in Västra Frölunda. Todaythe ink itself is made outside the factory and is actuallyimported from Germany. In fact, there are only a half dozenmanufacturers of ballpoint ink in the world.There is a lot of stainless steel around. Clinical. Almost
hospital-like, but the ink of course cannot be allowed tobe contaminated, it’s essential that the cartridges do not
Clockwise from top left: the machine shop, the plasticshop, Mikron – turning room, ink cartridges waiting to befilled and the metal shop.
32
contain any foreign matter that could clog the system. The ink arrivesin big, blue plastic containers and an almost ridiculously small, plainmachine fills the empty cartridges with ink, into which the newly madeballpoints already have been fitted. They are sorted into round tincontainers, a hundred in each jar, where they are fitted with a gel plugthat both prevents ink from escaping from the wrong end and is alsomoving with the ink when it is consumed from the front.Here the quality control is tough, but quite simple, if ingenious.
The cartridges, which are made in a nickel-silver alloy, have beenplaced with the tip down on a round piece of paper. The cartridgesare then centrifuged to get the air out of the ink and if a dot ismissing on the paper, that would indicate that something is wrongwith that particular cartridge. The process is monitored manually anddefective cartridges are simply sorted out. “If there is somethingwrong at this station, it's almost always about misalignment ordimensional errors”, says Jan Johansson.In the late 50s Ballograf was such a strong brand in Scadinavia that
when Bic wanted to enter the Nordic market, they saw only onecompetitor – and one strategy. In 1959 Bic bought Ballograf. Bicthought it was fantastic that Ballograf was so strong in certain marketsand the strategy was that it was much easier to buy the brand than totry to rebuild their own in the region, says Jan Johansson.The next stepping stone for Ballograf occured in 1961 when they
unveiled its Epoca, a pen model that became a landmark for thecompany. The pen was designed by Wolfgang Schweizer and wasmuch thicker than most ballpoint pens of the time, it was alsohexagonal, which served to give the user a good grip. You couldwrite for a very long time with the Epoca without getting tired.Over the years the Epoca has been produced in a variety of different
colours and finishes. It was so popular that Ballograf had a problemwith others copying the design. After a protracted dispute, Ballograf, in1968, won its legal case against a competitor. The court concludedthat the Epoca was unique and it could be classed as a Swedishindustrial craft product and was protected by law from any form ofdesign infringement. The Epoca is still in production and accounts forabout half of the nearly five million pens that are being shipped from thefactory in Västra Frölunda every year. Today the company has annualsales of approximately 42 million kronor (about £3.7 million).Jan Johansson is proud of Ballograf’s environmental awareness,
both in their products and in the production. Everything that can berecycled, is recycled. As an example he demonstrates a machinethat manufactures screw parts from bars made from new brass.Although the machine is working with six elements simultaneously inorder to fully exploit the raw material, there is still around 40% waste.But the waste goes into a centrifuge, that separates the oil from thebrass and everything is reused, he explains. Ballograf also manufac-tures the world's only eco-labelled pen, called the Friendly Pen. Allparts are manufactured with the environment in mind. The pen bodyis made from recycled paper, the ink is certified and all the otherparts are made from environmentally friendly polypropylene plastic.In 1997 Jan Johansson stepped in as CEO for Ballograf under
Bic’s flag. “My father worked here between 1952 and 1997, he wasalso the CEO from 1965. And my mother also worked here on thefinancial side”, says Jan Johansson. He laughs when I ask if he wasborn into this job.When the opportunity came in 2004 to take over Ballograf from
Bic, Jan discussed the matter with his old friend Tommy Kvist, whothen worked in the grocery business. They decided to join forces andbuy Ballograf from Bic. A partnership that has worked out well. “40%of all our stock is being sold as promotional pens, with over-printingof some sort. It is obvious that there is a little less demand for promo-
BALLOGRAF
33
tional products nowadays. We are affected by the recession, it showsin our customers’ budgets. The private market is small, but none theless important. The buyers for businesses are also individuals and ifthey are impressed by our products, they will of course also purchaseBallograf for their businesses”, he says, smiling.All but two employees are working directly in the production line.
There used to be in-house technical designers and advertising staff,but today Jan Johansson makes use of external firms. “It’s simply nolonger economical to have staff assigned to research and industrialdesign. Presently we are concentrating on further developing ourtraditional models”, Jan Johansson says.He explains that the pen industry in general is facing hard times and
that the market is slowly shrinking. “There are small changes, but thingsdo go downhill and there is almost no technological progress in a pencompany nowadays. Sure, there are new models in new designs butthey are built, with few exceptions, on existing technology”, hesays.“Our model Rondo, for example, became very popular. We wereabsolutely right in the timing with a product that was also quite on thespot. We needed something new in our line-up and the soft grip wasbecoming fashionable. We introduced the Rondo in 1993. It has asimple and classic design with a smooth surface and sleek design, andit sold very well from the start. There aren’t a lot of people that don’t likeit, actually”, Jan Johansson says and chuckles a little.Today Ballograf is selling nearly two million Rondo units every
year, if you include the pencils. But still, it’s the Epoca that’s thegreat seller. A winning design, still after so many years. “It's whitethat sells best, because so much of what we do goes out withadvertising imprints”, Jan Johansson says.Ballograf has its niche in the mid-range market, £2–5. It’s hard to
compete with the giants Bic and Pilot in the mass production segment.Nor does Jan Johansson want to venture into the high-end range.Some attempts have been made, including a series of fountain pens afew years back, but it was too hard to gain ground. “Sales of high-quality pens have gone down, not only for us, but overall for theindustry, and we don’t find it economically sound to manufactureexpensive pens when we would only sell a few hundred pieces”, saysJan Johansson. Instead, he and his colleague Tommy Kvist are workingon broadening Ballograf within its strong area, including developingpartnerships with other companies. In 2009 Ballograf bought nearly halfof the pen manufacturer Rosinco in Filipstad, specializing in eco-friendlywhiteboard pens. Each year three million of these pens are being sold.A well renowned Swedish designer, also a good friend of Jan
Johansson, Gustav Widström, has designed a pen called ‘Fjäder’ –Feather. A pen made of plastic and aluminum, based on Ballografmechanics. It is a small design masterpiece in its simplicity with clearlinks all the way back to the quill pen. For each Fjäder sold, Ballografis donating a ballpoint pen to a school project in Africa through theSave the Children organisation.
Another Ballograf product sold in designer shops in Europe is theEpoca with the classic round-desk set that has been manufacturedsince the 1960s. They used to be made in black and blue only, butnow, as it is available in several colours it’s climbing on the trend lists.The recession has taken its toll, but there is no doubt that
Ballograf intends to stay in business. Quality and tradition have paidoff. 500 million Ballograf pens have been sold since its inception. JanJohansson is hoping for as many in the future. “We believe that wecan survive much longer”, he says, smiling. He does not seemparticularly worried. �
Clockwise from top left: Jan Johansson with a test paper, assemblyline, yellow – Epocas pens, The Friendly Pen, Ballograph catalogue, theBallograph Botanique pen and the assembly line.
34
REFLECTIONSONPENVACUUM&PISTONREPAIR
IN THIS ARTICLE JEREMY COLLINGRIDGE REVIEWSSOME FOUNTAIN PEN VACUUM FILLER PROBLEMSWITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO DESIGNS FROMPARKER, ONOTO, SHEAFFER AND WAHL AND THEKIND OF SOLUTIONS THAT REPAIRERS WILL PURSUE.
While Parker used their own vacuum fillerbased on a rubber diaphragm andbreather tube, both Wahl and Sheafferfollowed a piston design of the samegeneral working method as Onoto. Atypical Parker diaphragm system isfeatured on the left. The Parker diaphragmhardens and cracks with age and createsits own problems in repair, principleamongst them being the removal of a smalllocation ball that retains the diaphragm inthe pump assembly. The assemblies wereoriginally easily exchangeable but aregenerally needing to be repaired now. Thenipple that holds the ball hardens with ageand is easily damaged in removing the ballso that further repair action is required.The design will however not leak from thetop of the barrel as long as the diaphragmis in place.In the other manufacturers’ designs, a
piston is pulled up and pushed down witha seal shaped to allow air to pass in thesame way as a cycle pump. A vacuum iscreated on the downstroke. There isusually a wider diameter where the vacuumis released at the end of its downwardtravel pulling ink into the body through thenib and feed. Wahl added an additionaloffset pin (‘Section Pin’) across the upperend of the section together with a shaped
nut (‘Disc Nut’) which pushes the pistonrod off the centre line to ensure a clearpath to the ink reservoir. The diagrambelow should make the operation clear. Sheaffer produced a large number of
rod filled designs from some generallypopular priced vertical stripes which areeasily available to larger, more expensivemarbles. The levers are generally moreliked now because of the ease of repair.Wahl produced a number of veryattractive and collectable fountain pensin the golden period leading up to 1939.The 12-sided Dorics came out in about1931 in a series of sizes and in somestunning finishes. They also had sometechnologies that were clearly intendedto help position them at the top of themarket. Their pens also came in bothlever and rod vacuum filling forms. While the lever-fill Doric pens are
again better regarded by collectors (andtherefore more expensive) because ofeasier repair, the vac fillers have anumber of gorgeous finishes. Thebarrels include a clear section at thelower end to check ink level. The barrelmaterial tends to discolour with use inthe same way as other manufacturers’windowed designs so that clearerexamples are more collectable.
Parker VacumaticDiaphragm System
Doric Piston Seal and Pin
35
Successful filling of all vacuumdesigns depends on both the action ofthe piston diaphragm and sealing of thetop of the barrel cavity where theoperating rod passes through. Failure ofthe piston seal frustrates the vacuumaction preventing filling and weakeningof the top seal inevitably releases ink todiscomfort the user. In spite ofmanufacturers’ insistence on lifetimewarranties illustrated by blue diamonds,white dots or little gold medallions, theywere not considering a life of more thanperhaps ten years before you purchasedtheir latest model. Their service depart-ments would have provided the fewcomplainants with a new, current pen(as long as you have the receipt!) andthey certainly did not anticipate thechallenge of a repair 80 years later. The replacement of the piston seal is
generally straightforward. For today’srepairers, all of the piston seals arerelatively easily made and sourced ataccessible prices. A small amount ofshellac can avoid any leaks round thespindle and ensure the fixing nut doesnot come loose. Barrels can vary indiameter through age and distortion byup to 0.2mm and it may be useful toincrease the seal diameter to roughly0.5mm oversize to achieve sealing. TheDoric seal is advertised as having aseries of smaller holes nearer the bore.These holes must themselves be around0.4mm diameter which is quite amanufacturing achievement in a softrubber. This was patented perhapsmore for commercial than practicalreasons. Such seals are no longeravailable and the repairer will use a plainpiston disc.
The life of the piston rod is muchlonger than the piston seals themselves.Some of them can be plastic coated steelwire. If the plastic fails, the steel can rustmaking the rod unusable. Sheafferchanged to stainless steel part waythrough their vacuum production. BothOnoto and Wahl relied on thicker plastic.Replacements are in stainless steel if thereisn’t another replacement source.The interesting part of the overhaul
comes from the maintenance of thebarrel top seal. Onoto used a corkpacked chamber that benefitted from aquick and simple change of two corkseal. The Marshall & Oldfield Pen RepairManual1 covers this process excellently.Attendees at Repair Class Module 2 willbe familiar with and practise the use of atool to open the cavity and replace theseseals without dis-assembling theremainder of the pen. Sheaffer provided repairers with a
replacement barrel with its seal cartridge
already fitted. This cartridge contains apair of rubber diaphragms with felt inbetween to hold lubrication. It hasstraight cylindrical sides and is glued inplace. The original easy repair was toput an additional thick rubber washerup the barrel and is perhaps unfairlymuch frowned upon by today’srepairers.The Pen Repair Manual1
recommends trying first a good cleanand regrease to see if the cartridge willrecover sufficient effectiveness beforemore complex repair efforts are tried.In the repair workshop (rather than forthe individual repairer), the cartridgewould be removed and replaced, ifnecessary by drilling out the oldcartridge. Thanks to some moderntechnology provided by DavidNishimura of Vintage Pens, Providence,cartridges containing a rubber ‘O’ ringin place of the old diaphragm and felt,allow exchange of the old cartridge fora reproduction that is virtually indistin-
Sheaffer Cartridge Sheaffer Washer repair
Sheaffer O Ringcartridge
36
guishable and will work for many yearsto come. WES Repair Class attendeesare asked to consider preserving origi-nality (perhaps with a pen that cannotbe used) or making a sympatheticrepair using such a cartridge. Theyalso reflect on the balance of the effortand cost in making a repair against thevalue of the pen and the willingness ofits owner to pay for its repair.The Vac fill Doric started as a
generally more expensive pen than itsSheaffer equivalent but gives the repaireradditional challenges. Amongst my ownearlier repair attempts, I cracked a Wahlsection not realizing that the nib unitwould unscrew leaving a very thin wallshell. The Wahl workshop manual2
shows a steel insert that screws in placeof the nib unit to take the load whenremoving the section. The Fountain PenHospital in New York made me amagnificent replacement section for only$60 at the time. The Doric can featurean adjustable nib sometimes with an inkshut off system that allegedly wasunsuccessful. Disassembly of this nibunit has its own traps with a small gold
spring that easily disappears of its ownaccord. A solution is to take it apart in alarge, clear poly bag such that the spring isrecovered from the bottom when handsare removed. Reassembly is aided by apiece of cotton that slows and limits itsindependence as shown below. Ink shutoff will certainly be a problem now since itsaction depends on a soft shaped rubberseal that fits inside the section and that iscertainly no longer available. The action ofthe system is otherwise visually pleasing toa collector.
Wahl Ink Shut Off Nib
A Spring Restrained by Cotton
Wahl Stuffing Box
REFLECTIONSONPENVACUUM&PISTONREPAIR
The top of the barrel features a‘stuffing box’ with a lower locating discboth of which screw into the barrel.Pressure is held by three rubber discsseparated by an oil-lubricated fabric.Wahl explain that this is ‘much morecomplex and expensive a constructionthan the competition’ (ie Sheaffer). Ashaped trim (‘banded sleeve’) thencosmetically covers the end to make ittidy. Fortunately, this design actuallykeeps working a lot longer than itscompetition so that a good clean withultrasonics and re-greasing can besuccessful a lot of the time. New Wahltop seal assemblies (‘stuffing boxes’)were originally available to the repairerfor 25¢ where a new clip was 50¢.Otherwise the challenge now is stuffingbox removal. It is not only screwed inbut also held by ‘Cement No 1’ which isshellac like. The instruction manual
37
the pen become a non-writing museum piece with justexternal cosmetic improvement? Should one drill out andreplace the old stuffing box? Such a repair would certainlynot be reversible and might also frustrate a further repair inthe future. A potential solution lies in using the Nishimuratechnology, making an insert that is fitted invisibly in thebarrel and held in place by an external ‘O’ ring. It is hiddenin the part of the barrel beyond the visible ink line. Such adevice is illustrated above. These are available from severalsources. This particular example is inserted using the littletommy bar with a screwed end as shown leaving the stuffingbox otherwise intact and undamaged. In the future, if itneeds to be removed, the same tommy bar can be screwedinto the insert and it can be extracted.Thus this beautiful pen goes back to writing as it was
intended, albeit with a smaller ink capacity. If someone canfind a supply of original stuffing boxes and a way of removingthe old one then the repair can be reversed. �
Vintage fountain pensSales Conway, Parker, Onoto, Waterman,Sheaffer, Stephens, Burnham, Swan, Ford, etc,
Repairs Repairs and repair tools.
Books Co-author with Jim Marshall of the onlyfull colour book on pen repairs – Pen Repair –with high definition photographs of dismantledpens. You do not have to be a pen mechanic toenjoy this book! £30 plus p&p
Dr Laurence [email protected] www.penpractice.com07877 677 343
instructs that the barrel is tapped with a soft mallet to shatterthe cement and then gently heated and unscrewed using aplier-like tool on its smaller diameter. It is possible that backbefore WWII this might have worked but more recent notesby the respected late Frank Dubiel counsel that the barrel willnow be brittle and should not be hit with a mallet. This, plusthe complete lack of mechanical advantage on the smallerdiameter, makes removal much more difficult and I havefound resists all the usual efforts of soaking, heating andtwisting. It might be possible to drill out the stuffing box butmanufacturing another with its external screw thread andtapped end cap location would not now be easy.We thus come to the common repairer’s challenge on
restoration and originality. Because of repair difficulty does
1 Pen Repair Manual ISBN 978-0-9562711-5-0. Authors Jim Marshall and Laurence Oldfield.
2 WES Archive #.836. Eversharp Service Manual. ServiceRepair Manual for Eversharp Deluxe Ink Shut-Off Pens.
Wahl Repair Cartridge
SHELDON WANTEDCOLLECTOR WILL PURHASE: PENCILS, POCKET
COMPANIONS, ESCRITOIRS, TELESCOPING BLANCES,EVER POINTED PENCILS, PENCILS WITH BALANCES,TOOTHPICKS – ANYTHING MADE BY JOHN SHELDON.
Also interested in the items pictured and discussed inWestern Writing Implements by Michael Finlay.
Especially the following or similar (numbers refer to figure numbers in WWI)
pen knives (48,49,62–116); nibblers 126,137); penners(213–215); pens (260–266) and other like quality items.
Must be in top condition and accurately described.Dimensions required. Pictures helpful. References toSheldon book, Finlay book make things easier.
You must name your price.While I may make a counter offer,
you must be prepared to sell at the amount you quote.Settlement by wire, paypal or by arrangement that suits you.
Contact Bruce H Axler POB 231288Ansonia Station
New York, NY 10023 USAEmail: [email protected]
Phone: 212 579 0348Fax: 646 417 6024
38
We hear many people today, perhapsthose of us of a certain generation,bemoaning the fact that our town highstreets are becoming one a clone of theother. “They all look the same – same oldshops; where are the smaller independentshops there used to be?” The largemultiples hold sway and there is no longerroom for the independent traders. In ourCathedral cities it is only the largemultiples; the Nexts, Boots, Specsavers,and Top Shop to name but a few, that canafford the rents charged by the ChurchCommissioners, as they often own mostof the city centre real estate. Even thatbastion of the cheaper prices and ranges,Woolworths has gone to the wall. So how nice it is to find a town like
Shrewsbury where there are manysmaller independent shops; Mad Jacksdeli, ladies clothes shops, travel agents,shoe shops and art galleries. ThereAnne and I found WRITEhere!, a penshop, come card shop, come stationers,come toy shop that was a real find. Itsits proudly in the High Street, just offthe Square, and has had a make-oversince we were there in early spring.
John Hall, owner and director, is aWES member and his shop proudlystocks Visconti (his favourite), ConwayStewart, Onoto, Worcester, Pelikan, Lamyand other pens. Perhaps his discussionswith Sanford will have borne fruit andParker and Waterman will be there bynow. Pride of place when we were therewas given to the elegant Conway Stewart‘Charles Darwin’ (number 10 of 25) andappropriately so, in this the city ofDarwin’s birth. But John will also talkabout Visconti; from the very stylish‘Homo Sapiens’ and a lovely ‘Ragtime’set of fountain pen, ballpoint and rollerball, all in an old fashioned roll top deskcase, as well as many others. There is anexcellent range of Diamine inks too. Johntalks of the local school who are encour-aging their children to use fountain pensfrom the low end of Lamy’s range andJohn is happy to show the difference afountain pen can make in one term withhis ‘before and after’ pictures. What atribute to the independent trader. John’s range of stationery is
championed by Leuchterm 1917, aGerman company manufacturing notebooks in direct competition to Moleskine.Whilst some ink may show through aLeuchterm 1917 page it doesn’t bleed like
the Moleskine pages; a trait which I findmakes them so annoying. Clairefontaine(my personal favourite) is coming soon hesays. John also has a huge array of cardsfor every occasion with lovely designs inblank cards as well. So much more thanyou get from the chains in the high street.We particularly liked the 3D cards forchildren that were on show. And childrenare well catered for with a huge range ofgames, including Jacques high qualitygames with all wooden boards as well as allthe up-to-date board games, backgammon,chess and draughts. And not forgettingthat John has one of the best stocks ofkites in the West Midlands, kites of everystyle and colour – and appropriately he isalso known as KITEnow!. It was, in a way, sad to see the Darwin
pen still for sale. 2010 was the 200thanniversary of the birth of the man whochanged the way we look at ourselves.You would have thought perhaps that theTown Council, being a bit enterprising,would have bought the pen in the bi-centenary year even if only for signingCouncil minutes with a bit of style. It couldhave been an investment perhaps for
WRITEhere!signing when it is granted city status.Darwin does seem largely forgotten byeveryone; his old childhood house is acouncil office – no great museum theresadly, but not forgotten by the graffitistswhose works of art are proudlydisplayed with Darwin portraits whichwe were able to view from theHarlescott Park-and-Ride return busride, something that would have giveneven ‘Banksy’ some pride. ButShrewsbury remembers 1403 and theuprising and of course the beheading ofHarry Hotspur and others. It was warm early spring when we
were there. Now as the evenings draw inperhaps those of you within an hour ofdriving or on a train journey might go for alittle Christmas shopping at WRITEhere!– or just buy some Christmas cards thatare slightly different. A game for agrandson, a pen for a grand daughter, anew note book for you. It is well worth avisit. Oh and if you can’t get there – wellyou van visit the shop on line atwww.writeherekitenow.co.uk. Go on WestMidlanders – support your local WESmember.
39
40
TRADETALK
What an interesting article my Councilcolleague Mike West wrote on thesubject of handwriting in the last Journal.Hot on the heels of it, my good friendAlan Hobbs sent me an article from TheTimes which announced that in 41 statesof the USA the education authorities hadsigned up to teaching the three Ts(texting, tapping and typing) in favour ofthe three Rs. Unbelievable but true. Now Iclearly use a computer to research andwrite these articles, but I jot notes downwith a pencil on a scrap of paper or in anote book. And at work, where I spenda lot of time on line with SAGE accountsand Lloyds TSB on-line banking, I amalways taking written notes and so Iimagine do many others. Are we reallyserious in not teaching our children orgrandchildren to write properly, but totext? Typing, yes I can understand butlook at the evidence in the article on the
benefits of cursivewriting. Anyway thisfired me up. At thetime, I was readingmy copy of TheOldie, a magazinefor cynical oldsouls like me whothink that not allthat the youngproduce isfaultless. So Iwrote an articleand sent it toRichard
Ingrams, founder and editor,saying that those of similar views to memay just like to turn up in Kensington onthe first Sunday in October and have abrowse at LWES 2011. They will find adifferent view of the world there, said I.Thankfully they published the article in theSeptember issue in the Diary section.Good free publicity – thank you MrIngrams and The Oldie. I know my oldmate Pete Garnett in Worthing is a reader
TRADE LIAISONOFFICER,CHARLESWHITEHEADKEEPS YOUINFORMEDABOUT WHATSHAPPENING INTHE PENWORLD.
of The Oldie and no doubt saw it andperhaps some of you did to. Let’s hope ithas worked to bring more in through thedoor. I was drifting through some websites
the other day and came across a newoffering – the Caran d’Ache RNX 316.Made of high grade stainless steel 316(that may mean something to theengineers amongst you), it is round andhexagonal (hence R (round) N (and) X(hexagonal). Wow! you can’t accuse theSwiss of being over sophisticated withtheir naming of the pen. It comes instainless steel or PVD black. Now this iswhere it does get complicated; PVDstands for Physical Vapour Deposition.This seems to come straight out of therandom name generator from the 1970s‘management speak’ era. Apparently itmeans that the ceramic body covering isapplied to the steel by using a vacuumdeposition process. Well I’m glad wecleared that up! The pen took the 2011Innovation award at the FrankfurtPaperworld show in February and is apretty smart looking writing instrumentwith its hexagonal body phasing intoround and it looked good to me in black.This is a move away from the traditionalCaran d’Ache silver plated offerings.There are pens, roller balls, ballpoints and
Being married to an artist I amdrawn to Visconti’s three new penswhere the inspiration comes fromthree of Vincent Van Gogh’s pictures.Starry Night, Sunflowers and Roomin Arles are the three paintings inquestion and the pens, with thedistinctively Visconti clip, are goodrepresentations of the colours of thepictures. There are nice reproduc-tions of the paintings in each of theboxes and this seems to be a veryreasonably priced pen with a slightlydifferent theme.
pencils. The stainless steel version ischeaper and more readily available thanthe black. Looking to our wider interests, and I am
reminded by my Council colleagues thatthere is more to life than pens of all typesor pencils, I came across a fact that one ofthe world’s famous glassware designersmanufactured inkwells, something that wasunknown to me before. Some moreresearch is needed but I hope maybe toput an article together for a Journal in 2012on this. I am looking for more examplesand more designers – any hints, photos orarticles readers may have would bewelcome. I do struggle to find news onthe non-pen subjects of interest to othermembers, so any help is welcome.
41
And finally this caught myeye on Wired.co.uk
These pictures are incredibly, sorryinkredibly, of a dress made out of pennibs. This is a construction of theoriginally-named Pen Nib Dress, ashiny, pointy stunning garmentcreated by technologist John Nusseyand Central St. Martins womenswearstudent Steven Tai for his final degreeshow. The two blended their creativeand technical talents to create an A-line dress which uses moveable,vibrating pen nibs as an alternative tosequins or beading. The pair decidedto use the tiny motors used to makemobile phones vibrate to animate thenibs. The whole lot is powered by arechargeable lithium battery, “so itdoesn’t have to be plugged in”,explains Nussey – attachment to thewall not being the hottest look whenheading down the catwalk. All in all,the dress weighs around sixkilograms. So all you nib collectors –do you have the potential to be thenext Vivienne Westwood?
My thanks to Wired.co.uk for allowingme to make use of their article.
I have been looking to seewhether there have been anyannouncements made forspecial editions of pens,paperknives, ink bottles, stampboxes etc., to celebrate theOlympics or the QueensDiamond Jubilee. I have found£1,000 bottles of whisky, mugsand even a battery poweredwaving Queen but no pens asyet. There is a special silverhallmark though – so we couldexpect something in silver tocome out soon. If anyone gets tohear of anything – please let meknow.
Emirates Airlines has partneredwith Montblanc to bring out aunique pen and Emiratespassengers can win one. TheMontblanc skeleton A380Limited Edition writinginstrument (a bit of a mouthfulfor a pen) is inspired by the A380Airbus and is in white gold withdark blue precious resinwindows. There are 28 faultlessdiamonds on the rings of thepen and the crown bears theMontblanc emblem. It has an 18carat gold and platinum nib andretails at around €15,000.
WES93IN OURNEXTISSUE!PEN BIOGRAPHYGRAHAM HOGGPEN PROFILEA N OTHERTHE FIRST PARKER 51DAVID SHEPHERDTHE PENCIL MUSEUMJIM MARSHALLHISTORY OF FABER-CASTELLALAN HOBBSPARKER IN PRAGUEDAVID SHEPHERDENGLISH PENHISTORYSTEVE HULL
42
BOOKREVIEW
Learn World Calligraphyby Margaret Shepherd
Soft cover192 pages
Random House Books
Book review by Mike West
In previous editions of the WES journalwe have reviewed two of MargaretShepherd’s earlier books, The Art of theHandwritten Note and The Art of thePersonal Letter. However Margaret isactually a well known and well publishedcalligrapher having over the yearsproduced a number of books on thesubject. She exhibits her work exten-sively and has broadcast regularly in theUSA on the theme of writing and callig-raphy and was also featured in a recentBBC programme on letter writing. Herlatest book, out this autumn, is a formi-dable text which takes calligraphy to anew and very different level, providing asshe puts it 'a virtual trip around theworld’ offering perspectives on theworld’s scripts en route.The intention of the book is to
introduce the reader to a wide range offoreign script formats including African,Arabic, Celtic (and Runes), Chinese &Japanese, Hebrew, Indian (includingDevanagari, Tibetan and Thai) throughto Cyrillic forms with even a passingreference to Middle Earth under thechapter heading 'Otherworldly’. Theformat and style of these scripts isexplained and how they may be used toembellish the reader’s own calligraphy.The book is illustrated with sumptuouscolour and Margaret Shepherd’s owncalligraphic texts and explanations. Inessence, the reader is encouraged tointroduce their own stylized text takingon board the options that other scriptsproffer or suggest.
So, how is this presented? The fourpages from the ‘Arabic section’ (below)illustrate how the calligraphic style canbe adopted. The Japanese/Chinesesection similarly indicates the approachvery simply (p 63, 64) – the word‘Chinese’ is given a thoroughly Chineseappearance by adopting the Shepherdtreatment, as do the runic texts (above).‘Virtual Hebrew’ is suggested, whereHebrew letter forms are used eitherdirectly or after adaption/rotation to givethe text a Hebrew 'feel’, whilstmaintaining its total readability. Well illus-trated too in the section on Indian/ Asian
43
BOOKREVIEW
scripts is the possibility of introducing theflavours of India, Tibet and Thai scripts into Roman calligraphy as shown by theillustration (above right) with 'celebrate’,'peace’ and 'everywhere’ as illustrativeexamples. Similarly, virtual Russian isachieved by borrowing a few appropriateCyrillic characters (right). Throughout thebook, suggestions and calligraphicpointers for the script illustrated appearas part of the chapter.In a one page WES journal review
with limited scope for the reproductionof the illustrative content of the book, itis impossible to do this publication
justice. When I received an advancedelectronic copy of the text my 'wowfactor’ went off the scale. Theresearch and lavish pictorial supportfrom around the globe which MargaretShepherd has incorporated to illus-trate her ideas is mind-boggling. Withnearly 200 glorious pages of colour,themes, ideas and explanation this isvery much a departure from the usualcalligraphy texts available andabsolutely a book to dip into for calli-graphic inspiration.
44
ANDREWSTAN A –Z OF THE 100 MEN(AND WOMEN) WHOSHAPED THE ENGLISHFOUNTAIN PENINDUSTRY: 1875–1975.
THE FOLLOWING MAY BEREAD IN CONJUNCTIONWITH STEVE HULL’S THEENGLISH FOUNTAIN PENINDUSTRY: 1875–1975,LAUNCHED AT LWES 2011.ALL OF THE MEN ANDWOMEN LISTED BELOWARE MENTIONED IN THEBOOK, THOSE NAMES INBOLD HAVING THEIR OWNMONOGRAPHS.
Calton, William T K JewelCameron, Duncan Macniven & CameronCannon, Frank AlturaCarey, William Harold Mabie Todd; Biro SwanCharles, Conrad C Nibs (1929)Coit, Richard Biro Pens; Biro SwanCrabtree, Norman Sheafferde la Rue, Sir Evelyn Andros, Bt De La RueDixon, Henry John Mabie Todd & Bard; Corona; De La Rue; Henry DixonDixon, James ParkerDixon, James H Henry Dixon; James DixonDixon, Thomas ParkerEpstein, Samuel UniqueFinburgh, Alec Wyvern
Companies with which directly involved (as proprietor, director or employee) or associated:
Andrews, Arthur E MentmoreBarnes, FP Felix Macauley; WhytwarthBiro, Ladislao Jose Miles-MartinBrenner, Frederic Ludwig Brenner-Pocock Trading; Yard-o-LedBristow, Cecil Mabie Todd; Standard; Bristow-StandardBrookes, H H Hazell Watson & Viney/Esterbrook ; Waterman‘sBrown, Arthur C Marrian; Mabie Todd; Biro SwanBrown, H Allord Altura; Waterman'sBunyard, John Butler Burge Warren & RidgleyBurnham, Henry F C BurnhamBurnham, William Burnham; Waterman’sByford, Norman Parker Cahalan, Thirza WhytwarthCalton, John T Jewel
John T CaltonMay 1923 Duncan Cameron
June 1907
Alec Finburg October 1922
45
TOZOCCOLAThe list is by no means exhaustive,since some of those who shouldprobably feature remain anonymoustoday. For instance, along withGeorge Shand, who were the otherpioneering pen manufacturers andjobbers who made pens and parts(including 14ct nibs) for the biggermanufacturers and own-brandcustomers in the early years? Whoran the Whytwarth companies underthe alias John Whytwarth? Whomanaged the Wirt Fountain Pen Co(c1888–c1911) and Conklin Ltd(c1922–c1933) in London? And whowas the man, working for HartleyReece, responsible for the re-intro-duction of MontBlanc pens in thelate 1950s?In addition, we know very little yet
about many of the other importantpeople listed, particularly theFinburgh brothers of Wyvern, theWades and Livseys of Lang/Curzons/Summit, James Glass of Ormiston &Glass, JW Hamilton-Jones ofEversharp and Elizabeth Watts ofMabie Todd. Great detail on theWades and some information on theFinburghs is known to exist and it isto be hoped that it will be available inthe form of articles in WES Journals(or even books!) in the future.
Companies with which directly involved (as proprietor, director or employee) or associated:
Finburgh, Alfred WyvernFinburgh, David WyvernFinburgh, Sydney WyvernFry, Bertram (‘Bert’) E Conway StewartFry, John G Conway StewartFry, Walter DB (‘Bob’) Conway StewartFunnell Christian, J Own Account; Shipman; HydeGarner, Thomas Howard Conway StewartGarner, Reginald (‘Rex’) H Conway StewartGilbert, A Mentmore
J Funnell ChristianMay 1895
James Glass1905
Glass, James Ormiston & GlassGoodall, Mortimer J Chas Goodall; Conway StewartGray, A Nicol Waterman’sGreer, Sir Henry StephensGuildford, Frederick C Waterman’sGuildford, Horace F Waterman’sHarris, Oscar Drewe Felix Macaule;, WhytwarthHazell, Ralph Hazel Watson & Viney; Esterbrook Hazell PensHearson, Thomas Alfred De La RueHamilton-Jones, J W Eversharp Hancock, Alan Conway StewartJarvis, Francis Charles Conway StewartJarvis, G R (‘Ronnie’) Devobond/Conway StewartJarvis, Kenneth C Conway StewartJarvis, Stanley William Conway StewartJeffreys, Richard W London; International Pen Syndicate; Altura; De La RueJohnson, Leslie William Mabie ToddJohnson, William Frederick Own account; Mentmore; SpotJones, Arthur Stanley Conway StewartKearney, John J KearneyKimpton, Charles W (‘Kimpie’) WH SmithKnight, Edward Gibson De La RueKing, L John ('Jack'), MBE ParkerLamert, Sidney Streatfeild De La Rue
Sidney LamertMay 1924
46
Companies with which directly involved (as proprietor, director or employee) or associated:
Livsey, Charlesworth Lang/Curzon Lloyd & MacgregorLivsey, William Lang/Curzon Lloyd & MacgregorMabie, George Mabie Todd & BardMaginnis, James Porter [Early Historian/Collector]Marrian, William L Marrian; Mabie ToddMartin, Henry George Miles-MartinMiller, Hemsley Charles Mabie Todd; Biro SwanMolesworth, Viscount ParkerMordan, Francis F MordanPhillips, Reginald C RC Phillips; De La Rue; Biro SwanRobinson, Charles Woodbury Import Agent (Mabie Todd & Bard, Cross, Caw’s,
LE Waterman etc); LondonRobinson, Mrs M LondonRidgley, Henry Burge Warren & RidgleyRudderham, Thomas E WJ May; Auto-Cap Fountain Pen CoSears, Edward Stephen Mabie ToddShand, George Shand/Conway StewartShaw, William Thomas De La RueSloan, Lawrence Gunn L&C Hardtmuth; LG Sloan; Waterman’s
Charles W Robinson April 1892 Lawrence G Sloan January 1919
Smith, George Frank Conway StewartSpain, Albert Meredith Totus-SecurusStewart, William Washington Mabie Todd; Mabie Todd & BardSweetser, George De La RueTant, William Henry WH TantVivian, George Stewart Valentine; TB Fordvon Hardtmuth, Franz L&C Hardtmuth/Waterman’sWada, Setsuji NamikiWade, Mrs E Nibs (1929)Wade, Ernest Macauley Lang/Curzon Lloyd & MacgregorWade, Eric Ernest Samuel Lang/Curzons/SummitWade, Osmond Blyth Lang; Maypen; Capless; WJ May; Rotapen,; Totus-SecurusWarren, William Bartlett Burge Warren & RidgleyWaterman, Frank D Jr Waterman’sWatts, Albert Kasan Mabie Todd & Bard; Mabie ToddWatts, Andrew Calvin Mabie Todd & BardWatts, Mrs Elizabeth Mabie Todd; Biro SwanWestall, Bernard C, OBE De La RueWorth, Harry S Conway StewartWylie, Donald S Summit; Sheaffer; Pencraft Zoccola, Alexander Raphael Parker AR Zoccola November 1926
Viscount Molesworth 1926
47
10 High Street, Shrewsbury SY1 1SP 01743 245950
[email protected] www.writeherekitenow.co.uk
• ������������������� ����������� �����
• ��� ������ ������ ��������� ����������������
• �� � ��������� �������������
• ���������������������� ��
antiquewritingitems.com
penpencilgallery.com
tiquean emswritingittique om.cems el 01768 484300tel 01768 484300tiquan emswritingite om.cems
Sale of
el 01768 484300tel 01768 484300
encilgallerenppequipment and
Parts and �a�s for Books,
� f ip t d
sCatalogue availa�e on l
B ks
g P d f
Sale of exclusive and ra� f C l
f exclusive and ra� items
om.cyy.cencilgallerequipment and t�ls
sale line
l
exclusive and ra� items
om
48
ORIENTALSTON AN ALMOSTSUMMERY MID-APRILSATURDAY, TENMEMBERS OF THESTAMP BOX STUDYCIRCLE MET AT THEHOME OF ONE OF ITSLONDON MEMBERS, ANDTHOROUGHLY ENJOYEDTHEIR DAY TOGETHER,ESPECIALLY THEDISPLAYS OF ORIENTALSTAMP BOXES, WHICHWAS THE MAIN THEMEFOR THIS MEETING. WEWERE HONOURED TOHAVE AS A GUEST ADELIGHTFUL JAPANESELADY, WHO GAVE US AFASCINATING ILLUS-TRATED TALK WHICHSET THE SCENE FOR US.REPORT BY JEAN ELLEY.
She explained that Japan had introducedpostage stamps in April 1871, 31 yearsafter the world’s first postage stamp, thePenny Black, had been introduced in theUnited Kingdom. Japan had begun toopen up to international trade in the1850s after a period (essentially from1639 to 1854) during which most of suchtrade had been prohibited, the exceptionbeing a limited amount with Holland,China and Korea. The pace of changequickened after the Emperor was restoredto power in 1867. The following year sawthe start of the Meiji period which lasteduntil 1912. A high-ranking governmentofficial, Kagenori Ueno, made anextended visit to Great Britain in 1870/71in order to sort out issues relating to anational debt and other official affairs. Hewas accompanied and supported byHisoka Maejima, who used his spare timelearning the detailed workings of theBritish Post Office. On their return toJapan, Maejima set up a postal systemfor Japan along British lines, introducingpostage stamps, pre-stamped postal
cards and distribution methods for mail.It seems that the Japanese did not
use specially-made stamp boxes in theway that our Victorian forefathers did,but some signature seal boxes had acompartment in which stamps could bestored. Personal signature seals areused as a hand signature and arecarried in a specially-designed boxwhich also holds an ink pad. There are‘everyday’ seals and ‘registered’ sealsfor use on legal-type documents, bothtypes usually 6cm long with a diameterof 1cm for an ‘everyday’ one and slightlylarger for a ‘registered seal. Boxwood istraditionally used but resin, plastic ormetal could also be used. ‘Registered’seals can be of horn, ebony or evenamber or jade. Both types of seal forindividuals are usually cylindrical, whilean official ‘company/corporate’ seal canbe either square or cylindrical, andartists’ signature seals on Japanese/Chinese paintings and calligraphy arenormally square. Several websitescurrently offer a service of designing and
Japanese three-compartmentbrass box with hinged liddecorated with dragons.Symbol on right and left side.
STAMPBOXSTUDYCIRCLESPRING2011MEETING
49
TAMPBOXESmaking signature seals – Chinese aswell as Japanese.As trade with both Japan and China
grew in the late 19th century, so did thewestern world’s interest in orientaldesign – and this interest coincided withthe period of greatest popularity ofstamp boxes with the result that stampboxes for use in Europe and the USAwere made in the Far East and exportedin considerable numbers. These weremade in a variety of materials using anumber of traditional techniques,including lacquered papier maché,carved lacquer, cloisonné enamelling,metalware, Shibayama and porcelain. Traditional craftsmanship in Japan
was highly-skilled, very painstaking andtime-consuming. It is the quality ofdesign and the skills used which mattermore than the value of the materialsused. With the increase in exports tothe west, less labour-intensive wayswere found to achieve results whichwhile still attractive were not as excellentas items made in the traditional ways.This happened also in China, andeventually, similar items were mass-produced in England (mainlyBirmingham) but were inevitably ofinferior quality.Oriental design can incorporate a
variety of local elements – real andmythological – including dragons, birds,flowers, butterflies, pagodas, templesand people in traditional costumes.Borders can be in a continuousgeometric pattern similar to Greek keydesign, or be of stylised flowers, such aschrysanthemums. Chinese characterssuch as the ones meaning ‘auspi-ciousness’ or ‘fortune’ can sometimesappear as part of a design. We had seta second display theme for this meeting– porcelain boxes, which are not only oforiental origin but were and are made inmany other places including Englandand France – but that will have to waitfor another occasion as our time hadbeen fully and enjoyably spent withthese fascinating Japanese and Chinesestamp boxes.
Japanese two-compartment lacquered box with hingedlid featuring two Japanese stamps issued in 1896
To Western eyes there is a similarity between the various oriental scripts – all ofwhich derive from ancient Chinese characters. In Japan the Chinese charactersbecame known as kanji. Our guest showed us examples from different countriesand also used the wording for Japan Post on Japanese stamps to illustrate thedifferent script orientations. Traditionally Japanese scripts are written verticallyfrom top to bottom and right to left. Sideways orientation started appearing insome writing in the late 18th century, initially from right to left, but in the 1940sthis changed to read from left to right. Japanese is now written vertically from topto bottom, with the columns reading from right to left or horizontally from left toright from top to bottom, as in the West. After the scene-setting, we enjoyed looking with fresh eyes at the various
stamp boxes that had been made in Japan or China that we had all brought tothe meeting. They had been made for the Western market, but employedmaterials, techniques and designs true to their origins. Our guest happily readChinese characters on our boxes and identified places shown.Lacquer is the natural sap of the lac tree (Rhus Vernicifera), patiently collected
and refined through several separate processes before multiple applications onitems made of papier maché, thinly-planed pinewood or metal, such as a varietyof writing implements, including stamp boxes. Joins and pins were first paperedover to ensure the smoothest possible surface on the finished articles. Thepatient build-up of many thin layers of lacquer results in a very fine finish.(Subsequently, English craftsmen imitated this technique with paint and varnishinstead of oriental lacquer, using a technique which became known as‘japanning’.) Illustrated is a lacquered stamp box with two compartments and ahinged lid decorated with two Japanese stamps.
4850
Two Chinese carved lacquerboxes
Above Single compartmentbox in white with hinged lidLeft Three-compartment boxin green with hinged lid
Another use of lacquer involves patiently building up thicker layers of lacquer, againon a base of papier maché, thinly-planed pinewood or metal, each layer needing todry thoroughly before the next is applied. The lower stratum will be of a dark colour,with the top stratum coloured. To achieve the colours, natural pigments are mixedwith the lacquer – cinnabar for the red, with the white colour being derived fromwhite lead for example. The lacquer surface is subsequently intricately carved so thatthe darker colour lower layer will show through to provide a contrast with the lighter,brighter top layer, often red or white although green is also used. Most stamp boxesof this type will have been made in China and it seems that the basis of the boxes ismetal. They have one or more compartments, and a hinged lid.
Shibayama is an art form thatoriginated in Japan and involvesinlaying thinly-sliced pre-shapedand carved pieces ofsemiprecious stone and shellinto prepared ‘hollows’ on abase of ivory or bone. Itemsdecorated in the Shibayamastyle range from vases, boxesand table-screens to swordsand entire ivory tusks – and alsoinclude stamp boxes. Due tothe delicate nature of the artform and to the fragility of theresulting pieces, intactShibayama items are highlyvaluable and prized bycollectors. Unfortunately, thetwo-compartment stamp boxillustrated has lost some of itsdelicate decoration on theinsects on the sides, but theflower spray and butterfly on thelid gives a reasonable, albeitsimplified indication of this work.
Japanese two-compartmentbox with hinged lid, decoratedin the Shibayama style,showing the lid and side.
STAMPBOXSTUDYCIRCLESPRING2011MEETING
51
We had set a second display theme for this meeting –porcelain boxes, which are not only of oriental origin butwere and are made in many other places including Englandand France – but that will have to wait for another occasionas our time had been fully and enjoyably spent with thesefascinating Japanese and Chinese stamp boxes.
By far the best of the oriental metalware boxes were those made in Kyoto inJapan, which have become known as Komai ware after the distinctive styleof the family workshop which has specialised, from around 1865, in thisintricate inlaid work of gold and silver set into iron or steel, known asdamascene ware. It seems that damascene had first been brought to Japanabout 2,000 years ago, reputedly from Damascus, through Korea. A greatvariety of items of all sizes has been made, and continues to be made today.Steel is the usual foundation of the articles, though bronze, silver, and goldare occasionally employed. The work is very time-consuming andpainstaking, involving many processes, some of them repeated many timesover. Two stamp boxes in this ware were at the meeting – both with singlecompartments, one with a beautifully-fitting lift-off lid and the other with ahinged lid, the latter depicting Kinkaku-ji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion)in Kyoto, which our guest kindly identified.
Japanese single-compartment box with a hinged lid in the Komai style
Metalware stamp boxes from China and Japan include those withintricate cloisonné enamelling. A design, perhaps floral or incor-porating butterflies, was outlined in fine wire, and the shapes soformed were filled in with coloured enamels. The interior andbase of the boxes were also enamelled, in a single colour. Theboxes would have one or more compartments, and a hinged lid. A less expensive type had the design, perhaps of dragons or
birds, stamped out in base metal and sprayed with metallic paint.
Chinese two-compartment cloisonné enamelled box with hinged lid
Stamp boxes in speltre were also made in Japan. Speltre isan alloy chiefly composed of zinc, much used around thelatter part of the 19th century as a cheaper substitute forbronze. It is soft and malleable, but when cast tends to becrystalline and brittle. Two-compartment stamp boxesexist, with hinged lids, decorated in a traditional manner.
The Japanese also made delightful stamp boxes in fineporcelain, with one or more compartments and lift-off lids,decorated with, for example, a floral pattern, a stag’s head or scenic views.
The Circle usually meets twice a year, with the display themedecided in advance. Meetings also discuss a variety of matters ofinterest to the Circle, in particular maintaining the Circle’s website(www.stampbox.org.uk), which has become an extremely usefulresource and reference tool. For any further information on theCircle, please email [email protected]
Japanese two-compartmentporcelain boxwith a lift-off lid
Japanese two-compartment box in speltre with a hinged lid
52
BOOKREVIEW
Stylus Pen Annual 2011edited by Nancy Olson
Hard cover215mm x 275mm202 pages
Fine Life Mediawww.stylusmag.com
$24.95
Book review by David Shepherd
The Stylus Annual 2011 is filled with thelatest news about writing instruments. The 200 pages are filled with stunningpictures of fountain pens from all themajor manufacturers. As well as all theusual features, there are some importantand exciting additions to this year’spublication. First, there are 20 interviewswith some of the main ‘shakers andmovers’ in the pen business: theseinclude Count Anton Wolfgang VonFaber-Castell, Chairman of the Faber-Castell Group, Chris Care and MaryBurke from Conway Stewart, JeanCharles Hita from Parker, and WilfriedLeuthold from Pelican. They share theirunique and candid perspectives on thepresent state of the pen business.
Another innovation this year, is theinclusion of several articles aboutcollecting and repairing new and classicpens. Paul Erano, the new editor of ThePennant, gives an overview of how todate a particular vintage pen. DavidIsaacson has surveyed the range ofParker Pens from the 1930s, discussingthe many pens of the lower-tiered Parkerfamily. Ron Zorn and Richard Binder havecontributed articles on pen repair and thejoys of writing with the perfect nib.
The book is primarily intended for theAmerican market but don’t let that deteryou, as it is a one-stop encyclopaediaabout pens created with passion andenthusiasm.
The Past, Present and Future of Fine Writing Instruments.
53
Visit our website or contact Chris Robinson – Pensmith on telephone 07932 037630 email [email protected] sales and restoration since 1976
fountain pensrestorationwriting accessoriesgift vouchersold archive
10% discount forWES members. When orderingquote ref: WES7
Buy on line at www.vintagefountainpensinc.com
The Battersea Pen HomeVintage and Modern Pen Specialists
Authorised repairers forParker and Watermanpens and recommendedby Sheaffer UK
“The nation’smost specialistsmall business”Royal Mail
� Please note that we are unable to provide valuations for pens over thephone as value is highly contingent onthe condition of the pen. If you wouldlike a valuation, please post the pen tous by Royal Mail Special Delivery.
PO Box 6128 Epping CM16 4GG Phone 01992-578-885 Fax 01992-578-485 Email [email protected]
www.penhome.co.uk
“One of Britain’s leading
retailers and repairers of vintage
pens and pencils” The Daily Telegraph
54
THIS CME2102
REMBME
COULD BEHSREMBMETAATHTDEDMINERERASR
LAE YOYOUR LAWEEWNERIPH
RASNIOTIPPTRCSBUS2102
STAST JOURNMINERLAWWA
1YBEUDER ts 2YRRYAUNAJ.
NAL!REDMIN
2102
:
/
LIAME
:EMANR EBMEM
euqehC:SREBMEMKU P:SREBMEMSAESREVOEMYAPELCRICESAELP
lapyaP fi,derreferp(redrOgnidnat/SlapyaP ni PBG lno y
DOHTEMTNE
f oM
rebmemruoydohtemsihtesuuoyf
)epolevnelanruojs ihtanO(REBMUNPIHRSEBME
tnerrucehttadleheblliwsbuspihs
lebalss erdda
,)6102litnuetar
M
l
KU:SETARLAWENERnoitacudeemitlluf .dqer
ekamesaelP seuqehc ap
bs/llWekIs biNleetS
s exobpmatSs nePniatnuoF
AMRIPruoys itaWh
-
h
SREBMEM 23PBG MSAESREVO
otelbaya
OaremehpE
s nePtniopllaBs licneP.hceM
?steretniRY
-
s
SREBME 53PBG KU-TNEDUTS
ybgniyapfi, lapyaP elp
enePpiDseirssoeccAskeD
slicnePnedoWo
lPReAUACA
REA
K
e
51PBG -SAESREV/O 81PBG oorP(
ottnemyapruoydnesesae
tairporppas aeteledsearehcraseRe
rseUdarT/r/elaeDArotcelloC
:UOYRE
f
r
ofo
e
s
e
elttobs/llWeknI
rids’rebmemwenAnoitamrfonigniwollfoilnsoew@pishrebmemRIP,EMANR EBMEM
r
p
ehtO
ebotdeludehscs iyrotcf i.rebmemhcaetuobacejboruoygnitastku.gro.enNIGNITCELLOCRYAMRI
A
r
FIVDATED
pS2102ehthtiwdeshilbufonis ihtottcejbouoyf
s.noitcREETNIR EHTO,TSREETN
A
n
HCEVAHSLIATEDR UOYFOYNAR ECIFFOPIHRSEBMEMEHTESIV@pishrebmemOTLIAMEYBSLIAT
etniewnehw,lanruojgnirdeshilbupgniebnoitamrfo
R/OTCELLOCR/ESU,STSRE
E
e
SAELPDEGNAGNIDNESYBR
ku.gro.enilnsoew@
htshilbupotdnliameseaelp,d
R,EHRCAESRER/
R,EBMUNENOHPELETws nsoaerytirucseroF
nempiuqEgnitiWrehTahottpmettaerfoereht
s ’yteicoSehtevorpmi.troppsudeulavruoy
TNUOC,SSREDDALIAMER,mshilbupotdnetnitonodew
ebruoyrfonurs iyteicoStnoSehtf oedsituofeilaevaruoygniwenerybs ecnanfi
.RYTNUOC,YTs.sseerddallfurebmem
owdrahf omaetaybtfienemehtplehdluocuoY.yteicshfaylemitanipishrebmem
hllaohws reetnulovgnikropmistomlas ihteveihcaotocruoyrfouoyknahT.noish
dnas eilimfaevahdnaskatelbssiopdnanoitaredsino
55
MASTERBRANDPENPOLISHDELUXEKIT
PEN SERVICINGAND VALETINGIS AVAILABLE
READERSHIP AND DISTRIBUTIONA largely professional body of 500 members, and up to1,000 readers who collect writing equipment andassociated ephemera. Distribution is by mail direct toSociety members, including dealers, manufacturers andretailers of writing equipment.
MECHANICAL DATAPage size: (A4) 297mm d x 210mm wBleed: 303mm d x 213mm wType area: 255mm d x 185mm wMono 1/4 page ads 125mm d x 90mm w Mono 1/2 page ads 125mm d x 185mm wMono full page ads 255mm d x 185mm wColour 1/6 page ads 80mm d x 88mm wColour 1/3 page horizontal ads 80mm d x 185mm wColour 1/2 page vertical ads 255mm d x 88mm wColour 1/2 page horizontal ads also available
WESJOURNALADVERTISING RATES
RATES EFFECTIVE FROM JANUARY 2011Members Non Members
MONO RATESQuarter page £30 £45Half page £50 £75Full page £80 £120Inside front/back cover £120 £180Single page flyers (inserts) £100 £150
FULL COLOUR RATES1/6 page £33 £481/3 page £63 £901/2 page (horizontal or vertical) £90 £130full page £175 £250Inside front/back cover £250 £360Back cover £275 £400
SUPPORT THE PUBLICATION AT THE HEART OF THE WORLDOF WRITING EQUIPMENT!
If you advertise in the journal your ad is also placed on the much visited WES website www.wesonline.org.uk until the next issue of the journal.
For further information check out www.wesonline.org.uk.
Confirmation of advertising bookings must be received by24 January for Spring issue, 15 May for Summer issue, 8 September for Autumn issue. Artwork/copy should follow nolater than two weeks after the dates shown unless prior arrange-ments have been made with either Mike West or the editor.
‘PENPROFILE’CALL FORENTRIES!The editor would like to hear frommembers who wish to feature inPen Profile (see page 22). Pleasesend details of what you collect,best finds, areas of expertise,burning questions, latest acquisi-tions and dream finds.
Details to the Editor:David Shepherd60 Surrenden CrescentBrightonBN1 6WF
)01273 554378
56
![[Vicino Oriente XX I (2017), pp. 111-126] XXI/VO_XXI_PDF_Autori/VO_XXI_111-126... · [Vicino Oriente XX I (2017), pp. 111-126] THREE ISLAMIC INKWELLS FROM GHAZNI EXCAVATION ∗ Valentina](https://static.fdocuments.us/doc/165x107/5ff1497db2e43a6f80551c26/vicino-oriente-xx-i-2017-pp-111-126-xxivoxxipdfautorivoxxi111-126.jpg)