pen world v27.5
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Pen World v27.5TRANSCRIPT
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$6.95US $7.95CAN
AUGUST 2014
kings of the roadMontegrappa Bugatti and more
liquid luxury:
inksfor every need
in goodhandshow pen retailers are winningover the next generation
The Universe of Writing Culture
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5
ON OUR COVER:Montegrappa Bugatti PurSang Duotone
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AUGUST
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60 performance-drivenHigh-performance cars inspire handsome luxury pens to match.
44 ink for your pensAll fountain pen inks are notcreated equal.
48 Visker & Scrivener’sA Texas couple adds color to Galveston’s Strand with housemade inks and more.
52 Penman saves Inktopia!One of our favorite cartoon characters will soon get his own graphic novel.
56 reaching the youngIn the absence of school handwriting instruction, pen retailers get creative.
64 take note of thisA new study shows handwriting trumps the computer every time for class notetaking.
68 material world part IIIPost World War II pen materials brought new excellence and fresh style to penmaking.
72 Moore is moreMorris Moore solved the problem of leaky fountain pens in 1896!
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departmentsWHAT’S HOT NOW
viewraising awareness
mail our readers speak
newspeople, places and events
now new pens and other products
date mark your calendar
notepens amid the produce
getting startedink: what not to use
shopVanness of Little Rock, Ark.
shopOrigami Ink of Asheville, N.C.
networkclassified advertising
source guide to products and services
imhomy penned life
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VOLUME 27, NUMBER 5
ON OUR COVER:Montegrappa Bugatti PurSang Duotone
48
60
AUGUST
56
52
60 performance-drivenHigh-performance cars inspire handsome luxury pens to match.
44 ink for your pensAll fountain pen inks are notcreated equal.
48 Visker & Scrivener’sA Texas couple adds color to Galveston’s Strand with housemade inks and more.
52 Penman saves Inktopia!One of our favorite cartoon characters will soon get his own graphic novel.
56 reaching the youngIn the absence of school handwriting instruction, pen retailers get creative.
64 take note of thisA new study shows handwriting trumps the computer every time for class notetaking.
68 material world part IIIPost World War II pen materials brought new excellence and fresh style to penmaking.
72 Moore is moreMorris Moore solved the problem of leaky fountain pens in 1896!
06
08
10
30
32
34
37
40
76
78
departmentsWHAT’S HOT NOW
viewraising awareness
mail our readers speak
newspeople, places and events
now new pens and other products
date mark your calendar
notepens amid the produce
getting startedink: what not to use
shopVanness of Little Rock, Ark.
shopOrigami Ink of Asheville, N.C.
networkclassified advertising
source guide to products and services
imhomy penned life
20
37
10
20
80
32
20
10
40
view
See you
in D.C.!
The Washington D.C.Fountain
Pen Supershow is a wonderfulplace to connect with lots ofPW readers and pen lovers. Is
it any wonder I look forward to it allyear long? It is a truly internationalevent, with exhibitors and attendeesfrom all over the world. If you plan toattend, check out pencentral.com to seewhat the show has to offer, and at theshow, please stop by the PW table to sayhello. We’d love to meet you!
Thinking about a road trip thissummer? Can you imagine taking onein a Bugatti, Maserati, Ferrari, or thelike? If that’s out of the question, youmight like to test drive the new Bugattipen by Montegrappa on the cover, orany one of several pens inspired byhigh-performance cars as seen in JilMcIntosh’s story “Driving Force.” Theseare statement pens: they capture thelook and panache of the cars, performbeautifully as pens and can also beflaunted in the board room!
As usual in our August issue, wepack in some extra info on ink. Youwon’t want to miss Julian H. Kreeger’s“Inky Thoughts,” Nicky Pessaroff ’s“Written in Blood” or John Chandler’s“Renaissance Fare,” about a couple whomake all the wares sold in their shop onGalveston’s Strand, including ink. KeithLoria catches up with Gary Blehm, cre-
ator of the Penman cartoons seen inPW for several years, and we makeshopping excursions to Vanness inLittle Rock, Arkansas, and Origami Inkin Asheville, North Carolina. You’ll alsofind the next installments from PaulErano and Richard Binder in theirrespective series on pen materials andfilling systems.
In August, we always think of back-to-school. When we became aware ofthe efforts some pen retailers are mak-ing to bring pens and kids together, weknew we had to do a story about them.Find out what’s going on in SusanBowen’s article “Give a Kid a Pen.” (Thetitle is also great gift-giving advice thistime of year!)
If your child has been pestering youfor a laptop using the argument that itwill help her take better notes in school,be sure to read Lynne Friedmann’s arti-cle “The Pen Is Mightier than theKeyboard.” It provides compelling evi-dence that writing by hand is better fornotetaking. We knew it, but until nowwe couldn’t prove it!
Enjoy your summer as it windsdown, and we’ll see you in Octoberwith our Annual Fall Preview of Pens.
Photo by Philip J. Ross, 2013
In the automotive world, somenames always stand out. You maynot be able to tell the difference
between a Honda and a Hyundai, butyou undoubtedly know names likeBentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini,and Maserati.
These marques represent the ulti-mate in performance and luxury, soit’s only fitting that they have teamedup with top pen brands to create pensthat reflect their values: Bugatti withMontegrappa, Maserati andLamborghini with Omas, Ferrari withSheaffer, and Bentley with Tibaldi.
“By co-branding with automobiles,we’re able to broaden the community ofpen enthusiasts,” says Joel Blumberg,president of Kenro Industries, the U.S.distributor for all the aforementionedpen brands. “Among the people whoare interested in cars, some of them willbe interested in pens.”
All of these automakers producerelatively few cars: globally last year,all five combined sold just 1.2 percentof what General Motors delivered inthe United States alone. But it’s thatexclusivity that helps to make themso appealing, and these lines of finewriting instruments—which won’t beshowing up in every pocket or brief-case—will be equally attractive to thosewho want to make a statement whenthey take notes or sign their names.
Among these storied nameplates,Bugatti is both the oldest and thenewest. The company was founded in1909, but closed its doors in 1956.The name was revived on the 1991Bugatti EB110, and more recently onthe Veyron supercar, the model thatforms the basis of Montegrappa’sBugatti Pur Sang Duotone writinginstruments. The name pur sang isFrench for thoroughbred, which ishow Ettore Bugatti originally describedhis cars. And what a thoroughbred thisone is: the Veyron Super Sport holdsthe record of world’s fastest productioncar, at 268 m.p.h.
As with most of the Veyron carmodels, the Pur Sang Duotone pensare two-tone, offered in four colorcombinations: indigo or jet grey
Montegrappa’s Bugatti Pur Sang Duotonewriting instruments, shown in indigo/silverand pearl/rose gold
DrivingBY JIL MCINTOSH
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trimmed in silver, and pearl or arguspheasant brown with rose gold. Themetal surfaces are engraved with a“dynamic quilting” pattern similar tothat of the car’s leather interior, the capring is inspired by the shape of the head-lights and Bugatti’s famous oval logotops each cap. On fountain pen versions,the quilting and logo are carried overonto the nib.
Ferruccio Lamborghini began pro-duction of his sports cars in 1963, andtoday, his powerful fighting bull is amongthe world’s most identifiable logos. Omasrenewed its partnership with Lamborghinion the automaker’s fiftieth anniversary,producing the 2013 limited editionfountain pen and rollerball. This designevolved from the Omas 2009 limited edi-tion and the 2011 LamborghiniAventador, both of which were based onthe triangular Omas 360 pen.
The 2013 limited edition departsfrom that with an original hexagonalshape, a hallmark of Lamborghini’sangular styling cues, and with sharplycropped edges on the pen and cap. Theedition contains 500 fountain pens and
500 rollerballs, each made entirely oftitanium, including the nib or rollerballtip, and finished in PVD coating andmatte trim. The cap top and knob aremade from Forged Composite, a trade-marked carbon fiber material jointlydeveloped by Lamborghini and golf clubmanufacturer Callaway, and used byboth companies in manufacturing theirproducts. The cap top is hand-engravedwith Lamborghini’s fiftieth anniversarylogo, while the knob carries the Omaslogo and the pen’s limited edition number.
Omas’s master craftsmanship alsogoes into its Omas for Maserati limitededition, part of the relationship the twocompanies share in their “Made in Italy”line of products. Maserati celebrates itscentennial this year, commemorating theday in December 1914 when brothersAlfieri, Ettore and Ernes Maseratiopened their first car repair workshop.They initially built racecars, but today,Maserati’s vehicles are unique blends ofItalian high-horsepower performancewith smooth-handling luxury, as appro-priate on the daily drive to the office ason a track.
From left—The 2011 LamborghiniAventador ($850–995) and the2013 limited edition made forLamborghini’s fiftieth anniversary($2,250–2,400), both by Omas.
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The Omas for Maserati limited edi-tion is equally comfortable as a show-piece or a daily writer. Made of .925 sil-ver, it sports Maserati’s unmistakablegrille from the GranTurismo on top ofthe cap, while the hexagonal knob—which operates the piston filling sys-tem on the fountain pen—carries theautomaker’s trident logo. The satin-finish barrel and cap feature incisionsthat emphasize the pen’s shape, with acontrasting shiny clip and section, thelatter also engraved with Maserati’slogo. The edition is limited to 1,200fountain pens, featuring rhodium-plated 18 karat gold nibs, and 714
rollerballs. Add them together, andyou have 1,914 pens, commemoratingthe Maserati brothers’ initial venture.
Perhaps the most famous of theItalian sports car companies, Ferrarihas teamed with Sheaffer to producethe line of Ferrari official licensedwriting instruments. As a volume-priced pen, and available in gift setswith journals or key rings, the pens area must-have for fans of the “prancinghorse” that adorns every Ferrari. Aswell, each pen carries Sheaffer’s trade-mark white dot, and fountain pens usestainless steel Sheaffer nibs.
The pens come in six variations,starting with the Ferrari VFM ballpointin red or black gloss finish. From there,fans can choose the Ferrari 100 infountain pen, ballpoint or pencil; thethinner Ferrari 200 Rosso Corsa ball-point; the Ferrari 300 in fountain pen,rollerball, or ballpoint with uniqueblack accents; and the wonderfullychunky Ferrari 500 Red ballpoint, withthe Scuderia Ferrari logo shield at theend of its elongated clip. The top-of-the-line is the Ferrari Intensity CarbonFiber, exclusively in black, in fountainpen, rollerball and ballpoint.
A Brit among these Italian blue-bloods, Bentley was founded in 1919and initially famous for its racing carsand its triumphs in Le Mans. Today it isknown for its performance, luxury andstunning styling, all of which translateinto the Tibaldi for Bentley Collection.
It’s certainly an historic venture, asthe pen brand Tibaldi was establishedthree years earlier, in 1916, and thetwo have collaborated since 2006.Each pen has signified an importantBentley model or event, and the
newest, the GT Series, representsBentley’s spirit and elegance and isnamed for the Continental GT.
The pens, offered as fountain pens,rollerballs and ballpoints, are brass withrhodium plating, and the sides of thepartially lacquered barrels are textured.
Tibaldi for Bentley GTfountain pen insilverlake blue ($1,250)and ballpoint in silvertempest ($600)
Omas for Maseratilimited edition,$2,750–2,950
The solid 18 karat gold nibs on the fountain pens areembellished with Bentley’s trademark wings, and the fouravailable colors in the collection—beluga black, silverlakeblue, St. James red, and silver tempest—are the four mostpopular shades ordered on the cars.
All of these fine writing instruments have one thing incommon: while they’re naturally popular with people whoown the actual vehicles, they’re equally coveted by thosewho may never have the chance to drive one. “These areamong the top automobiles in the world, and they’re part ofan image,” Joel Blumberg says. “It becomes a lifestyle, andpeople want to be associated with them.
“The pen is relevant, and we’re bringing something that’sinteresting and exciting. You’re with people, and you takethis out of your pocket, and you’re part of that bigger world.”
Find info about all pens at kenropens.com or at their various manufacturer websites.
JIL MCINTOSH is a Canada-basedfreelance writer and pen collectorwho writes extensively about theautomotive industry.
Sheaffer’s extensive ScuderiaFerrari collection includes the
200 Rosso Corsa ballpoint($50) and the IntensityCarbon Fiber collection
($75–100).
Tribute to Ayrton SennaWith another new pen, Montegrappapays tribute not to a car but to oneof the best and most famous driverswho ever lived: Formula One racinglegend Ayrton Senna (1960–1994).The young Brazilian was a three-timeFormula One world champion andwas leading the 1994 San MarinoGrand Prix when he was killed in atragic accident.
Montegrappa first honored Sennawith a pen in 1995; the new collectionmarks the twentieth anniversary not ofhis death, according to the company,but of his legacy, which lives on throughthe humanitarian work of the InstitutoAyrton Senna. The cabochon at the top ofthe pen recalls the yellow of his helmet; the clip,shaped like a Formula One race car, has beenfitted with a rear “spoiler” bearing Senna’sdouble-S logo, which also appears on thenib. The rings at both ends of the cap areengraved with tire tread patterns. TheLegend series in black resin with sterlingsilver trim is available in fountain pen,rollerball and ballpoint ($2,315–3,450).The Champion series, in solid sterling silverengraved in low-relief, comes in fountain penand rollerball ($3,890–4,325). Both series come in even moreexclusive gold versions. The collection is part of Montegrappa’sIcon series, which has previously produced pens in honor ofMuhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley andQuincy Jones.
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