A grand total of 17 Vancouver Pen Club members (including newcomer Paul) showed up at the Oakridge branch of the Vancouver Public Library for our June meeting on the 14th.
Our monthly topic---"Sumgai Finds" (your best fountain pen bargains)---was very well-represented, so I snapped some photos of the pens my fellow VPCers brought:
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~click on images to enlarge ~)
Alejandra's Sheaffer 'Cartridge Pen' (commonly referred to as their "School Pen"), which she acquired for a mere dollar. Her best bargain, though, is a Parker '51' set (not brought to this particular meeting, but we've seen it before) that she acquired for $50 at a local antique shop!
"Newest acquisitions" is always our secondary topic, and this brushed chrome Sheaffer Imperial (with a great factory italic nib) is one of Alejandra's newest purchases. She also brought her new vintage Waterman 'Taperite' to show us (not pictured).
Bruce always has some interesting fountain pens to show, and this Visconti 'Metropolis' is no exception. It's a piston-filling safety pen made of silver and coated with Ruthenium! Bruce found this uncommon fountain pen on eBay for the bargain price of $160.
Angela brought her newest pen-related acquisition---a bottle of ink made for the pen store
Papier Plume , located in historic New Orleans. This shade is called "Calle Real" and, according to their website,
"is inspired by the blue in the street tiles and Spanish wall tiles throughout the French Quarter." Angela also showed us her new fountain pen book--
The Book of Fountain Pens and Pencils by Schneider & Fischler (aka "the brown book")
Below the ink is Ricardo's blue Pelikan M205 (sporting a smooth new nib from the Pelikan factory, acquired under warranty), and Paul's Waterman 'Centurion' fountain pen (I thought it was a Laureat, but a fellow VPCer ID'd it for me---thanks, Jerred!)
(Photo above) Paul also brought the fountain pen that got him hooked on our hobby---his TWSBI Diamond '580'. Above the TWSBI is the bottle of Monteverde ink that he won in our door prize draw, donated by
Perks pen store in North Vancouver (at Lonsdale Quay). The ink comes in their new 30 mL size and is a lovely purple shade called 'Charoite'.
(Pictured above) A blurry photo of a very cool fountain pen---Ricardo's new demonstrator (transparent) fountain pen by Chinese pen company Lecai. The pen fills with ink directly into the barrel (with an eyedropper or syringe) and has an elegant simplicity to its design. I liked the pen so much I ordered one for myself (from eBay) later that night :)
Speaking of elegant...Take a look at this gorgeous Lady Sheaffer in the "Damask" pattern that Stuart acquired for the bargain price of $60. The barrel is vermeil (silver over gold) and has a decorative band of brilliants. The pen is fitting with its original 14K gold Triumph (wraparound) nib, a wonderful Sheaffer design. The pen originally retailed for $35 USD in 1959, which works out to about $280 USD in today's money!
Another bargain that Stuart found online is this Sheaffer 'PFM' V in burgundy with gold-filled cap. He paid a mere $50 for this highly-collectible vintage Sheaffer that comes with another wonderful Sheaffer nib---their inlaid nib. Above the PFM is a bright red 'School+' Faber-Castell fountain pen, a recent purchase. Not pictured---a vintage Eversharp 'Skyline' acquired for $20 by Stuart.
Another new acquisition belonging to Stuart--a dark blue Borghini 'V40' fountain pen. The orange pen case is my own, an old purchase from a (now-closed, sadly) Campo Marzio store in Vancouver.
Justin's English-made Waterman fountain pen and mechanical pencil set. The set is in great shape and came with its original box. Total price? A mere $25...
Some quick photos of Alejandra's test drive of my new Robert Oster ink (in the "Fire & Ice" colour). This is an intriguing fountain pen ink that can look either a turquoise blue/teal shade... or a darker red colour, depending on the pen used. If the fountain pen has a wet-writing nib, the ink will have a reddish sheen to it!
The next three photos are of Stanley's gorgeous new Visconti 'Titanic' LE (Limited Edition) fountain pen. Only 1,912 of these pens were made (in the year 1999) as a limited edition tribute to the R.M.S. Titanic, which sank in 1912. You have to see the pen in person to really appreciate the colour and depth of the celluloid material...
The clip depicts the ship (at one end of the clip) heading towards a large iceberg (represented by the white crystal at the other end of the clip):
Visconti fan Bruce admiring Stanley's new fountain pen:
Stanley recently acquired an old-style Visconti Traveling Inkwell, a leak-proof, handy way to carry ink and refill your fountain pen with minimal fuss (photo taken by Ricardo):
Peter's Parkers---a 1930's Parker Duofold in marbled red and another Parker (a '51'??). The Duofold was acquired in a trade for a modern fountain pen, a TWSBI. Peter's best bargain, however, is a pen he didn't bring to this meeting---a striped Parker 'Vacumatic' desk pen (a difficult-to-find vintage desk pen) that he acquired for the princely sum of $11!
Here's something else you don't see every day---a Montblanc cookie tin!
Tony got this as a gift (which is the best kind of bargain ;)
Mindy's newest acquisitions (top three pens) and a Waterman Expert that she got as a gift. The pens with the cool snake clip are a tribute to Montblanc's "Heritage Collection" 'Rouge et Noir' Special Edition pens. Mindy also brought her authentic version of the coral pen (not pictured), which is a truly lovely fountain pen. The brown fountain pen is her new Pilot Legance Custom. She didn't bring it to the meeting, but Mindy's best bargain was a copper Esterbrook 'J' series fountain pen that her grandmother found for $5.00!
(photo above & below) Jerred's glossy new Martemodena 'Citizen' fountain pen (this one is the "Beijing" model). Jerred's best bargains were a Parker '180' (an amazing $3 eBay find) and a Porsche Slim Titanium fountain pen (bought from Amazon for at the bargain price of $100; reg. price $600)
(Below) A quick shot of the three "bargain" pens I (Maja) brought to the meeting---a 1920's gold-filled Wahl-Eversharp ringtop fountain pen and a black Rotring 'Core' that my Mom found in a thrift store for 10¢ and 25¢, respectively.
The pen in the middle is a no-name fountain pen I found in an antique shop in Fort Langley several years ago for $20. It's a very ordinary fountain pen, but take a closer look at the nib...
Yes, it's a 14K gold three-tined stub music nib! This is probably one of the nicest nibs in my entire fountain pen collection and I nearly passed on the pen because it was stuck in a cup with a bunch of non-descript fountain pens and pencils. You never know what you'll find in an antique store---it may be junk, or it might be your best bargain ever! In any case, happy hunting! :D
I didn't photograph them (sorry, Bill!), but one of our founding members brought a couple of really nice fountain pens that he received as gifts from a generous friend---a green-striped Pelikan M800 (I did photograph it at our March meeting
here, though :) and a black-chased modern Conklin Crescent-Filler with rose gold-colour trim.
Many thanks to everyone that attended the June meeting---those that brought examples for our June topic and/or their newest acquisitions, and those that just brought their enthusiasm. Both were much appreciated! I'll post the details about our July meeting in the next day or two here on our blog...
