Sheaffer desk set (ca. 1927-1930)

A couple of quick shots of the Sheaffer desk set Stuart brought to the April meeting for our secondary meeting theme, which is always Newest Acquisitions:

( ~ photos courtesy of Stuart ~ click on images to enlarge ~ ):

Stuart writes: "The nib reads “Sheaffer Lifetime - Made in USA”...I believe the set dates from 1927-1930. I base this on the overall look of pen and base, and also the fact that the penholder does not lie down flat for storage - a Sheaffer ad in National Geographic from late 1931 advertises this feature, which was a new advance at the time. So my set predates late 1931."

A very classy vintage set from the Sheaffer pen company, who made (literally) hundreds of desk sets (according to Sheaffer desk pen collector Roger Wooten , they made 660 different desk set models between 1925 and 1941 alone !!). It's easy to find Sheaffer desk sets on eBay---there are so many---so pick one up for yourself and see how cool it is to have one on your own desk!

Fountain pens with animal themes (April 2019 meeting topic)

Our April meeting (held on April 18th at the Terry Salman branch of the Vancouver Public Library) was well-attended, with 24 members in attendance, including three newcomers (Astoria, Ben, and Mary Anne) and one guest member from Victoria, BC (Michael C.)

Our topic/theme for this meeting was "Fountain Pens with Animal Themes" and it was well-represented (see the list at the end of this blog post), but unfortunately I didn't bring my camera. My apologies to everyone for this oversight. I did, however, snap a few photos of my own animal-themed fountain pens at home the next day, so here is what I brought to the April meeting for our theme/topic...
(~ Click on photos to enlarge ~)

 

(Photo below, from L-R): Kaigelu '316', Genius 'Bucky' (with elephant-shaped clip), Namixin dragon pen, Hero hooded-nib pen (with a handpainted crane on it), Crocodile '215' "Cayman Mouth" pen (the nib's hood has two jewels "eyes" and is shaped like a caiman's head), Online 'Campus' in the "Red Dragon" pattern, a no-name Bugs Bunny fountain pen made in India, three Parker Vectors (Taz, Sylvester the Cat, Clownfish), and two rabbit pens by Dianshi (model number DS-980) purchased at a Thinka store:

 

 

Close-up of the Kaigelu's nib, with their kangaroo logo engraved on it:        

  (Photo below, from L-R): Two bear pens by Dianshi (same model # as the rabbits), a vintage Eagle brand lever-filling fountain pen, a vintage Mabie Todd 'Blackbird' twist-filler , a Mabie Todd 'Blackbird' "Self-Filling" fountain pen, Faber-Castell 'e-motion' in "Crocodile Ivory" resin, a vintage Waterman C/F set (fountain pen & ballpoint) in the "Crocodile" pattern, and a Kaweco 'Sport' in the Fox colour. The last two pens in this row are unrelated to the topic, but were recent acquisitions (which is always our secondary topic)---a clear purple Ooly 'Splendid' fountain pen that I found at Buchan's Stationery store in Vancouver, and a lavender-blue coloured Campo Marzio 'Manhattan' fountain pen I found at a Value Village for $2:

He couldn't make it to the April meeting, but longtime VPC member Christopher sent me this photo he took of his beautiful vintage Mabie Todd "Swan" fountain pen, ca. 1946:

List of animal-themed fountain pens brought to the April meeting for our topic by our members:

Jerred: Online 'Campus' Red Dragon, Pelikan 'Pelikano', PenBBS 471 in "Amber the Cat" colour, Fuliwen model with faux animal skin, Retro 51 in 'Marlin' (a lovely blue acrylic meant to resemble the ocean at night), Delta Markiaro 'Posillipo' fountain pen (with a starfish--the Markiaro symbol--engraved on its nib).
Candice: Platinum 'Preppy' "Hello Kitty" model, Pelikan, Jinhao 'Shark', Benu 'Chameleon'.
Rene: Pilot 'Metropolitan' in the "Bronze Lizard" pattern, Baoer 'Eight Horses', JInhao 5000 dragon, vintage Eagle fountain pen set, Platinum 'Century 3776' in the Kanazawa-Haku (gold leaf) Syou-Ru (ascending dragon) Limited Edition (there's a photo of it here from a few months ago), vintage Wyvern fountain pen, Mabie Todd 'Swan', Mabie Todd 'Blackbird' and Mabie Todd 'Jackdaw' fountain pens.
Derek: Mabie Todd 'Swan' black hard rubber fountain pen (ca. 1915), Parker '50' (aka 'Falcon') which was made from 1978-1982, vintage Camel fountain pen (ca. 1930s), a modern Parker 'Snake' Limited Edition fountain pen from 1997 (not to be confused with the legendary vintage Parker #37 'Snake' from 1906)
Dana: vintage Pelikan in "Tortoise" colour, Jinhao 'Shark'.
Justin: Montegrappa 'Game of Thrones' House Targeryan (dragon)
Jenny: Sailor 'Pro Gear' Nonble Kinokuniya Limited Edition (only 100 pieces made) in "Ice Blue" with a penguin engraved on its nib, and Visconti's "Garden of Eden" Special Edition made for Italian pen retailer Giardino Italiano with a hidden snake in the design (there's a nice article on the pen here)
Melodie: a beautiful custom-made fountain pen from 18111.com featuring two rabbits.
Joie: Sailor 'Sapporo Mini' "Hello Kitty" Special Edition.
Julienne: various Spanish school/inexpensive fountain pens in a "Nature" series.
Astoria: Lamy 'Safari' Pikachu" (a mouse :), a 2018 Special Edition only available in China.

Many thanks to all who came to the April meeting, whether you brought stuff for our topic/theme or not, and thanks again to Jerred, who suggested the topic!
(Blog post by Maja)

May meeting info!

Vancouver Pen Club - next meeting info!

When: Thursday May 16 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm
(Don't worry if you're late---we usually start at around 6:30 pm)

Where: the OAKRIDGE branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC.
The entrance to the library is on the outside of Oakridge Mall (on the west side of the mall, near the fish market). Parking at the mall is free for 3-4 hours and plentiful. The meeting will take place in their community room---you can't miss it, as it's the only meeting room at that library branch. No food (except covered drinks) allowed in the library, but there's a food fair inside Oakridge Mall (Safeway sells some fast food--chicken, fries--too) where you can grab a bite to eat before the meeting.

Topic/Theme: Fountain Pens with Unusually-Shaped Nibs (integrated nibs, inlaid nibs, semi-hooded or hooded nibs, conical nibs & others!)

If you're not sure what that means, there is a nice list of integrated/inlaid/semi-hooded/hooded nibs at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/117410-inlaidhooded-nibs-pens-list/?p=2586653 (it's an old post so there are newer examples not on that list---e.g. some newer brands of Chinese-made pens). Other examples of oddly-shaped nibs that would fit our topic are the modern Conklin pen company's "Omniflex" nib (which is harpoon-shaped) and the beak-shaped nib on Pilot's "Falcon" fountain pen. As for conical nibs, the Sheaffer fountain pens with "Triumph" nibs are great examples. I have a Chinese-made knockoff of that nib type that I will bring as well. Please try to limit what you bring to just a few examples per person. Incidentally, Jerred had suggested "Inlaid Nibs" to me as a topic, but I wanted to expand it a bit more so I added a few other weird nib types. Thanks for the idea, Jerred!

Our secondary topic is always NEWEST ACQUISITIONS (pen-related)---eg. new pens/inks/paper/pen cases/other accessories/etc---so if you have any you wish to show, please bring them with you.

Hope you can make it to our next meeting! No need to RSVP for this meeting or any other not held at a restaurant. Any questions or concerns? Please let me know at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com