Some photos from our September meeting!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Vancouver Public Library's Terry Salman branch last Thursday for our September meeting! It started out a bit chaotic --the building's fire alarms went off shortly after the meeting started, so we had to evacuate the library. It was a pleasant evening, but some of the people waiting outside with us had to leave the community center's swimming pool in their bathing suits :( After we were allowed back in, our pen club meeting resumed, and things went very smoothly.

We had a total of 15 people in attendance (including three brand-new members --Allan, Rosa, Vincent) for the meeting, whose primary topic was "Underrated Fountain Pens" .  I snapped some photos of the stuff our members brought, so without further ado, here they are!

(all photos by me, Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Newcomer Vincent brought along this wonderful Pilot 'Custom Legance Marble' celluloid (or Pilot-branded Namiki Impressions) fountain pen. I forgot to snap a photo of it, but Vincent also brought in his Pilot 'Heritage 91' with #5 nib, as one of his choices for underrated fountain pens.

New member Rosa brought her own gorgeous fountain pen, this Pelikan 'M600 White Tortoise' in the above photo (actually, I'm not sure if it's a M600 or M400, but the nib on it wrote very smoothly when I tried it). The third newcomer at our September meeting -- Allan--- actually attended our August meetup at the Vancouver Pen Shop, but he hadn't joined the club yet. Allan mentioned being a big fan of the TWSBI 'Eco' fountain pen.

Speaking of TWSBIs ... VPCer Oscar brought along his TWSBI 'Vac700R' Kyanite (above) as an example of an underrated fountain pen. Oscar also had high praise for his beloved Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen.

Paul brought these two Pilot 'Metropolitan' fountain pens (above) for our primary topic, as well as a couple of cool new acquisitions ---two Livescribe Smartpens!

Stuart brought along three examples of underrated fountain pens---(L-R, above) his Cross 'Apogee', Sheaffer 'Taranis' and Faber-Castell 'e-Motion' pens...

... and Jerred brought his Online 'Vision' "Nature Style Rosewood" (far left) as his example of an underrated fountain pen model. Jerred mentioned that Online fountain pens (which are German-made) are available in a wide variety of nib widths, another reason to give this overlooked brand a second look.

Our secondary meeting topic is always "Newest Acquisitions". The white fountain pen in the middle is Jerred's new Jinhao '10' (the newest member of the "Pilot Vanishing Point Fan Club" 😂), while the shiny black ebonite fountain pen next to it is another new purchase of his.

Above: David C. brought this Parker '21' (a model I was thinking of bringing!) for our primary topic. He also brought in an all-plastic fountain pen that strongly resembles a Parker 'VS' (but it might be a 'VS' clone--David's not sure), and a later version of a Wearever 'Pacemaker".

At the meeting, Grant told us that he brought the oldest and newest (by manufacturing date) pens in his collection --- the vintage Conklin 'Crescent-Filler' (ca. 1909) above...

...and this modern Conklin 'Crescent-Filler'. Grant (who's a big vintage pen fan) later told me that the modern Crescent-filler has been his daily writer for over a month! He commended Conklin for resurrecting their crescent-filling mechanism with this model, rather than using a cartridge/converter filling mechanism.

Above: David's Parker '21' and a new acquisition belonging to James--a handsome standard-sized Parker 'Vacumatic' "Burgundy Pearl" Lockdown-filler that he bought at the recent San Francisco Pen Show.

Above: At the pen show, James also acquired this exquisite red ripple ebonite Safety Pen. It's next to Stuart's cool mid-century modern Parker desk set, which consists of a cube-shaped base made of solid aluminum and a ballpoint desk pen.

Shona didn't leave the SF Pen Show empty-handed, either (although she and James said it was a very busy show, with a lot of vendors selling out of some items by Sunday) - at the pen show, she acquired this stunning Sailor x YouSTYLE 'Professional Gear Slim' "Hamachidori" Limited Edition. Hamachidori is the Japanese name for the plover, a small wading bird, seen in gold on the pen's cap and barrel.

More new acquisitions! These are Asifa's beautiful new Lamy 'Studio' "Royal Red" fountain pen and her vintage brushed stainless steel Parker '180', a dual-sided fountain pen; both pens were gifts/trades from her friend (and our fellow VPC member) Renz!

The pens on the far right are two Cross Century Classic (or Century I) fountain pens that I brought in for our primary topic, while the rest are my newer acquisitions (L-R): Radius 1934 'Settimo' "Cielo Blu", Cross 'All-American' "Courage", a Karas Pen Co. "INK V2" in white Delrin, a red Jinhao 51A with a 0.7 mm factory italic nib (a great deal for under $3 CAD shipped!), an Ensso 'Bolt' capless fountain pen, a Retro 51 rollerball "Harriet Tubman" edition, a Cross 'Clic' ballpoint/stylus, and a vintage Sheaffer 'Reminder' ballpoint I got from Paul in July. The ink sample above is the official 2024 SF Pen Show ink---Colorverse's "San Francisco Bay" -- which I got from James & Shona (thank you both again!).

The eye-catching green, yellow and white fountain pen above my pen case is one that I purchased from fellow VPCer Anson during our meeting, a kitless fountain pen he made himself under his Springfield Pens brand! 😊 On his official website, Anson called the pen "Green Beach", but it's made of a polyurethane resin called "Aspen Valley". No matter the name, it's a gorgeous, well-made fountain pen with the Springfield Pens hummingbird logo engraved on it  ---a lovely touch. Thank you again, Anson, for this very special fountain pen!

Rene, as usual, brought in lot of interesting fountain pens for us to see! In the top row of the photo above are his vintage Wearever 'De Luxe 100' fountain pens, one of Rene's under-rated fountain pen models. For a modern example of an underrated model, Rene brought in some Sheaffer '100' fountain pens, including the "Friends of Winter" special edition line (not shown in photos).

There are also some Wearever sub-brands (such as Arnold, in the top row above) in Rene's pen case, as well as some Parker look-alikes (in the bottom row, above). Rene also showed us his newest acquisitions--a green Rotary fountain pen, a Gold Starry (?), an Eagle in a wonderful blue and gold plastic, a Parker Challenger, and a Wearever 'Pioneer' - that he acquired at the CFPE picnic earlier this month.

Many thanks to everyone who came to our September meeting, whether you brought in lots of pens to show, a few pens, or no pens at all -- the main thing is that you brought yourself and your enthusiasm for our hobby!

We look forward to seeing you at our October meeting on Saturday October 19th from 11:30am to 2:00pm at the Kensington VPL branch, which is a brand-new venue for our club---full info in the previous blog post!

Best wishes for a happy Autumn,
~Maja

October meeting info (*New date & time! New venue!)

Date: SATURDAY October 19, 2024
Time: 11:30 AM to 2:00PM
Location: The Branch Meeting Room of the Vancouver Public Library's KENSINGTON branch, 1428 Cedar Cottage Mews, Vancouver, BC (map).

Meeting themes: New Acquisitions, Ink Swap (voluntary) + Socializing 😀
(no "show & tell" for this meeting!)

This will be our very first meeting at the VPL's Kensington branch, so I hope you can make it! (no need to RSVP in advance)
Any questions? Please contact us at: vancouverpenclub@gmail.com

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 530

Many thanks to everyone who attended our September meeting yesterday! I'll post a meeting report (with photos) next week. In the meantime, here's another vintage overlay that Christopher recently acquired for you to enjoy!

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

He writes:
"It always interests me to what extent department stores in the past have gone to, to have a range of their products to satisfy all of their many customers' needs. In some cases, they had to satisfy their budget-minded shoppers but, at the same time, there are those who wanted an item of real quality. Such is the case with this beautiful Webster 14K Gold filled filigree overlay lever filler. Looking back in time, Webster pens were a brand exclusively sold by the Sears Roebuck department stores throughout the US. And during the very early 1920s, which is the Circa of this lovely treasure, Sears had gained considerable market share and was, in turn, able to upgrade the quality of their exclusive lines of products.

But I have to ask myself, who actually manufactured this pen for Sears? The answer is, The National Pen Products Company. National also supplied Gold Medal fountain pens to Sears and, from the ones I have had along these lines, their quality was quite responsible. In this pen’s case, the filigree work on the barrel and cap is truly an Art Nouveau statement and, with so many of the fountain pens of that early 1920s period, the base with both cap and barrel was made up of black vulcanized rubber. The 14K Gold No.2 nib that sits proudly in a jet black section is Warranted and probably a later dated replacement, but in no way takes away from the pen’s writing ability: I would have to say it's quite flexy, and an exceptional writer. The clip, which is also 14K Gold filled, sits well down on the cap and is tapered and ball ended; it also sports the Webster branding. The lever filler is flat round ended and works extremely well. All in all, a very good writing instrument and a perfect candidate to join the vintage pens in my collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for another nice pen review!
Hope you have a great weekend,
~Maja

Reminder - September meeting tomorrow!

Date: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 (tomorrow!)
Time: 5:00pm to 7:30pm
Where: Branch Meeting Room of the Vancouver Public Library's TERRY SALMAN branch at 4575 Clancy Loranger Way, in Vancouver (on the lower level of the Hillcrest Community Centre, by Nat Bailey Stadium)

Primary Topic: UNDER-RATED FOUNTAIN PENS! (please limit your "show & tell" to two pens per person for this topic, thanks!)
Secondary Topic: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS! (but don't worry if you don't have any new stuff to show!).
Hope you can make it! Any questions? Email us at: vancouverpenclub@gmail.com

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 529

Here's an amazing vintage writing instrument you don't see every day; I hope you enjoy Christopher's write up and photo as much as I did :)

Christopher writes:

"There are pens which are truly mind-blowing, and then there is this one! And, admittedly, after over a decade of serious vintage pen collecting, this particular vintage treasure stands in a league of its own. When one considers a writing instrument that was put together prior to the last century, usually one envisions a plain black vulcanized rubber number, totally void of all the embellishment of the more modern pens of today. Still, when the pen in question is made by a famous New York jeweler, who at times reached out to other craftsmen in the jewellery industry for further beautification, you could end up with a Aikin Lambert ‘Poinsettia’ golden overlay. A pen so striking in finish that it is, to my mind, a total work of art. But that is only the beginning, since the real purpose of this item, even back at the beginning of the 1890s, was to apply ink to paper in a responsible and consistent fashion. And this, may I assure you, it does, and does well.

 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

But first, I would like to reflect on the makeup of this vintage pen. The base is black vulcanized rubber for both the barrel and long slip on cap, as well as a very substantial grip section. This section supports an Aikin Lambert No.3, 14K Gold nib that, although professionally stubbed, lays down ink with a smooth consistent flow. It also lends itself to impressive flex, which is something that most Aikin Lambert nibs I had experienced do. And as for as this pen’s size is concerned, it covers a full 7 inches posted, siting well balanced in the hand, but caps back to 6 inches, which will fit nicely into most pen collector's pen cases. But let’s get down to what really makes this pen beautiful, and that is the 14K Gold filled overlay.

The overlay is often referred to as repousse or ‘Golpheresque’ design, and is a high scroll relief pattern, featuring poinsettia flowers (native to both Mexico and South America) winding around the cap and barrel in an exquisite relief. Of course, most of us know the poinsettia as a Yule time flower, presenting itself with brilliant red and green leaves with tiny blossoms in the center. Actually, this connection of the poinsettia did not occur until the 17th century, when Franciscan monks used the flower in nativity scenes. This particular pen first appeared in the late 19^th century with a thin nib, set on an equally thin feed. Later, and as time moved on, both nib and feed were slightly broadened. The Aikin Lambert company had a long term relationship with Waterman, and often the models from both companies crossed over. Aitkin Lambert, as well as making the fine nibs and equally intricate precious metal overlays for Waterman, also made their mechanical pencils. Eventually Waterman took them over but the quality from this fine New York jeweler never faltered. 

Overall, this vintage pen is in very fine to near mint condition, and personally I am not at all disappointed that the nib has been professionally stubbed...and, might I add, a brilliant job at that. I have inked and written with this vintage pen, but look forward to using it again before it makes its way into my vintage pen collection."

Congratulations on this marvelous acquisition, Christopher, and thank you for sharing it with us! As an aside, there's an interesting online article about the overlay patterns that the Waterman pen company used here that I found very interesting.

** Just a little reminder that our September meeting will be held on Thursday of this week (Sept. 19) at the Terry Salman VPL branch from 5:00-7:30pm. Link to more info is at the top of each web page in big red letters :)

Save the date -- the 2025 Pacific Northwest Pen Show!

Looks like it's going to be July 12 & 13 (Saturday and Sunday), 2025!

Just posted on their official Instagram account: (link to post)

"Save the Date...We are already gearing up and making plans for the 2025 Pacific Northwest Pen Show. Make sure you mark your calendars. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more details and to meet our new pen pals. 🤭 "

VPCers at the 3rd annual CFPE picnic!

It was like déjà vu all over again as fifteen (just like last summer!) Vancouver Pen Club members attended the 3rd annual summer picnic hosted by local members of the Canadian Fountain Pen Enthusiasts (CFPE), a private Facebook group. The picnic was held on Sunday September 8th at Deas Island Regional Park in Delta, BC and the weather was cooperative--sunny, but not overly warm-- for this really fun get-together. In addition to the tasty desserts attendees brought, there were lots of beautiful writing instruments--both modern and vintage-- to admire (and buy/sell/trade!)

Sherman ("King of the Selfies" 😄) took lots of great photos and said I could post them here on our club's website, so without further ado, here they are!

(all photos courtesy of Sherman ~ please click on images to enlarge)

That's Mark, the co-organizer of the picnic, relaxing in the background before things got busy (looks like Sherman --on the right-- and Phil were the "early birds" lol !)

The CFPE is a national online fountain pen club, so it wasn't unusual to see members from other parts of Canada in attendance...like Julie from Edmonton!

Rene (far left) and Brian are regulars at the local CFPE picnics. Once again, Brian brought many wonderful fountain pens for us to see and/or buy (I didn't buy anything from Brian this year, but I did buy a nice vintage pen from him in 2023).

Jayne (left) and Sharon N. started the South Fraser Pen Club (yes, another local pen club!) in January (their Facebook page)

It was a fun afternoon of pen discussions! Jerred (foreground, with sunglasses) and Dave M. (3rd from the left) brought lots of great pens ... and then traded a couple of terrific fountain pens with each other :)

The picnic was also a chance to indulge in some sweet treats (and deviled eggs!) That's me in the blue shirt and, to my left, David C.

Sherman brought his élysée writing instruments for us to drool over--that's Peter admiring Sherman's amazing collection.

I hadn't seen Mark M. and Jessica at a CFPE picnic before, but Mark wound up joining our pen club later that day!

That's co-organizer Sharon T. with David and CFPE member Egon (with hat).

I think I saw more vintage fountain pens than modern ones at the picnic. Both Brian and Derek (far right of photo) joined our pen club many years ago ---actually, they were among the first ten people to join--- and both have oustanding vintage pen collections.

"Cheers!"

And here's what I bought at the picnic-- a beautiful modern Conklin 'All-American'"Courage" limited edition fountain pen in red that Sherman was selling (thanks again for the pen, Sherman!)

Last, but not least---some views of Sherman's fantastic élysée collection ....

(I was surprised that Sherman had so many élysée displays for his pens!)

There's an invaluable élysée online reference book by N. Dean Meyer (to which Sherman contributed) here that I'd highly recommend, if you want to know all about this German brand. They went out of business in 2000 (just a few years after they were acquired by Staedtler), but élysée made some lovely, elegant pens in their day.


Our thanks to Sherman for sharing his photos and many thanks, of course, to our gracious hosts, the local CFPE branch (most especially organizers Mark and Sharon T.), for inviting our pen club members to their annual picnic!

(~blog post by Maja~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 528

Hope you're enjoying this nice late Summer weather :) Here's another great vintage find courtesy of Christopher for you to enjoy!

Christopher writes::

"The standard of excellence at the British Parker plant in Newhaven, East Sussex was admirable. Case in point: this Deluxe Insignia 61 from the mid nineteen seventies. I don’t think much could be faulted for its smart appearance or, for that mater, the way it was put together. The pen comes from a line which featured a capillary action Parker filler. But in time, it proved just too challenging for its users to cope with. And when numerous 61 Parker pens were returned to be sorted out, the decision was made to replace the capillary action filler with a cartridge converter filler. It was in fact, the last Parker fountain pen to be modified with this filler and from then on, most of Parker fountain pens came with cartridge converter fillers. 

 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on images to enlarge)

This is a Parker 61, Mark 3 model and had a number of changes made to the cap from the previous 61 models. The cap jewel was duly changed from the original pearl gray plastic to a gray metal and the clip included a thin washer. The Custom Insignia finish on this pen’s  cap and barrel features long vertical chased lines, which extend to the end of the cap and pick up without a stop, down the length of the barrel.  To my mind, I think it really complimented the overall gold surface. There is a small gold content shield marking 1/10^th, 12K gold --and in this case rolled gold-- on one side near the open end of the cap, and on the other side, is the ‘Dynamic of Chicago’ designed for Parker in 1958, modernized Parker logo --a logo which incorporates two ‘P’s’ back to back surrounding a vertical arrow shaft, giving the appearance of a central halo. It was to be the symbol of the Parker Company ongoing. As with the Parker 51, the 14K Gold nib in this 61 pen sits almost hidden under a jet black hooded section, sporting a 14K Rolled Gold miniature arrow. Moving south and under the barrel, is the extremely dependable Parker cartridge converter filler, also carrying the same Parker branding logo. What is extremely impressive about this pen, is just how smoothly the cap slides over the section and on to the barrel. Smooth, might I add, as glass.

 To put the proverbial icing on the cake, this pen sits on a creamy beige satin insert pillow, in a British Parker presentation case. This pillow is, in turn, grooved out to hold the pen in place. Above, the inside box lid is also finished in the same satin cloth, but holds the scrolled text, Parker 61  and above it, the same Parker branding logo is featured in a gold foil oval. Closing this very attractive presentation case, it is finished with a cream covering lid, complimented with small jet black dots. While on the right side of this lid is, once again, the Parker branding Logo in gold foil and embossed. To offset this cream covering, the bottom of this box, is actually the reverse in covering, with black overall complimented by cream dots. The overall design effect brings this packing together and provides both an attractive and safe haven for this superb writing instrument. I have always admired the Parker 61 but, in this case, it will be a vintage fountain pen I will be very proud to add to my collection."

Thank you, Christopher, for this review! I had no idea that the Parker '61' fountain pen was produced so late into the 20th century until I read this write up. If you want to read more about the Parker '61', there are a couple of informative articles here and here.

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 527

Happy Labour Day! In mid-August, we featured Christopher's lovely Waterman sterling silver overlay fountain pen from the turn of the 20th century. Today, we're featuring another one also belonging to him. Our thanks to Christopher for sharing this lovely antique writing instrument with us!

 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

 (Christopher says that the image above shows secretaries from 1889, very appropriate for Labour Day)

He writes:

"I think I fell head over heels with this dainty slim and elegant Waterman vintage pen the second I locked eyes on it. It just seemed to tick off all the boxes, especially when it was posted. What I really found satisfying was the proportions, since as long and thin as it was, all the other elements seem to make it just brilliant! 

So, what are we looking at here? Well. it a Waterman with a designation of 412 ½ , but known as the ‘Secretary’ model and extremely slender. The 4 in this designation makes this pen a Sterling silver overlay, while the 1 indicates that it is most certainly an eyedropper. The 2 relates to the size of the nib and, in this case, it is a standard sized Ideal Waterman Gold nib. And finally the ½ refers to the attractive slender size. 

But, that to my mind, is just the beginning of the features on this lovely treasure. On the Sterling overlay casing, is the imprinting ‘Mercantile’ indicating that it was the Aikin Lambert jewelers Company of New York that finely crafted this filigree casing and rendered it a wonderful thing of beauty. The filigree on the sterling silver overlay casing is an Art Nouveau, trefoil vine pattern and more or less common from the very beginning of the twentieth century into the teens. The pen has a long straight slip cap, covering an easily gripped, jet black section which, sports an 18K/ 750 gold French made Waterman marked nib. This exquisite nib, sits on a very early Waterman narrow three fissure feed. A feed that in part, made the Waterman company famous for offsetting the early fountain pen leaking problem. This pen is personalized with very attractive scrolled initials ‘M.E.L’ , in a open area on the filigree. The condition of the black vulcanized rubber in the overall makeup of this fine writing instrument is flawless, deep, rich and shiny black to offset the brilliant sterling silver overlay casing to perfection. 

Saying that, I could not find any end of barrel Waterman identification numbering. In fact, there was no sign that numbering as such had been applied, which is not unusual on such a very early contender. Actually, the end of the barrel is not completely flat but has somewhat of a rounded smooth convex surface. As for length, this pen measures a tad over 6 ½ inches posted but caps back to a pocketable 5 ¼ inches.  Otherwise, this pen is just a joy to write with, laying down the ink evenly and consistently with a impressively flexibility to the nib. Can’t really find much wrong with this old trooper and am happy to report that it has made its merry way into my vintage pen collection."