April meeting (on a Saturday afternoon!) mini-report

Our club usually meets on the third Thursday evening of each month, but our April meeting was held on Saturday the 20th at the Champlain Heights branch of the Vancouver Public Library from 1:00pm to 3:30pm. Twenty-five VPC members showed up to chat about all things pen-related, and among them were six newcomers--Angela, Colin, David J., Dominique, Keith, and Nance!

I snapped a few photos during the meeting, as did Marzieh and Sherman, so without further ado, here they are...

(photos by Maja, except where noted ~ please click on images to enlarge ~ )

We'd never used this particular VPL Branch Meeting Room before, but it was spacious and private. I've added full captions to the rest of the photos, but I wanted to point out a couple of members in the above photo who aren't in the rest of the pics---brand-new member Dominique (center of photo, facing camera) and Luc (standing by Dominique), who came all the way from Whistler to attend our meeting!

That's me (in the middle) with Marzieh (who used to work at the Perks pen store in North Van) and Bill Kempton, one of our club's co-founders. I last saw Bill at our November 2023 meeting, but I hadn't seen Marzieh since the end of 2020. In the background, you can see our youngest member (Emilio) and his father Chris (photo courtesy of Bill ~ photo taken by Phil)

Bill brought along a few notebooks from his school days in England; the one above was his first, started when he was eight years old.

The two notebooks above are a bit newer; by then, Bill had become a big fan of comedy legend Spike Mulligan.

Above: The first of Sherman's selfies! This one is with fellow VPCer Steve, who very generously gave out mystery door prizes (ie. the pens in the envelopes above) to everyone who came to the meeting. Everyone who attended was also given a complimentary bottle of Steve's fountain pen flush (which Sherman is holding), INKOUT.

INKOUT fountain pen flush is a liquid concentrate -- for manual cleaning of fountain pens, mix 3 parts water with 1 part pen flush; for cleaning pens in an ultrasonic cleaner, use 2 parts water to 1 part pen flush (photo courtesy of Sherman).

...And this is what Sherman won---a lime-green Hero '616 Plus' fountain pen! Many thanks to Steve for all the free stuff he gave out 😃! (photo courtesy of Sherman)

As you can see, the meeting was a beehive of activity, with members circulating freely around the room (several members brought inks to trade). We didn't have a formal "show & tell" this month, so the meeting was more of a casual get-together.

Photo above: That's new member Colin (center of pic) chatting with Steve, while Chris (blue t-shirt) tries out the clear demonstrator piston-filler he got in Steve's door prize giveaway. Seated in the far background are (L-R): new member Keith, Melanie (who attended her first meeting in Oct 2023) and new member David J . Standing next to them are Collin and myself. At the table in the near background are (L to R): Paul (standing), Bill, Phil, Amy, newcomer Nance, and Marzieh.

Above: Jessica (standing closest to Sherman) brought along an assortment of wonderful fountain pens to sell... and she also gave out some free pens! (thank you, Jessica, for your generosity, and the gorgeous Penlux 'Grande Masterpiece' "Blue Swirl" fountain pen I bought from you! 😃) In the foreground are brand-new member Angela (blue-striped sweater), Asifa (pink-striped top, talking to Jerred), David C. (black leather jacket) and Rene (wearing a bright blue Pokémon Psyduck tee).

(Left to right) Amy talking to David C, Steve and I conversing, and Trevor chatting with Angela (photo courtesy of Marzieh).

Bill (inspecting a pen), with Jerred and Sherman (photo courtesy of Marzieh)

Above: Sherman snapped a photo of the pens (mostly short/pocket pens) he brought to the meeting to show-- (left to right): Stipula 'Passaporto', three Kaweco 'Classic Sport' "Transparent" pens, a Kaweco 'Student' in "60's Swing" colour, a purple Retro 51 'Tornado' fountain pen, three Kaweco 'Lilliput' pens and an orange Campo Marzio fountain pen (on the far right is Sherman's "door prize pen", the lime-green Hero '616 Plus'). Sherman mentioned to me that he was surprised that no one noticed the Kaweco 'Sport Classic" Transparent pens. Sherman's have gold-plated steel nibs, but (after doing some research for this blog post) I later found out that this model came with a 14K gold nib option!

We also saw several vintage writing instruments during the meeting, like this handsome vintage Wahl-Eversharp 'Skyline' fountain pen and mechanical pencil set belonging to Phil.

I brought along a few new (and old) acquisitions, in a pen roll made for me by my talented mother-in-law :)

My pens (Left to right): Two Pelikans (M200 "Orange Delight" & M200 "Copper Rose Gold"), two Lamys ('Safari' "Violet Blackberry" & AL-star "Fiery"), a Magna Carta 'Sapphire Grand "Brown Demonstrator" (bought with Christmas money from my in-laws), Majohn 'P138' (a Montblanc Lorenzo de Medici limited edition lookalike), Eureka 'Symmetry' PEEK fountain pen, Visconti 'Breeze'"Lemon", a handmade pen by Ontario-based Tangent Pens, and my Pelikan 'Ineo' "Fiery Red".

It's fitting that I end this blog post with a book about handwriting, borrowed by Paul --from the VPL 😃-- on the recommendation of our club's other co-founder, Tim. The book is "Marcel's Letters' by Carolyn Porter, an award-winning account of her real-life search for information about the fate of the author of a bundle of WWII-era letters that she came across. The letters were written (in French) in a beautiful cursive script that eventually became the P22 "Marcel" font. Paul was raving about the book at our meeting, so if it sounds interesting to you, look for it at your local public library!

Many thanks to everyone who came to our April meeting (whether you stayed until the end or not -- we're *very* casual!), to Marzieh & Sherman for sharing their photos, and to the Vancouver Public Library's Champlain Heights branch for hosting our very first weekend (and first daytime!) meeting.

Please note: Our May meeting won't be held on a weekend, but rather our usual third Thursday evening of the month. Details (including meeting location) about the May meeting will be announced here sometime next week, after our venue booking is confirmed (update: May meeting information posted here!)

(~Blog post by Maja~)

Photos from our June meeting

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:
(~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 (woodgrain) fountain pen is her new Pilot Legance Custom. She didn't bring it to the meeting, but Mindy told us that her 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...

Photos from our May meeting

Many thanks to Richard Clarke for hosting our May 18th meeting! A good time was had by all twenty VPC members (including two newcomers -- Linda and Jean) who were in attendance to hear about our meeting theme --- "First and Last" (first fountain pens and most recent fountain pen acquisitions). Thank you also to Tim for his donation of two PCA (Pen Collectors of America) magazines for our door prize draws (won by Ricardo, and Alejandra's daughter - Natasha). Last but not least, thanks to Brian J. for his generosity in donating a large stack of "Pen World" and "Stylus" magazines, which were given out to interested members. Merci beaucoup, gentlemen!

It was a busy evening---I brought refreshments to celebrate my birthday (which was the same day as our meeting :)--- so I didn't snap photos of everyone's fountain pens, but here are the ones I did photograph (click on images to enlarge):

Above: Marzieh's first fountain pen---a classic vintage Sheaffer Balance---and lovely red Lamy pen case.

Marzieh brought some recent acquisitions in her pen roll---a Lamy Safari in "Dark Lilac" (Safari's colour for 2016) and Faber-Castell 'WritINK' fountain pen.

New VPC member Linda brought her most recent acquisition---a Sailor Chalana. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this is a very small (and slender) fountain pen. It is no lightweight in the writing category, though, as it sports one of Sailor's high quality nibs. Linda told us that her first fountain pen was an Esterbrook from the "J" series.

June brought both her first fountain pen (a Lamy Accent with Karelia wood grip--a gift from Bart) and her most recent acquisition---an old-style faceted OMAS purchased at the 2017 Los Angeles Pen Show. Bart forgot to bring his first and last pens, but showed us some photos of them---a Kaweco Sport (his first fountain pen) and a Visconti 'Millionaire' LE--Limited Edition (his most recent FP purchase).

A couple of close-ups of June's OMAS...

Jerred brought in some new acquisitions, including an attractive vintage set (possibly a Sonnenblick), as well as (from bottom of photo) fountain pens by Christian Dior, Platinum ('Standard' model) and Delta (unknown model). Jerred's first fountain pen (not pictured) was an inexpensive Chinese pen.

Justin's first FP was the black Montblanc 146 Chopin pictured on the far right of the photo above, while his newest fountain pens were a Conklin 'Duragraph' in the Amber colour and an all-metal pen with a Fude nib. The Fude nib is bent upwards (like a ski tip) allowing for some interesting line variation.

Justin's Pilot Custom 74 (I think :)

From top of photo: Peter's Parker Jotter (a ballpoint!), Pilot '92' (most recent purchase), and black Lamy 'Safari' (first fountain pen).

Above: Some other really nice fountain pen Peter brought in to show us....

Mark's 40-pen case, filled with some great vintage fountain pens. Mark's first fountain pen was a Sheaffer Cartridge pen (aka Sheaffer "School Pen") and his latest fountain pen acquisition was a vintage Montblanc '22'.

I didn't snap a photo of them, but Stuart's first fountain pen was a Montblanc 146 and his most recent purchase was a Waterman C/F. I did, however, take a photo of his Sheaffer 'Tip-Dip Crafstman' (pictured above), which has an interesting filling mechanism.
The 'Tip-Dip' was basically a Sheaffer fountain pen that used the Touchdown-Filling mechanism, but whose feed had a special opening (on its underside) that allowed ink to flow directly into the sac, making filling the pen with bottled ink less messy. There's a good article about them on Penhero.com here .

Finally, my own first and last pens---my trusty red Sheaffer 'NoNonsense' (purchased in the mid-1970s at a Woolworth's store) and my latest acquisition--another gorgeous Bexley Poseidon Magnum in a non-production colour (actually this one is a "Magnum II" model, with an American-made piston-filling system; the original Magnum--which I also own---is a cartridge-converter-filling pen). Red pen case by Campo Marzio.

I'll post a few more photos of my new Bexley later. Also, Ricardo sent me quite a few photos he snapped during our May meeting, so I'll post them here on our site as well.