Photos from our July meeting!

Twenty-four VPC members (including newcomers Bruce T., Candice, Colleen & Daniel) came to our July VPC meeting, held on July 19th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library. I left my camera at home, but Christopher and Ricardo snapped some photos during the meeting for our blog (thanks so much, guys!).

First, four group pics, courtesy of Christopher...

It was a packed house that evening!

The rest of the photos were all taken by Ricardo, except where noted (~click on photos to enlarge)...

Ricardo's illustrated journal...

Our theme for July's meeting was "BUYER'S REMORSE & NON-BUYER'S REGRET"--ie. fountain pens you bought but later regretted buying (Buyer's Remorse) and fountain pens you didn't buy and regretted not doing so (Non-Buyer's Regret).

Though lovely, Julienne regretted buying the small Delta 'Capri' fountain pen on the right...

It's a beautiful writing instrument, but the smaller version (called the Marina piccola) was simply too small for her...

When the opportunity to buy its larger counterpart (the Marina grande) came up, she jumped on it...

...and now has a matching set that she doesn't want to break up :)

Buying pens that were too small for one's hand was a fairly common reason for buyer's remorse---June, Ruth-Erin and I (Maja) also regretted buying small fountain pens (Sabrina had the opposite reason--buying pens that were too large for her hands) Also, buying cheap pens just because they were cheap was another regret--Tony, Jim, June and I fell into that category! Some members regretting buying certain pen brands that they seemingly had no luck with--Monteverde in Ricardo's case, and TWSBI in Jerred's case---and some buyer's regret was simply from buying pens with previously unseen/unnnoticed flaws---e.g. Stuart's Sheaffer 'Valor' with barrel issues, Barry's vintage Waterman with cracked nib, Christopher's Parker 'Slim Maxima Vacumatic' that fell apart, Tony's Martemodena 'Federico' whose barrel came unglued, René's Parker 'Urban' with flow problems, and Kelley's wooden kit pen with nib issues.

As for Non-Buyer's Remorse (those pens that you wished you'd bought at the time but didn't) there was plenty of that, too--e.g. the special edition turquoise Lamy 'Safari' Sabrina regrets not buying, the turquoise TWSBI 'Eco' & 580 that Melodie didn't acquire, the green TWSBI 580 Ricardo passed on buying, the celluloid Montblancs Bruce R wishes he'd bought, the Delta pens Jerred regrets not buying before the company went out of business, et al. There were a few happy cases where the pens that weren't bought were eventually acquired later...like the Pelikan M200 Café Crème Special Edition that Dana found a year later... and my own two pens below---a Romet 'Asia' and a Franklin-Christoph 01 IPO :

(these two pics taken by Maja) I first saw both pens at pen shows---the Romet at the 2015 LA Pen Show and the Franklin-Christoph at a Portland Pen Show---but didn't buy them because there were so many other pens I wanted to see first. I got lucky in the case of the Romet, because I bought it the next day (story here)... but I had to wait a few years before I found the F-C again when a fellow pen club member was selling it. The Romet has a replacement Conklin 1.1mm stub nib on it, but I don't mind :)

Onto our secondary theme---NEWEST ACQUISITIONS now!

Since we had such good attendance for our meeting, we saw a lot of new acquisitions, such as René's dazzling new Platinum 'Century 3776' "Kumpoo" Limited Edition fountain pen:

My (Maja's) LIY 'Future' fountain pen in the "Blue Coral Sea" colour (right) and the exotically-named "Blue Enchantress" colour (left) belonging to Jerred:

Another new acquisition of mine---an orange 'Ink' fountain pen made by Karas Kustoms in Arizona:

My particular pen is made of shiny aluminum and comes with an aluminum section. You can choose another type of section (copper, brass, tumbled raw aluminum or black) and there are 19 nib options, depending on material (steel, gold or titanium) and nib width. My particular nib is a smooth-writing Fine steel nib:

A lovely Visconti 'Homo Sapiens' in the limited edition "Jade" colour, owned by Ruth-Erin:

This LE is limited to only 188 pieces worldwide:

Not a new pen, but a new acquisition--Ricardo's Visconti "Opera Club" fountain pen in the hard-to-find "Cherry Juice" colour. The pen was originally purchased as a rollerball and then converted to a fountain pen with the new nib-section unit Ricardo ordered:

Group shot (L-R): Bruce T (one of our brand-new members), Christopher, Stuart, Julienne, Melodie, Maja.

I'm sorry we didn't photograph them because Bruce showed us an amazing lot of vintage writing instruments he won in a local estate auction. They included a Wahl-Eversharp 'Fifth Avenue' fountain pen in the "$64 Question" Special Edition (with solid 14KT gold caps and barrel ends!), a Sheaffer 'PFM', a Parker '75' set and a Sheaffer 'Triumph' fountain pen. Bruce also brought another classic vintage fountain pen---an oversized Wahl-Eversharp 'Doric' that belonged to his father.

Continuing with new pen-related acquisitions....

Two beautiful piston-filling pens by PENBBS belonging to Dana (left pen) and Jerred (I think...):

Well-made, beautiful...and affordable!

Some cool Pilot fountain pens! Pilot 'Vanishing Point' (far left) with two Pilot 'Decimo' pens next to it. The Decimo came out after the VP and is a slimmer, lighter version of it:

Brand-new member Candice came with plenty of beautiful fountain pens to show...

...but I think my favourites were her colourful Sailor 'Pro Gear' and Sailor 'Lecoule' pens in the foreground:

Candice's shiny Waterman 'Kultur Reflectics' fountain pens (with matching nail enamel!)...

...all with a lovely iridescent finish that changes the colour of the pen, depending on the light source:

Two gorgeous Visconti pens--Ricardo's Visconti 'Opera Club' (left) and Rohit's Visconti 'Opera Master' Luna Limited Edition (made for Goulet Pens--only 188 pieces made worldwide) :

The 'Opera Master' is a larger pen and uses Visconti's "Double Reservoir Power Filler" system which allows you to transport fountain pens safely during airplane flights (ie. avoiding ink leakages) and also provides an extra reservoir for extended writing sessions.

Melodie's Platinum 'Century 3776' fountain pen in the "Nice Lavande" colour:

JetPens.com's description of this colour: "Inspired by the beautiful fields of lavender that blossom across the French Riviera in early summer, this pen features a transparent purple body complemented by rose gold trim."

Our pen club meetings have a "show & tell" format, where we go around the table and people talk about what they brought for the monthly theme and/or new acquisitions (pens/inks/accessories/paper, etc), which is always our secondary theme (but no worries if you don't have anything to bring for either theme, though!)

Pens are passed around for others to see and/or use (but please ask the owner first :) and, honestly, time seems to fly because we're having a good time...and before you know it...the meeting's over!

Thanks, as always, to everyone who came to the meeting! (whether you brought stuff for the themes, or just yourself :)
Details about the September meeting will be posted later this week...

Local pen history...and more!

One of our long-time members (and long-time collector), Christopher, brought a couple of interesting 2nd/3rd-tier vintage writing instruments with him for our June meeting topic. I snapped a couple of photos but they turned out horribly, so Christopher was kind enough to send me his own shots, starting with this marbled Spencer’s "Write-Away" fountain pen:
( ~Click on images to enlarge~)

Christopher writes: "Further research makes this pen second-tier in name only. Spencer’s was a quality local department store until it sold out to Eatons....This pen was produced by Waterman and supplied to Spencer’s under their branding." The case in the photo above is an original Spencer’s Optical Dept. glasses case and cleaning cloth that belonged to a woman Christopher knew who worked for Spencer’s before they closed and sold to Eaton’s in 1955.

Old photo of Spencer’s Department Store in Vancouver, BC

Spencer’s Downtown Vancouver First Floor pen counter

Another item that Christopher brought in for our topic of 2nd- and 3rd-tier vintage writing instruments was this early ballpoint made by Wahl-Eversharp called the "Wahl Ball Pen"

Wahl Ball Pen ad ca. 1948

As for our secondary topic, Newest Acquisitions, Christopher told us about a vintage Parker 'Duofold' set he recently acquired in the lovely Lapis Lazuli Blue material (pictured above). Christopher's set has excellent colouration---ie. there is very little visible darkening of the material

The vintage set with a modern Parker Duofold pencil in Lapis (in the middle)

Last, but not least, another new find of Christopher's--a Sheaffer desk pen with a lovely marble base. Christopher removed the original plaque and replaced it with a plaque from a literary award he won.

Great vintage writing instruments, all of them! Thank you, Christopher, for sharing your photos and an interesting bit of Vancouver pen-related history with us :)

June meeting photos - part 2

Ricardo was kind enough to take photos during our meeting, so here are some of the ones he shot... starting with his wonderfully-illustrated journal...(~Click on images to enlarge~)

That's René in the middle, talking about some of the 2nd- and 3rd-tier pens he brought to the meeting for our topic (from L-R: John P, René, Stuart, Maja)

René's case with the cool 2nd- and 3rd-tier pens he brought with him (there's a complete list of the pens in part 1 of our June meeting photos)

(L-R: Kelley, Christopher, John Parnell, Barry, Stuart)

John came all the way from London, Ontario to attend our meeting (he's one of the founding members of the London Pen Club). I didn't have a chance to photograph them, but John brought some nice fountain pens with him; I recall seeing a lovely Sheaffer PFM, an Esterbrook and a Lamy Safari (and I'm beginning to think every fountain pen user owns a Safari :)

That's Justin, wearing a cool Pentel 'Sign Pen' t-shirt from Uniqlo:

Two Kaweco 'Sport' fountain pens in the blue stonewashed colour belonging to Justin and Stuart. Justin’s 'Sport' is the uncapped one, and Stuart's is the one that's capped, with less wear:

Justin talking to Melodie, who attended her first VPC meeting that night:

Natasha brought some beautiful fountain pens with her, including this gorgeous OMAS 'Bologna' in the "La Magica" swirly white & purple pattern.

A close-up of the beautiful nib on the OMAS, showing Bologna's famous porticoes, nominated for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Some great fountain pens belonging to Melodie - From left to right: Sailor 'Pro Gear Slim' in the lovely "Purple Cosmos" pattern, Pelikan M805 'Ocean Swirl', Nakaya 'Naka-Ai' model in the Aka-Tamenuri (reddish-red) finish. This urushi lacquer finish lightens in colour over time when exposed to light.

A close-up of the three beautiful finishes...
Re: the Nakaya 'Naka-Ai' model (description from Nibs.com:) "Naka-ai" has the meaning of middle or in-between, and brings to mind the Middle Way of Buddhist practice with its emphasis on balance, integrity, and centeredness. Appropriately, the Naka-ai occupies a midway position between Nakaya's smaller Piccolo series pens and the longer desk pen with its long tapered tail."

Jerred speaking to Melodie...

Jerred's great PENBBS pen collection:

Close-up of the collection, showing the wonderful colours of the acrylic material...

Delta fountain pen:

Natasha's elegant Namisu 'Nova Studio Ebonite' with Titanium nib---a discontinued model:

Ricardo's completed illustrated log of our meeting :)

Many thanks to Ricardo for taking (and sharing) these great photos!

June meeting photos - part 1

We had a good turnout for our June meeting, held at the Terry Salman branch of the VPL on June 21st. It was game night at Nat Bailey stadium (which I completely forgot) so I apologize for any parking issues members might have had!

Nonetheless, seventeen VPC members (including a brand-new member, Melodie) showed up that night, along with a special guest from London, Ontario---John Parnell, one of the founding members of the very active London Pen Club (who meet weekly!).

Group shot: Back row (L-R) Melodie, Tony, Natasha, Barry, Ricardo, Jim, Jerred, Justin, Christopher, John Parnell, me (Maja) and Stuart. Front row (L-R) Julienne, Dana, Kelley and René. Not pictured: Alejandra and Bill M.

Top group photo taken by Tony's daughter; bottom group pic taken by Melodie.

Our topic for June was "Pens/Pencils made by 2nd-Tier and 3-Tier Vintage Pen Companies" (description of the topic posted here) and I remembered to snap some photos (apologies for the picture quality), so here we go....

(~Click on photos to enlarge~)
Here are a couple of nice examples that René brought in for our meeting theme---a marbled blue British-made vintage Conway Stewart '12' lever-filler (made of casein) and a lovely no-name fountain pen. There's a veritable wealth of information about vintage CS writing instruments here .

Jerred's vintage Platignum fountain pen (top), Barry's Mabie-Todd 'Swan 100/60' fountain pen (middle pen). Jerred also brought in a new acquisition, a glossy black Niole fountain pen with an urushi lacquer finish made in Japan.

Esterbrook was a well-known 2nd/3rd-tier American pen company that produced affordable but well-made fountain pens. Dana brought in two examples---a cute pastel Esterbook 'CH' and a red Esterbook 'J' model. Dana's newest acquisition was this vintage striped Pelikan 400NN (with a great OB-oblique broad-nib!)

Monogram fountain pen made in the late 1930s - early 1940s, brought in by Jim. Monogram was a brand of vintage writing instruments made for the Rexall drugstore chain by several different companies. There's an interesting post about this particular model here, which claims that it was made by Moore, a highly-regard vintage maker of pens.

Stuart brought in several nice examples for our topic, including this brown (or "root beer", as some call the colour) Esterbrook J pen and a pale blue Wearever 'Pennant'.The company promoted the 'Pennant' in ads with the tagline "World's Largest Fountain Pen Manufacturer"! (good article on the 'Pennant' models here)

A multi-coloured Penco 'Pen Jr.'fountain pen belonging to Stuart. According to this source, Penco was a 2nd/3rd-tier sub-brand of Parker (a 1st-tier manufacturer). Some other Parker sub-brands were: Writefine, Safford and others.

A mix of old and new! (top to bottom) Jerred's Alster fountain pen (vintage brand from Germany), Natasha's gorgeous new OMAS 'Bologna' and Stuart's pearl Wearever & Esterbrook J in the grey "icicle' colour. According to Esterbrook.net, Esterbrook made these pin-striped (and harder-to-find) versions later in production.

Newest acquisitions is always our secondary topic and here are two examples that vary wildly in price-Justin's black Wing Sung 618 & Julienne's new Delta 'Dolce Vita' Chatterley Luxuries LE in the beautiful Mahogany colour. I'm sorry I didn't photograph it but Justin also brought in his new Moonman 'Wancai Mini' (a v.cool small FP) & a Franklin-Christoph '45'.

One of Stuart's newest purchases---a British-made Parker 'Duofold'. The pens were made in England and can often be found with really nice nibs. I have a few myself, and I think they're one of the most-underrated Parker pens :) Another of Stuart's new pen-related purchases was a vintage 'Lady' Sheaffer fountain pen (not pictured).

An Epenco (not to be confused with Penco) fountain pen owned by René. Epenco was a sub-brand of the Eagle Pen and Pencil company. There's some good info on this sub-brand here (under "Eagle").

Melodie's beautiful leather pen roll made by The Superior Labor. The roll was made in Japan and is hand-stitched. The line is carried by Wonder Pens in Toronto.

The red pen in the middle of the photo is Melodie's beautiful new Nakaya'Naka-Ai' fountain pen, lovingly handmade in Japan. The Nakaya is flanked by three other beautiful writing instruments---a Parker 'Sonnet' Brown Rubber Lacquer on the left, and two Pelikans (an M805 in Ocean Swirl pattern and an M400 in white tortoise)

More pen cases filled with great pens! This is Jerred's 24-pen vinyl case made by Artist's Loft, filled with some wonderful new acquisitions-- a colourful array of fountain pens made by PENBBS.

This Chinese company has become a fast favourite with some of our members (including myself) with its brightly-coloured acrylic fountain pens in a wide variety of styles.

René's 48-pen case filled with some great 2nd and 3rd-tier vintage pens!
Upper row, from left to right: Esterbrook CX-100 (student pen), Esterbrook J transitional (version 1), 2x Estie J pens, Esterbrook LJ icicle, Wyvern No. 7, Wyvern Perfect Pen No. 81 (1930s version), Wyvern 60C, Wyvern Envoy, Wyvern 404, Wyvern Perfect Pen No. 81 (1950s version), Conway Stewart 12.
Lower row, from left to right: Mabie-Todd Swan 100/60, Mabie-Todd Blackbird, Mabie-Todd Swallow, Waterman Aikin-Lambert Skywriter, Conway-Stewart 388, Moore L-92, Bayard 561, Nova (no model name), Sager Inkmaker (WWII version of the "trench pen"), Uhu Primus, Newark Pen Company Secretary.

Upper row: "Cardinal" (no maker identified) promotional pen, Pioneer, Burnham No. 49, three Arnolds, Osmiroid (?) (no model name), no-name, Streamline (no model name), Foreign (1920s "cheap Chinese pen"), no-name French vintage pen, Spors (crescent-filler).
Lower row: Universal ink-o-graph, Pioneer (no model name), Burnham B48, Mayfair (no model name), no-name, Epenco (Canada, no model name), Wearever (dolphin-nib clone), Wearever (taperite clone), Wearever Zenith, Wearever flat-top, Eclipse Hooded Knight, franken-pen (Waterman body, ?? cap).

Many thanks to René for bringing in so many examples for our topic. I didn't individually photograph the Arnold pens he brought to this meeting, but there's a great photo of them here in this post that Ricardo took at our March meeting.

And speaking of Ricardo...He took some photos (much better than mine!) during our meeting, which I will post a bit later, along with some pics from Christopher and July's meeting photos. Apologies for taking so long to post my own photos!

Many thanks to all who came to the June meeting! It was a pleasure meeting John and chatting with him about our London counterparts :)

Don't forget---there is NO regular meeting this month, just the VPC Members' Summer Dinner on August 16th (tomorrow night)--info is in the group emails I sent to members.
Regular (themed) meetings will resume in September, most likely on our usual third-Thursday of the month (venue and theme: to be announced in a couple of weeks). Very late addition:
I forgot to photograph the 2nd- and 3rd-tier writing instruments I brought so I snapped a couple of quick pics of some of them at home (~click images to enlarge~):

Some of the Wearever writing instruments I own (L-R) Wearever 'De Luxe 100' and matching pencil, three more De Luxe 100s, a 'Supreme' model ca. 1950-51, a 'De Luxe' "Mother of Pearl" (which is a button-filler model, ca. 1940-43), a 'Pioneer', and a 'Lady Fair' (which looks remarkably like a Lady Sheaffer Skripsert model!)
There are some very good Wearever articles (with great photographs) on Penhero.com--the one on the 'Supreme' (which the author called "The poster child of cheapie pens" lol) is here, and the 'De Luxe' "Mother of Pearl" fountain pen here.

Assorted 2nd- and 3rd-tier writing instruments of mine (please ignore the Parker Duofold Jr pencil on the far left---it's a 1-st tier!) Left to Right: woodgrain flat top by Diamond Point, Marxton (sub-brand of Eclipse), no-name combo fountain pen/pencil, Vis-O-Ray (made by Eclipse, I believe), Epenco in gold 'snakeskin', Epenco fountain pen & pencil set, small Diamond Point lever-filler, unmarked mechanical pencil of high quality. Epenco made some fountain pens and pencil using very cool plastics, so even though I don't collect them per se, I have a few in my collection :)

VPC Summer Dinner information

The annual summer dinner for VPC members will be held on Thursday August 16.
Details are in the group email I sent out on August 1st to our membership.

Please note: this is just a dinner, not a regular meeting ... and there will be no regular meeting in August. We'll return to our regular (themed) meetings in September, most likely our usual third-Thursday-of-the-month, which will fall on September 20. (date, place and theme - to be announced later this month).

Have a great summer, everyone! :)