Review of the April 17, 2010 Meeting
We had to cancel our February meeting due to inclement weather but finally met
at Bob Mand’s offices at the Cira Center on April 17th, a bright and sunny day, but without a speaker. Stephanie
Smith, a.k.a. “biffybeans”, was scheduled to speak but was for the second time unable to keep her commitment.
She is the author of the blog, “Spiritual Evolution of the Bean”, where she reviews pens, inks, and papers. Regardless,
we had a very successful meeting with a general round-table discussion of pens, pen repair sources, and penmanship. Among
the many contributors, Milton Ross spoke about his experiences as owner of Font-O-Ink, a company that produced nibs and ink
from the mid 1950’s to 1985. Following the general discussion, we had the opportunity to try samples of Rhodia and other
papers and four bottles of J. Herbin inks in each of four colors that Stephanie kindly sent us.
Review of the October 24, 2009 Meeting
For those
of us sufficiently enlightened to the joys of collecting and using fountain pens and real, liquid ink, a meeting of the Philadelphia
Pen Collectors Group is always a delight. Our October meeting was especially so, being graced as it was by the presence of
two representatives of the Montblanc Boutique located in the Plaza at King of Prussia, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Abigail
Moldanado and Renee Mackey.
With Abigail's assistance, Renee spoke at length and in detail about the development of Montblanc from its origins as Rouge
et Noir to the present. Together, they covered a variety of topics ranging fronm the histroy of writing to Montblanc's latest
line of pens and accessories ready for immediate purchase at their shop. Attending members left with gift packets of Montblanc
literature. Altogether, with the pen show-and-tell preceeding Abby and Renee's presentation, the meeting made for a very fine
day.
Review of the May 16, 2009 Meeting
The spring 2009 meeting was held at the Paradise Pen Company store in the King
of Prussia Mall.
The store had plenty of room for those in attendance and
the Charmaine, Elizabeth and Lauren from Paradise Pen were wonderful hostesses. Beth, the representative from
Faber-Castell, spoke with great passion about the Faber-Castell and Porsche Design
pens.
The members who attended were treated to hours of looking at pens, modern of
course, but interesting even to the vintage collectors. Manager Charmaine Carvahlo, Elizabeth and Lauren attended to
our every question and request. Charmaine was able to secure a visit from Beth, representative of Faber-Castell, who brought
with her a number of new Faber Castells, including their Pen of the Year, made of all things, horsehair. Beth spoke with great
passion about the Faber-Castell and Porsche Design lines.
We
had plenty of time for conversation and shopping, with several taking great advantage of the special discount Paradise
Pens offered us.
Photos from the meeting can be viewed from our club photo album page.
Review of the February 7, 2009 Meeting
Held a few weeks after the 2009 Philadelphia Pen Show, in lieu of a speaker our
topic was a show and tell to show off our recent acquisitions.
Attendance was strong, as it has been at all of our meetings, and while still very comfortable, again we had more people than
chairs at the table. Thanks again to Bob for hosting at his office and for providing the donuts and coffeee.
There was plenty of eye-candy, and a some very active trading and sellig. If you missed the meeting you can get a feel for what went on by viewing the slide show on our club photo album page.
Review of the October 18 Meeting
Rick Krantz spoke on Chilton Pens and covered:
- Chilton
- the Boston years...
- Chilton company timeline and locations
- The Long Island years, covering the Long Island numbering system
- Wingflows, with attention to the inlay patterns and variations
- The demise of the Chilton Pen company
- Ads, from the Boston
ads to the Wingflow ads.
There was also an "Ink Swap". Members brought their old, tired, and weird color ink which was put out for others to take
and enjoy.
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| A variety of Chilton pens |
The meeting was well attended again, and Rick's presentation was great, enhanced by contributions
by other advanced collectors in attendance (including John Roede, our speaker from the previous meeting). It was
way cool to see Rick contribute to their knowledge and for them to offer a couple of items that expanded his knowledge as
well. The ink swap was also well received with active exchanges occurring.
Review of the May 10, 2008 Meeting
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| Franklin Pens by John Roede |
John Roede, collector (with family ties to the development of Parker's aerometric 51 and original
61) and published author on fountain pen history, spoke on the history of Philadelphia's Franklin Pen Co and the
families that turned it into a minor institution.
Because so much had been written about the large pen companies,
he was drawn to researching the only major hometown Philadelphia manufacturer - Franklin Pen Co.
Click here for a link to John's full bio.
Turnout was great. Although there
were more people than fit at the conference table the room was plenty big enough to hold everyone.
People brought
plenty of pens, both modern and vintage, for each other to ogle.
Pictures on the Club Photo Album page
