Drippy Musings
31 Famous People & Pens posts. The pens of presidents, writers and spies: Truman's bill-signing pens, Eisenhower's Parker 51, Mark Twain's Conklin Crescent, James Bond's Montblanc. Thirty-one posts on who wrote with what.
Last week we had a request from loyal reader Karen P. to identify the pen used by Meryl Streep in her Oscar-winning movie “Out of Africa.” Finding a picture of the pen was relatively easy. Identifying the pen is a different story. For those of you who are not familiar with the film, it is based on…
American author Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, was the spokesman for the Conklin Pen Company in 1903. Samuel Clemens, better known to lovers of classic American literature as Mark Twain, was possibly the first famous person used to sell a specific make and model of pen. Twain was the writer…
This collection of pens signed 50 iconic American laws into effect by President John F Kennedy and President Lyndon Baines Johnson from 1961 to 1967. It appears Esterbrooks and Parker 45 were the go-to pens of choice. How’s this for the ultimate pen auction? 50 pens used by presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B.…
Could it be that this 1957 Parker ad featuring Carl Sandburg was the last time a living poet was paid to endorse a pen? When was the last time you saw a poet getting the opportunity to endorse any luxury item? This Parker ad from 1957 might be it. The legendary Carl Sandburg eyes a…
This modified Parker Duofold from around 1930 was used by French General de Lattre de Tassigny to sign the German surrender that ended World War II. The photo was given to us by the Musee de l’ Armee in Paris. The twist of the story is that this is not the pen that started the…
It is hardly ground-breaking news that Gen. Douglas MacArthur signed the “Instrument of Surrender” ending World War II with Japan while using a Parker Duofold “Big Red” (among other pens) on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri. It is a fact Parker touts time and again, even making a commemorative series of modern Duofolds to…
I like to envision elements of this new blog as a cocktail party for pen collectors. Who else would start a conversation with a total stranger by asking, “Did you know so-and-so writes with a ______ pen?” It can’t be any worse than, “Hey, baby, what’s your sign?” (Scorpio) Everybody uses a pen, but it is…
