Drippy Musings
6 The History of Pens posts. Where the pens came from: the companies, the patents and the materials, from hard rubber to celluloid to the ballpoint.
Here stands a blue Pelikan Level 5 fountain pen in its inkwell egg filling unit. The number one thing that attracts me to fountain pens and their history is all the many unique filling systems. One of the last great attempts at making a unique new filling system was the Pelikan Level system for its…
October has another sizzling story by your’s truly in Pen World. In it, I delve into the undersung history of the humble inkfeed. Click on the images to see larger versions and enjoy a free sneak peek courtesy of editor in chief Nicky Pessaroff and Pen World Magazine. To read the whole incredible issue, be…
Happy Thanksgiving from the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in Groton, Conn. Thanksgiving hasn’t been this chaotic and stressful for everyone in America since at least World War II…possibly since the 1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic. There’s the Covid-19 pandemic, political turmoil, recession, open-rampant-growing racism, civil unrest and climate disaster for many recovering from wildfires and hurricanes.…
Susie Thomas was given this Conklin M31 in 1905 for her high school graduation. She looks way more sophisticated than most high school kids today. It is the romantic in me that makes up the story behind an individual pen when I pick it up and look it over. Who owned it? What did it…
DISCLAIMER: Painting in broad brush strokes, it will be nearly impossible to describe all of the individual experiences, personalities, struggles, complaints and desires of veteran vendors and folks who are newer to pen collecting. In listening to the “New Pen Show Attendee Forum” at the Chicago Pen Show–and in many conversations since–these are the observations…
This week Drippy Musings’ reader Cheryl B. wrote to us with a special request. Can you help identify and date these dip nibs for fellow reader Cheryl B? She is in the process of restoring the steamer trunk that supposedly belonged to the great grandmother of the trunk’s previous owner. The trunk is said to…
