Bonjour from the Province of Québec, which is proudly celebrating the 400th anniversary of the settlement of the City of Québec by Samuel de Champlain today. Four centuries ago Champlain arrived here and started building l'Habitation, the first «House», at the bottom of Dap Diamant, where the Notre Dame des Victoires Church now stands today. This is recognized as the beginning of the permanent French settlement in North America, which eventually covered most of North America west of the Appalachians, right down the Mississipi to la Nouvelle Orléans, today called New Orleans.

I have just come from the City of Québec, where I went Antique shop hopping, from one shop to the next along Saint-André Street. This is where I bought an old Waterman Ideal Pen, my first vintage pen.

My interest in pens is not new, but it has not been as constant as it has been for the past few months. A few years ago, my mother gave me my father's pen and pencil set, a Shaeffer Valiant. I had kept my own pen, a red burgundy Shaeffer PFM I, which was given to me when I started high school. I don't remember when I got or acquired (?) the black Shaeffer Imperial I Touchdown (with a Dolphin nib), but it's a long time ago. Occasionally, I would bring one or the other out of the drawer, fill them up with ink (Shaeffer), use them for a while, and then put them back in my drawer. I have always loved writing with these instruments, probably because they bring back pleasant souvenirs.

A little over a year ago, I visited the War Museum in Ottawa, to view a special exhibition on the Seven Year War (or the French and Indian Wars). Afterwards, I wandered into the museum souvenir shop, which is well stocked with all sorts of items -- books, model planes, ships and other military equipment, etc -- including, to my surprise, fancy notebooks, and old writing instruments. This is where I bought a fancy notebook (Pierre Belvedere) and a Rubinatto set : pen holder, nib, and ink. A few months later, in another Museum shop, I bought a second similar set : different nibs, pen holder, and ink, again from Rubinatto. I put these aside, not using them until a few months ago, at the turn of this current year. My wife and daughter gave me a set of X-Pen ballpoint and fountain pen (Legend) for Christmas. This triggered a renewed interest in writing, writing instruments, inks, and from then on... calligraphy, history of writing in the western world, etc.

And voilà, since then, apart from the hundred year old Waterman, which I have just acquired, I have succombed and indulged myself into buying a Waterman Carene, and a Parker Latitude. As well, on top of the Rubinatto and Shaeffer inks, I now have three different tints of J. Herbin inks, and I have collected a rather large number of nibs, and pen holders, even a calame (which I have not yet used), and discovered Moleskine notebooks. Finally, I have bought a number of books, and started studying and learning calligraphy. Calligraphy... what an exercise in humility...

All this stems from a love of writing, which I acquired when I was quite young, in the first decade of my life. I am old enough to have learned to write with a dip pen, before ball points became common... long before the advent of computers... in an another epoch it seems...

I sometimes wonder what it was like for the French explorers who travelled along the great North American network of river highways a few centuries ago, meeting new nations... writing down their discoveries with quills, bringing their supply of paper (parchment) and ink with them...


Fernan

Welcome to FPN, Fernan!!

Welcome and happy 400th birthday.

Bienvenu à FPN,

je suis natif de Québec moi aussi mais ça fait maintenant des années que je suis à Montréal. Félicitation pour le Waterman.

Au Plaisir!

Hello from Detroit, which was founded by the French. Detroit was founded on July 24, 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, and was named Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit. The names (e.g., Charlevoix, Dequindre, Frontenac, Montcalm, Pontchartrain, St Antoine, St. Aubin, Riopelle, LaSalle, Livernois, Tonti, and others) and lay-outs of many Detroit streets and locations still bear witness to our French roots.

Bienvenu!

Welcome too and congratulations on your good history (you and your country too).
I guess you'll end up with a lot of Watermans.

Mike

Welcome to FPN.

Thank you all for your welcoming words. I look forward to enjoying reading and participating in this wonderful network of like-minded individuals.


Mike : While my two latest acquisitions were Waterman pens, one relatively recent (Carene) and one very old (Ideal Eyedropper #12 POC circa 1906-1909, made in Canada), my first three pens, all dating when I was barely a teenager (my roots), are Shaeffers.

To all my neighbors south of the (Canadian) border : Happy Independance Day.

Ray : Thank you for your mention of the French roots in your part of our continent.

JFT : Salut à un concitoyen et à la prochaine.



Fernan

I grew up in New Rochelle, NY -- sister city of La Rochelle, France. It was settled by the French Huguenots. Bienvenu!
There are a number of people on FPN from Québec and Canada, so you're in good company.

Welcome from the West.

And from the East!

I feel like I'm in between bookends... not exactly a bad spot in any case... You both have a nice day.

Hello and welcome to FPN!