The new England Pen Show is this coming weekend.

May 17, 2005

I know it's not the biggest or the brassiest or whatever trips your trigger about great shows, but the New England show is a good one. It's smaller than DC or Chicago, which makes it a little less daunting to the average pen show virgin. That also makes it a little more, umm, what I'd call intimate. The crowd is definitely a friendly one, none of that "New England reserve" that foreigners think of when they think of us here in this area.

There's a good choice of dealers, with some special folk who do only this show, such as Pier Gustafson, the Pen God. New England isn't the only show Jerry Jerard does, but he always brings good stuff -- last year I bought this extremely sweet ladies' Eversharp Sixty Four from him:

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/ladies_64.jpg

David Isaacson the VacQuack always goes all over the place, and he'll be in Boston this weekend for the show, bringing his lampshade in a never-ending quest to steal the souls of the world's greatest pens -- and some of my lesser ones, too, so why not yours! -- by photographing them when they're just lying there peacefully minding their own business.

I will of course be there to fondle your pens and play with their nibs, with Barbara on Saturday and also Sunday afternoon to assist you in picking a custom nib or a whole pen that you can't go home without -- and, for those who read Extra Fine Points but have never met the freelance writer who pens those lies, Don is expected to be there with me on Sunday morning. (Barbara and Kate will show up later, with Mack the freelance toddler; but Mack's stamina for pen shows isn't yet fully developed, so he and his parents will probably depart early.) If you're worried about having to wait in line, fear not. We don't do lines anymore. We keep a list, sort of like at a restaurant. But we don't have buzzers, so it's up to you to check back with us periodically to see where you are on the list.

The New England show was the first pen show I ever went to, so I have a special fondness for it. Not to mention that at that first show I attended, I met David Nishimura and relieved him of this jim-dandy Conklin's Crescent-Filler No. 30:

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/crescent.jpg

So c'mon along and meet the leader of the band (Rob Morrison) and all us other bandspeople.

Here's the link for the show's Web site: New England Pen Show Web site

Oh, one more thing. This year Susan Wirth will be there!

Edited May 17, 2005 by Richard