Your Ancestors' Pens

[stephanos]

I've just been reading a very interesting thread about famous people's pens.

 

It got me thinking about what other people have used.

SO: What pens appear in your family history, and are they still in the family?

(By this, I mean any member of your extended family who is higher up the family tree, whether they are still alive or not - parents and aunts/uncles are fine, siblings don't count.)

 

Bonus question. Future history: If you could choose only one fountain pen that you currently own to hand down to the next generation, which would it be?

 

 

 

I'll start.

My maternal grandmother used a Parker Vaccumatic every day. I imagine that she acquired it not too long before the outbreak of World War II. It was lost after her death, but from my mother's description, it was likely the larger version, with the golden pearl finish.

 

 

Which pen to hand down? To answer, I have to know why I'm handing it down - mainly as an object to be used, or as something to remember me by.

As an item to be used, I'd probably pass on my Sailor Pro Gear: it's top quality in every respect, is sober enough to be used in any situation, is sized to fit both larger and smaller hands, I like it very much, and with its cartridge/converter system it's simple enough for no-fuss use.

For an heirloom item, I'd probably go for my Pelikan M800: it not only writes beautifully, but I've tinkered with it myself, and is just the right size for me, as well as being a better reflection of contemporary society than a more vintage pen.

 

(edited for spelling)

Edited June 5, 2016 by stephanos

[Beechwood]

Bonus question. Future history: If you could choose only one fountain pen that you currently own to hand down to the next generation, which would it be?

 

 

 

I'll start.

My maternal grandmother used a Parker Vaccumatic every day. I imagine that she acquired it not too long before the outbreak of World War II. It was lost after her death, but from my mother's description, it was likely the larger version, with the golden pearl finish.

 

 

Which pen to hand down? To answer, I have to know why I'm handing it down - mainly as an object to be used, or as something to remember me by.

 

 

 

By coincidence, my handed down pen is also a Parker Vacumatic. In 1951 my father went to the Festival of Britain, a huge trade exhibition to show that Britain was again open for business. On the way there he dropped his Parker Vacumatic and bent the nib. He called in at the Parker stand where he asked if they could fix the nib, they replaced it with a Duofold nib, probably better than the original.

 

Whilst he was waiting they astutely demonstrated the new Parker 51and he never went back to the Vac, and had a new 51 for each birthday thereafter. I have that original Vac and one of his 51s.

 

One of the less enjoyable thoughts on growing old is what to do with your collected stuff. I don't have any direct relatives who would appreciate a pen and have therefore been reducing my 300+ pen collection over the past two years, having seen how a friends collection of Victorian drawings was disposed of by his children.

 

If I was to pass on one pen to anyone, father's Parkers aside, it would be a simple and humble black Parker from 1932 and I would hope that the recipient would understand the message.

[furious]

My paternal Grandmother's first pen was a Waterman eyedropper fill on a gold chain that she received as a birthday present in the early 20s. Unfortunately it was lost years ago and I never had the chance to see it.

[gregamckinney]

Sadly, no writing instruments come down from either side of my family. Given the fact that many of my ancestors had jobs that involved writing, I'm surprised, and always wonder what they would have used.

 

I have no kids of my own, so I plan to remedy the "no pens in the family tree" problem by making sure that the numerous nieces and nephews have pens available to them when they are old enough for my sisters to pass them on. Not sure which ones on my father's side yet. But my mother's side is from Springfield, Mass, so definitely some of my LeBoeuf* collection.

 

Best Regards, greg

 

*There is even a rumor that one of my great aunts worked for LeBoeuf in the 1920's, but I haven't found any documentation so far.

[jar]

Since hand-me-downs we the norm when I was growing up I have several, a couple of my Dad's Vacumatics, Mom's 1941 "51", some of my Grandfathers Sheaffers and my Grandmothers Conway Stewarts.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have my mother's old gray Esterbrook with the typical needlepoint nib. I don't recall seeing her write with it, or for that matter, ever seeing any family member write with a fountain pen.

[kapanak]

I have my grandfather's Parker 51's. Two of them. One only had been tested, and was a gift for his PhD graduation back in 1953. The superchrome ink has turned solid inside. Only recently I started to fix it. The other was his regular pen until he passed away in the summer of 2000. The pen was with him in his jacket inner pocket the morning he woke up, had a chest pain, drove himself and his youngest son (my uncle) to the hospital. He died shortly after being admitted in the hospital, from apparently simultaneous stroke and heart attack, while still in my uncle's hands. He was 75.

 

The two pens, one watch, and a horse riding whip he owned since teenage years are the only items I have from my grandfather. They were given to my mother by my grandmother, and she gave them to me to keep safe Very dear items indeed.

[inkstainedruth]

No pens from either side. When I was a kid there was some sort of pen/pencil combo that had been my grandfather's (I remember it having a lever, so it must have been a combo -- but I thought that's how the leads were supposed to be installed). Sadly, it's long gone; I probably lost it (but then, I was only around 8 or 9). My mother couldn't understand my fascination with it -- for her, fountain pens were troublesome and messy; although, in retrospect, her family probably couldn't have ever afforded a good pen -- she said when she was in college (on a full scholarship, living at home) she had to pass on pledging a sorority because she knew she couldn't ask her parents for the dues.

I gave my mom's old Royal typewriter to a friend of mine that collects typewriters.

As for the bonus question, that's easy to answer as far as *what*. It would be the Sheaffer Balance Oversize that my mother-in-law found last fall and gave to me. It had the wrong cap on it (so I'm hoping that at some point the pen, an Eversharp Skyline, gets unearthed so I can reunite it with the cap). It may be the pen that had been her father's (she had a story about how part of it got lost when he rescued some woman from drowning after she accidentally drove off a pier in Baltimore, and when he contacted Sheaffer they sent him a new pen (although where *that* pen ended up is anyone's guess). I'd like to keep it in the family if at all possible, but not sure who should eventually get it: there are a number of grandchildren, and my mother-in-law even now has a few great grandchildren.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Greenie]

The entire reason I was exposed to fountain pens was that my mother saw that I had some nice ballpoints I had bought to use daily at work and told me that she had her father's fountain pen and pencil that he bought himself when he was finishing law school. He died before I was born, and I am named in his honor.

 

That pen and pencil were the coolest things I had ever seen. I had no idea how to even write with a fountain pen. It got me started on doing some research, which led to me getting it restored, which lead me to want pens from The Big Four. I imagined 4 iconic pens would be plenty for me.

 

Now I have well over 400 pens, even after selling some to try to thin out the collection. I have learned how to do a lot of restoration, which is now a big part of my enjoyment.

 

I had to re learn how to write in cursive since it had been so many years, and now I do a pretty passable copperplate with my favorite flexy nibs.

 

So here is my grandfather's 1930 Parker Duofold Streamline and the "matching" pencil that I now know is not really a match, but was clearly bought at the same time as the pen. This is also the set to pass down. The kids know that they can have any pens they take a fancy to, but this one is the special one out of hundreds.

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by Greenie

[Wahl]

I have a Parker 21 and a 45, both black, from my father.

 

My older brother, who is not interested in FP´s gave me two P45, in teal blue and navy grey.

 

Who will get what from my collection ? We´ll see...who shows interest !

[ac12]

The only prior generation pens are my mothers desk pens, and I have them; Eversharp, 2 Sheaffers, and a P51.

My fathers pens were lost, likely during a move

 

I hope to pass my mothers pens on.

And hopefully some of mine; Parker 75 and 180.

That is if any of they have any interest in it, which I hope they do.

Edited June 7, 2016 by ac12

[TXKat]

From my father's side of the family, I have a large red (orange to me) Eggens Hambler with a huge #5 14K nib. Due to age, it either belonged to my greats or my grands at one time or another. I have a grey Parker 51 that could have belonged to anyone of the goup, including my dad or one of his 4 siblings. I have an assortment of Sheafer student, Cascade,Wherever, Stratford and a Venus President. I also have a Belmont desk pen and another weird desk pen requiring a metal "key" to keep the nib/feed together. Sadly, there was a gorgeous early MontBlanc that my aunt insisted on selling at auction that I couldn't get my hands on. All in my posession currently work and came from the same drawer!

 

Note: My great grandfather was a pharmacist and he and his brother owned a Rexall Drug, thus the large amount of lower end pens my relatives used for school (as the greats helped my grand when my grandfather was killed, leaving a widow with 5 small kids.)

 

My mom's side of the family were farmers in N.D. and I never once saw a fountain pen in their house, just lots of knife sharpened pencils.

 

As for who to pass them on to...none have a slight interest in fountain pens and I, nor my two sisters have children, thus...it will be a worthy young(ish) person that would get these once I'm old.

[Sasha Royale]

Agreed ! My siblings don't count either.

My Dad was a company financial director. They had a secretarial, typing pool, but Dad preferred to write certain business letters by hand. He used Parker 51 (c. 1950). I inherited that.

My cousin sent me Aunt Kate's Montblanc 144.

My pen pal of 40 years willed to me her father's 1928 Parker Duofold Senior.

Knowing that I would be a better steward of family fountain pens, some friends and family have

trusted me with heirloom pens, I have the Parker 45 desk set of a SAC general, who was Dad's friend.

I deserve the Parker Duofold, that General MacArthur used to sign surrender papers, aboard the USS Missouri, but Mrs. M lost the darn thing. I would have taken better care of it.

[mmg122]

I'm very fortunate to have my Mom's red Esterbrook J and my Dad's blue Esterbrook LJ Icycle. Both with medium nibs and as pretty today as the day they were manufactured (thank you Richard Esterbrook, and FarmBoy who replaced a jewel on my Mom's pen).

 

I also have my maternal Grandmother's Parker Vac in the golden web pattern with a broad nib...an outstanding pen.

 

I'm currently trying to groom my grandkids to be fountain pen lovers with some success. Neither one of my kids have even a modicum of interest...such is life.

[sexauerw]

Only one fountain pen came to me from my family, my Dad's basic matte black Sheaffer Targa with a fine steel nib. It was his only fountain pen so it was his every day pen and was always filled with Skrip Emerald Green ink because green was his favorite color. It was this pen that got me hooked on fountain pens. It's been well used and well loved over the years. Note that most of the matte finish has been worn to a shiny gloss, mostly from Dad's hand but some from mine as well.

 

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/D3M0MMj4MjjETM/3623191.0/800/p/Sheaffer_Targa_1002%2C_Dad_s_Pen%2C_closed.jpg

 

Nobody in the family seems interested in fountain pens. Most of my Targa collection will go to the Sheaffer Museum in Fort Madison.

[Parker51]

I have a Parker Vacumatic which was my grandfather's and which he gave me. It has his initials engraved in the cap band and they look quite nice. I also have my father's Sheaffer Snorkel with his first and last name. And then, I have the pens my grandfather gave me which per my grandmother were "Thank You Presents" from a grateful newspaper publisher that he unofficially helped. They predate the Depression, but were given as new pens (two were stickered and all were in excellent condition) in the late forties or early fifties.

[Barkingpig]

I have a strange set of Sheaffer Snorkels from my Parents; my Mother's signature is engraved upon the cap band of the green fountain pen & my Father's on the pencil. I don't doubt that their respective "mates" were lost @ the race track marking programs after each race's finish. My Father wouldn't have used a pencil & I am sure my Mother thought the pencil was the appropriate tool. They could have been lost elsewhere but I enjoy thinking they lost them while "in use" enjoying a hobby they both loved.

 

My Mother was one of six children; when she was dividing her Mother's dishes & sterling flatware her sister complained there incomplete sets of each. Mother reminded her that they were raised using "what they had (no $ during the depression for everyday dishes) & that she wasn't surprised to find so much "missing."

She seemed quite content that the inherited family sets of such were victims of attrition; so I am taking the same attitude toward their "odd pen set."

 

I never give any thought to what happens to my things upon my death. They are only things & have provided me pleasure in their use.

[njomd]

Only one fountain pen came to me from my family, my Dad's basic matte black Sheaffer Targa with a fine steel nib. It was his only fountain pen so it was his every day pen and was always filled with Skrip Emerald Green ink because green was his favorite color. It was this pen that got me hooked on fountain pens. It's been well used and well loved over the years. Note that most of the matte finish has been worn to a shiny gloss, mostly from Dad's hand but some from mine as well.

 

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/D3M0MMj4MjjETM/3623191.0/800/p/Sheaffer_Targa_1002%2C_Dad_s_Pen%2C_closed.jpg

 

Nobody in the family seems interested in fountain pens. Most of my Targa collection will go to the Sheaffer Museum in Fort Madison.

You could adopt me.......

[Pravda]

I grew up seeing my mother fascinated by FPs and gradually becoming somewhat of a collector. I never gave much thought to it.

 

While I was living abroad I got enamored by FPs on my own accord, and then I made the connection that it must run in the genes.

 

When she passed I was handed down several Parker 51s/75s, S.T. Duponts, Sheaffers and a few Montblancs.

[thdouk]

I have my grandfather's Joker 60, which is an italian (probably) version of the Platinum Honest 60. I will most likely give to my descendants (when and if I have any) my Aurora Archive Storici 022.