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Presidential Fountain Pens


Sharingtimeagain

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I have nothing against the pen, I much prefer the Century II to the Townsend. Maybe this is Trump's way of saving tax dollars. But man those cufflinks are just out of place in the Oval Office.

It's bling office now. :lol:

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I agree with those who see the practice of using multiple pens for bill signings as an old, established practice which typically provides a keepsake for those who played a role in getting the legislation passed. In the grand scheme of things, the cost is insignificant compared to other government expenditures, and the value to recipients is often immeasurable. One of the pens I regret not buying was an Esterbrook desk pen used by President Kennedy to sign a piece of legislation affecting the labor laws. The pen was part of the estate of a union leader, and he had the pen and a copy of the legislation beautifully framed. It was obviously of great importance to him. The price seemed high to me at the time, so I passed on it and regretted my decision ever since.

 

As far as more recent presidents, here is an article from 2015 which says that the Cross Townsend was the pen of choice for Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. And those who identified President Trump's pen as a Century II are correct according to this CNN article.

 

Lastly, I thought this statement on the website if the White House gift shop about Harry Truman starting the practice of giving out pens was amusing: President Truman gave the first American ball point, a junior ‘Reynold’s Rocket’, imprinted "I Swiped This From Harry S. Truman."

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MSNBC had a clip this AM ( Feb 6) showing Pres. Obama signing a bill and he used a different pen for each letter - handing the pens out to the people gathered around

No idea what sort of pen

Thats a cross century 2.
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I maybe crossing the line here, but I find the handing out of signature pens, be they presidential, senatorial, congressional, state legislatures, et al for any reason to be an ostentatious use of tax payor money when so many in this country do not have the basic necessities for day-to-day living. And, especially noxious when the pens are not made in the USA.

I think they all give the pen back. I do not think they dare to keep it.

 

On the other hand, this will maybe make cross felt tips sales great again. At least this week.

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I think they all give the pen back. I do not think they dare to keep it.

 

On the other hand, this will maybe make cross felt tips sales great again. At least this week.

 

Actually they keep the pen. In fact I bought one (from the estate of a Congressional aid) that Nixon used to sign a bill for law enforcement back in the early 70's.

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Wow, Wolverine! Nice!

 

I watched the Inauguration activities all day and saw the signing video several times. I at first thought they looked like fountain pens :) , but there was a brief close-up and it looked like a roller ball to me, but the writing is very, very broad.

 

I've read in several sources that, as many have already posted, the recent Presidents have generally used Cross pens for signatures. (Yes, BoBo, probably ballpoints all.)

 

Edit to say THANKS to the mods for keeping this non-political. I also love train travel and try to participate in an Amtrak forum, but the regulars there are obnoxiously political to a degree that often ruins the experience.

Thank you from me, too. It seems most forums can't even discuss science fiction these days without a fight. I am so glad there is a place where people just focus on the interests that unite them!

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I don't think either of you get it. This has been accepted practice for many years, and it rewards the effort of contributors to the legislation for their achievement. Ceasing the practice because you two are overly scrupulous about government expenditure would cause friction in government and hurt feelings on the part of the parties involved. This kind of goodwill bought for the price of a pen is a very inexpensive purchase and is invaluable.

 

 

While it's not for me to hold one's youth and inexperience against them, having paid the amount of taxes I have for the past five decades and counting, makes me confident that I do indeed "get it". And, yes "overly scrupulous", means I make hard decisions about what to go with out to ensure I continue to provide for my responsibilities.

CFTPM

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YMMV. The government spends so much money that this is quite small on the list of possible wasteful practices. However, businesses give away a lot of pens and other freebies. If you own stock in those companies, or if your pension fund owns stock in those companies, are you going to complain to the company that it should quit giving away some money that could go to dividends, or would you possibly consider that there are costs to doing business? You could go any way with this.

 

I worked for a long time in local government IT. I have heard the rumblings of a lot of gadflies. Yes you can complain about anything government personages do. Often the trivial comes in for the loudest criticism, and you wonder if the government doesn't do some things as lightning rods for criticism to distract from other foolishness.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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...However, businesses give away a lot of pens and other freebies. If you own stock in those companies, or if your pension fund owns stock in those companies, are you going to complain to the company that it should quit giving away some money that could go to dividend...

Yes, Pajaro, but those pens are promotional items intended to GENERATE MORE REVENUE and they cost around 20 cents a piece... not $120... and those $120 pens are not bringing in any additional revenue.

 

That said, giving away bill signing pens is pretty low on the list of ways our government wastes our money; so I've never really worried about it. :D

 

- Anthony

Edited by ParkerDuofold
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  • 2 weeks later...

In the ongoing controversy over Mr. Trump's policy over the "the wall", a Colombian artist produced this. My compliments to him on a lovely portrayal of a Pelikan Souverain. Apparently that's the artist's perception of the quintessential executive pen.

 

post-56078-0-40912400-1488552213_thumb.jpg

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That is such a political piece of art in so many ways. I wonder if the artist was going for the irony of the use of a European-made pen. At least, I'd like to think so....

Someday I want an M400 that color (I really thought that was the color I wanted, until I ran across a Brown Tortoise on eBay a couple of years ago; and now of course I'm trying to start saving up for one of the Anthracite M405 Stresemanns...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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M405 blue w/silver trim, plus brown tortoise w/gold trim, plus a Stresemann = 1 happy writer

CFTPM

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