The FP of H.P. Lovecraft

[johneffay]

Imagine walking into a shop, saying "I need a black Waterman fountain pen", and the salesman being able to offer you fifty to choose from

Edited November 13, 2007 by johneffay

[Ernst Bitterman]

One wonders, though, if the choice out of fifty wasn't driven by a slight lack of consistency in the points-- 50 #12s, for example, no two with the same degree of flex. Not to say that the hunt wouldn't be fun....

[Tournevis]

Actually, typewriting was considered a female occupation very early one. I would suspect <i>that</i> is why he did not see it fit a gentleman.

 

As this is a writing instruments forum, it seems appropriate to celebrate his copious use of fountain pens, and the importance he placed on them, rather than degenerate to gender-politics and unsubstantiated assertions. If you want to take it off-topic, start a topic in Chatter and I'll join you there with the facts. -Andru

 

There is no degenerating into gender politics when I point out the historically factual realities of the late 19th-c. and early 20th c. It is still a relevant piece of information. As a university professor of history specialized in the popular cultures of 19th. c and 20th c. North America, I find your comment disconcerting. What a gentleman of that period might have thought approrpiate for a gentleman to do is very relevant to an investigation of this nature. His avoiding the typewriter can certainly have had more than one reason. If you still wish to see references to historical studies about the gendered perceptions of the typewriter and the transformation of the image of the secretary from male to female during this period, PM me.

[andru]

Tournevis, I've been thinking about this (i.e. it's been bugging me), and I offer you an apology for disconcerting (if not offending) you!

 

I do maintain that the question of why H.P.L. avoided typewriters when possible is, strictly speaking, off-topic, but you weren't the first to mention it. I think it was your timing the annoyed me, since I was excited about my carefully-transcribed on-topic information, which was ignored by the next two posts. It's easy to see how the subject of a gentleman's perceptions of gentlemanly conduct in his milieux would interest you and others.

 

[Tournevis]

Tournevis, I've been thinking about this (i.e. it's been bugging me), and I offer you an apology for disconcerting (if not offending) you!

 

I do maintain that the question of why H.P.L. avoided typewriters when possible is, strictly speaking, off-topic, but you weren't the first to mention it. I think it was your timing the annoyed me, since I was excited about my carefully-transcribed on-topic information, which was ignored by the next two posts. It's easy to see how the subject of a gentleman's perceptions of gentlemanly conduct in his milieux would interest you and others.

 

No problems, no worries!

[anniemac]

No idea what he would have used but it would have probably been a dip pen carven from an eldritch green stone into the likeness of an elder god and used to write with dark and sacrificial blood.

 

[encremental]

There is so much lovely stuff in this thread, isn't there? And you can tell immediately that H.P. was one of us.

He would seem to be a natural for a future FPN ink, - but where to begin?

 

Miskatonic Mauve

Yog-Sothoth Yellow

Cthulhu Crimson

Shoggoth Beige

 

Maybe Nathan could even be inspired to produce a COLOUR OUT OF SPACE

 

John (must be off now, the Thousand Young don't bath themselves)

[FrankB]

Andru, thanks for the wonderfully detailed quote from Frank Belknap Long. I think it is a wonderful insight into the personality of Lovecraft. As a fountain pen lover, I can read and relate to Lovecraft's peculiar obsession and feel closer to the author of those strangely fascinating horror stories.

 

I think I have to agree that Lovecraft would be one of us (FPNers). I can only imagine how he would have responded to threads like - "Why do people buy/collect pens of a particular brand?" "How many FP's do you own?" "What do you think is the best FP of all time?" Wouldn't it be interesting to hear his opinions?

 

I was convinced early on in this thread that Lovecraft would have used pencils a lot, and probably a dip FP given his financial circumstances and the era in which he lived. I am curiously pleased to find that he, like many of us, did not let his finances stand in the way of finding a writing instrument that was ideal for him. I think it speaks to the importance of language and the written word to him, which, again, allows me to feel a kinship with this man (who died too young and far too unacknowledged).

 

Speaking of the era in which he lived, I, too, wonder what it was like to walk into a stationery shop, name a single brand of FP and have 50 to choose from. I don't think his trying 50 pens speaks negatively to the quality of the pens/nibs, I think it reflects Lovecraft trying to find the single pen and nib combination that appealed to him. That is just a personal opinion.

[andru]

Andru, thanks for the wonderfully detailed quote from Frank Belknap Long.

Aw, shucks!

I don't think his trying 50 pens speaks negatively to the quality of the pens/nibs, I think it reflects Lovecraft trying to find the single pen and nib combination that appealed to him. That is just a personal opinion.

There's certainly an element of that, and we also have from umenohana (quoting from Mr. Perridas) that he would exchange one Waterman for another based on its performance in the field -- how nice that he could do so, after having tested 50 pens in the shop! It would be interesting to know which "sundry makeshifts" he was referring to.

 

I just got my first jewler's loupe last week, and was inspecting a Waterman 12 in my possession this morning. I notice that the two vintage Watermans I have both show the same "shaving" taken from the left tine. I thought it was a custom job on my first pen, but to see it on both makes me think this was done in the factory to equalize the flex of the tines?

 

 

 

[fenrisfox]

Thousands upon thousands of pages? That's a lot of dipping.

[HLeopold]

There is so much lovely stuff in this thread, isn't there? And you can tell immediately that H.P. was one of us.

He would seem to be a natural for a future FPN ink, - but where to begin?

 

Miskatonic Mauve

Yog-Sothoth Yellow

Cthulhu Crimson

Shoggoth Beige

 

Maybe Nathan could even be inspired to produce a COLOUR OUT OF SPACE

 

John (must be off now, the Thousand Young don't bath themselves)

 

Very good idea, we really do need to get Nathan to come up with a good (bad) color that would scream Lovecraft.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I have in mind a medium green that, as it dries, develops a purple outline.

 

I have no sense of the required chemistry, nor that it is possible in these simple dimensions in which we pen users scrape along in contented ingnorance.

[Deirdre]

Ernst, actually, there are ways of doing some cool special effects.

 

I think this would be a GREAT reason to have some of NT's mixed density inks -- and make one of them some shade purple.

 

I love love love the idea of Miskatonic Mauve.

[encremental]

Has there been an FPN green so far? Some sort of eldritch slime, and I agree - if possible one with a special effect would be great!

 

Interestingly, on both sides of the Atlantic new authoritative editions of the whole canon have recently been published and are well worth reading. Plenty of inspiration for something truly horrid ...

 

John