Has Anyone Heard Of Henry Simpole?

[mallymal1]

Hope the rain stops...and you have a great day.

[Ghost Plane]

Raining here, too, so expect it in a few days when it has time to blow your way. ✈️

[RMN]

Raining here, too, so expect it in a few days when it has time to blow your way. ✈️

GP as advanced weather warning system......one of her many qualities...

 

 

D.ick

[StephY]

I had the pleasure of meeting Henry at his booth at the Admiral Vernon Antiques Market. The Portabello Road Market was in full swing all around, but I had my eye set on Henry's pens.http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/TheGryphonRoom/SYandHS_zps17c1c792.jpg

 

There was a small crowd at Henry's booth when I arrived, and Henry was showing the gentlemen a Pelikan 800 in tortoise shell that sported a nib tuned by Sailor's Nagahara. I mentioned that I had recently seen Mr. Nagahara's son at the D.C. Pen Show and we started to talk about various pen shows. Henry also showed us the Pullman Pen (and let me try it!), and the rare smallest Waterman - a safety still in a cardboard box! http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/TheGryphonRoom/Watermansmallestsafety_zps5bee438c.jpg

 

While I was at the booth, Henry patiently showed a gentleman the Pelikan 800 in tortoise shell, a few Montblanc 146s, and a Parker 75 in vermeil. The gentleman chose the Parker 75 and left quite a happy camper. I chose an Executive 60 Conway Stewart with a Duro nib and said goodbye to Henry.

 

But something kept nagging at me - Henry had shown me a tiger's eye pattern of a Conway Stewart 27, and I just couldn't leave it. So off I went back to Henry's. Henry seemed happy to see me, and we worked out a price for the pen! He also showed me a most recent acquisition (between the time i left for the first time and my return): a Namiki Emperor ebonite eyedropper with a 18kt No. 50 nib. Effectively I saw the smallest fountain pen and one of the largest ones!

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/TheGryphonRoom/Namikilargeeyedropper_zpse7973f82.jpghttp://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/TheGryphonRoom/NamikiEmperor2_zps5ce7e857.jpg

[esterbex]

Fabulous photos! Thank you Stephanie for letting us tag along!

[Truffle Finder]

Steph Y, thank you so much for posting those pictures on this thread, [and so quickly after your visit to my stand Yesterday at Portobello Market] I expected that you would have posted them when you got back to the USA!

It is very strange, but over the past 6 or 8 weeks, my booth at Portobello has been particularly busy, [as you must have noticed], at times there were two or three separate people looking at or simply discussing pens! [it is actually quite a task, trying to 'look after' more than one person at a time, given the limited amount of counter space at the booth], but generally, I have always found 'pen people' are very tolerant of situations like that, and they seem to willingly get involved with the conversation going on at any particular time, it is almost like being at a 'mini-pen show'!

Having chosen the first pen that you bought, [and had gone away quite contented, I think!] you then 're-appeared', saying that you had come back for the Tigers Eye C/S pen! It actually did 'Make my day', [to quote Clint Eastwood!] because I was able to show you the Namiki Emperor Giant Pen! The look on your face, said it all! A wonderful smile!

It really was a pleasure to have met you!

And I'm delighted with my new addition to my 'Pension Scheme!'

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

For those of you who 'may' be interested, I have just had a telephone conversation with Alastair Adams [MD of Onoto Pens] who happened to be at the Conway Stewart Factory when I phoned him on his mobile, standing next to the gentleman that I had spoken to at the viewing when I had found my Centenial C/S overlay 'masters', in a Jiffy Bag amongst one of the lots!

I was quickly transferred to the man, and explained who I was, and told him that it would be alright to give the package to Alastair, so that he would be able to give it to me when we next met.

He seemed quite happy at my suggestion, so that is one problem solved!

I don't know what I'm going to do with them though!

Truffle Finder.

[RMN]

For those of you who 'may' be interested, I have just had a telephone conversation with Alastair Adams [MD of Onoto Pens] who happened to be at the Conway Stewart Factory when I phoned him on his mobile, standing next to the gentleman that I had spoken to at the viewing when I had found my Centenial C/S overlay 'masters', in a Jiffy Bag amongst one of the lots!

I was quickly transferred to the man, and explained who I was, and told him that it would be alright to give the package to Alastair, so that he would be able to give it to me when we next met.

He seemed quite happy at my suggestion, so that is one problem solved!

I don't know what I'm going to do with them though!

Truffle Finder.

Pension fund??

 

They may be worth something later to the many collectors of "vintage CS the 2nd" pens as paraphernalia....

 

 

D.ick

[Truffle Finder]

My package containing the pens that i had bid on at the Conway Stewart Auction has arrived by post, and I must say that I am delighted with them all!

Sadly there were no nibs in them, but I am fortunate, in that I have still got some C/S nibs to replace the missing ones.

It was rather sad when I looked over these pens, and thought about the fact that they were probably amongst the last few pens that were made at the factory in the last months of the working factory.

I think that it must have been about in the late 1990's or possibly early 2000, or possibly 2001 when I first heard through the 'pen-grapevine' that a gentleman by the name of Don Yendle had bought the Trade Mark of Conway Stewart, and that he was planning to re-start the company down in the West Country. I was introduced to him fairly shortly after that, and I am proud of the fact that I was able to be of some help to Don Yendle in that I supplied him with examples of all the vintage clips and levers from old Conway Stewart pens so that he was able to use them, to make accurate copies for his new pens. He was also very keen to look at any vintage C/S pens that I had found between visits to Devon, and would buy the ones that were made of unusual plastics [or cassien], but he used to enjoy pulling my leg by telling me that he was going to saw them in two, so that he could "send them to two of the plastics people to see if they could simulate the patterns or colours!" I was horrified when he first said that that was what he planned to do with them! Thankfully he was only joking!

Despite being an incurable nostalgia freak, I am aware that there is very little in life which actually is permanent! Hopefully, someone somewhere will buy the name once again, and make some beautiful pens again.

Truffle Finder.

[RMN]

My package containing the pens that i had bid on at the Conway Stewart Auction has arrived by post, and I must say that I am delighted with them all!

Sadly there were no nibs in them, but I am fortunate, in that I have still got some C/S nibs to replace the missing ones.

It was rather sad when I looked over these pens, and thought about the fact that they were probably amongst the last few pens that were made at the factory in the last months of the working factory.

I think that it must have been about in the late 1990's or possibly early 2000, or possibly 2001 when I first heard through the 'pen-grapevine' that a gentleman by the name of Don Yendle had bought the Trade Mark of Conway Stewart, and that he was planning to re-start the company down in the West Country. I was introduced to him fairly shortly after that, and I am proud of the fact that I was able to be of some help to Don Yendle in that I supplied him with examples of all the vintage clips and levers from old Conway Stewart pens so that he was able to use them, to make accurate copies for his new pens. He was also very keen to look at any vintage C/S pens that I had found between visits to Devon, and would buy the ones that were made of unusual plastics [or cassien], but he used to enjoy pulling my leg by telling me that he was going to saw them in two, so that he could "send them to two of the plastics people to see if they could simulate the patterns or colours!" I was horrified when he first said that that was what he planned to do with them! Thankfully he was only joking!

Despite being an incurable nostalgia freak, I am aware that there is very little in life which actually is permanent! Hopefully, someone somewhere will buy the name once again, and make some beautiful pens again.

Truffle Finder.

Henry, I think you are a decade off... probably end 1980s, or 1990-1

 

D.ick

[Truffle Finder]

RMN, I stand corrected!

I've just looked it up in Steven Hull's book, the first 'New' Conway Stewart pens were available in 1997!

I must be getting old!

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

I'm back from Portobello market, and it was a fairly good day, but not perhaps as good as the last six weeks have been!

I did buy a pretty little porcelain dip-pen, and sold it fairly shortly afterwards to another pen dealer, and made a pretty respectable profit, so that was a good start!

Amongst the visitors to my stand, was a gentleman who had some connection with 'Pentrace', and was pleased to be able to take a photograph standing in my booth, and yet another picture of the doll's house pen! So, hopefully they might appear here soon as well as on Pentrace!

Fortunately, [or maybe not so!] I wasn't offered too many pens to buy today! I have been spending a great deal of money recently.

Most of this week will be taken up with sorting through my stock in preparation for the London Pen Show next Sunday.

Truffle finder.

[Truffle Finder]

JL! The letter has been written, and will be in the post within the next few hours!

You had mentioned that you had been following this thread, so I thought that this might be a good idea to let you know!

Truffle Finder.

[Truffle Finder]

I'm a really Happy Bunny at this moment!

It's very strange, but when I went to the viewing of the C/S auction lots, I certainly didn't notice a Makie Conway Stewart Churchill Pen. At a guess, I can only assume that it was in one of the boxes that were quite visible amongst all the goods on offer. I certainly did not see it when I was looking around!

The pen is not actually complete, in that it is missing its section feed and nib, also it has not had its clip fitted, so that should keep me fairly busy when it arrives!

It was the first time that I have participated in an E-bay auction, and I must say, I found it very exciting to watch, particularly near the end, when apparently there is usually a mad dash, and the bids come in thick and fast! But fortunately for me, this time it didn't happen!

Truffle Finder.

[billydo]

Viola.... here's the mystery Conway Stewart Maki-e pen....

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76389420@N03/15395579576/

Edited October 2, 2014 by billydo

[RMN]

Viola.... here's the mystery Conway Stewart Maki-e pen....

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76389420@N03/15395579576/

OOOOhhhhhh prettyyyyy

 

 

D.ick

[Truffle Finder]

Thanks once again Neal, the photography has made it look ten times better than the pictures of it that appeared on E-bay!!!

I can't wait to see it 'in the flesh!' as it were, tomorrow when it gets here.

Wonderful!

Truffle Finder.

[esterbex]

Meant to be, I'd say! Beautiful, Truffle! Thank you, billydo!

[esterbex]

For whatever reason, the Flickr link is unstable...so here is the pic posted via my trusty Mac.

[Elle_]

For whatever reason, the Flickr link is unstable...so here is the pic posted via my trusty Mac.

Wow, that is gorgeous.