Pens owned by famous people

[DWL]

Mine would have to be E.B Whites pen used to write Charolettes Web or Shel Silversteins. Both of these authors have a very special place in my heart.

 

When I was little my mother used to read me Charoletts web when i was sick or down, as I now do for my kids and I've always loved Shel's work. I read him to my kids also. My favorite works are the Giving Tree & the poem Ickle me, pickle me tickle me too.

 

 

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too

Went for a ride in a flying shoe.

"Hooray!"

"What fun!"

"It's time we flew!"

Said Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.

 

Ickle was captain, and Pickle was crew

And Tickle served coffee and mulligan stew

As higher

And higher

And higher they flew,

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.

 

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too,

Over the sun and beyond the blue.

"Hold on!"

"Stay in!"

"I hope we do!"

Cried Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.

 

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle too

Never returned to the world they knew,

And nobody

Knows what's

Happened to

Dear Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too

 

Dennis

[Johnny Appleseed]

M. Ghandi

 

Somewhere I read an article about Ghandi's pen - Actually, it was about a Pen company that Ghandi inspired. The founder of the company - K.V. Ratnam - met with Ghandi in 1921, and Ghandi, who had called for a boycott of foreign made products as part of the freedom movement, urged Ratnam to make something useful and inexpensive - so he started making pens, and of course sent one to Ghandi.

 

John

 

[edited to correct the story]

Edited August 17, 2006 by Johnny Appleseed

[Johnny Appleseed]

Found the article!

 

The story of a celebrated pen

 

John

[JimStrutton]

Found the article!

 

The story of a celebrated pen

 

John

So John, I guess you could order a replica today from the same company, fantastic!

 

Jim

[Kalessin]

Hmmm...

 

I was travelling in Alsace last week on vacation, and visited the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle, which is on the Wine Road in the Alsatian hills. The story of the castle, and some photos:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_...%C5%93nigsbourg

http://www.haut-koenigsbourg.net/indexbis.htm

 

I strongly recommend visiting Alsace (the food! the wine! lots of historic everything!)

 

Basically, the castle had been in ruins after the Thirty Years War in the 1500s until Kaiser Wilhelm II had it remodeled in 1900-1906 with a great deal of restoration to its pre-ruined state, with as many original details as they could re-create, but with added innovations like electric lighting. No central heating, no central plumbing until after WWII, but the castle does have its own windmill and forge.

 

On a small table in one corner of the grand dining hall (probably the most famous room in the castle, with a giant Hohenzollern eagle painted on the ceiling, and much other medieval-style painting and ornamentation) is a glass-topped box with the large ceremonial key to the castle. Above the box is a signed receipt from when the Kaiser and his family officially took possession of the castle, with five royal signatures (using different nibs, I might add), and the signature of the commandant of the castle. It's now owned by the French government (they confiscated it at the end of WWI) and is a National Historic site.

 

Sure, he was a controversial monarch, and has a very odd and perhaps uncomplimentary place in history, but I'd like the pen that Wilhelm II used to sign for the castle. Thanks!

[Oxonian]

Hi there folks,

I have a Ratnam pen, not Ghandi's its true but it is the only Ratnam I've ever seen in the flesh, but if it is the same model as Ghandi's it didn't solve the foreign goods problem as the nib is a Chinese import, a Wing sun Sheaffer Triumph lookalike, probably from the 'nationalised' Sheaffer Shanghai factory. Writes nicely though.

 

As to which famous person's pen I would like to own now there is a question? J.R.R.Tolkien's pen would be nice, but Terry Pratchett's (if he uses one) would appeal to me as well, although as he was once the publicity officer for the Nuclear Power station at Berkeley (UK) he is probably a key board specialist given the amount that he would have had to write and get out in a hurry.

 

I think I'll have to join the queue for Tolkien's. I know he used one as many years ago I saw him sitting in the garden at Merton College writing something, I wasn't close enough to see what it was and at the time I couldn't have identified it anyway, I was only about 10 or 11 at the time.

John

[BobR]

Well this isn't exactly a pen, but I have a simple granite stand owned by the late Douglas Edwards, long-time CBS newsman. I purchased it at a sale at his house, which was nearby. No pen though.

 

I would love to have a pen used by my favorite mystery writer, Dorothy L. Sayers. Think it would probably be a Conway Stewart.

[triton54]

My parents gave me a hard copy of Charlotte's Web as a young child. My favorite book. I later graduated to Tom Swift and his Jetmarine! A trip to the public library at least every 2 weeks was mandatory as my mother was an avid reader. Young ones here will have no idea what a card catalog is, although we did - well before first grade.

 

L.P.Wimsey ... "Nobody minds coarsness but one must draw the line at cruelty" I had forgotten this, also.

 

Your topic brought back some very pleasant memories for me. I would like to add to this list the name of Taylor Caldwell. Perhaps not as well known, but IMHO she is a worthy addition.

 

Thanks for the fun,

 

Brian

[kissing]

Well, for you author fans, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the guy who wrote Sherlock Holmes) used a Parker Duofold

[grasshopper]

I don't own a pen from any famous people, yet.

 

Off the top of my head, if they had any, I would love to own one of Bruce Lee's and/or Miles Davis'.

 

Whether I'd use them would depend on their nib sizes, but most probably, because of their value to me, I'd just keep them and pass them down when I'm gone.

 

 

raf.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I would be curious about the pens ... Louisa May Alcott used.

 

Well, they aren't good pictures, but check out #16 and #17 in the link below

 

Concord Library Photos

 

J. K. Rowling

 

Doesn't she use disposable roller-balls or something?

 

A pen I would treasure is C.S. Lewis.

 

Check out:

 

Out of Darkness Into Light

 

and

 

C.S. Lewis

 

And Leo Tolstoy.

 

Not a good picture, but

Leo Tolstoy

 

Mine would have to be E.B Whites pen used to write Charolettes Web

 

Well, he might have used a type-writer

E.B. White

 

 

and here is one of Ghandi writing in 1942 - maybe with a Ratner pen?(scroll down)

Ghandi Article

 

Just a few

[Ruaidhri]

The ideal would be a "51" Presidential that had been used by Sigourney Weaver

 

I spent a fortune on a gorilla suit and lay on her lawn for two weeks - not even a #%$ hug

[RLTodd]

J. K. Rowling

 

Doesn't she use disposable roller-balls or something?

 

I thought I saw her on television, talking about writing the ending of the last book in the series, with a spiral bound "college ruled" themebook and a single use gel pen.

[Kurt Behm]

No Brainer...........Winston Churchills Conway Stewart, and yes i

would use it to commemorate the very special events in my

life. Letters to the Kids and close friends, special events etc.

 

It would never leave the house though.............

 

KPB

[kissing]

I would like Mr Ruaidhri's Parker "51"

 

He's the supreme boss and founder of Murphy Towers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(am i employed now?)

[amh210]

I would like Mr Ruaidhri's Parker "51"

 

He's the supreme boss and founder of Murphy Towers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(am i employed now?)

K

You might have better luck playing hard-to-get. Failing that, be one of the self-appointed MT Consultants. Granted, the bennies aren't as good but the think of all the time you will save on the daily commute!

 

After all, you are closest to that big red rock thing in the middle of Austrailia and the psychic resonances from that spiritual stronghold are one of the major sources of the ley lines that connect MT to similar bastions of creativity elsewhere.

 

Andy

[Ruaidhri]

Andy,

 

Thank you. This has cleared things up.

 

After all, you are closest to that big red rock thing in the middle of Austrailia

 

We were wondering where it had landed. Ernst got the trajectory all wrong - again

[Lloyd]

Here's anoter author & FP fan:

"My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane. "

-Graham Greene

[kissing]

Andy,

 

Thank you. This has cleared things up.

 

After all, you are closest to that big red rock thing in the middle of Austrailia

 

We were wondering where it had landed. Ernst got the trajectory all wrong - again

ha! I'm gonna have to report you to the Australian Secret Servive (ASS) !

 

I hacked into the Murphy Towers Babbage and found this piece of evidence that it was you who planted this military device in the middle of Australia :ph34r:

[everett3rd]

If I could have a pen from a famous somebody...

Jules Verne---One used on "20,000 Leauges Under The Sea"

H.G. Wells-- One used on "The Time Machine"

Mark Twain-- Any Pen he used....

 

 

Everett