Two Pen Shops In Oxford

[vans4444]

I when to Oxford a few days ago and spent a few minutes in Pen Plus in High Street

 

The shop is larger that I expected with a good range of pen makes, including Cross, Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan, Tombow, MB, Pilot, Lamy and Montegrappa. Most of the standard pens from the ranges were on display in a number of colours. Visconti has just been discontinued. There is also a good range of Waterman and MB ink. There is a small display of perhaps 20 or so expensive vintage pens.

 

Prices look full retail. The owner was pleasant and helpful.

 

 

A little later I went into the Paperchase shop. It is one of the biggest Paperchase shops I have visited and in a large glass case they have a very good selection of Lamy Pens from the 2000 down.

 

They had two bottles of Lamy black ink in the back of the display cabinet and I cause a bit of a fuss when I asked to buy one. The manageress asked me if I meant ink cartridges. I said no, I want a bottle of ink. She had a look in her office and behind the counter for the box (for the bar code). After a while she came back and asked me if I really did mean to buy a bottle of ink; was I sure I did not want some cartridges. Being a headstrong and sometimes wilful person I persisted, no a bottle of ink is what I wanted. Then I added that I new from experience it would work in my pen. I should have thanked her for her concern but it slipped my mind. Eventually she found a barcode and I walked out with a bottle of Lamy black ink. I guess in the future she will be telling the story to wide eyes new employees of how once a man came in and bought a bottle of ink.

Edited October 27, 2010 by vans4444

[alkman]

I find the experience in Paperchase odd, as the Lamy 2000 is a piston filler...right?

[Joane]

That is so funny! That saleslady had a wake-up call she will likely not forget. A bottle of ink! Anything can happen...

[riff raff]

Um, how old was the bottle of ink?

[freewheelingvagabond]

Well, that's hilarious!

[vans4444]

Yes there were quite a few pens in Paperchase that used ink. Can you imagine what would happen if a customer asks where you put the cartridge in a Lamy 2000?

 

The ink was old, even in the display case it had a fine layer of dust. I wonder if that counts as NOS ink?

[riff raff]

I envisioned the clerk clearing away the cobwebs, looking at the bottle quizzically, and blowing the dust away in a cloud! lol

[kuno]

They really should be educating their staff better. I had a momentary nightmare of an ignorant salesclerk trying to squeeze in a Lamy cartridge in the piston of a 2000. Shudder.

PS: fantastic profile pic

[rogerb]

I had a slightly similar experience here, in SPAIN , in an 'English' bar, when my late wife asked for a glass of SHERRY

 

They eventually found a dusty, half-full bottle of semi-sweet Harveys, which we declined

 

I believe Oxonian 'cut his teeth', so to speak, aeons ago, in an Oxford 'pen emporium' which I think he said was one of the largest in the country.

(I s'pose, with Oxford's being such an important university city, they would have sold lotsa pens, in those days.)

Edited October 27, 2010 by rogerb

[visconti_bird]

Try Scriptum in Oxford. 3 the turl. Visconti pens are on sale in there.

And The man who owns/runs it knows a lot about the pens he sells.

[lapis]

Har, har! I experienced the same thing in four stores here, each of which sell MB inks. (Two of these were their own boutiques).

 

Har har