Has anybody tried Noodler's Manhattan Blue?

[Craig]

In New York City Friday I visited the Art Brown pen shop and noticed they had a Noodler's I'd never seen before called Manhattan Blue--"The color of the deepest blue vintage 1931 NYC ink.' It's another of Nathan's admirable archival projects, the resurrection of a forgotten ink--a beautiful looking dark blue with an aerial view of Manhattan on the label. The words "Eternal" and "Bulletproof" don't appear anywhere, so I assume it's non-waterproof. I favor water-resistant inks myself but I'd be interested to read what others have to say about it. It's been selling fast--only one bottle was left on the rack.

[Craig]

One member, Slippy, has tried Noodler's Manhattan Blue and discusses it at

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...view=getnewpost

[wimg]

Ah, great store, great memories, where I encountered my first Noodler's real life . I took 9 bottles home... And had a great time with a few rather well known people around here...

 

Warm regards, WIm

[Craig]

Yes, it's impossible to avoid lingering by the ink racks and blocking the aisle--and if you look past them, against the wall is a whole rack of Moleskines of all varieties. Admirable positioning.

[cowdad]

I got some in yesterday from Art Brown. My first impression of it was that it was a very, very dark blue, about as blue as Diamine Prussian, I'd say, or close to it. I really don't know--it might be a blue-black. On the Inky Thoughts board, I read someone describe it as dark blue, or something like that. It is most definitely very dark.

 

Thing is, in a submersion test, a blue-green-black is left on the page. When you first put it in the water, you can see a deep blue coming off the paper. What's left on the paper after 20 minutes or so in the water is a light black-green. But I can't detect any green at all in the ink. It appears to have slightly better water resistence than Noodler's Ottoman Azure, but not as much as Noodler's Navy Blue and Green Marine. After 20 minutes, the writing is very legible.

 

Manhattan Blue is included in a list of inks I just posted on the Ink Exchange board if anybody wants to try it out.

 

CowDad

Edited November 3, 2006 by cowdad

[Viseguy]

I got some in yesterday from Art Brown. My first impression of it was that it was a very, very dark blue, about as blue as Diamine Prussian, I'd say, or close to it. I really don't know--it might be a blue-black. On the Inky Thoughts board, I read someone describe it as dark blue, or something like that. It is most definitely very dark.

 

Thing is, in a submersion test, a blue-green-black is left on the page. When you first put it in the water, you can see a deep blue coming off the paper. What's left on the paper after 20 minutes or so in the water is a light black-green. But I can't detect any green at all in the ink. It appears to have slightly better water resistence than Noodler's Ottoman Azure, but not as much as Noodler's Navy Blue and Green Marine. After 20 minutes, the writing is very legible.

 

Manhattan Blue is included in a list of inks I just posted on the Ink Exchange board if anybody wants to try it out.

 

CowDad

Interesting info! Thanks.

[MichaelD]

We purchased some a couple weeks ago. My wife and I both like the color very much. On a Rhodia pad of paper the Manhattan is lighter than Noodler's Midnight Blue but slightly darker than the Noodler's Legal Lapis.

 

Michael

[Puddinhead]

Sorry if I have missed a previous post about this, but everything I could find about Noodler Manhattan Blue is very old on FPN. I have a bottled of Manhattan Blue purchased several years ago (many years?), and wanted to see if it is still available anywhere and if anyone uses it. Thanks for your indulgence if this is a redundant question.

[kestrel]

Manhattan Blue was only available from the Art Brown store in New York City.  Art Brown went belly up around 2013, then reopened in a different location four years later.  They no longer carry Noodler's ink on their website.  I do not know if it is available in the store.

[Puddinhead]

1 minute ago, kestrel said:

Manhattan Blue was only available from the Art Brown store in New York City.  Art Brown went belly up around 2013, then reopened in a different location four years later.  They no longer carry Noodler's ink on their website.  I do not know if it is available in the store.

thank you; so, I guess I'll enjoy the bottle I have until I don't have it anymore!

[RobNYC]

Noodler's Manhattan Blue is readily available from the Fountain Pen Hospital. It was an Art Brown exclusive. When Art Brown closed it became a FPH exclusive. That and three other colors (Old Dutch Colony Sepia, Manhattan Black and Henry Hudson Blue) are always available in store and most are available online.

[Monophoto]

Agree with Rob - bought my bottle at FPH.

 

It's a very dark, intense blue.  Also a bit dry.

[Puddinhead]

I'll check out FPH, thanks.

[amberleadavis]

3 hours ago, Puddinhead said:

I'll check out FPH, thanks.

 

Let us know if you find it. I have always enjoyed the ink.

[inkstainedruth]

My bottle of Manhattan Blue dates to the Art Brown days.  I was trying to match a vintage ink I had a written sample of (might have come out of a pen I'd been flushing out), and had gone in there.  The guy I talked to sent me to the other counter to talk directly to Mrs. Brown and she recommended the ink to me.  
Hmmm.  I'd completely forgotten about that ink.  I should dig it out and find a pen to put it in....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[bugsydog55]

I always preferred the Ellis Island Blue Black and the Old Manhattan Black, which I have bottles of from Fountain Pen Hospital.  I'm assuming they still have the Manhattan Blue, don't they?

[SamCapote]

Art Brown's was an icon store

[inkstainedruth]

5 hours ago, bugsydog55 said:

I always preferred the Ellis Island Blue Black and the Old Manhattan Black, which I have bottles of from Fountain Pen Hospital.  I'm assuming they still have the Manhattan Blue, don't they?

Well, sadly, not at the moment.  I just checked the FPH website and they don't have Ellis Island or Manhattan Blue listed, although they do have some Noodler's inks, including "Manhattan Black" (which I presume is the same as Old Manhattan), and the FPH exclusive Old Dutch Sepia. And also something called "Subway Sepia" (which is a little darker looking in the swab than Old Dutch Sepia, but I've never tried either of the last two.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA:  Of course now you've got me curious about the differences between Ellis Island and Manhattan Blue....  As if I don't already have NEW inks to sample and test....  Not to mention some older samples that have been never been opened....  

[bugsydog55]

Just a guess but could these inks be part of all of that renaming business Noodler's ran into a few years back?  The Manhattan Blue had that particular dark blue that never appealed to me, seemed kind of "cold" on the page.  Once I discovered these Exclusives, I found out that there were others.  That led me to Dromgoole's and another wallet whooping.

[inkstainedruth]

No, not in this case, I don't think.  Because I bought both Manhattan Blue and Ellis Island Blue Black way before that "renaming" happened.

Mind you, I was really sad when the formulation for IIRC Noodler's Army Green changed, since it changed the color.  I always thought that it should have been been re-released under a different name (the later batch I saw of of it was not nearly as appealing a color).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth