T.s. Eliot's Pen

[wastelanded]

Here is an article about T.S. Eliot's fountain pen being donated to the Royal Society of Literature:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/17/ts-eliot-pen-society-literature

 

Just wondering if anyone has info on what kind of pen it is?

[brunico]

Just wondering if anyone has info on what kind of pen it is?

 

"So critical, this old pen, that I think its name

Should be resurrected only among friends

Some two or three, who will not lack decorum

When it comes to questions in this FP forum."

 

with apologies to Portrait of a Lady

Edited March 17, 2013 by brunico

[penmanila]

very interesting. too bad they didn't identify the pen (all we know is that it had a gold band wide enough for his initials to be put on). i'd hazard a guess and say that it was likely a conway stewart? we do see that he used "blue-gray" ink--may have been blue at the beginning, graying out in time?

 

even more interesting, i recall (from my grad-school reading) that eliot preferred a typewriter for his poetry, on the presumption that the typescript lent more detachment to his work. you can see this (iirc) at the british library, the MS of the wasteland" with his friend and editor ezra pound's famous suggestion to begin where it now begins ("april is the cruellest month...").

[holgate]

If "believed to have been given to the poet as a schoolboy by his mother" is accurate, that would date it to the very early 1900s and the USA. If so, I hope they know how to look after it.

[wastelanded]

"So critical, this old pen, that I think its name

Should be resurrected only among friends

Some two or three, who will not lack decorum

When it comes to questions in this FP forum."

 

with apologies to Portrait of a Lady

 

Well played! :clap1:

[seimodern]

"So critical, this old pen, that I think its name

Should be resurrected only among friends

Some two or three, who will not lack decorum

When it comes to questions in this FP forum."

 

with apologies to Portrait of a Lady

forgive me resurrecting this old post, but this is brilliant!!

[sandy101]

This blog has a picture https://takingnotenow.blogspot.com/2014/10/t-s-eliots-fountain-pen.html

[sandy101]

Here's a much better picture - a Waterman, perhaps?

 

http://s699163057.websitehome.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Cl8lslyWEAAVgKA.jpg

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

a better shot, showing the waterman's globe logo on the lever

 

now to narrow down what model it is...

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBkSFcMW0AEjM5h?format=jpg&name=large

 

source:https://twitter.com/rsldirector/status/871747903953539072

 

WARNING, the picture with the second entry on the source page MAY cause you to shudder in horror/fear! (https://twitter.com/DarrenMcNaney/status/871757345403133952)

[WLSpec]

Interesting images, and seemingly a very nice Waterman (though I don't know the model)...

Edited March 26, 2020 by WLSpec

[inkstainedruth]

 

WARNING, the picture with the second entry on the source page MAY cause you to shudder in horror/fear! (https://twitter.com/DarrenMcNaney/status/871757345403133952)

 

Yeah, not a good way to be handling a vintage pen with that sort of provenance.... (Says the person who lost a M405 Stresemann out of a pouch while camping... ; fortunately it was found and turned into lost & found and I got it back, but after having lost both the original M200 Café Crème and its replacement, I was definitely having heart palpitations that the M405 would get run over by a fully loaded SUV hauling a fully loaded trailer of tent pieces...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

 

Yeah, not a good way to be handling a vintage pen with that sort of provenance.... (Says the person who lost a M405 Stresemann out of a pouch while camping... ; fortunately it was found and turned into lost & found and I got it back, but after having lost both the original M200 Café Crème and its replacement, I was definitely having heart palpitations that the M405 would get run over by a fully loaded SUV hauling a fully loaded trailer of tent pieces...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

That sounds terrible, but at least it was found and you got it back safe and sound!

[inkstainedruth]

Well, the plus side (besides getting the pen back safe and sound) is that I got to meet a couple of other "pen people", including one woman that was in the lost and found tent.

But that pen doesn't get to go camping any more, after that.... The same way the Morrison ringtop with the gold-filled filigree overlay and the lovely juicy nib doesn't go outside anymore -- it has too much of a tendency to unscrew itself from the cap when it's on the lanyard....

Hmmm. I should pull both those pens back out, since "sheltering in place" has become the new norm....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Antenociticus]

I have a signed first edition of Ash Wednesday, but the signature is in pencil.

[sandy101]

O, yes - I thibk the dip niib next to the Waterman - in the 2nd picture is Byron's pen.

[TSherbs]

 

WARNING, the picture with the second entry on the source page MAY cause you to shudder in horror/fear! (https://twitter.com/DarrenMcNaney/status/871757345403133952)

That's hilarious.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

That's hilarious.

when I saw it, I think the only word that properly describes how I felt is "incredulous" I could NOT believe anyone would do anything that careless with pretty much any fountain pen, let alone one that valuable/rare/important! It completely blew my mind, still does.

Edited March 28, 2020 by IThinkIHaveAProblem

[Carguy]

when I saw it, I think the only word that properly describes how I felt is "incredulous" I could NOT believe anyone would do anything that careless with pretty much any fountain pen, let alone one that valuable/rare/important! It completely blew my mind, still does.

I admit, I shuddered! I find myself checking my shirt placket several times a day to make sure my pens haven’t come unclipped.....can’t imagine just stuffing it in a pocket!

[Biber]

It's photoshoped folks.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

It's photoshoped folks.

you are correct! i had not noticed that in the first tweet, the handshake picture does NOT have the pen in the pocket!

 

good spot.

 

has anyone managed to identify the model yet?...

Edited March 28, 2020 by IThinkIHaveAProblem