Bonhams June 16Th Pen Sale: Great Montblancs And Namikis. Win A Free Catalogue!

[Kid Parker]

Hi gang,

 

It's getting to be that time again! Bonhams June 16th Fine Writing Instruments sale is just two months away, and I'd like to offer free catalogues to the first ten FPN members who send their requests to me at ivan.briggs@bonhams.com. Please include your first and last names in the email, as well as a postal address (we cannot deliver to PO Boxes). Bonhams pen catalogues are ordinarily $30 for American clients and $50 for international clients, and they are fully illustrated and intended to be useful reference works, so this is, I hope, an attractive offer.

 

Once the catalogue is ready, in about five weeks, I will add a pdf link here.

 

The sale will feature about 200 lots of modern and vintage pens. It will be of special interest to Montblanc fans, as it will include the biggest selection of rare Montblanc Ateliers Privés special editions ever offered in one sale, as well as some rare and wonderful vintage MB's. The sale will also showcase a spectacular selection of vintage and modern limited Dunhill-Namikis, including a pair of incredibly rare Dunhill-Namiki A-grade Emperor pens from the 1930s.

 

Here is a list of the Montblanc Ateliers Privés pens in the sale:

 

75th Anniversary 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 75 examples. Estimate: $40,000-60,000

Abraham Lincoln "Signatures for Freedom," limited to 50 examples. Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Albert Einstein 18K White Gold Skeleton, limited to 99 examples. Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Antoni Gaudi 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 128 examples. Estimate: $15,000-25,000

Axis Mundi 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 101 examples. Estimate: $18,000-24,000

Caspar David Friedrich 18K White Gold, limited to 65 examples. Estimate: $20,000-25,000

Charlie Chaplin 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 88 examples. Estimate: $30,000-40,000

Cristobal Colon 18K Gold Toledo, limited to 92 examples. Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Diego Rivera 18K White Gold Skeleton, limited to 70 examples. Estimate: $18,000-24,000

Fortune 88 18K Rose Gold Skeleton, limited to 88 examples. Estimate: $20,000-25,000

Franklin D. Roosevelt "Signatures for Freedom," limited to 50 examples. Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Frida Kahlo 18K Gold Skeleton Cap, limited to 70 examples. Estimate: $18,000-24,000

Genghis Khan 18K Gold, limited to 88 examples. Estimate: 25,000-35,000

George Washington "Signatures for Freedom," limited to 50 examples. Estimate: $15,000-20,000

Heritage 2012 Titanium, limited to 333 examples. Estimate: $8000-12,000

James Madison "Signatures for Freedom," limited to 50 examples. Estimate: $20,000-30,000

Joan Miro Lacquer & 18K Gold, limited to 76 examples. Estimate: $15,000-25,000

Johannes Gutenberg 18K Gold, limited to 42 examples. Estimate: $12,000-16,000

John Lennon 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 70 examples. Estimate: $30,000-50,000

Kong Zi [Confucius] 18K White Gold, limited to 88 examples. Estimate: 15,000-25,000

Leonardo da Vinci 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 74 examples. Estimate; $12,000-18,000

Magical Black Widow 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 88 examples. Estimate: $20,000-25,000

Max Reinhardt 2010 Edition, limited to 30 examples. Estimate: $8000-12,000

Musee du Louvre 18K White gold Skeleton, limited to 89 examples. Estimate: $12,000-18,000

Pablo Picasso 18K White Gold, limited to 39 examples. Estimate: $50,000-60,000

Pablo Picasso 18K Yellow Gold, limited to 91 examples. Estimate: $30,000-50,000

Paul Klee 18K Gold Skeleton, limited to 79 examples. Estimate: $25,000-35,000

Rouge et Noir 100th Anniversary, limited to 100 examples. Estimate: $4000-6000

Sir Winston Churchill 18K Gold, limited to 53 examples. Estimate: $25,000-35,000

Statue of Liberty 18K White Gold Captop, limited to 50 examples. Estimate: $15,000-25,000

Tchaikovsky 18K White gold Skeleton, limited to 130 examples. Estimate: $12,000-18,000

 

Cheers,

 

Ivan

Edited April 16, 2015 by Kid Parker

[Kid Parker]

Principal photography hasn't begun, but I do have an advance look at one very special vintage lot:

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/dunhill%20namiki%20sorabji%20pair_zpseya9ovvw.jpg

 

DUNHILL-NAMIKI: Golden Tiger and Black Cat A-Grade Maki-e Fountain Pens, Emperor-Size, Commissioned by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Signed by Haruo and Mansui, early 1930s

A magnificent pair of A-grade Emperor-sized Dunhill-Namiki fountain pens of the highest quality, commissioned by composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji and used by him to score a number of his greatest orchestral works. Plunger-fillers, classic balance shape with rounded endpieces and captops, each approx. 165mm, early 1930s. One with 14K gold Namiki nib, No. 50 size (not marked as such); the other with 14K gold Pilot Warranted nib, No. 50 size, some gold dust loss to feed. Elaborately decorated in various techniques including takamakie and okibirame on highly-polished kinji ground, fully embellished with maki-e work extending to the feeds, one pen depicting a tiger and the other depicting a cat, both masterfully designed and executed with great subtlety and skill. Excellent condition overall, wonderfully lustrous and bright, with a few minor spots of wear, plunger-filling mechanisms defunct and in need of conservation. The tiger pen is signed by Haruo Kiyono, and the cat pen is signed by Mansui Yamanaga. According to Jean-François Canton's recent book on Namiki pens, approximately 15 vintage "balance" or "dome-top" Emperors are known to exist.

The tiger is a creature of immense symbolic significance in the East, suggesting speed, power, energy and beauty. Its position atop the food chain makes it an agent of balance, while its terrific strength makes it an irresistible engine of wrath; hence, it may be associated with swift and certain justice. The cat is representative of grace, cunning, charm, independence and good fortune. Together they are two of the most visually compelling and metaphorically rich animal emblems, embodying the tensions between softness and strength, beauty and fierceness, playfulness and power. Capturing their lithe and regal splendor in gold dust and lacquer requires the greatest ability, and thus these creatures rank among the most highly-prized motifs for maki-e pens.

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer, and is considered one of the 20th century's most challenging and prolific piano composers. A very private man, he withdrew from public life in the 1930s and forbid public performances of his works for several decades. Mr. Sorabji's close friendship with the consignor's father, Mr. Mervyn Vicars (himself an orchestral composer), is recorded in the book Sorabji: A Critical Celebration (Cambridge, 1994). Their friendship spanned five decades and is memorialized in compositions by both men: in 1928 Mr. Sorabji dedicated his third symphony, Jāmī, to Mr. Vicars, and in 1973 Mr. Vicars composed Fugue and Variations on a Theme of Sorabji.

Mr. Sorabji was a meticulous man with a strong sense of beauty, certainly not the sort of gentleman to use a commonplace pen. Understanding that inspiration often springs from the objects with which we surround ourselves, he commissioned a unique pair of pens from Dunhill-Namiki, the world's preeminent penmaker. Time and expense were irrelevant; the thing was to create a pair of genuine masterworks. The result was this set of A-grade Emperors, which, with unmatched aesthetics and impeccable provenance, are perhaps the finest Namikis to be publicly offered in a generation.

In the 1980s, shortly before his passing, Mr. Sorabji presented these pens to Mr. Vicars' widow, who gave them to her son Kevin, in whose keeping they have remained ever since. Mr. Kevin Vicars has provided a two-page handwritten provenance statement, as well as a framed portrait photograph of Mr. Sorabji and a CD recording of several of his piano works.

In Namiki: The Art of Lacquer Pens, Julia Hutt and Stephen Overbury state that A-grade Emperors were the best and most expensive pens in Dunhill-Namiki's inventory: "The most expensive pen would be a giant men's model No. 50 pen... Most of the best quality Dunhill-Namiki pens were custom-ordered and as such were about double the cost." Christophe Larquemin remarks in The Four Seasons of Namiki that "the most sought-after [Namiki] is also the largest, the 50. It is the most famous Namiki, dubbed Emperor, Jumbo, or King-Size by some collectors." Tomihiro Murakami states in Dunhill-Namiki and Lacquer Pens that vintage Emperor Dunhill-Namikis are of the greatest scarcity, with production limited to a period of a few years from 1932: "It is almost impossible to find this kind of pen due to the very small quantity that was made."

The demand for these impossibly rare pens created a profitable niche for counterfeiters in the late 20th century. It has been alleged that vintage plain black lacquer Namiki Emperors were skillfully embellished with maki-e designs by talented but unscrupulous artisans and sold as authentic. Mr. Sorabji's pens, with their well-documented history of ownership, are manifestly and incontrovertibly the genuine article, adding yet another level of appeal to their abundance of attractions.

Accompanying the lot is a wooden humidor used by Mr. Sorabji to house the pens and an envelope inscribed by Mr. Sorabji: "For Dear Kevin / From his Wicked Uncle" and signed by him. The envelope's verso is inscribed by Mrs. Vicars: "Namiki Dunhill (Japan). Made to order, in Japan, between the wars, to K's [unclear] design. Used for: Jāmī (dedicated to Dad), Symphonic Variations, High Mass [seemingly a reference to Messa alta Sinfonica], Opus for Piano & Orch. [seemingly a reference to Opus Clavicembalisticum]". It should be noted that Opus Clavicembalisticum debuted in 1930, the year that Alfred Dunhill and Namiki formally entered into partnership, and several years before they began promoting Emperor-sized pens. Thus, these pens may be the earliest-known Namiki Emperors, the primordial root of the most coveted subset of the greatest pens ever made. This is supported by the nibs, marked "Namiki" and "Pilot" but not "Dunhill-Namiki", which suggests that they may have been manufactured before the partnership was finalized.

References:
Murakami, Tomihiro. Dunhill-Namiki and Lacquer Pens. (Sakura City: 2000), pp. 60 & 67.
Hutt, Julia & Stephen Overbury, Namiki: The Art of Lacquer Pens. Toronto: 2000, pp. 53 & 151.
Larquemin, Christophe. The Four Seasons of Namiki. (Paris: 2009), pp. 188 & 197.
Canton, Jean-François. Namiki: The Poignant Beauty of Fragile Things. (Aurillac, France: 2013), p. 74.
Rapoport, Paul (ed.). Sorabji: A Critical Celebration. Cambridge: 1994.
Owen, Sean V. Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: an Oral Biography. (Ann Arbor: 2006), pp. 239-245 [regarding Mr. Sorabji's relationship with the Vicars family].

US$100,000-200,000

Edited April 15, 2015 by Kid Parker

[a aa]

Email sent.

[MrThoth]

Mail sent. Looking forward to the auction!

[shuuemura]

Email sent. Thanks so much!

[EclecticCollector]

Also emailed, thanks!

[StrawberryJam]

email sent as well. This looks exciting!

[Chettiar]

Email sent now.. Thanks...

[rube1]

Email sent...

Thanks!

[JLS1]

Sent my email earlier. For those who have never paged through a Bonhams print catalog, it's full of beautifully shot pictures of exotic pens that most of us will never see in person, printed on high-quality paper with interesting and useful information, like that for the Dunhill Namiki above.

 

Definitely worth reaching out to Ivan for a copy!

[zaddick]

email sent yesterday and Ivan replied today.

 

I am within striking distance of the SF facility where the June auction will be held. If there are specific requests from serious bidders to look at a pen I can probably get over there to help you out. Bidding sight unseen can be hard, and for used pens you would be surprised at some of the crud that might be on the pen. Ivan and the team are fair in their evaluations, but sometimes there are issues not mentioned because you can do a 2 page write up for each pen.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm not sending an email for a free catalog. I'd just get too depressed. I could never afford any of these pens, by the look of it. And I couldn't justify spending that sort of money (that's "getting the roof fixed" pricing....). So I see no point in sending away for a catalog. Save mine for someone who really wants one whether or not they have any intention of bidding.

The Dunhill Namiki pens in the photo are absolutely glorious looking. But again, not for me. I know me. I'd have an allergic reaction to the maki-e work....

Sigh.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[rube1]

email sent yesterday and Ivan replied today.

 

I am within striking distance of the SF facility where the June auction will be held. If there are specific requests from serious bidders to look at a pen I can probably get over there to help you out. Bidding sight unseen can be hard, and for used pens you would be surprised at some of the crud that might be on the pen. Ivan and the team are fair in their evaluations, but sometimes there are issues not mentioned because you can do a 2 page write up for each pen.

Though I will most probably not be bidding, just wanted to say I was touched by this public offer of yours, wow!

[Left FPN]

email sent

[Ernie Wayne]

What a fantastic assortment of pens--I would love to go to this sale.

[Kid Parker]

Hi gang,

 

The catalogue goes to press next week and will arrive in some of your mailboxes soon! Thanks very much to all of you who requested catalogues. I received well over the expected number of requests, and I'm glad to say that I was able to accommodate each and every one.

 

Photography is still ongoing. The vintage pens will be shot next Monday, and I'm very eager to see (and share) some of the images once I have them. Meanwhile, here are some limited edition Montblanc pix:

 

75th Anniversary Skeleton

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%2075TH%20ANNIVERSARY_zps18q9kvai.jpg

 

Einstein

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20EINSTEIN_zpslgcquksk.jpg

 

Churchill

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20CHURCHILL_zpsg0nwvgms.jpg

 

Picasso 39

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20PICASSO_zpsbzilpvuw.jpg

 

Paul Klee

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20KLEE_zpsvbkivefr.jpg

 

Louvre

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20LOUVRE_zpsyoocymy5.jpg

 

Leonardo da Vinci

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20LEONARDO_zpsgwdaniuy.jpg

 

Statue of Liberty

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20LIBERTY_zpsxt0at5yg.jpg

 

Kong Zi

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20KONG%20ZI_zpsxb7icmnj.jpg

 

Joan Miro

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20MIRO_zpshbjrnbcf.jpg

 

Genghis Khan

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20KHAN_zpsujam9pvo.jpg

 

Tchaikovsky

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20TCHAIKOVSKY_zpsykqvnsfr.jpg

 

Gaudi

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20GAUDI_zpsh58aghby.jpg

 

Fortune Number 88

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/MB%20FORTUNE%2088_zpsof3ssp9x.jpg

 

And here's the Dunhill-Namiki Motorities

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/teabagslim/NAMIKI%20MOTORITIES_zpsip11uglk.jpg

 

More pix next week!

[da vinci]

Thanks for posting these pictures. Some very interesting pens. 😊

[Starguard]

Wow, those are over the top beautiful. Love the Gaudi!

[nibbling]

The Dunhill-Namikis are breathtaking.

[MrThoth]

Lot of gorgeous pens there! I'm definitely looking forward to the auction, though I'm pretty sure all the pens pictured above fall into the category of "bids will quickly exceed my spending limit." Still, you never know where a bargain may rear its lovely head....