The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[fpupulin]

As those who follow this thread have abundantly seen, I mostly ask my 149 Calligraphy to produce scripts (like the Copperplate), in which I want the shadows to be darker than the thin strokes, but within a certain limit, say, with a thickness about twice that of the highlights. In this way, the Cursive do has variations between "light and shadow," but at the same time it maintains a light appearance, which is the type of script I prefer.

 

Now, and this is a topic I've rarely touched on, the ability of a pen to produce thin and very broad strokes is certainly a required quality of a flexible nib, but it represents only one component of a quality nib. From my perspective, another essential quality is the ability to produce lines of intermediate thickness that have a certain consistency, responding in a measured—and I would almost say exact—way to a moderate amount of pressure from the hand.

 

When talking about 149 Calligraphy, it's usually stated that the stroke can vary from 0.3 mm (EF) to about 1.6 mm (BB) in thickness. But this doesn't mean that the "width" of this variation must always be used to its maximum. In fact, both my 149 Calligraphy pens allow me to maintain the two "extremes" of the variation I desire almost constant, simply by varying the intensity of the maximum pressure of the hand.

 

Here I am showing what exactly I means. The word “Francus” and the single letters on the left are written applying to the nib from zero to a light mid-pressure. On the right, the same word and the letters are written with pressure from zero to close to the maximum allowed by the nib. So you may have from the same nib a “gentle”, subtle cursive, or a bold, engrossed script. 

 

This is a lot of control for a pen.

 

 

[fpupulin]

And below is a test of the 149 Calligraphy in Engrossed Cursive, a text long enough to appreciate the pen's consistent behavior as it approaches the nib's maximum flexibility.

 

 

As we've commented on other occasions, beyond the nib's maximum flex, the tip of the feeder touches the paper, at least when using a writing angle around 45 degrees. The feeder's contact serves both as a warning not to overdo the pressure and as a protection for the tines from excessive pressure that could damage them.

 

As you can see from the photograph, nowhere in the text is there a trace of the thin lateral line that the feeder leaves on the paper when the maximum permitted pressure is exceeded. This indicates that the Calligraphy nib is probably capable of an Engrossed writing with slightly more bold strokes.

[Opooh]

@fpupulin yet another masterpiece, although I prefer Comme d’habitude by Claude Francois. Yeah, yesterday when I was young.

[fpupulin]

I don't know why it didn't occur to me before. Like Saul on the road to Damascus, yesterday during breakfast I was struck by the light of Capital Letters. Ordered. In a text. I began to organize it on the spot, and I hadn't even finished my coffee before the text was ready in my head. Of course, as it's a morning boast, much more beautiful sentences could be found, but for now, here's the capital letter exercise: A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V Z (this is the basic Italian alphabet).

The text is in Italian, and it roughly translates:

 

“In Budapest, there must be children playing. Their black cloaks billow as they move so quickly. Truly zealous.”

 

To reward  myself for the invention, in the afternoon I stopped by the stationery shop I always go to here in San Pedro, near the university. And what did I find? They had brought in some Hahnemühle products, a first for the country. And among them was Ingres, the legendary Ingres by Hahnemühle, a writing cloth, in pads of 20 sheets in two sizes! I bought two and two. How happy I was!

 

 

[Christopher Godfrey]

Franco: time to publish a book of your beautiful specimens?  ☺️

[fpupulin]

Oh, no, @Christopher Godfrey, really not! Mine are just decorative doodles! For Christmas, I treated myself to a few real calligraphy books, which I've added to my small collection. How wonderful!

 

In calligraphy, once you've learned the essentials of a few basic scripts and a bit of theory about flourishes, there's not much else to learn. All that's left is practice—a lot of it, constant, and persistent.

 

But what true calligraphers have to offer in their publications is not just the exquisite execution of each individual letter, each stroke, but rather infinite sources of inspiration.

 

The design of the page, the organization of the lines, the way uppercase and lowercase letters intertwine like a tapestry... This, even more than beautiful handwriting, is the "reason" of calligraphy, and it is what prompts us to return to the practice each time, to perfect it a step further.

 

For this reason, you can never have too many calligraphy books. Inspiration is endless.

 

Among my Christmas books, I particularly browsed "Mastering Modern Calligraphy: Beyond the Basics" by Molly Suber Thorpe. It's a fantastic book, with "rules" for contemporary, more informal calligraphy, styles, script variations, and endless splendid examples.

 

It's already served as inspiration for this piece of paper written in modern calligraphy.

 

 

The ink is Montblanc's extraordinary Corn Poppy Red, which, where it turns red, is a pure, vibrant color, and an ink with excellent properties. The first few lines were still mixed with the remnants of blue from a less-than-perfectly-washed nib, but I don't mind the "gradation."

 

The sealing wax signature is a somewhat silly invention, but I absolutely wanted to use a floral stamp my wife gave me on New Year's Day. I stamped it on black sealing wax and then, with a flat-tipped gold marker, colored the raised areas.
 

 

Thanks, anyway, for the encouragement.

 

 

 

 

[Opooh]

@fpupulin you bought some calligraphy books but theur are for advanced calligraphers. Are there any books you would advise a rookie ( with bad handwriting) to start with?

[fpupulin]

My first piece of advice, dear @Opooh, is to start with a few styles. Then you can move on to a wider variety.

 

I seem to recall you owning a flexible 149 Calligraphy, and for this reason, I recommend a book that I find easy to use and that only covers calligraphy with a pointed nib: "Classic Calligraphy for Beginners: Essential Step-by-Step Techniques for Copperplate and Spencerian Scripts," by Younghae Chung (available on Amazon). It has many examples, clear explanations for following the letterform, and focuses on the two most famous cursive styles: English (Copperplate) and American (Spencerian).

 

I also like very much "Corsivo in calligrafia. Dagli stili classici ai nostri giorni", by Barbara Calzolari and Alessandro Salice, an absolutely great book to learn Spencerian and cursive italic. However, I can't find an English version of this beautiful book. 

 

The other style worth learning right from the start is italic cursive, which is done with a blunt nib. If you don't already have one, I'd recommend choosing a 1.1 or 1.5 mm nib, with the latter being preferable. A good book for this purpose seems to me to be “Calligraphy in Ten Easy Lessons (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography)," by Eleanor Winters and Laurie E. Lico (also on Amazon).

[Opooh]

@fpupulin thanks a lot, I found the Italian book on Italian Amazon website.

[como]

@fpupulin I hadn't been here for a while now. Every time I am back in FPN and in this thread, I remember how wonderful this community and what a beautiful and amazing influence you have made to us, to the pen community, Franco! All these mesmerizing scripts, perfectly composed and shot photographs, encouraging and wise words, and generosity of your knowledge sharing.

 

Franco, thank you once again 🙏! And get well soon!! ❤️‍🩹

[a student]

On 1/16/2026 at 12:53 AM, fpupulin said:

My first piece of advice, dear @Opooh, is to start with a few styles. Then you can move on to a wider variety.

 

I seem to recall you owning a flexible 149 Calligraphy, and for this reason, I recommend a book that I find easy to use and that only covers calligraphy with a pointed nib: "Classic Calligraphy for Beginners: Essential Step-by-Step Techniques for Copperplate and Spencerian Scripts," by Younghae Chung (available on Amazon). It has many examples, clear explanations for following the letterform, and focuses on the two most famous cursive styles: English (Copperplate) and American (Spencerian).

 

I also like very much "Corsivo in calligrafia. Dagli stili classici ai nostri giorni", by Barbara Calzolari and Alessandro Salice, an absolutely great book to learn Spencerian and cursive italic. However, I can't find an English version of this beautiful book. 

 

The other style worth learning right from the start is italic cursive, which is done with a blunt nib. If you don't already have one, I'd recommend choosing a 1.1 or 1.5 mm nib, with the latter being preferable. A good book for this purpose seems to me to be “Calligraphy in Ten Easy Lessons (Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography)," by Eleanor Winters and Laurie E. Lico (also on Amazon).

 

Thank you @fpupulin for all your work displayed here a source of both pleasure and admiration, and now for suggesting the 3 "easy" or perhaps just relatively "easier" books. The two in English I have ordered, and a used copy of the one in Italian seems to be available. Though the nearest I come to Italian is in having an Italian daughter in law, nonetheless, undeterred, I am making inquiries about the Italian book- the images should help.

 

But getting hold of the books is by far the easier part. And the important bit is the persistence of effort and dedication to the task that lie ahead. You, needless to say, serve as the community's beacon of inspiration.

 

Thank you @Opooh for raising the issue of easy to follow books

[Opooh]

@a student like you said , getting the books was the easy part

[fpupulin]

My dear pen pals, @como, @max dog, @invisuu, @Uncial, @Scribs, @Seney724, @a student, @Carrau, @Lam1, @Zdenek, @Nick T, @ak47, @Christopher Godfrey, @Vintage_BE, @txomsy, @Arcadian, @fireant, @Inkyways, @singlechange, @Leonardo_Writing, @Opooh, @Frank C, @Toolattack, @furiozzo, @dftr, @kazoolaw, @marlinspike, @tunney, and many, many others friends whose avatars I can't remember right now, most of you proud owners of a 149 Calligraphy, who have often interacted with this thread and contributed your manuscripts, opinions, and advice: I'm writing to inform you and share something truly unusual.

 

Almost two months ago, on the evening of December 31, 2025, to be precise, this thread dedicated to the Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy with a flexible nib reached an incredible 200,000 views. Of course, compared to other topics with millions of views, 200,000 is somewhat relative, but the fact that it's a page dedicated to fountain pens makes it quite astonishing.

 

I imagine that, like all things in life, the number of visitors to these pages has had its ups and downs over the years, but considering that the thread was launched in June 2020, the numbers indicate an incredible average of 100 visits per day for over five years! In our age, these aren't fountain pen numbers, but rock star numbers! I really don't know how many other pens have, individually, attracted and maintained such attention over time.

 

I like to believe that such attention isn't solely due to the extraordinary and uncommon qualities of this pen. The 70 pages of this thread remind us that a pen, any pen, can remain as relevant and beloved as the first day we bought it, if we continue to appreciate and use it instead of constantly replacing it with a new arrival and a new enthusiasm, destined to quickly fade away for another new passion.

Here we appreciated the Montblanc 149 Calligraphy. We did it every day, and we won't stop. Since January 1st, these pages have been visited another 6,000 times, and counting... For us, who appreciate it so much, there's reason to celebrate. I did just that, with the trusty 149 Calligraphy, on a large sheet of old, slightly crumpled paper.

 

 

[Carrau]

Good morning Franco,

As always, a completely humble post about the accomplishments of the 149C in your hand. I feel certain those of us who follow and participate in this thread feel you and your writing are as much if not more of the reason for this interest, as Como and A Student have indicated earlier in the thread.  Your love for the writing and the beautifully crafted tools used shine through in every picture and post, and inspire the rest of us to do better. Congratulations, with much appreciation.

[Scribs]

Agreed @Carrau. Seeing the fruits of your love of the pen, photography and calligraphy, Franco, is what keeps many of us coming back to revisit images, and eagerly scroll down the moment a new addition arrives. 

 

For a moment I was afraid your latest post would be a final post. I would hate to see this thread drop off of the first page and into the shadowy depths of yesteryear. Is there any chance of this thread getting pinned?

 

Once again a heartfelt thank you Franco. 🙂

[Arcadian]

Dear Franco, 

 

Well, "dear" is perhaps not the right opening, since we have never met. I suppose it comes from the sort of closeness that a fan might feel by watching from a distance as a favourite rock star performs on stage. Anyhow - dear Franco - thank you! For your latest post, and for the many that preceded it. For sharing your art with us, and elevating our (or at least my) sense of what is possible in this gratifying hobby of ours. 

 

 - P. 

[jmccarty3]

Let us also praise Franco's expertise in lighting and photography, as well as the high resolution medium format Hasselblad camera and lenses he uses so well. When one combines such rare equipment and knowledge with his calligraphic ability and so fine a pen as the Montblanc 149 Calligraphy, no one is surprised at the popularity of this wonderful thread. May it continue for many years!

[invisuu]

Agreed, this is the best thread on this forum right now, because it is (in my opinion) dedicated to the best fountain pen (or rather nib) release in the industry for the last several decades, and fpupulin added so much value with his amazing photos and writing it's just a joy to keep coming back to.

 

I have personally tried to get something akin to this nib and bought many pens since this one, but none has enthused me as much.

 

My only regret is I didn't buy two, and I also missed a sale of one of our members in this very thread! Montblanc should really consider offering this nib permanently...

 

It's the only pen I have inked nearly all the time since acquiring it, and it's still the one I will reach for first, it's still the one that excites me the most to use. And I've had it for more than half a decade - wow, time flies.

 

I found this nib works best with very lubricated (meaning saturated) inks with high surface tension properties. After trying dozens upon dozens of inks with this nib, the best to me are Montblanc's Amethyst Purple and Aurora Black. Neither my penmanship nor photography is even 1% of fpupulin's, but here's my contribution anyway, so I don't just write with a keyboard in this thread

[ak47]

I have inked mine last week with herbin of chivor and the pen has a lot of feathering

[invisuu]

51 minutes ago, ak47 said:

I have inked mine last week with herbin of chivor and the pen has a lot of feathering

That's the ink, not the pen. Try it with Aurora Black.