The PenGraver Man

[Ahad Leo]

The PenGraver Man
When I was a kid, a few people engraved on Fountain pen. They were available at the train station and often traveled in compartments from one station to another. They carried a small briefcase in which they stored engraving tools. If someone among the passengers had a fountain pen, they asked for engraving the owners' name. The engraving charge was a few cents only for English and Bengali languages. I forgot the local name of their profession. The engravers also went to our schools wearing white pants and a shirt, the small briefcase in hand. Most of them had great skill in cursive handwriting font. I can only remember the small chisel, hammer, and the thuk-thuk-thuk sounds! The last time I saw them was in 1994 at Ishardi Railway Station in Bangladesh. I have lost the few pens I had engraved my name, but a few years back, I have found a White Feather fountain pen in a salvage yard with a name curving on it. I'll post the photo later. Can anyone tell me if the pen engraver had a particular word for their professions' name? Please let me know. Thank you all in advance.
Leo
amahadleo@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fountainpenculture

[Mr.Rene]

interesting story and job !

[PAKMAN]

Wow, I've never heard of this! I wonder if there were many people that did this or if it was one lone person that you happened on?

[OldTravelingShoe]

Interesting story. Sorry I cannot add to it any clarification. 

 

I am wondering which other country (and age) than those you mentioned could still have this. Copperplate engraving surely was a respectable art and craft in England, France, etc., for centuries. Traveling engravers were recognized artosans. AFAIK, Albrecht Dürer made a name and a fortune in this capacity. Would a traveling engraver make a good trade now? Don't know, but the International Association of Master Penmen and Teachers pf Handwriting (IAMPETH) (1) exists and meets, (2) produced a history (multiple parts) as a that may be relevant here, and (3) side-note: has many calligraphy resources, especially books, that may be relevant for FPN members. 

 

 

 

[Ahad Leo]

[OldTravelingShoe]

Thanks for the pic, @Ahad Leo.

 

I saw that many of the vintage Pilots, Sailors, and Platinums sold as used on eBay have been engraved with Japanese names, so I can infer this was still popular in Japan between 1960s and 1990s. The engravings are often in plastic, but I've seen some also in metal (e.g., on Pilot MYU 701s).