Fountain Pens of Japan book worth getting?

[Al-Bajaa]

2 hours ago, jandrese said:

There is no substitute for this book. Online content pales in comparison to the book either photos or prose. I have hundreds of Japanese pens, mostly urushi and maki-e but my collection is nothing compared to what is shown in the book. The more I collect the more valuable the book becomes. 

 

There is a saying in Japanese sword collecting that one should first spend their money on books. Most don't until they have bought a few swords and realized they should have bought the books in the first place. Japanese pens and the book about them are the same way.

Thank you for this information. I will likely purchase this book, I didn’t realize how comprehensive it is. 

[MalcLee]

15 hours ago, PotbellyPig said:

Thank you!  I happen to be able to read Japanese so I will get this particular issue.  I have read a few issues of this magazine already.  It is really an excellent publication.  But I don’t think there is a summarized index anywhere so that you can easily find which issue has the content you are looking for.  Something like Consumer Reports has where you can look up “Vacuum Cleaners” and find the issue that reports on it.  I was also thinking of buying a Japanese language based book on fountain pens in general but I don’t know of one that is as good as the one mentioned in the topic.  

 

This magazine is written in ways that mildly surprises the reader - with segways into other topics that is "somehow related". For example - the 4 pages about Nagahara's speciality nibs is a sub-topic to the main article, covering the musician Shindo Haruichi's visit to Sailor's Hiroshima factory.

 

As for the Fountain Pens of Japan book by Andy Lambrou  - unless you have an interest in historical pieces and particularly maki-e, Arita-yaki, Limited Editions from times gone by and obscure one-offs; I can't see any compelling reasons for why you'd need to spend hundreds of dollars getting the FPJ book. This book has many many eye candy if Maki-e is your thing - don't get me wrong, but if modern Sailors is your thing - I think a subscription to Shumibun would serve you better.

 

 

[mke]

2 hours ago, MalcLee said:

This magazine is written in ways that mildly surprises the reader

 

perhaps surprising for the non-Japanese reader 

 

Japanese want any information delivered by Japanese celebrites, 50% off-topic ls then accepted, especially if pictures of meals are among the off-topic info.

[awa54]

On 5/8/2022 at 2:14 AM, PithyProlix said:

 

How about you ignore the questions, instead?

 

I so wish there was a "like" button for this post

[stan]

This may sound counter intuitive. Go to a pen show. Often there are copies for sale. See for yourself if this is the right book for your needs.

[Al-Bajaa]

Received the book, and it is quite impressive. A very high quality publication and a must if you are into Japanese pens. 

[Maki-eMagic]

On 5/6/2022 at 1:44 PM, Al-Bajaa said:

I was contemplating purchasing this book but after further reflexion, I rather put that money towards another pen. There is a lot of valuable content and plenty of pen eye candy online, especially « Japanese Perfect Pens » on YouTube.

Speaking as JPP, glad you like the eye candy (Emperor Kisshomon review later this week, just working on it now) and I also love the FPOJ book! I bought it for my wife as a gift a few years ago. Just occasionally I find a small error (like the wrong pen name under a pen) but usually only because I'm looking at very specific things in great detail and cross-referencing other sources, and errors like that are a 0.1% thing in a thoroughly fantastic book.

[Chi]

On 5/28/2022 at 7:41 PM, Al-Bajaa said:

Received the book, and it is quite impressive. A very high quality publication and a must if you are into Japanese pens. 

 

I am late to the topic but I am so glad to hear. that you like this book.

 

FPoJ has been helping myself, other collectors and hobbyists on this network. It is very informative and useful Though there was not much about pocket pens, through the pictures of other full size models, you can roughly trace the timeline as well.

 

I am glad I bought it early on and learned a lot form it on my journey of collecting Japanese pens. 

[PithyProlix]

FYI - SBRE Brown has a glowing video review of this book and one of Andreas Lambrou's other books, Fountain Pens: United States of American and United Kingdom. He spends a lot of time with the camera on the book as he leafs through it and, while I don't have the book yet (I ordered a second hand copy today), it seems to give a good sense of it.

 

Massdrop - now called Drop - sold these two books together at $150 for both. You can still go to their associated page but you can no longer buy the books there. You can request, however, that they sell them again (unfortunately, I think, for various reasons, that it is unlikely that they will).

[stan]

Lambrou-Sunami FPOJ is a wonderful book. I think I reviewed it when it came out. Anyway, here goes.

 

The book features the Sunami collection of fountain pens with a section on makie pens made for sale through Andreas Lambrou. The book is partly a vehicle for his offerings. Unless you are into his offerings, ignore it except for the pretty pictures.

 

The book touches on the history of fountain pens in Japan showcasing many better quality models of pen. It could touch more on the many quality pens from the 1920s and 1930s and does not as Sunami does not have many in his collection. If there are real highlights it is the several models by Yotubisi and the harder-to-find models from ther Big Three produced between the 1960s and 1990s.

 

The Yotubisi images are from a catalogue that I lost out in bidding to Sunami. He spent over $200 for it. Some of the Big Three models are rare and provide a great overview of their production of better perns.

 

I speak of better pens to distinguish from the lower and middle-market models most of us are familair. There are scant few included so don't go looking for that Platinum you just scored on Yahoo Japan.

 

There are a good number of pen advertisement images. Sunami has a ton of these and they help fill in blanks for some models.

 

Some of the dates are incorrect as are a few descriptions. For those seeking a coffee table book the minor errors are inconsequential. Someone with a strong collection who has done their own homework will have a few questions.

 

Price is an issue. I was able to purchase my new copy for $20 at abebooks.com from a used book seller about a week after the book came out. Just lucky as the seller had no idea what he had.

 

Bottom Line: If you are a serious collector of Japanese pens there are no similar books available in English or Japanese. It is essential. The book was never printed or sold in Japan where there should be a strong audience. You can ask yourself why.

If anyone has questions about the book please write.

[Prof Drew]

I debated about getting this book for a long time because of the expensive price and since it was almost impossible to find reviews. I have to say that Lambrou-Sunami's FPOJ was so much better than Lambrou's solo FP: Vintage & Modern (at least IMHO). On the other hand, I was hoping for more of a reference than a gorgeous coffee table book, and wish there was more attention to early pen-makers and much less attention to their own maki-e collaborations. The latter made it feel much more like a self-serving advertisement to me. 

 

Of course any overview work is like a museum exhibit in that one curates the things that one is interested in. I personally want to know more about the social - political - economic history. There was not so much about my favorite maker Maruzen, for example. It could have been the story of a bookstore connected with Fukuzawa Yukichi and bringing new books and technologies (like pens) to a modernizing Japan. I'd love to learn more about basic student pens, or the development of the pocket pen along with short-sleeve shirts worn by salarymen.

 

That's just my 2 cents. I was so excited to devour the book when it arrived, and was happy to add this to my home library, but also perhaps a bit frustrated as I wanted so much more from the book. I suppose I should look forward to a second edition that might add more of the background stories and small brands.