One thing we love about attending good antique shows is the possibility of finding a treasure. Of course, we often find pens in all states, some of which are lovely, and these are treasures. But a real treasure is something else entirely. A real treasure is something that is beautiful, useful, and that has an […]
Archive | Restoration
RSS feed for this section
Pen Collectors of America Library Online Access Now Free
In an interesting development, the venerable Pen Collectors of America (PCA) have thrown open the doors of their online library. All public domain documents in their holdings are now free for all, including pen catalogues, repair manuals, and advertising materials. While many of these items are available elsewhere online, what is very exciting is that […]
Things We Find in Fountain Pens: Erasers
For today’s edition of Things We Find In Fountain Pens, we have something particularly creative. The patient was a lovely Esterbrook “J”, in vibrant blue. The customer requested that, in addition to a new sac, we pay attention to the lever, as something seemed a bit odd to them. Good instincts! The sac removal was […]
Things We Find In Fountain Pens: Boutique Ink Damage
We regularly find unusual things in fountain pens. Sometimes they don’t belong. Sometimes they do. Sometimes we understand why they are there. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes they make us shudder. Sometimes they still make us shudder long after the pen has gone home. Behold, what we found in an innocent Esterbrook “J” pen. As you […]
Hundreds of Free Vintage Pen Catalogues Now Online
Our hat is off to Dr. David Isaacson. Well known for his vacumania.com web site, and for his unabashed presence on fountain pen forums, David has quite generously released a huge archive of pen documents for download. These documents—mostly in pdf format— include: catalogues, service manuals, promotional magazines, advertising material, and much, much more. We […]
Swan 4500 Eyedropper Pen Breakdown
The early design history of the fountain pen is full of outstanding examples of innovation. Sometimes one glance is enough to tell you that you have found one of these gems. The Swan 4500 is unquestionably one. In the early days of fountain pens, it was assumed that—with the exception of a few special-purpose users—most […]
