Editorial July/August 2006 Stylophiles Online

By Bill Riepl

I'm very pleased to get the chance to step in for Anna this month, she's in the midst of dealing with numerous household duties, dilemmas and disasters, all of which (of course!) have chosen to occur right in the middle of our local heat wave. Making every single activity of late just that little bit more difficult. Especially any activity involving the use of a computer, which are well known for not liking very high temperatures! Here at the worldwide headquarters of Stylophiles, we've gone over to a nocturnal schedule in an attempt to keep the processors from locking up every five minutes. Getting the work done at night is fine, but it leaves trying to sleep through the hottest part of the day! We hit 110 in the office yesterday before finally calling it quits. I'll use that as our excuse if any of my writing appears to be a little below par this time around....

The big news coming up is the DC show, from August 10th through the 13th. If you really can only get to one show, this might just be "the one". It's true that it's big, but beyond that it has a very good balance between modern and vintage, large dealers, manufacturers, and hobbyists not just from across the US, but from around the world attending. It's well worth the effort to attend, I've yet to ever come home feeling even a bit dissatisfied with the experience. Not to mention the occasional pen I might happen to bring back with me!

In addition to the DC show coming up, there have been a couple of really great shows the last few weeks, Raleigh and Portland. We've got write-ups on both in this issue, if you live locally to either, they will prove to be well worth a visit. Rick Propas was kind enough to cover the Portland show, and Richard Binder the Raleigh show. These shows may be smaller than the "big four" shows, but they have more than enough charm, and friendliness. Perhaps above all a great "user friendly" feel to them, you can go in knowing very little (or in once case I saw in Portland nothing at all!) about pens, and find yourself taken very good care of, shown around, introduced to people who are more ready to educate you than sell you something. It's no surprise that both shows are occurring in locations with very active local collecting clubs.

While at the Portland show we were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to photograph a very special collection of Sheaffer overlay pens, look for these to be featured in an upcoming article on these underappreciated overlays. Sherrell Tyree was kind enough to volunteer her extensive collection for images, and the experience was amazing! Everything from very early filigree overlays to a 14K balance set that just might make the grade as one of the most beautiful pens I've ever seen in person. As you can see from the shot above (just a small sample of the pens we shot) this is likely to be a very interesting article. Not the least due to what might well be one of those pens that really can be called "rare"... An oversize gold fill Sheaffer Flattop. The same size as an oversize Lifetime pen, this is the only one that Sherrell has ever seen, and as best I have been able to find out, it is, if not one of a kind, at the least very, very uncommon. And, despite it's rather "rough" condition, a really neat pen to get to photograph.

We have also arranged for Rick Propas to share with us his impressions of one of his recent collection milestones. Focusing his interests on Pelikans, Rick has amassed a wonderful collection of very fine examples of this company's greatest pens. Now including the Pelikan 75th Anniversary. I think it says a lot about Rick's character that when I saw him at the table in Portland this pen was riding in his shirt pocket, filled with blue-black ink!

While we were at it, we also begged the opportunity to photograph couple of other great Pelikans, including a very uncommon solid gold overlay from the 1930s, and hopefully, we'll be able to get something done in the way of an article on these pens as well. Early Pelikans have a rich history, as well as being some very good pens in and of themselves.

Victoria accompanied us down to the show this year, and ended up jumping right into the whole pen collecting thing... She enjoys writing and drawing, the idea of "special pens" proved to fit her definition of a great idea!

Of course, she was willing to learn as she went along, and spent some time picking up tips from Jimmy Dolive, who was kind enough to explain both percentages (as in how much discount she should ask for) as well as the concept of commissions (as in how much she should expect if she helped to sell a pen) She explained her plans to somehow put together enough capital to finance a Montblanc Boheme Pearl fountain pen.

By the end of the show she ended up with three pens (although the Boheme was not one of them!) A Shneider School pen from Sherrell Tyree turned out to be a very good writer, reminiscent of the Pelikano pens that I still recommend to folks looking for a good "first pen" for young collectors. Her favorite of the show proved to be a Danitrio from Kevin Cheng of Internet Pens. Bright chrome with a textured green cap, and a great big two tone nib... What's not to love? She's gone through two cartridges of ink on thank you notes and letters to grandma so far!

This issue we've got pieces on the new Danitrio Two Pavilions, a magnificent maki-e masterpiece, and one well worth looking at in person if you ever get the chance. It's one of those oversize pens that absolutely demands your attention, but once you get over the sheer size, you end up pulled deep into the artwork by one detail after another. It's a stunning example of the maki-e art form!

Conway Stewart has two models featured in this issue, the new Icon,a solid (and we do mean solid!) sterling silver pen based on their 100 model, and Doug Vicary covers the Nelson Resin line. The Nelson Resin looks to be a very exciting move for Conway Stewart, filling a niche between the model 100 and the Churchill with a full size pen, not too wide, and with a bit more heft than their other models to date. If you've been looking for a very solid feel in a pen about the size of a Duofold Centennial or a Pelikan M800, the Nelson Resin might be just what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of the Pelikan M800, we're also featuring the Kyokko and Gekko pens, raden inlay pieces made in very limited numbers last year. These are among the best looking Pelikans I've ever seen! Montblancs Sir Henry Tate is also featured, as well as a look at some Sonnets that aren't what they appear to be. Rounding out the issue we also take a look at one of the all time "best values" in vintage pens, the Sheaffer Flattop.

As always, if you have any comments, suggestions or ideas for articles, please feel free to contact either Anna or myself any time, and thanks again for reading!

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