By David Isaacson
Boys
and Girls, repeat after me...... "I gotta goto a pen show. I gotta
goto a pen show. I gotta go to a pen show".
Meaning, if you have not had pleasure yet to attend a pen convention, you are missing one of the high points of our hobby.
The philadelphia 2003 Pen Show, hosted by Geoff Berliner and Bernie Isaacowitz of Berliner Pen, once again proved to be an excellent pen show. Not quite as large as the "big 4" US shows, Philadelphia consistently has featured a nice array of vintage and modern pen dealers, pleasant and accessible environs, and nice turnout from folks up and down the east coast. Your author found a few exotic and interesting (to him at least) pens for his collection.
This was my third or fourth visit to this show. Didn't get there the first two tries (maybe 1998 and 1999), once being laid up with a way nasty bug which left me stuck in bed a few days, and once trapped in Rochester by a major blizzard. But, value exists in pursuing good things, and since my first successful foray to this show, i've eagerly awaited each annual get together.
Many reasons exist, of course, to attend a vintage pen show. At the very least, such events represent an opportunity to meet fellow collectors, internet "pen"pals and dealers within the hobby.
And
of course, for the pen collector used to hunting the internet for the
occasional vintage pen, or whose hometown lacks a serious pen shop, the
chance to see pens, pens and more pens, leads to a "kid in the candy
store" feeling at pen shows. For those of us who aspire to be knowledgeable,
serious collectors of particular vintage pens- to transcend hack-amateur-newbiehood
if you will- no environment exceeds the Pen Show as a means to examine
many fine pens and to meet senior collectors.
The typical Pen Show spending rules seemed to apply yet again to Philadelphia 2003. Estimate a budget. Bring twice as much. Run out before end of show. Sigh.
Your author, keeping true to form, hit the road for Philly directly after finishing an overnight shift. Driving through snow, ice and -5F temps on no sleep, the trip to Philadelphia was... interesting. However, the crowd was friendy and the atmosphere warm, and soon a bunch of us headed out to sample some Philadelphia cuisine- hitting a place i believe was called the Devon fishmarket or somesuch. Conversation was diverse, though show-and-tell was bountiful too. We ate. We drank. At least one of us grew sleepy.
Your author dabbles at collecting a variety of vintage pens, but focuses on the Parker Vacumatic series. During efforts to photograph a few of them for a would-be book project, he has found himself learning a bit about pen photography and has begun to enjoy photographing interesting vintage pens in order to use the pics for a number of projects.
The vast majority- a near totality in fact- of fellow collectors have been quite enthusiastic about letting their precious collectables fall under the the gaze of the 3.1 megapixel CCD housed in a certain Sony Cybershot camera. Having photographed about fifty thousand dollars worth of pens at this show alone, your author finds that shooting pics of pens provides a nice distraction from the urge to buy pens. Definitely healthier for the wallet.
Collector/Dealer Bob Novak presented a terrific array of vintage pens.
Your author had chance to pic up an uncommon Parker Vacumatic Maxima with
the "Vacumatic" cap-band, as well as a Vacumatic Oversize with
full-flex nib, currently undergoing restoration.
The Wyndham Franklin Plaza hotel in Philadelphia has housed the Pen Show for at least the last few years. Conveniently located in downtown Philadelphia it provides a pleasant and affordable haven for the eager pen collectors who flock to it each year. The lunch bar had reasonably priced, decent meals, but the upscale restaurant seemed to meet less favorable reviews.
Guests entering the atrium of the Wyndum Franklin Plaza were greeted bythe sight of a 60 foot mock-up of a 1930's Sheaffer Balance Oversized Demonstrator. Gives new meaning to "Oversized" :-) Just kidding. Gotta love Photoshop 6.
Certainly, one nice aspect of vintage pendom is that pretty pens can be found at many price points. I was fortunate to stumble across three pens from two manufacturers usually viewed as producers of second-tier pens. Had a chance to shoot them. The pens of Eagle and Morrison typically do not garner quite the same fervor amongst most collectors as do pens by Parker, Sheaffer et al. Nonetheless, these companies did produce some beautiful work. These three pens are lovely and seem to be very well manufactured. The first two pens are from Eagle and seem to use some sort of "Toggle" filler. The Third pen is a typical lever filler from Morrison, though for some reason the plastic caught my eye.
Amidst all the shopping, photo-shooting, and dealing, and after folks have stuffed themselves at one of the fine restaurants in the area, penshow tradition continues and people gather to relax, talk and play some cards.....
And a little lobby chat- telling of the ones that got away....
What can one say? We had a great time, had a chance to meet old friends and make new acquaintences. The 2003 Philadelphia Pen Show represented a great use of a cold weekend. We owe Geoff and Bernie thanks for making this even happen. Hope to see you next year.