Anne Frank's fountain pen.

[Shangas]

Dear Kitty,

 

Thursday, 11th November, 1943.

 

I have a good title for this chapter:

 

"ODE TO MY FOUNTAIN-PEN IN MEMORIAM".

 

My fountain-pen has always been one of my most priceless possessions; I value it highly, especially for it's thick* nib, for I can only really write neatly with a thick nib. My fountain-pen has had a very long and interesting pen-life, which I will briefly tell you about.

 

When I was nine, my fountain-pen arrived in a packet (wrapped in cotton-wool) as "sample without value" all the way from Aachen, where my grandmother, the kind donor, used to live. I was in bed with 'flu, while February winds howled round the house. The glorious fountain-pen had a red leather case and was at once shown round to all my friends. I, Anne Frank, the proud owner of a fountain-pen!** When I was ten I was allowed to take the pen to school and the mistress went so far as to permit me to write with it.

 

When I was eleven, however, my treasure had to be put away again, because the mistress in the sixth form only allowed us to use school pens and ink-pots.

 

When I was twelve and went to the Jewish Lyceum, my fountain-pen received a new case in honour of the great occasion; it could take a pencil as well, and as it closed with a zipp looked much more impressive.

 

At thirteen the fountain-pen came with us to the "Secret Annexe" where it has raced through countless diaries and compositions for me.

 

Now I am fourteen, we have spent our last year together.

 

It was on a Friday afternoon after five o'clock. I had come out of my room and wanted to go and sit at the table to write, when I was roughly pushed to one side and had to make room for Margot and Daddy who wanted to practice their "Latin". The fountain-pen remained on the table, unused while, with a sigh, it's owner contented herself with a tiny corner of the table and started rubbing beans.

 

"Bean rubbing" is making mouldy beans decent again. I swept the floor at a quarter to six and threw the dirt, together with the bad beans, into a newspaper and into the stove. A terrific flame leapt out and I thought it was grand that the fire should burn up so well when it was practically out. All was quiet again, the "Latinites" had finished, and I went and sat at the table to clear up my writing things, but look as I might, my fountain-pen was nowhere to be seen. I looked again, Margot looked, but there was not a trace of the thing; "Perhaps it fell into the stove together with the beans," Margot suggested. "Oh, no, of course not!" I answered. When my fountain-pen didn't turn up that evening, however, we all took it that it had been burnt, all the more as celluloid is terribly inflammable.

 

And so it was, our unhappy fears were confirmed; when Daddy did the stove the following morning the clip used for fastening was found amongst the ashes. Not a trace of the gold nib was found. "Must have melted and stuck to some stone or other," Daddy thought.

 

I have one consolation, although a slender one: my fountain-pen has been cremated, Just what I want later!

 

Yours,

 

Anne.

 

I thought this would be a nice entry for all you fellows. It's from the Diary of Anne Frank.

 

* - I assume that the pen probably had a broad nib.

 

** - This is the entry where my signature-quote comes from

 

And now - Does anybody know what fountain pen Anne might possibly have owned? I read somewhere that it might've been a Montblanc...Hmm. Since the pen doesn't exist anymore, I suppose this might be a hard question to answer...but I thought this might make for some interesting reading-material, if nothing more.

[Romeo Dog]

Nice post.

 

Possibly a MD or maybe a Danish Parker. Just too many choices, unless someone has a particular insight.

[goodguy]

As far as I know Anna Frank used a Mont Blanc pen.

[burmeseboyz]

Thanks for this amazing post. It does highlight the value that a fountain pen really has. I don't mean the value in the market place, but the value that a fountain pen has as a tool and also as a companion in your creative or professional endeavours. Add to that it's use for communication with loved ones.

 

It makes me want to stick with just one fountain pen regardless of how much I paid for it. Because the most valuable fountain pen in my collection isn't some expensive bling bling, it's a 30 dollar sheaffer snorkel. However, I still can't resist the expensive bling bling.

[George]

I remember reading that she had a Mont Blanc FP.

 

George

[Thornton]

Beautiful. I've always been fascinated by Anne Frank and her life. Tragic and captivating at the same time. I forgot the relationship with her fountain pen.

[hcsk8ter]

She speaks of the fountain pen, as a close friend. Funny, sometimes I feel the same way. Ms. Frank may you rest in peace.

[LedZepGirl]

That's sort of tragic, but the whole of the story is. I have one pen in my small collection that I know I could never part with or lose.

[Jarno]

I googled and did find a picture in a dutch article, but I think it's too modern. I'll have a look on the Anne Frank museum site, perhaps they actually have the pen, or a pen like it, overthere.

 

Best regards,

 

Jarno.

 

Edit:

I have attached the picture I found.

 

Edit again:

They can't have the actual pen, because it acidentally fell in the fireplace.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Jarno

[Shangas]

Yeah as noted in the diary-entry, the original fountain pen was destroyed by fire.

[ruud2904]

Montblanc is often mentioned as the brand of her fountain pen. But are there any indications about the brand name ?

 

Ruud

[Shangas]

Her pen is mentioned as a Montblanc in an article SOMEWHERE - But for the life of me, I can't remember where. I think it might be Penspotters.

[lisa]

** - This is the entry where my signature-quote comes from

 

 

Sorry I should have said something when you first put that signature under your post but I wasn't sure if maybe the English translator got it wrong.

 

Could you please change your quote to correct her grammar? If you translate "Me, the proud owner of a fountain pen" back to Dutch it makes her sound really stupid. I'm sorry I don't know how else put it. "Me" instead of "I" is an error that is hardly ever made in Dutch. Could you please change it to "I, the proud owner..." like in the quote of the text.

 

I'm sorry if I don't sound nice. Errors in posts don't bother me but in signature they do because it gets repeated over and over again.

 

Thanks for the interesting post though.

[Shangas]

Yes mother...

[lisa]

Yes mother...

 

 

Sorry :embarrassed_smile:

 

Thanks!

[Shangas]

There, done! Now, back to Miss Frank and her fountain pen...

[ruud2904]

Her writing looks like this. Looks indeed a tad broader than medium. The question remains what FP this has been. A German brand is likely, as it was shipped to Anne from Germany. And sources speak of Montblanc. However, I have not seen or heard any indications for that assumption.

 

Ruud

 

 

http://blog.syracuse.com/shelflife/frankdiary.jpg

Edited February 25, 2008 by ruud2904

[lisa]

Is this written with her fountain pen though? The ink seems to get thicker and thinner like with a dip pen. I'm not sure...

 

 

[ruud2904]

Is this written with her fountain pen though? The ink seems to get thicker and thinner like with a dip pen. I'm not sure...

 

I can't tell. What it does tell me is that the size of the letters compared to the line thickness seems to me as belonging to a person used to write with a broader nib...

[ruud2904]

Here is a view on one of Anne's diaries. I believe there were three of them.

Ruud

 

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z108/jyssgermany2007/100_1355.jpg