Famous people from history and their pens

[brothersoulshine]

I read something recently about Albert Einstein's pen being displayed in a museum somewhere. He'd used it over a long period of time when working on special and general relativity.

 

It got me thinking that it'd be an interesting angle to create a collection on: famous people and their pens. What pen did Winston Churchill favour, for example? What pen did Wilfred Owen use? Was it any that was just lying around, or was there an Old Faithful? Or was his pen really a pencil?

 

If anyone knows about historical characters and their preferred pens, it'd be great if you could post what you know here.

[algabatz]

I read something recently about Albert Einstein's pen being displayed in a museum somewhere. He'd used it over a long period of time when working on special and general relativity.

 

It got me thinking that it'd be an interesting angle to create a collection on: famous people and their pens. What pen did Winston Churchill favour, for example? What pen did Wilfred Owen use? Was it any that was just lying around, or was there an Old Faithful? Or was his pen really a pencil?

 

If anyone knows about historical characters and their preferred pens, it'd be great if you could post what you know here.

 

 

I know Frida Kahlo used a blue Parker "51", possibly a demi-size, it was once offered to me for sale.

Great topic!

/T

 

 

[algabatz]

If one is to believe Parkers ads, Sherlock Holmes "father" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used a black and pearl Duofold DeLuxe for his stories, but the truth is that it was probably a Big Red!

 

/Tony

[Artie]

Eisenhower had a Parker 51. McArthur used his wife's big red to sign the surrender documents with Japan.

 

Truman, Eishehower, Kennedy and Johnson used Esterbrook Dip Less pens as bill signers.

[offbase]

Why, I use many different pens! :roflmho:

[ZeissIkon]

If one is to believe Parkers ads, Sherlock Holmes "father" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used a black and pearl Duofold DeLuxe for his stories, but the truth is that it was probably a Big Red!

 

/Tony

 

Given that the Duofold came out after 1920, and most of the Holmes stories were published before the First World War (only one after, as I recall -- not a Holmesian, but they were "present day" setting with 1880s and 1890s technology for the most part), I think it pretty unlikely he used a Duofold for any but the very last of his work -- he died in 1930, and was quite ill with heart disease the last year of his life.

[mikerph]

I think its pretty well known that Mark Twain used a Conklin cresent filler at some time in his life. He was said to make a comment to the effect that it was the only pen that wouldn't roll off the desk and thats why he liked it.

[Anton Emdin]

Interesting post. And are there any current personalities that are fountain pen aficionados?

[algabatz]

Interesting post. And are there any current personalities that are fountain pen aficionados?

 

Well, not sure if they still are "current", but most of us are aware of Judge Ito and Bill Cosby.

 

/T

[diplomat]

For those interested in other "couplings" here's a nice thread: Who use which fountain pen?

 

Best,

[Chris]

I did visit Chartwell, home of Winston Churchill, last year. On the desks and in the display cabinets were several fountain pens that I could not identify. I do not know if they were actually used by the man himself or present to add character but much of the material on display was original.

 

They were black level fillers from what I could see.

 

I did notice a big bottle of Quink red (at least 1 pint) yet most of his letters were in black or dark blue-black ink.

 

Well worth a trip if you are in the area!

 

Chris

[FrankB]

Walt Disney is supposed to have used a Sheaffer. I think it was a black Balance, but I am not really sure of the model.

[georges zaslavsky]

Mitterand and Jospin used a Man 100. Adenauer and Sarkozy used the 149.

 

[robbyruby]

When he resigned from the court, I remember reading that Justice David Souter writes all his decisions with an Esterbrook, a J I believe.

[pay]

I would love to know whether Grouch Marx had a favorite fountain pen ... anyone know?

 

I became a Marxist not from the films, but after reading a book of Groucho's letters. Grouch loved to write letters. Highly recommended reading!

 

 

 

[GeeTee]

I read somewhere that Churchill was a Conway Stewart user.

[darkgreen]

The parker Forum has a thread which suggests that Enzo Ferrari may have used a Parker Duofold: the pen was spotted sitting on his writing desk in the Ferrari museum in Maranello.

 

Thread: Ferrari's pen

[Rena]

Interesting post. And are there any current personalities that are fountain pen aficionados?

 

The August/September 2007 issue of "Stylus Magazine" did an article on David Macaulay and his Lamy Safari fountain pen. He wrote and illustrated his books such as The Way Things Work and Cathedral using his Safari. According to the article, when Lamy heard about his preference for their pen, they made him a special, one-of-a-kind Safari pen, in a particular shade of lime green.

 

 

[ZeissIkon]

Interesting post. And are there any current personalities that are fountain pen aficionados?

 

The August/September 2007 issue of "Stylus Magazine" did an article on David Macaulay and his Lamy Safari fountain pen. He wrote and illustrated his books such as The Way Things Work and Cathedral using his Safari. According to the article, when Lamy heard about his preference for their pen, they made him a special, one-of-a-kind Safari pen, in a particular shade of lime green.

 

Nice. It was obvious those books were illustrated with pen and ink -- not so obvious they were done with a thoroughly modern fountain pen.

[Akumar]

Interesting post. And are there any current personalities that are fountain pen aficionados?

 

The August/September 2007 issue of "Stylus Magazine" did an article on David Macaulay and his Lamy Safari fountain pen. He wrote and illustrated his books such as The Way Things Work and Cathedral using his Safari. According to the article, when Lamy heard about his preference for their pen, they made him a special, one-of-a-kind Safari pen, in a particular shade of lime green.

 

Nice. It was obvious those books were illustrated with pen and ink -- not so obvious they were done with a thoroughly modern fountain pen.

 

I once attended a conference of Chief Justices from around the world and most of them had Mont Blanc roller ball or ball pens but none with a fountain pen