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I was reading on my lunch break and ran across some interesting info about Remmie L. Arnold (1894-1971), the president/owner of the Arnold Pen Company. He ran for governor of Virginia in 1949 on the democratic ticket, but didn't win. One other interesting thing I found out was that he was well known as a fair and ethical businessman and uncorrupt politician. Almost unheard of for his time period was his endorsement by Arthur Wergs Mitchell, a (the only?) black congressman during the New Deal period. Mitchell himself also ran during the 1949 gubenatorial primary and was a neighbour/friendly acquaintance of Arnold. Mitchell backed Arnold exclusively after Mitchell's loss during the primary because of Arnold's promise to 'deal with all Virginians fairly' whatever their ethnicity. As a city councilman, Arnold had also pushed through a budgetary increase earmarked for equality and fair access for public housing and recreational facilities for -everyone- (read: people of colour), and increased budgetary considerations for the black schools in Petersburg (schools were still segregated at this time). Here is a short clip from a biography of A. W. Mitchell which mentions Mr. Arnold. Here's a picture of the (restored) sign on the former site of the Arnold FP co, from last year, lit up at night. The building which held the offices of the Arnold Pen Co. has been converted into flats now, but the sign has been restored to functionality. I will probably get squirted with iron gall ink... but even though I own many more expensive and exclusive pens, I have always liked (and restored) Arnold pens. I submit that their very functionality and commonness and 'everyman' character makes them harder to find in good condition than a lot of the more expensive/exclusive pens. In 20 years these 3rd tier pens are going to be viewed the same way Esterbrooks are today, mark my words Here is a cool blog entry from Fountain Pen Restoration on having restored 2 of the Arnold Pen Co. combo pen/pencils. I find those 50s colours very cool and the designs are nifty. I hope it's ok for me to link a picture from the above blog (note: these are NOT MY PICTURES, they belong to Fountain Pen Restoration (which is an awesome blog, btw)). http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/arnold%20pens/DSC_0005.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/arnold%20pens/DSC_0006.jpg