Search the Community

Please help me identify this ICSA pen. What I know about it: 1 It has a blue celluloid body and cap. 2 It has the ICSA logo, the acronym ICSA, and Reg Inter etched on one side of the barrel. 3 It is 11 cm long, capped. 4 It has gold trims: a single band on the cap and the clip. 5 It has the ICSA logo in red and gold on its top finial. 6 It has a screw cap. 7 It has a black section. 8 The nib has quite the flex. 9 The nib has “ICSA” on it, under which is the ICSA logo, under which is “14k”, and under that is “2”. 10 The semi-cone bottom finial is a blind cap which, when unscrewed, features the button-filling mechanism.

I found a pen shop in Seville. Haven’t been able to look for pen shops this trip, usually a vacation trip activity. But this trip is different. Looking for an apartment in Spain, and too many family members going in different directions. To “help”. I’m more like a scurrying mouse than a guy herding cats, but both concepts apply. Anyway, i got lost and found what looks to be a great store, but it was closed on Sunday So I tried to make it by 8:30 PM today, Monday. But a certain map app took me in the wrong direction. But I vowed to find the place again, and arrived to find it closed at 9:30 pm. So I was peering throught the heavily shuttered window, and saw Platinum, Sailor, Pels, and many more. Then I spied a glimpse of a guy way back behind a lot of stuff way in the back. So out came that cursed product of the Apple tree, but changed to a source of hope from its prior tangled ball of wool-ness. He answered the phone and explained he was CLOSED, but I told him to look out the door. And he opened up for me! I had a good time seeing some fabulous stuff, then his wife called him to get home so I bought a converter for the cheap gp nib Inoxcrom I got 5 cities ago in a used goods shop in Barcelona, and will try to be on time tomorrow. i just learned more about Ferrer Papelería from A traveller from Bath, writing on https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g187443-d16814412-Reviews-Papeleria_Ferrer-Seville_Province_of_Seville_Andalucia.html. “Four generations have traded from this establishment, the concept of which dates as far back as 1856. This shop, in the same location for almost 200 years, has been selling quills, fountain pens, all kinds of papers, sealing wax (the real stuff – not like the candle wax imitation only available in Britain) note books, pencils, school materials and, for the collector, decorative implements 1870 style hydrometers sand clocks, terrestrial globes and quill sets. These and many more, a real treasure trove for the antiquarian, historian and calligrapher …” I showed him my two Nemosyne stubs, and gave him the web address for this place, I have vowed to not buy pens of great import and cost, but my Birthdat was yesterday, and Father’s day is 5 days away. We’ll see tomorrow…

Hi Everyone, I was recently putting together another order of custom nibs from FPNibs.com and noticed that they now offer two of their own pens for sale, a green acrylic pen called Ronda that takes JoWo #6 nibs and an amber acrylic pen called Marbella that takes JoWo #5 nibs. They look gorgeous and are reasonably priced, but I couldn't find any reviews of them anywhere. https://www.fpnibs.com/fpnibs/1894-fpnibs-ronda-fountain-pen.html https://www.fpnibs.com/fpnibs/1893-fpnibs-marbella-fountain-pen.html Has anyone tried either of these pens? What are your thoughts about them? Thanks!

Hi everybody! Im getting started with the fountain pen passion. I have a Waterman cf and Im trying to get it ready to write, but Im struggling a little bit. Ive read many of this forum posts and they are very useful. Best regards. Ignacio.

You are right. New in the forum although amateur for many years to the fountain pens. I still have that of my first communion and since then my little collection and my hobby have only increased. I like the pen very little since the softness of the fountain pen makes me the perfect writing instrument. I like the roller too, but it lacks the charm of a good pen. Since the economy lately does not accompany me, I delight from time to time with some newness in the East. You know. Always looking for the perfect pen. A hug to everyone and hope to learn and collaborate too.

I have read great things about the Romillo pen company on this website I was wondering if anyone has poersonal experience with Romillo pens? What is the best model, are they durable over time, and what is customer service like? Also, does anyone know the approx. price for the Nervion #9. I have tried contacting Romillo, but haven't yet received a reply Many thanks --SinbadtheSailor

Hello, occasional lurker, first time poster. Curious if anyone has contemporary (within last 100 years) of cursive used in Spain. I've googled and googled but am not having any luck finding anything. Thanks in advance!

I did this here for the Montblanc book by Rosler and Wallrafen, so let's get started on another opportunity. I'm only three months late getting started. If you are in the USA or Canadian with a USA postal address, and you want to save with the purchase of Jesus Martinez Guillen's recent release of the second edition of Montblanc Pens Made in Spain, PM me. There is no USA distributor of this book. Only 19 copies are available at the discounted price of $59 each DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR. No limit on how many you buy, so act now if you want in. When I have the orders, the author will ship them bulk to me, and I will in turn redistribute the books by USPS media mail to you. PM me for instructions. I'm not making money on this, and I'm not a dealer. A group buy keeps costs down for all of us. Fred Language: English & Spanish Book Format: Hard Cover Book Dimensions: 21.5x30 cm 160 Pages

http://i.imgur.com/XsHnfDL.jpg I got a new pen today! A Romillo Essential #9. It's made of solid blue ebonite, in a really deep shade of blue. The gold roll stop is a customization I asked for. This is my second Romillo and I'm still blown away by all the documents and the whole package. Alvaro did an amazing job on the pen. The roll stopper and disc are set perfectly, the threads are perfectly cut, the nib is massive and gorgeous. I like to support the artisans that the fountain pen community has and we are very lucky to have a lot fantastic ones. Alvaro offers a great product, with great customer service, and craftsmanship that borders on artistry with his nibs. I've only written with the pen a little bit so I can't do a full review yet, but here are some initial impressions. http://i.imgur.com/03xNMJe.jpg Paperwork that came with the pen, along with a writing sample of the nib by Alvaro Romillo. http://i.imgur.com/J6WwXWf.jpg Alvaro's writing sample http://i.imgur.com/goew0bt.jpg Included was a gold and black 5-pen wrap, a bottle of Romillo Sepia ink, and a wooden box with a sliding panel opening. Inside the wooden box was the eyedropper, which is outside of the box in the photo, and a felt pen wrap with the pen inside. http://i.imgur.com/cpR5QZu.jpg Romillo Sepia ink. Romillo ink comes in Black, Blue, and Sepia I believe. It's not available commercially but is included with pen orders. http://i.imgur.com/B3OG5mQ.jpg Instructions for the Essential #9 eyedropper http://i.imgur.com/RwelHX6.jpg Comparison with some other pens that happened to be close by. From top: Nakaya Piccolo, Edison Pearl, Eboya Kyouka (medium-size), Romillo Essential #9, Lamy Safari, and Pilot Vanishing Point. Essential #9 and Eo #9 http://i.imgur.com/v0EzLj6.jpg My first Romillo, an Eo #9 in terracotta ebonite, is a bit heavier and thicker than the Eo #9. The roll stop placement is different too. Very similar in length though. Cabochon in the barrel end. http://i.imgur.com/2rhCX6g.jpg Along with the gold roll stop, I also asked for a solid gold cabochon to be added to the pen. It's a disc made of 18k gold engraved with the Romillo logo. It's a really lovely touch, I think. http://i.imgur.com/j2PbsQH.jpg Romillo #9 nib compared to an Edison/JoWo #6 nib. http://i.imgur.com/4TPp3Xy.jpg I tried to get a close up of the nib engraving. This is the best I could do (sorry!) It has to be one of the most elegant nib engravings there is. The fact that it's done by hand is just incredible. I've inked up the pen with Romillo Sepia ink and it's been lovely. Smooth, with some pleasant feedback, and perfect ink flow.

In the 16th century the angular Chancery hand which developed in Italy (often referred to today under the generic name of Italic) was, in Spain, made more rounded (under the influence of the Redondilla mercantile hand?) and so a new b=astard hand: the Spanish, was begotten. This hand continued to be used into the 20th century (I believe) alongside Inglesa/English Roundhand. I have scanned this set of plates, printed from steel engravings, of D. Juan Folguera y Plandolit's calligraphy, which I think accompanied a book written by him. They were published in 1853, according to the wrapper they came in. In plate 1, the slant is 60 or 61 degrees and the angle of the nib 35 degrees. The height of the minuscules is approx. 8mm and the caps. 16mm. When writing this hand, the paper is tilted to the left so that it is parallel with your arm as you may see below. This hand was written with a straight cut broad edged nib and today you could use a Wm. Mitchell Round-Hand pen, for example. Hi-res Scans are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21860485@N06/sets/ These are long out of copyright, so they are to free to use for whatever you want. They are copyright free. Some smaller images: http://i.imgur.com/JEdemXwh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/4EZx6UUh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/UPC78EIh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/RSu1Ak0h.jpg Here is an original example of this style of writing, written by the Spanish calligrapher Vicente Valliciergo http://i.imgur.com/chwyEVs.jpg That example is from this useful and interesting blog which has much on calligraphy and Spanish calligraphy: http://bibliotypes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/la-caligrafia-espanola-en-el-siglo-xix.html From the same blog, these images from other Spanish calligraphy books show posture and how to hold the pen for writing this hand (the hold on the left in the case of the 2nd image, the one on the right being for English Roundhand). http://i.imgur.com/b3Jpoqv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/iKVKc1R.jpg