Has Anyone Heard Of Henry Simpole?

[Truffle Finder]

Chris!

Calm down Chris!

Can I just remind you, [and everybody else here] that the 'naughty chair', is there for the purpose of allowing the little people who are sent there, to reflect on their behaviour, and to settle down, and then return to the bosom of the 'sensible' people here on this thread!!! Now then Chris, if you don't stop that jumping up and down on the chair this minute, I will have to ask Ghost Plane to administer her 'special' Micky Finn, and that will have the effect of considerably calming you down! It's not called the 'Saturday Night Zombie Special' for nothing, and Ghost Plane knows all there is to know about it!!! :blink:

So let this be a warning to us all! :hmm1:

"Yes, the Fairy Pen is reserved for you, OK?"

Truffle Finder.

[Chris Chalmers]

Whoo-Hoo!!!!!!!! :clap1: :clap1: :clap1: :clap1: :clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

 

I'm sitting perfectly still........even though I love cocktails - and being ever so good again Henry Dear!! :clap1:

 

Thank You!

 

Well, someone has to make the moves...........and I'm sitting still!

[Pen Nut]

???

 

 

The red trace shows where I thought the 'S' was at first. The yellow trace was my second opinion. BUT .... Mr Truffle says the 'S' covers the height of the cap virtually. Soooooo my first (red) trace seems to be nearer the correct one.

[Truffle Finder]

Absolutely correct Pen Nut!

I'm so pleased that you posted this on here, it has been a long time since this pen was commissioned by Conway Stewart, and I think I did explain, I spent an inordinate amount of time drawing the pattern and trying to get the letters 'balanced', between 'hidden' and 'apparent', at a glance. Even when I attended three Pen Shows in the States last year, I met people who owned one of these pens, and none of them knew anything about the subliminal letters!!! Very frustrating from my point of view. :embarrassed_smile:

I hope that it has added some kind of intrinsic value to your pen.

Truffle Finder. :hmm1:

[esterbex]

???

 

 

The red trace shows where I thought the 'S' was at first. The yellow trace was my second opinion. BUT .... Mr Truffle says the 'S' covers the height of the cap virtually. Soooooo my first (red) trace seems to be nearer the correct one.

 

Pen Nut....the red on this pic is my own tracing over your yellow one...the ??? was asking if this was correct....Your red tracing was close though....

[Pen Nut]

esterbex, oh I see what you have done now :embarrassed_smile: wish you had used a different colour though it does not take a lot to confuse me !

 

Feels a bit odd have a online chat with Mr Truffle knowing his skilled hands created my pen.

 

Anyway time to take refuge in my usual haunt, Montblanc forum, as all this 'naughty chair' talk is making me nervous

[esterbex]

esterbex, oh I see what you have done now :embarrassed_smile: wish you had used a different colour though it does not take a lot to confuse me !

 

Feels a bit odd have a online chat with Mr Truffle knowing his skilled hands created my pen.

 

Anyway time to take refuge in my usual haunt, Montblanc forum, as all this 'naughty chair' talk is making me nervous

 

I shall join you there..... (I love my 146! shhhhh....)

[esterbex]

I see, dear Truffle, that your website has recently been updated and that Mme. Sensualité is featured....well done!

Wonder if the faeries will get in the line-up....

Some very nice guestbook comments too!

[Chris Chalmers]

What!!! Where............. now I have to go and look again!!!

[esterbex]

What!!! Where............. now I have to go and look again!!!

 

Chris, you seem so excitable these days! She's in the lineup on the home page banner of pens and engravings....watch and she'll visit you presently. When I visited recently, she was the first to greet me!

[Chris Chalmers]

You are right again Esterbex dearest! I clicked on Henry's little 'notice' and as if by magic I was whisked away to London and presented with 'Mme. Sensualite' in all her glory!

 

Yes, I am excited these days............... a Fairy pen is not to be sneezed at! In fact if you sneeze at a Fairy you will find her in the next County, if not Country............they fly far on one sneeze you know!

I will have to go back and capture her in all her glory - for my files of course............and would love some identification from The Master of Fairies Himself when he has the time please???

 

edited to add that another reason for excitement is that the 5th, just passed, was the tenth anniversary of when I set eyes on Ray after many many years - the day he walked back into my life and asked me THAT question - again!

Edited May 7, 2012 by Chris Chalmers

[Centigonal]

Hahahaha, oh wow!

 

Hello there! You folks don't know me (likely because I'm new here), but I just finished reading/skimming through all 37 pages of this absolutely titillating thread, and I've got to say that what you folks have done here is nothing short of fantastic.

 

The saga begins when someone posts about an outstanding craftsman's works. He quickly picks up a following, and people very quickly become persuaded to spend upwards of $1,000 on something they've only experienced through pictures and words on a computer's monitor. Someone gets it in her head to design a custom pen. People from all around the world collaborate on some internet forum to design this world-class product (once again, stemming from just a "has anyone heard of this guy?"), things soon fall into place, and now this amazing fountain pen exists and all of you are buddies.

 

If that weren't enough, there's Truffle Finder's story. I noticed that he referred to himself in the third person near the beginning whereas everyone calls him "Henry" now, put the pieces together, and started skipping through the pages in threes to find out where the reveal happened. Needless to say, that, too, didn't disappoint. :ltcapd:

 

It's incredible to see this entire thing play out, a year into the future. The fact that doing so is even possible is kind of amazing.

 

Real life is truly more marvelous than fiction.

 

Spectacular work, all of you, from an onlooker.

Edited May 7, 2012 by Centigonal

[Truffle Finder]

Welcome to the thread,Centigonal!!!

I came downstairs this morning, and switched on my machine, [as you do!] to see what's been happening during the night, and I look here and find that someone has trawled through the whole thing, and doesn't think that we're all mad, but just seem to enjoy being a bit ideosyncratic, sharing a genuine love of things 'desky', but mainly 'pen-shaped', and a mixture of senses of humour............. I sincerely hope that you had a smile, or better still, perhaps a little giggle, as you spent your free time investigating what goes on here! :hmm1:

I actually came down a bit earlier than usual this morning, because it is a Bank Holiday Monday here in 'Blighty', [something that you Americans have far too few of on your side of the Herring Pond!] because I am going off to a local Church Hall Antiques Fair, in Buckhurst Hill near to where I live, just to see if there are any Fountain Pens there! There's dedication for you!

Just in case you find yourself with some more time on your hands at some point in the near future, there is another thread which I got inspired to write about, [i suppose about two years ago now.] which explains about my meeting a lovely lady named Jean Esterbrook many years ago, it is on the Esterbrook Forum. Less humour orientated, but fairly interesting if you just like pens, but I assume that you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here at all!

"Keep coming back!" as they say in the 12 Step Program.

Truffle Finder. :embarrassed_smile:

[Truffle Finder]

Hi!

I'm back from the Antiques Fair that wasn't on today!!!

It was my fault, I haven't got a current 'Fairs and Markets Diary', so I wasn't able to check whether it was on this weekend or not. Anyway, I'll have saved some money, I suppose!

So the fact that I'm in the house on my own all day today, I will be able to get on with plenty of pen repairs which I have got to do!

I must say, I'm firing on all cylinders today, I think that Centigonal's posting this morning is what did it!!! :embarrassed_smile:

See Y'awll!!!

Truffle Finder.

[Pen Nut]

Hello Mr.Truffle,

 

Sorry to mither but got a hallmarking query. I note on the Exhibition pen that the bank of hallmarks, six in all, starts with your own in a font not unlike Comic Sans. What I would like to ask is do you personally stamp this on when receiving your sheet silver or is it done by the assay office at some other point in the making of the pen?

 

Also do the assay office allow anyone to stamp alonside their hallmarks or do you need to be authorised by them to do so?

 

And finally..... H.C.S what does the 'C' stand for ? sorry just being nosey.

[Truffle Finder]

Hi Pen Nut,

No problem! The Hall Marks are as follows:-

HCS [stands for Henry Charles Simpole] I had to apply for permission to use that combination of initials, a search was done, and it was found to be 'vacant', had there already been another person using those initials then I would have had to have chosen different letters, or a different 'fount', italic or upright or something else. They did the personal stamping at first, and they kept the actual stamping tool at the Hall, but now that it is done by Laser, they don't need the stamp any more. The reason that I went over to the laser was that it doesn't distort the silver overlay when they are done!

You would not strictly speaking be allowed to put your own marks on the silver or gold work regarding the purity of the metal, in fact it would be a Criminal offence to do so in England and selling it here! :embarrassed_smile: In fact many years ago, you could be seriously punished for 'Faking' a Hall-Mark!!! Not just a rap on the knuckles!

The date letter stands for the year that it was hall-marked.

925, and 750 stands for the purity of the silver or gold.

The 'Lion Passant' means that it is pure sterling silver.

The leopard's head refers to the London Assay Office, and was marked there!

The only other one which may be on your Great Exhibition Pen, [but I can't remember] is the Scales, which is something to do with the Europe Assay Standard.

I hope that answers everything you wanted to know!

Truffle Finder.

[Pen Nut]

Hi Pen Nut,

No problem! The Hall Marks are as follows:-

HCS [stands for Henry Charles Simpole] I had to apply for permission to use that combination of initials, a search was done, and it was found to be 'vacant', had there already been another person using those initials then I would have had to have chosen different letters, or a different 'fount', italic or upright or something else. They did the personal stamping at first, and they kept the actual stamping tool at the Hall, but now that it is done by Laser, they don't need the stamp any more. The reason that I went over to the laser was that it doesn't distort the silver overlay when they are done!

You would not strictly speaking be allowed to put your own marks on the silver or gold work regarding the purity of the metal, in fact it would be a Criminal offence to do so in England and selling it here! :embarrassed_smile: In fact many years ago, you could be seriously punished for 'Faking' a Hall-Mark!!! Not just a rap on the knuckles!

The date letter stands for the year that it was hall-marked.

925, and 750 stands for the purity of the silver or gold.

The 'Lion Passant' means that it is pure sterling silver.

The leopard's head refers to the London Assay Office, and was marked there!

The only other one which may be on your Great Exhibition Pen, [but I can't remember] is the Scales, which is something to do with the Europe Assay Standard.

I hope that answers everything you wanted to know!

Truffle Finder.

 

Thank you for the swift & comprehensive reply to my enquiry. That answers many of my questions.

 

I was curious as to what point in the pen making the hallmarks were applied to the silver and, as I understand it, it comes pre stamped from the assay office which must make the fitting of the overlay to the pen body even more difficult. Please correct me if I am wrong as you do state "when they are done" so perhaps overlays are sent off once completeted?

 

The hallmark that you did not mention is the 'CS' one which is at the last one in the line. This is obviously Conway Stewarts own mark.

 

Thanks again.

[Truffle Finder]

Pen Nut,

When I have completed the overlays, then I send them to the Assay Office to be marked, usually they are without the base pens fitted inside the o/lays, but I have on some occassions done them 'on the pens' when the whole process has been completed, [this could only be done using the laser type of Marks!] It was a pleasant surpise when I found out that no harm came to the base pens! :embarrassed_smile:

Conway Stewart's Hall Mark is indeed CS.

Incidently, when I did the CS Centenary O/lay pens, there were about 200 in Silver, and 10 in Gold, there were similarly largish numbers made of the Henry Simpole O/lay pen, so it was a great relief when I went over to the laser marking, mainly because to make them 'true' after they had been distorted, each one had to be put onto a steel mandrill, and hit with a leather mallet to re-shape them!

Truffle Finder.

[Chris Chalmers]

Interesting.............very interesting! We Brits forget that the rest of the world know little about the 'Hallmarking' of precious metals done in the name of the Law in GB!!! You didn't mention, Henry, that Hallmarks done in this year that is the Queens Diamond Jubilee will also have a special mark denoting that great occasion! Something else to collect - I used to collect 'Chester' Hallmarks, that is three stooks of corn in a triangle........a very pretty little mark - and chester stopped hallmarking in 1960s........can't remember exactly.

 

Now back to Fairies.................... :roflmho:

 

One has to wonder if 'Centigonal' will join the happy band of Simpole collectors at some point?

Until one of Henry's pens has been held and used.........it is just a pretty picture - but when the ink hits the paper...........magic happens! :clap1:

[esterbex]

It's incredible to see this entire thing play out, a year into the future. The fact that doing so is even possible is kind of amazing.

 

Real life is truly more marvelous than fiction.

 

Spectacular work, all of you, from an onlooker.

 

 

You have no idea....