Recommend Deco-styled Pens

[JDFlood]

Since you said you are passed the overzealous stage. Let me suggest a pen that off and on in my mind is the best pen currently made. The Montegrappa Privledge. My normal choice is the Montgrappa Extra, but if I have a lot of writing to do it is the Privledge. It writes like a dream (as in, there are no better OMAS, old style Paragon included) and has a really good ergonomic form. They are currently on sale for nearly half price at Altman Luggage so they approach your budget. Since you are no longer a fanatic, I recommend waiting and getting either the small or large, depending on your hand size. I find it pretty easy to argue that this is the best pen available at any cost. Typical of Montegrappa, magnificent design and flawless execution.

 

JD

 

 

[Artie]

I'd like to add a final thought on streamlining. Dictionary definitions are understood after around 90 years of percolating and formulating modern ideas of the word. In the 1920's the concept was new. Art Deco was a reaction against previous art movements. Gothic architecture literally crawled with squirming movement, Baroque didn't have a straight line to it's name. Neoclassicism was very austere. Rejection of these tastes expressed themselves in movements such as Bahaus, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism. Art Nouveau was followed by Art Deco, Arts and Crafts and Mission, among others.

 

Art Deco used geometric shapes as part one of their design elements. I submit that geometric designs are also streamlined variations on organic forms. Circles are streamlined puffs of smoke, say for arguments sake, triangles are streamed lined organic forms like mountains and rectangles are streamlined organic forms of things like tree trunks. In the 1920's streamline forms included many art deco elements that we don't necessarily associate with that word today.

[Rufus]

I will agree that streamlining is not an essentiall theme to Art Deco. i was defending it because you seemed to rule it out as a valid design element when you disputed my opinion.

Sounds to me as if what we had was a failure to communicate. Issue resolved, happy camper here.

 

The rest of you, as you were. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

 

Bravo, but what an interesting and informative debate.

[Russ]

Since you said you are passed the overzealous stage. Let me suggest a pen that off and on in my mind is the best pen currently made. The Montegrappa Privledge. My normal choice is the Montgrappa Extra, but if I have a lot of writing to do it is the Privledge. It writes like a dream (as in, there are no better OMAS, old style Paragon included) and has a really good ergonomic form. They are currently on sale for nearly half price at Altman Luggage so they approach your budget. Since you are no longer a fanatic, I recommend waiting and getting either the small or large, depending on your hand size. I find it pretty easy to argue that this is the best pen available at any cost. Typical of Montegrappa, magnificent design and flawless execution.

 

JD

 

Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . I like the Privilege. Thanks!

[Parkermaniac]

A pen that I think has an Art Deco feel to it is the lozenge pattern Pelikan M215. My favorite art deco pen has to be my Esterbrook J. It just makes me happy to own it because of it's design.

 

-Nate

[Richard]

Art Deco used geometric shapes as part one of their design elements. I submit that geometric designs are also streamlined variations on organic forms...

I'm sorry, but simplified does not equal streamlined.

 

The point of streamlining is to provide an object with smooth curves that present very little resistance to the flow of a fluid (air, water, etc.), as illustrated by the last of the images I posted earlier. This is not at all the same thing as simplifying a mountain to see a triangle. A teardrop is streamlined; a square is not.

[Richard]

I'm late returning to my own thread, and am surprised to see so many posts. Admittedly, I need help distinguishing between Art Deco and Art Nouveau, although I am pretty clear on Bauhaus. Richard nailed that down clearly. And I enjoy my Lamy 2000.

The overlays on these two Waterman 452s, made up to and after 1923, respectively, illustrate much of the difference between Art Nouveau (smoothly curvy, elegant, ornamented) and Art Deco (stylized, more "mechanical" and attuned to the machine age).

 

http://localhost/~richard/richardspens.com/images/coll/zoomed/452.jpg

 

http://localhost/~richard/richardspens.com/images/ref/52_profile/zoomed/452_v2.jpg

Oh, bloody hell, I screwed up. Here are the images that should have been there:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/coll/zoomed/452.jpg

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref/52_profile/zoomed/452_v2.jpg

[Richard]

Art Deco products have a "streamlined" elongated symmetrical aspect with simple hard shapes alternating with shallow volumes as seen in the new style architecture, the Jazz age and elegance as seen in the ocean liners of the times.

The underlined statement about streamlining above, BTW, is a quote from Gardner's Art Through The Ages, eleventh edition

The provenance of the statement does not make it a true statement. As Arthur Schopenhauer wrote:

 

There is no absurdity so palpable but that it may be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity.

Remember, not so long ago it was generally accepted as fact that traveling faster than 30 miles per hour would kill a person.

 

Here's a little riddle to illustrate the point:

 

A cat has four legs and a tail. For the purposes of this discussion, let's call the tail a leg. Now, how many legs does the cat have? It has four. Calling a tail a leg does not turn it into one.

 

And so for your Gardner quote. Its reference to streamlining is only true in a limited context, certainly not within the broad definition of Art Deco. The question that you might want to consider is this: at what point does a given thing, e.g., Art Deco, evolve to the degree that it become a separate yet related other thing, e.g., Streamline Moderne?

[Artie]

Main Entry: stream·lined

Pronunciation: \-ˌlīnd\

Function: adjective

Date: 1913

1 a : contoured to reduce resistance to motion through a fluid (as air) b : stripped of nonessentials : compact c : effectively integrated : organized

2 : having flowing lines

3 : brought up to date: modernized]

 

#3 was the main intent of Art Deco designers. Modern definitions are not necessarily accurate interpretations of the intent of the originators of the design.

 

Your refuting the provenance of the quote does not make it irrelivant.

Edited December 7, 2009 by Artie

[Richard]

Main Entry: stream·lined

...

3 : brought up to date: modernized]

 

#3 was the main intent of Art Deco designers. Modern definitions are not necessarily accurate interpretations of the intent of the originators of the design.

You really should investigate a dictionary that includes etymological data. Definition Nº 3 in your dictionary is used to apply to processes and techniques; e.g., a company streamlines its manufacturing process to reduce the cost of its product.

 

Look, I don't want to spend the rest of my life arguing semantics with you. The simple fact is that you are wrong and will not admit it. You are stretching definitions and grabbing at straws to prove your point, but your argument is specious. You're not stupid, or you wouldn't be where you are. But your argument here demonstrates a degree of obstinacy that is out of character for an academic.

 

Maybe this will help: Let's allegorize art to a butterfly. The larva is Art Nouveau. The pupa is Art Deco, which has changed enough that it's no longer a larva. The wingèd butterfly is Streamline Moderne, which has again become something derived from its former existence but can no longer be called accurately by its former name.

 

Now, you have accepted my argument, which was and is that Art Deco can and does use streamlined forms but is not congruent with streamlining. Let it go.

[Artie]

Since when is developing a new art concept not applying processes and techniques? No straws here, obstinacy is a two way street here but for the sake of ending the discussion, I will accept the term Streamline Moderne to describe the emphasis that is what later Art Deco styling became. I feel, however, that it is a description that defines a period or extension of Art Deco more than it is a separate movement. I accept it as a more precise reference to a form of later Art Deco than just putting it all under one, possibly more general umbrella.

[Richard]

I feel, however, that [streamliner Moderne] is a description that defines a period or extension of Art Deco more than it is a separate movement.

Go back and read my allegory. Streamline Moderne was an evolution from Art Deco. As soon as it had evolved enough that it could no longer accurately be called Art Deco, it became a distinct movement. I'm sorry, but that's how evolution works. Humans can't interbreed with gorillas despite the fact that the two species have a common ancestor.

 

I'm done here. Thanks for the spirited discussion.

[curioti]

The Waterman Line and dot (or commercial pattern as it is called by some) is a very good example of art deco styling, IMHO. I have one in a full overlay taper-cap that fits tyhe bill BUT it was made about 1905, so could not possibly be part of teh Art Deco movement. While some examples of Art Deco seem to be arising around 1915, it was the 1925 Paris exhibition of modern and industriaql arts that really kicked it off.

 

I have felt the same as you; because the golden age of overlays and pen design was largely over, and the plastic age was taking over by the late 1920's, there are not a lot of examples of real art deco pens other than a few mentioned here. Art nouveau is easy to find, but art deco, no. I have seen a couple of one-off designs, but they are going to be a LOT more than $350. I would suggest you commission someone to make one for you, but that too will be more than you want to spend.

 

And for what it is worth, I side with Richard that Streamline Moderne is a separate movement that evolved out of Art Deco. It is distinct, though I imagine one can find transition pieces (the missing link!) somewhere.

 

If anyone wants to see a spectacular example of Art Deco metal splendor, go to google images and search the Niagara Mohawk "Spirit of Light" sculpture. The finist example I have seen of the movement.

[Enai]

Good grief. I thought it was a good discussion before this last round. Artie, thanks for explaining the nuances of art. I learned something.

[Rufus]

Artie and Richard, many thanks for the debate. I learned a great deal, although at times I wondered if the Incredible Hulk had met the Immovable Object. Lots of fun yet very informative.

[Artie]

OK I give up

 

FYI the following images are identified by their sources as Art Deco

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/RioDeJaneiro.jpg

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/FrenchLine.jpg

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/DecoTeaCuisineArtPoster.jpg

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/Chamonix_Martigny.jpg

 

And this

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/newyorkcentralsystem.jpg

 

But this is NOT (image source PenHero)

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/EversharpSkylineapparentlyNOTartdec.jpg

 

Why? Apparently Art Deco died on Sept 1, 1939, was buried on Sept 3, 1939 and this pen was introduced in 1941. Evolution had made it as incompatible with Art Deco as a gorilla is to a human.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Artie

[ANM]

comment deleted

Edited December 9, 2009 by ANM

[gregkoos]

This is Art Deco - cheap pens from the mid to late 20s were often styled in such a manner. This is a Diamond Point.

 

In essence I agree with Binder in his observations, but appreciate the notion of a continuation of style. Art history terminology is not precise and I thank both writers for a bit of education.

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_IOGpQKK59IE/SxRZy-MUJQI/AAAAAAAABZA/ynovw7LA-tk/s800/Diamond%20Point.jpgFrom 101MSDCF

[Artie]

If anyone can stand one more comment on Art Deco, I found these entries: "Reactionary modernism" is a term coined by Jeffrey Herf in 1984 book, .... Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone, ..."

 

The term apparently did not come into play until long after the era had passed and after a the publication of a 1971 book about Art Deco spurred a renewed interest and popularized that name for the same era. Up until then, it was all simply called "modern art" This and the following (emphasis mine) are why I think Art Deco is an appropriate description of the Skyline pen.

 

"After the Universal Exposition of 1900, various French artists formed an informal collective known as, La Société des artistes décorateurs (the society of the decorator artists).[5] Founders included Hector Guimard, Eugène Grasset, Raoul Lachenal, Paul Bellot, Maurice Dufrêne, and Emile Decoeur. These artists heavily influenced the principles of Art Deco as a whole.[6] This society's purpose was to demonstrate French decorative art's leading position and evolution internationally. They organized the 1925[7] Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art) in Paris,[8] which would feature French art and business interests.[6][9] The terms Style Moderne and Art Deco both derive from the exposition's title,[3] though Art Deco was not widely used until popularized by art historian Bevis Hillier's 1968 book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s.[10]

In the summer of 1969, Hillier conceived organizing an exhibition called Art Deco at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts,[11] which took place from July to September 1971. After this event, interest in Art Deco peaked with the publication of his 1971 book The World of Art Deco, a record of the exhibition.[12]

[edit]Sources

 

The structure of Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes.[13] It was widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism, being influenced by a variety of sources. The ability to travel and excavations during this time influenced artists and designers, integrating several elements from countries not their own. Among them were the so-called "primitive" arts of Africa, as well as historical styles such as Greco-Roman Classicism, and the art of Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt,[13][14] and Aztec Mexico.[1] Much of this could be attributed to the popular interest in archeology in the 1920s (eg, the tomb of Tutankhamun, Pompeii, the lost city of Troy, etc). Art Deco also drew on Machine Age and streamline technologies[15] such as modern aviation, electric lighting, the radio, the ocean liner and the skyscraper for inspiration.[1] Streamline Moderne was the final interwar-period development, which most thoroughly manifests technology and has been rated by some commentators as a separate architectural style.[16]"

 

Me speaking again. Streamline Moderne was a term coined long after the ear. Moderne art refers to architecture while streamlined graphic art is still considered Deco.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Artie