Prominent Individuals That Collect Fountain Pens

[Florida Blue]

I wrote that Globe column. A student of mine sold Hanks a pen for a hundred dollars at Paper Source in Boston, and I mentioned that.

 

I thought you might be a FPN member since you mentioned the forum in the column. Nice to meet you!

[Gobblecup]

Speaking of Montblanc, its pronunciation sounds more French than German. :hmm1:

Well it would, as they are named after the highest mountain in the Alps. To my information, there is no German name for that mountain, we use only the French name...

 

It could always translate to Weissberg... but I don't think it would be a good choice for Montblanc's marketing!

 

Hmmm, not wanting to sound harsh or anything, but some names I read in the posts make me want to trash my fountain pens and to write with bics, not wanting to have anything in common with them.

 

I kind of relate to this whole idea of so called 'prominent' people who use fountain pens being a bit 'off putting'. I don't care if some spoiled podge uses fountain pens, I use them by my choice. Besides, everyone used them before the 1960s for the most part.

 

But would I consider using Bics just because a distasteful celebrity uses fountain pens? For the same reasons, no. I don't care what 'they' use to write with. Besides, as another member pointed out, there are probably more Bics users I hate, than FP uses I hate!

 

The most prominent fountain pen user in my life (this may come off self centered, but I don't mean it that way), ME!

Edited July 26, 2011 by Gobblecup

[padams2359]

I have a very good friend that is on television and uses them for writing, and drawing. He does some unbelieveable pencil and ink drawings. I have several of them framed at home.

[norman penlover]

Montblanc was Sir Winston Churchill pen of choice. Montblanc later went on to release a pen named after him.

 

Below is a link to the original Bruckheimer thread which links to photos of his wonderful collection.

 

http://www.fountainp..._1#entry1952838

 

i beg your pardon, i thought he used conway stewarts or maybe onoto.

 

i find it doubtful that he used a german pen during those years.

 

or am i completely mushed up today :embarrassed_smile:

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

 

Yes, Churchill used Conway Stewart and Onoto. That's why Conway Stewart has a Churchill limited edition pen. Also see this post:

 

http://www.fountainp...-churchill-use/

 

Best,

 

Somnath.

 

Who knows which of us is correct, but...

 

That thread is pure speculation.

 

Conway Stewart are not the only company to bring out a Limited Edition pen in his honour. So did Montblanc.

 

Bonhams claim that he was a Montblanc user.

 

http://www.antiquetr...c_fountain_pen/

 

Have a look at this blog:

 

http://writinginstruments.blogspot.com/2010/09/winston-churchill-and-his-pens-from.html

 

This claims that Churchill used Conway Stewart pens. There may be a Mont Blanc commemorative Churchill pen, but I don't believe that Churchill used a German pen during the war.

 

Somnath.

Honestly, it is quite possible he used all three... at different times, depending on what pen he was given last. It wouldn't surprise me if he was given a montblanc in the inter war period at all, as England had quite a organised effort to make peace with Nazi Germany at that time.

 

 

An interesting light is shed on Churchill's Second World War use of pens in a book "Mr Churchill's Secretary" by Elizabeth Nel. Whilst not mentioning FP brands, she recounts that he used a gold fountain pen with blue-black ink to sign letters, and a stylo-type pen with red ink for annotating documents.

[LedZepGirl]

Hmmm, not wanting to sound harsh or anything, but some names I read in the posts make me want to trash my fountain pens and to write with bics, not wanting to have anything in common with them.

 

 

I'm not a fan of many of those listed here either (don't care much for actors and what they like and do), but I'm going to keep on collecting fountain pens and using them on a daily basis. Why? Because I don't care what rich actor person claims to like FPs, their liking them has nothing to do with my collection or using them. Heck, they probably don't even use their pens on a regular basis and some most likely just have them because they can- too much $$$$$$ and time. Another thing is I pick up pens that most wealthy and famous people wouldn't deal with, pens that need repair or are old. I don't know about you, but I couldn't see some rich actor walking into a small town flea market and buying a $12.00 Esterbrook J with a bent nib and bad sac.

[Scrawler]

Hmmm, not wanting to sound harsh or anything, but some names I read in the posts make me want to trash my fountain pens and to write with bics, not wanting to have anything in common with them.

 

 

I'm not a fan of many of those listed here either (don't care much for actors and what they like and do), but I'm going to keep on collecting fountain pens and using them on a daily basis. Why? Because I don't care what rich actor person claims to like FPs, their liking them has nothing to do with my collection or using them. Heck, they probably don't even use their pens on a regular basis and some most likely just have them because they can- too much $$$$$$ and time. Another thing is I pick up pens that most wealthy and famous people wouldn't deal with, pens that need repair or are old. I don't know about you, but I couldn't see some rich actor walking into a small town flea market and buying a $12.00 Esterbrook J with a bent nib and bad sac.

I took this thread to be about how widespread fountain pen use was, not to list people to be emulated. Just because someone is wealthy or well known, does not make them more human, more worthy, or their opinion worth more. People who do not use Esties do not know what they are missing. My, now fully restored, blue SJ is my "take everywhere" pen and is so beautiful that it draws comment from everyone, despite the fact that at one time they were common as dirt.

[OcalaFlGuy]

As has been mentioned in past threads on this topic, Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter uses a lowly black Esterbrook. Just as he retired, I sent a short penned letter (written with an Esterbrook with a Pendleton Point C.I. in it) to his home address and offered to assist him if any of his Esties needed any work done on them.

 

He replied on his personal Supreme Court Justice stationery. I presume he signed it with his beloved Estie.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Jeanis]

Former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs and top diplomat Jan Eliasson is at least an avid fountain pen user. In an interview he was asked what three things he would bring to a desert island. His answer was the complete works of Shakespeare, a fountian pen with lots of ink and four or five diaries.

 

In a radio interview he told the story of when he had been sitting writing a draft for a seminar and he got so excited about what he had written that he somehow stabbed his thumb with his fountain pen. As a result of this accident he had to seek treatment for blood poisoning...

[Bruno]

A friend was most instrumental in eradicating Polio. He recently asked me to fix his early 1940s Black Sheaffer OS Balance, which had stopped working. He was given the pen in 1943 and still uses it to this day. It has a lot of sentimental value.

 

Here you can see the pen in his lab coat pocket... many decades ago. The guy with my friend apparently had some involvement as well.

 

-Bruno

[esterbex]

A friend was most instrumental in eradicating Polio. He recently asked me to fix his early 1940s Black Sheaffer OS Balance, which had stopped working. He was given the pen in 1943 and still uses it to this day. It has a lot of sentimental value.

 

Here you can see the pen in his lab coat pocket... many decades ago. The guy with my friend apparently had some involvement as well.

 

-Bruno

 

He should get free service on everything for life!

I'm impressed with your circle of friends Signore Corsini.

[yossiantokolitz]

In Israel:

Ex prime minister Ehud Olmert is a well knoen collector who managed to drage his pens into scandal.Apperantly he is a collector of 30 years standing and got over 1000 pens.It just happens that some 20000$ pen were "given" by "friends" as "presents".

Ex prime minister and corent secratary of defance Ehud Barak is a user and collector of ,I think, 51's.

Ex president of high cort Ahron Barak is a well known user and ,I think,collector of MB.

Ex prime minister and now president Shimon Peres is a well known user / collector with parthiallety it seems to Aurora.

Prominant banch but not all respectable.I think Olmert in particular has managed to cast a dark shadow over all of us collectors.

Yossi

[Sailor Kenshin]

My brain is melted today: there was a science fiction writer who came here to get a Waterman repaired, and Richard offered to help him. Can't remember who it was offhand except that he's known for writing by oil lamp.

 

Do you mean Neal Stephenson? He wrote his "Baroque Cycle" books with a fountain pen, I remember reading somewhere, though whether by oil-lamp light or not, I don't know.

 

One fountain pen user who is prominent in India (but probably unknown in the West) is the humorist and amateur historian Khushwant Singh, author of many books. His ritual is to buy a new pen before starting to write a new book, then use it to write the entire book.

 

What a cool ritual!