The Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy Appreciation Thread

[fpupulin]

And here is the same exercise that I showed a few posts above, that I had written with 146 Calligraphy ("The power of a pen..."), now written in Italian with the docile nib of the trusty 149 Calligraphy.

 

Same paper, Fabriano Studio Watercolor, and Iroshizuku chiku-rin ink. Oh what a pleasure...

 

 

 

Thanks for taking a look.

 

 

[a student]

@fpupulin

Let me first say that your skills with MB 149C are a joy to see, and your persistence with that skill is indeed exemplary, setting a rather high bar I might add.

 

But you are up there with the skilled photographers too in my opinion: composition, play of light, etc. I did note a Hasselblad camera in one or more images posted by you, and it appeared to be an analog camera. I wonder whether you indeed use analog photography in the images you post, or are you using a digital back with a Hasselblad ,or indeed, you are using another camera system altogether. 

 

In case you are using Hasselblad digital, I am keen to know what you make of their new offerings; here and here. I value your opinion because I note your careful reasoning involved in judging the value of a pen.

 

(Such a discussion seems out of place in the 194C thread in my opinion, and you might perhaps agree with that, even though it is related to the quality of the images posted here. One seeks for a little indulgence from the moderators in this regard)

[Toolattack]

I’ve taken the plunge and ordered the 146 Calligraphy, I’m hoping that with practice my lettering will improve and I’ll learn to handle the flexi nib!

[fpupulin]

On 4/24/2023 at 7:27 AM, a student said:

@fpupulin

Let me first say that your skills with MB 149C are a joy to see, and your persistence with that skill is indeed exemplary, setting a rather high bar I might add.

 

But you are up there with the skilled photographers too in my opinion: composition, play of light, etc. I did note a Hasselblad camera in one or more images posted by you, and it appeared to be an analog camera. I wonder whether you indeed use analog photography in the images you post, or are you using a digital back with a Hasselblad ,or indeed, you are using another camera system altogether. 

 

In case you are using Hasselblad digital, I am keen to know what you make of their new offerings; here and here. I value your opinion because I note your careful reasoning involved in judging the value of a pen.

 

(Such a discussion seems out of place in the 194C thread in my opinion, and you might perhaps agree with that, even though it is related to the quality of the images posted here. One seeks for a little indulgence from the moderators in this regard)

 

Dear pen pal: thank you for your question which, even if it goes a little beyond the central topic of this topic, is nonetheless in my opinion very close to the heart of our common passion for fountain pens. I don't think it's a coincidence that, among the friends of the forum, many are expert photographers as well as passionate collectors, calligraphers and artists. There is no doubt that photographing your pens is another of the many ways to enjoy them and take pleasure in their peaceful existence!

 

So here I am to answer some of your questions more specifically, albeit a few weeks late.

 

Hasselblad cameras have always been my favourite, at least since I was able to afford one more than 30 years ago. My first was a 503CX, which traveled with me everywhere and took most of the photographs in my first big book on orchids, the first volume of Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids (recently I published the third and last volume of this work). With my analog Hasselblads (the park also included a 500C/M, a 501C/M and a SWC/M) I photographed on black and white film and on slides and, since 2009, on a digital back that Hasselblad had recently created for its cameras, with an absolutely gorgeous 16MP square sensor of fat pixels. For reasons intrinsic to its construction, that sensor does not tolerate the tropical climates where I live, and after having it refurbished three times (let's spread a veil of pitiful silence on the cost of the operation) I decided to abandon it. Never again did I try however, with the other sensors that came later, the effect of pure photographic magic of my CFV-16, but anyhow...
In 2016 I switched to Hasselblad's native digital system, with its H system and a 50 Mp sensor. I did not abandon, nor did I ever think of doing so, my analogue Hasselblads, with which I continue - even if to a lesser extent - to photograph on film. Among the photographs, there are also some of fountain pens, shot on black and white films of low sensibility. Here are some example images, taken with the Hasselblads 500C/M and 501C/M of Ilford PanF and PF4 films:

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't used slide film - which I like more than any other medium - anymore, except very rarely because here in Costa Rica I can't develop it and I don't like months between shooting and the moment in which I can see what I combined.

 

Recently, Hasselblad created a fantastic new digital back for a very "slim" camera called 507X, that can be fitted - without any adapter - to the historical, or heritage caner of the V-system. It is a gorgeous 50MP CMOS sensor, with no defects that I can see.

 

No doubt, digital has great advantages on this, and unlike you are really tempted by photography in the broadest sense, I think that digital is today the easier way to follow.

 

So, with respect to the two Hasselblad cameras you posted a link to, I'd say they are two fantastic beasts, but two different beasts none the less. The X100, especially the actual model with 100Mp sensor, is a much more modern and advanced camera. It is a so-called mirrorless, of which I have no experience in the range of magnifications normally used for pen photography. The quality of the image, which I was able to personally observe, is out of this world. The price, well, also...

 

The 907X does not, strictly speaking, have a true viewfinder, so it must be used with judgment on what you are doing in the digital back display. The display is really good (I own one and I can confirm it firsthand) but, in my opinion, it doesn't replace a real viewfinder in terms of shooting immediacy. A separate viewfinder to be placed on the top is sold for this camera. I haven't tried it, but I can well believe it does its job in general photography. But I imagine that the parallax defect can make it a bit complicated in close-up and macro photography.  In my opinion, the 907X, or rather the sensor that is sold with the 907X, is the ideal and almost magical solution for anyone who has a fleet of V series cameras and optics - with their photographic mystique - to which it can be seemless mounted, with photographically breathtaking results.

 

For me, it hasn't been since my CFV-16 that I have enjoyed this much and been so amazed by the quality of the results, using my Hasselblad heritage cameras. Today I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Here are a few images taken with the combination of Hasselblad V camera (a 501C/M) and Zeiss lenses (Makro Planar 135mm and Planar 100mm) on a CFV-50c II sensor (that of the 907X).

 

 

 

 

 

I hope I've been helpful.

 

[a student]

8 hours ago, fpupulin said:

 

Dear pen pal: thank you for your question which, even if it goes a little beyond the central topic of this topic, is nonetheless in my opinion very close to the heart of our common passion for fountain pens. I don't think it's a coincidence that, among the friends of the forum, many are expert photographers as well as passionate collectors, calligraphers and artists. There is no doubt that photographing your pens is another of the many ways to enjoy them and take pleasure in their peaceful existence!

 

So here I am to answer some of your questions more specifically, albeit a few weeks late.

 

Hasselblad cameras have always been my favourite, at least since I was able to afford one more than 30 years ago. My first was a 503CX, which traveled with me everywhere and took most of the photographs in my first big book on orchids, the first volume of Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids (recently I published the third and last volume of this work). With my analog Hasselblads (the park also included a 500C/M, a 501C/M and a SWC/M) I photographed on black and white film and on slides and, since 2009, on a digital back that Hasselblad had recently created for its cameras, with an absolutely gorgeous 16MP square sensor of fat pixels. For reasons intrinsic to its construction, that sensor does not tolerate the tropical climates where I live, and after having it refurbished three times (let's spread a veil of pitiful silence on the cost of the operation) I decided to abandon it. Never again did I try however, with the other sensors that came later, the effect of pure photographic magic of my CFV-16, but anyhow...
In 2016 I switched to Hasselblad's native digital system, with its H system and a 50 Mp sensor. I did not abandon, nor did I ever think of doing so, my analogue Hasselblads, with which I continue - even if to a lesser extent - to photograph on film. Among the photographs, there are also some of fountain pens, shot on black and white films of low sensibility. Here are some example images, taken with the Hasselblads 500C/M and 501C/M of Ilford PanF and PF4 films:

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't used slide film - which I like more than any other medium - anymore, except very rarely because here in Costa Rica I can't develop it and I don't like months between shooting and the moment in which I can see what I combined.

 

Recently, Hasselblad created a fantastic new digital back for a very "slim" camera called 507X, that can be fitted - without any adapter - to the historical, or heritage caner of the V-system. It is a gorgeous 50MP CMOS sensor, with no defects that I can see.

 

No doubt, digital has great advantages on this, and unlike you are really tempted by photography in the broadest sense, I think that digital is today the easier way to follow.

 

So, with respect to the two Hasselblad cameras you posted a link to, I'd say they are two fantastic beasts, but two different beasts none the less. The X100, especially the actual model with 100Mp sensor, is a much more modern and advanced camera. It is a so-called mirrorless, of which I have no experience in the range of magnifications normally used for pen photography. The quality of the image, which I was able to personally observe, is out of this world. The price, well, also...

 

The 907X does not, strictly speaking, have a true viewfinder, so it must be used with judgment on what you are doing in the digital back display. The display is really good (I own one and I can confirm it firsthand) but, in my opinion, it doesn't replace a real viewfinder in terms of shooting immediacy. A separate viewfinder to be placed on the top is sold for this camera. I haven't tried it, but I can well believe it does its job in general photography. But I imagine that the parallax defect can make it a bit complicated in close-up and macro photography.  In my opinion, the 907X, or rather the sensor that is sold with the 907X, is the ideal and almost magical solution for anyone who has a fleet of V series cameras and optics - with their photographic mystique - to which it can be seemless mounted, with photographically breathtaking results.

 

For me, it hasn't been since my CFV-16 that I have enjoyed this much and been so amazed by the quality of the results, using my Hasselblad heritage cameras. Today I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Here are a few images taken with the combination of Hasselblad V camera (a 501C/M) and Zeiss lenses (Makro Planar 135mm and Planar 100mm) on a CFV-50c II sensor (that of the 907X).

 

 

 

 

 

I hope I've been helpful.

 

 

First, you have been most helpful indeed. Second, the images as usual are enticing, in monochrome as well as in colour; and the calligraphy is up there with your hallmark style and standard.

 

A particularly intriguing image, perhaps because it both presents and evades, is the monochrome one of the Hemingway- I say evades because unless you take a close look you can't be sure about the pen. The orange of the Hemingway is transformed into a bluish grey- the shade blending nicely with the black! There is also the presence of a camera, evasively revealed only partially (though this one is not a Hasselblad). It does surprise me that Leica did not cross your path, ever in life

 

If you have been using a stable of Hasselblads and apart from the H, they are all mechanical in the sense that even with a digital back the usual aids that is autofocus, image stabilisation, white balance, iso, etc, and a tripod a must, are not electronic and require repeated exercises of judgement, then with the skill evident in the images you sure deserve an H system!

 

Coming to the choice between 907x and X2D, the retro shape of 907 has immense appeal (and it is more economical as well, even though the word "economy" doesn't quite go with the brand), but it would require a viewfinder besides a hand grip and the latter would reduce the purity of the form. Let's see how this one goes.

 

Thank you again for that exhaustive explanation, the fine images, and the usual exemplary calligraphy. Greatly enjoyed that.

[fpupulin]

I begin this post with an "I don't know". I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity, or rather the luck, to get your hands on a sheet of Fabriano Roma paper.

 

Photograph from the Fabriano web page

 

Roma is a handmade paper made of 100% cotton, with deckled edges, laid and watermarked, weighing 130 g/m2. It is sold in 48x66 cm sheets, with the chain stitches parallel to the short side and the miller lines to the long side. It has a neutral pH, is chlorine-free and unalterable over time. The beautiful, large watermark reproduces the inscription C.M. FABRIANO and at the bottom right the image of the she-wolf suckling the twins and the inscription ROMA.

 

Photograph from the Fabriano web page

 

Photographs from the Pegasus Art (above) and Chartars (below) web pages

 

Roma paper is available in four shades: Michelangelo, white, Raffaello, ivory yellow, Tiziano, gray, and Veronese, green. To say that it is beautiful is an understatement: it is voluptuous. Fabriano proposes it for prestigious editions, prints "of particular qualitative effect", bookbinding and drawing, and I imagine that no one uses it lightly, because each sheet of Rome (at least where I buy it) costs $14.20 plus shipping…

 

I bought two sheets, one Michelangelo and one Raphael, several years ago, and since then they have been waiting in a folder for me to decide to do something with them. A few days ago I decided: I will use the Michelangelo (lighter in color) to write a Copperplate style alphabet with my faithful 149 Calligraphy, a true "operetta", perhaps to be framed and hung on the wall.

 

I keep going with the "I don't know". I don't know if Rome is good for calligraphy. To the touch, the laying is rather rough, and observing it in grazing light it is striking (apart from its beauty) that the relief of the watermark is truly evident. I can't try, because my intention would be to frame the operetta - if it came out decently - between two glasses, so that I can't "mess" the back of the sheet with some scribbles. I'll have to try, at the right moment, to write the alphabet, hoping for the best. But I saw that Roma also sells it in a shop specializing in calligraphy, which bodes well. However, I console myself by thinking that I won't die for 13 Euros if it doesn't work.

 

I don't know. Yeah, another "I don't know". I don't know what ink to use. I debate between a classic black, very calligraphic, but without nuances, and less canonical colors but rich in beautiful nuances, a light green, petroleum or red-brown. I decide to do a poll with my Pupulines, Elvira, Margherita and Carlotta. The first to leave the contest is oil. Green follows, then black. Among the brown-reds I choose the Terracotta di Diamine, a special edition to celebrate the I don't know what of the house and of which I bought three bottles at the time (I still have two left).

 

The last time I wrote an alphabet, I inadvertently left out a letter. I didn't notice it, but a dear reader of another forum, who pointed it out to me. I don't know - again! - if all the letters of that alphabet pleased me enough. In the days that preceded the time to get to the real work and write the alphabet on Roma paper, I devoted myself to scribbling a few test letters on my notebooks. Some came out not bad, adopted for the "true" version. There, on the slightly creamy Moleskine sheets, I too was able to see that brown is better than green.

 

 

 

 

Finally the big day, the awaited moment to experience Roma under the marks left by the Terracotta ink with the Calligraphy nib. Brrrr… The paper is really rough! The nib runs, but here and there it tries to enter the furrow of the vergella, here and there the thin line is interrupted and you have to resume it (which doesn't always succeed properly…), and often, when the nib goes under pressure, the paper chokes the ink flow and the stroke continues with a sad track… You have to stop, go back, redo the line once, twice, three times, sometimes you need to fill the track, and sometimes (which is worse) , when you go back "inside" the track you make a mistake and go "outside"...

 

I wrote a couple of lines in uppercase and one in lowercase. Small letters were easier, but flourishes were a serious undertaking. At the third line I gave up. From here "one goes to eternal pain", as Dante would have said...

 

I was sorry for the 13 Euros, but more for the beautiful sheet that I ruined. A few hours later I tried to go ahead and finish the third line. I don't wanted to lose my beautiful sheet. The relationship more hateful than loving between pen and paper didn't improve, but by the fourth line I felt that I was beginning to understand how I had to do it, I'm not saying how to do it well, but at least how to govern the leaps and tracks and the lines that are interrupted. I resigned myself to the fact that splendid Roma is not as I wanted and as I had imagined. But it's still paper. And my 149 Calligraphy is still a pen, a great pen, what a pen!!!
I grit my teeth. It is not a work of pleasure, but I go on. Labor omnia vincit.

 

I finished the last flourish after the lowercase "z", then where I purposely left a space, I put the "signature" with the Stub nib of my Montegrappa Extra Black Bamboo. The nib scratches and rebels, stubbornly stumbles, but eventually finally he obeys as far as he can and puts his green signature. It's done!

 

Moral. Now I know. The Fabriano Roma is beautiful and I believe a small calligraphic masterpiece could be obtained from it, but it does not seem to me to be suitable for a pointed nib. Who knows, some lucky owner of the "Curved nib" 149 could try a more gestural alphabet, made up of freer, wider signs, more in "love struggle" with the paper.

Thanks for your attention.

[XYZZY]

I would be very proud if I could do calligraphy even half as well as you on your off days.

 

That Fabriano Roma paper looks very nice, although even before I finished your story I was already thinking "Good luck, that looks like an obstacle course for a nib." The final photo is especially nice for how it dwarfs the pen, and the pen's size in turn makes clear just how coarse the paper is. Perhaps a better analogy should be using a street car on an off-road course?

 

I had never heard of the Fabriano Roma paper so did some searching to learn more about it.  Most online shops that mention it list only a couple of colors, but I found one that lists eight(!): https://www.johnpurcell.net/fabroma.htm.  I have no knowledge of this dealer, though.

 

[fireant]

I hope this is okay to post here. There is an instagram account called "Virtual Pen Show" and he sells pens for people. He just changed his business model to a fee (I think it's $3 for an individual).

Anyways he's just listed a MB 149 Calligraphy nib for Price: €1100.

 

The Instagram listing says:

"For Sale: Montblanc Meisterstück 149 Calligraphy | Price: €1100
For Inquiries, Contact: @katja_pens
Description: Montblanc Meisterstück 149 with Flex nib.
Only dipped, box and papers included."

 

This is the link to the IG post. Please note I am not associated with either account, I just thought someone here might be interested or might want to look in to this.

 

 

 

[fpupulin]

 

The pen is a maieutic tool.

[fpupulin]

This is just to show what the Calligraphy can do on a red sheet!  I had it left over from my pad of assorted colors of Ingres Clairfontaine paper, and I used it with Montblanc's Blue Permanent ink, which on this paper looks more like an unsaturated black than blue.

 

 

The motto is by Pubilius Syrus, a Roman author of theater who is best known for his Sententiae, a collection with about 700 maxims taken from his own "mimes".

[a student]

Excellent penmanship, as always. And great photography as well.

[fpupulin]

Just for those of you who are perhaps interested, Paolo Mijno (Zona900) has a NOS 149 Calligraphy flexible available. I bought from hm before, and in my opinion he is a true connoisseur and very reputable seller. 

Here is the page: https://www.zona900.com/product-category/sample-product/montblanc-meisterstuck-calligraphy-149-box-papers/

[ak47]

Hi

There is another 149c.

This is at a jewellery shop.

https://gioielleriacola.it/penne/2799-Meisterst-ck-149-Calligraphy-con-pennino-ricurvo.html

Bye

[fpupulin]

9 hours ago, ak47 said:

Hi

There is another 149c.

This is at a jewellery shop.

https://gioielleriacola.it/penne/2799-Meisterst-ck-149-Calligraphy-con-pennino-ricurvo.html

Bye

Thank you, ak47. This, however, is not the flexible, which is now pretty rare, but the curved nib, which is still readily available in many shops around the world.

[marlinspike]

On 4/22/2023 at 7:10 PM, fpupulin said:

And here is the same exercise that I showed a few posts above, that I had written with 146 Calligraphy ("The power of a pen..."), now written in Italian with the docile nib of the trusty 149 Calligraphy.

 

Same paper, Fabriano Studio Watercolor, and Iroshizuku chiku-rin ink. Oh what a pleasure...

 

Thanks for taking a look.

 

 

Beautiful. Also, I love Fabriano, not so accessible in the USA but they are obtainable. Is all of their paper good with Fountain pens?

[marlinspike]

I picked up a 149 flex last month in Hamburg. Is it typical for these that for some reason ink gets all over the top-side of the nib while you write with it?

[Centurion]

It seems like Montblanc is intentionally not offering  the 149 Flex in the US. What can the strategic reason for that? Perhaps the US is the 3rd most important region for them?

[marlinspike]

49 minutes ago, Centurion said:

It seems like Montblanc is intentionally not offering  the 149 Flex in the US. What can the strategic reason for that? Perhaps the US is the 3rd most important region for them?

It was offered here, it just sold out and is not being made anymore. It is definitely true that we are the 3rd most important region for them though we ought to be the 2nd most, with Asia blowing everybody away.

[Frank C]

16 hours ago, marlinspike said:

I picked up a 149 flex last month in Hamburg. Is it typical for these that for some reason ink gets all over the top-side of the nib while you write with it?

You have what is called, "nib creep". Which ink are you using in it? But that is only part of the problem. Richard Binder explains it better than I:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/ttp/creeps.htm 

 

When one of my pens has this, I don't worry about it. If I like the pen and ink combination, I just keep going with it. 

[marlinspike]

Just now, Frank C said:

You have what is called, "nib creep". Which ink are you using in it? But that is only part of the problem. Richard Binder explains it better than I:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/ttp/creeps.htm 

 

When one of my pens has this, I don't worry about it. If I like the pen and ink combination, I just keep going with it. 

I've been using Edelstein Aventurine.