These are a few of my favorite things... Kralik inkwells and other desktop knick-knacks that bring me joy every day...

[mana]

So, I finally received the last Kralik inkwell and thought of taking a picture of all of them together with some other things that adorn my desk and provide me with dopamine boosts every time I look at them.

Pictured, three Kralik inkwells from the very early 20th century (~1900-1905), an Art Nouveau-styled commercial/advertisement binder clip also from the early 20th century, a mid-century (1940s to 1950s) Pelikan No. 4 bakelite pen stand with a black-striped Pelikan 400 from the early 1950s, and finally, some vintage loupes. These just have that "something special" that seems to be sorely missing from modern, more "clean" designs... that human touch, organic feel, and also, a bit of fantasy.

Those make me wonder how they looked new, I mean, I love the patina on them but also, wonder... for example, that clip has severe plating loss, and also, the original paintwork has been lost in places. But, does that make it more appealing and beautiful, those signs of use and life lived? Would it have a similar impact if it was restored to an "as new" state? I think not, and this is especially evident on the patina of the inkwell lid on the left, the darker parts near the edges help lift up the central motif, stamped and set in sterling silver, and elevate it to a level that a newly minted piece could never hope to achieve.

[MsRedpen]

Mana, beautiful inkwells!

I am with you - aging made them just perfect.

 

[mail_snail]

These are, simply put, beautiful. Elegant and classic. I think you really nailed it with saying "the human touch". For the original owners of these items, they were an everyday tool. Decorating them turned a mundane piece of daily-grind desk equipment into something beautiful and enjoyable, but needed to still be usable first and foremost. It seems to me there's a particular charm when things are both beautiful and utile, rather than just decorative alone. 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Not only a very nice set of ink wells, he has the knowledge to sort a couple of mine out, one or two to, Kralik .

He has impressive knowledge in a lot of areas.

 

This is a Wedgewood plate for ink well and pen. Just found and ordered.

 

I have a couple round ink wells that might fit.....if not....then one will be found.

Silver plated round, bollard. @ 1900 era,

The inkwell next to it is silver.

or this silver one.

My wife has a wonderful eye.

 

 

[mail_snail]

Beautiful finds, every one of them. I like the bold but sleek look of the unembellished square glass and silver inkwell. What are the pointy bits and brush for on the front of the silver ink stand?

 

[mana]

56 minutes ago, mail_snail said:

Beautiful finds, every one of them. I like the bold but sleek look of the unembellished square glass and silver inkwell. What are the pointy bits and brush for on the front of the silver ink stand?

The pointy bits prevent the dip pen/pen holder from rolling down to either side (as that inkwell is not flat), the brush is for wiping the nib after writing so that it doesn't drip ink on the desktop.

[mana]

5 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Not only a very nice set of ink wells, he has the knowledge to sort a couple of mine out, one or two to, Kralik .

He has impressive knowledge in a lot of areas.

Thank you, as do you also! It helps to be a curious creature.

5 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

My wife has a wonderful eye.

Ooooh, what lovely canes! I've always wanted a nice walking stick with a sterling silver art nouveau or jugendstil handle but the ones that I've seen that fit the bill... well, good taste is often an expensive one, so sadly, can't yet justify getting one.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have for of those dress strolling sticks and a silver handled cane....

I don't use any..

I'm missing the top hat or bowler. 

[Anne-Sophie]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:10 AM, mana said:

So, I finally received the last Kralik inkwell and thought of taking a picture of all of them together with some other things that adorn my desk and provide me with dopamine boosts every time I look at them.

Pictured, three Kralik inkwells from the very early 20th century (~1900-1905), an Art Nouveau-styled commercial/advertisement binder clip also from the early 20th century, a mid-century (1940s to 1950s) Pelikan No. 4 bakelite pen stand with a black-striped Pelikan 400 from the early 1950s, and finally, some vintage loupes. These just have that "something special" that seems to be sorely missing from modern, more "clean" designs... that human touch, organic feel, and also, a bit of fantasy.

Those make me wonder how they looked new, I mean, I love the patina on them but also, wonder... for example, that clip has severe plating loss, and also, the original paintwork has been lost in places. But, does that make it more appealing and beautiful, those signs of use and life lived? Would it have a similar impact if it was restored to an "as new" state? I think not, and this is especially evident on the patina of the inkwell lid on the left, the darker parts near the edges help lift up the central motif, stamped and set in sterling silver, and elevate it to a level that a newly minted piece could never hope to achieve.

 

Lovely finds mana!

 

I can pictures the ladies with the oversized hats dipping their dip pens to write to a relative or planning their invitations for all kinds of events in Paris, or any country's major metropolitan area. Or, a special birthday or engagement announcement, everywhere else.

 

Did the lady who first used the Pelikan would buy an original Dior hat or would it be a knockoff? Wondering about the original pice and size of the Pelikan 400.

 

I have never seen loupes like this. Thank you for sharing! 

[Anne-Sophie]

On 8/23/2023 at 10:53 AM, Bo Bo Olson said:

Not only a very nice set of ink wells, he has the knowledge to sort a couple of mine out, one or two to, Kralik .

He has impressive knowledge in a lot of areas.

 

This is a Wedgewood plate for ink well and pen. Just found and ordered.

 

I have a couple round ink wells that might fit.....if not....then one will be found.

Silver plated round, bollard. @ 1900 era,

The inkwell next to it is silver.

or this silver one.

My wife has a wonderful eye.

 

 

 

Indeed you wife has a wonderful eye for beautiful things.

 

Do share the picture when you find the perfect set of inkwell and pen for the Wedgewood plate.

 

PS to myself "don't even think about trying to get one",  the deep rich blue and delicate white decorations are singing a siren song.

 

We usually know what that means in FPN, more aquisitions photos.

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Anne-Sophie

The inkwell is sterling silver and crystal.

The pens a early '50's MB rolled gold 742, with a nib directly between semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex F...the only one I have like that.

A copper DJ Estie with an 9668...B or BB.

Only two or three weeks from England... Sailing ships were faster, than Brexit.

 

Will start looking for an oval Wedgewood or other inkwell. The lace dolly was what the inkwell sat on.

This one on the other side of the table was too big.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

A nice Bauhaus/Art Deco ink well, at a reasonable price at a second hand store.. Has the full insert of the time. I don't know if this is late 20's or mid 30's. I really like the play with color. the black under the gray top.

Pens on it a P-75 Thuya, and a Reform SS.

 

Open, ink wells in place.

One taken out to show the porcelain insert with the glass inkwell top.

 

[txomsy]

They are all amazing. The blue and white plate is a real treat, I can picture it over a crochet labor and it is truly functional. The first, aged-patina inkwells are also quite impressive, I think the patina gives them iridiscent reflexes that contribute to enhance their looks. And the grey marble set is simplicity taken to excellence.

[inkstainedruth]

Not sure how I missed this thread before now.  Guess I should take photos of the Pelikan pen stands at some point (I have three of the small ones -- blue glazed, gold glazed, and white, and one of the big ones (the kind with the hole in the beak) that's blue glazed.  I'd dearly love to get a silver glazed one, but the only ones I've seen on eBay are pricy and are from places in Eastern Europe....   Oh, and I should also get a photo of the large plush pelican with a felt (?) beak that has velcro tabs to close it (I think that was the hit of this year's Pittsburgh Pelikan Hub, although the action figure Commander Worf was a close second... ).

@mana -- Those inkwells are LOVELY (I'm a complete sucker for Art Nouveau).

@Bo Bo Olson -- I see top hats every now and then in antiques shops -- but they always go for more than I'm willing to pay.  Need to ask a friend of ours where he got his -- he went to a wedding reception for some other friends who decided to get married on Halloween (so the guests were all supposed to be in costume) as the guy from the animated movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington -- he had one that flattens down for easier storage....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[USG]

@Bo Bo Olson  All Very nice things.... 👍🙂

 

Were you able to get the plate without the inkwell?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Ruth,

I have a small head 6 3/4 or 7/8ths ( for exact size in American, I'd have to dig an antique Alabama cap, out of my hat boxes. It is a  one size fits me, back just after Bear Bryant, when Alabama were fined some 20 scholarships baseball.hat...I only have 7-9 hats.) , but every top hat  I've seen were for tiny heads.....and mine is considered tiny today. But no where near as tiny as those top hats.

 

15 years ago the last time I was in the States, I went looking for a baseball cap and ended up with a child's cap....that was a shock.

 

Back in my day, 7 1/2 was  a fat head....and I was still with in normal.

 

Worse was the modern hat cut, that didn't allow the late  '50-60's front crease....IMO modern egg shapped baseball caps looks a bit dorky with out that old classic way to wear a baseball cap.

Which is why I trashed the modern egg style two and kept that old front creased  style Alabama Cap.

 

I 'earned' it...I was in New Orleans in vacation (30 or more years ago) and there were no Ol'Miss hats*** (lived 16 miles down the road from Ol'Miss)  ...so I ended up with that Alabama hat....that went through the bad times of not winning much if anything. Due to losing 20 scholarships due to cheating. So it took a decade or so, before Alabama was Alabama again.

 

I don't go champion of the quarter year.

 

I am old fashioned, if my team loses in the last minute of a tight exciting game....good....they were good enough to make it exciting.

Which IMO beats the hell out of a boring blow out, even if my team wins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

29 minutes ago, USG said:

Were you able to get the plate without the inkwell?

 Haven't looked for a matching ink well, lately. The couple I saw were expensive and chipped.

Just looked an almost matching set of the blue plate, $350/412.

for full matching in black, $440.

And no inkwells that are alone and match my plate.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Just counted, I have 38 sets or single inkwells,. Mostly sets.

There is some other thread or two where I show them off.

 

Got to have the inserts...... my next problem is to buy a better measuring giizmo and measure out the needed inserts at 14 pounds an insert from England.

The German Black Forest glasshutte I was going to take them too, also needed measurements and it just closed down after a couple hundred years.

Tid bit, a wooden mold, the glass is blown into, has to be soaked in water for some 3 weeks before it can be used.

.

[inkstainedruth]

1 hour ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Ruth,

I have a small head 6 3/4 or 7/8ths ( for exact size in American, I'd have to dig an antique Alabama cap, out of my hat boxes. It is a  one size fits me, back just after Bear Bryant, when Alabama were fined some 20 scholarships baseball.hat...I only have 7-9 hats.) , but every top hat  I've seen were for tiny heads.....and mine is considered tiny today. But no where near as tiny as those top hats.

 

15 years ago the last time I was in the States, I went looking for a baseball cap and ended up with a child's cap....that was a shock.

 

Back in my day, 7 1/2 was  a fat head....and I was still with in normal.

 

Worse was the modern hat cut, that didn't allow the late  '50-60's front crease....IMO modern egg shapped baseball caps looks a bit dorky with out that old classic way to wear a baseball cap.

Which is why I trashed the modern egg style two and kept that old front creased  style Alabama Cap.

 

I 'earned' it...I was in New Orleans in vacation (30 or more years ago) and there were no Ol'Miss hats*** (lived 16 miles down the road from Ol'Miss)  ...so I ended up with that Alabama hat....that went through the bad times of not winning much if anything. Due to losing 20 scholarships due to cheating. So it took a decade or so, before Alabama was Alabama again.

 

I don't go champion of the quarter year.

 

I am old fashioned, if my team loses in the last minute of a tight exciting game....good....they were good enough to make it exciting.

Which IMO beats the hell out of a boring blow out, even if my team wins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I dunno.  If the Pirates win I'm happy (although they're mostly everyone else's "farm team"....  Told a guy at a table in the local mall a few years ago hawking season tickets that they should pay ME to go to Pirates games, since the three games I've seen live they've won.  Of course, I'm ALSO happy that they're in the National League, so I don't have to feel guilty about rooting for them over my beloved NY Yankees....

As for other sports, the Steelers have made this season way too stressful, with all the nail biters they were in.  A guy I know from Williamsport, PA posted pix on FB after going to last Sunday's game along with his wife and a couple of people I know slightly (one of whom was wearing a Packers jersey and grimacing and going "thumbs down").  And Timothy and I were commiserating over the stress of the close games so far this season....  The one time I actually got to go to a Steelers game they spotted the visiting Falcons 3 field goals, and then decided to start actually playing and the final was 24-3 (including at one point, a loose ball that some guy who'd FINALLY signed his contract and was in his first game, picked up and ran in for a touchdown.  The Falcons coach at the time was Glanville (probably the most hated guy in Pgh, because he used to coach one of the other team in the division.  And he was out on the field arguing with a ref for something like 5-10 minutes, and the ref was like, "No, the ball wasn't whistled dead -- touchdown Steelers!"  And at the end of the game Glanville was running off the field with his arms folded over his head because he was probably afraid of people throwing stuff at him....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Anne-Sophie]

On 11/17/2023 at 8:04 AM, Bo Bo Olson said:

A nice Bauhaus/Art Deco ink well, at a reasonable price at a second hand store.. Has the full insert of the time. I don't know if this is late 20's or mid 30's. I really like the play with color. the black under the gray top.

Pens on it a P-75 Thuya, and a Reform SS.

 

Open, ink wells in place.

One taken out to show the porcelain insert with the glass inkwell top.

 

 

Such beauty! The inkwells double inserts are truly unique!

 

It is difficult to gauge their capacity, what do you think it could be compared to? An ink sample vial, a small Herbin round bottle?