What a dangerous thread. Something tells me I shouldn't have clicked on it.
I've been afflicted with FP lust since I was a kid. They were discouraged at school and, naturally, that made them all the more desirable. My first pen, a run-of-the-mill German school pen, met a grisly end in the hands of a rather unpleasant teacher. Perhaps he thought FPs were a little *too* much fun to write with at school. Writing was first and foremost a means to carry content, anything else was superfluous.
My next FP encounter was when I was eight or nine and I caught glimpse of a shiny object strategically positioned in the window of the local stationary shop. Bait for small fish as they were leaving school, no doubt. And did I take that bait. Hook, line and sinker. It was a brushed steel, absolutely no-nonsense pen with a hard steel nail for a nib and a thin red circle as a solitary embellishment at the end of the cap. (This must give away the make of the pen.)
I must have pestered my mother for close to a year. She wasn't thrilled with the idea. The school didn't want us to use one so what good was it for. It was too expensive, pens were too messy. She resisted, predicting (correctly) an ink stained future for me. But you can resist many things, not a fixation. In the end, she relented and got me this most prized of objects as a birthday gift.
I was over the moon.
I inked the pen with Parker Blue Black, an ink that had a very particular smell, one which I can still bring to my nostrils today. And then I started writing whatever it is 8-9 year olds write about. Long divisions and bad prose about the proud history of one's own nation, probably.
I also remember my father looking at the pen with distinctive disinterest. "How can that be", I thought. But he was from a time that couldn't leave FPs behind fast enough. Also, he was a Parker man anyway, and the pen with the red circle, well, it wasn't a match for Parker pens. My grandfather, on the other hand, understood. He'd also transitioned to a Pelikan ballpoint but he'd kept in a drawer numerous nibs for a dipping pen which he used in his time. He had a fluid style of writing that was pleasant to look at but never baroque or ornate. He told me Pelikans were the best pens and that when I'd grow up I'd get one. Today I think he'd have wanted to say also that he'd buy that pen for me when time came. But being as old as he was, he knew his numbers didn't stack up.
Early experiences like these have been formative for my writing preferences later. (Btw the analogies I find with all matters photographic are striking.) I can't say I care about calligraphy (the content-first policy at school left an imprint there) but I keep copious notes for/from seminars and a fountain pen is heaven-sent for that. I still like the same type of no-nonsense pen I liked back then, the kind of workhorse that just does the job without shouting from the rooftops it's a fountain pen. Of course, Rotring is no more so, for me, Lamy has assumed the mantle. I also seem to have a boatload of school pens purchased over the years. Pelikanos, Safaris, Sports, Vectors...the lot. I say to myself that these are now for my daughter but, conveniently, I get to use them too. Oh, and I still have a soft spot for Pelikans. Heck, Parkers too.
Got a quick and dirty pic to post. I see there are a few Pelikans here so the first two are in good company. Will make some more photos later.
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