The blog since 2013
262 posts since September 2013 by Nathaniel Cerf: how to start collecting, what happens at the repair bench, inks under the sun, fake Montblancs, and the pens of presidents and writers. "It is a space dedicated to pen lovers old and new."
December 6, 2023 · Pen News
A field of wild blue camas in Montana springtime has nothing to do with postal shipping speeds. However, it is pretty. Time is running out for holiday shoppers to get their orders in and arriving before their respective holidays. We likely have already missed the deadline to make sure a Hanukkah package arrives by the…
October 31, 2023 · Original Stories
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the first chapter to a book I have not completed. Quite frankly, I’m not sure anyone would want to read the whole book. As such, let me know what you think. Should I push ahead? Stave I This photo has nothing to do with the story, but didn’t a certain…
September 10, 2023 · Ink Reviews
The one ink brand everyone is always talking about is Noodler’s Inks. People either love it or hate it. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground. As such, we want to add our two cents to this conversation, and we surprised ourselves with our tests and findings. Controversy seems to follow in…
August 5, 2023 · How Do I Start Collecting Pens?
When I first saw the Montblanc Rouge et Noir Metamorphosis pens, I was confused by the fact they featured a spider. I was thinking of Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” in which is main character Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to discover he is a cockroach. It took my good friend Tobias to remind me of Ovid’s…
July 24, 2023 · Pen News
This is what the new home page looked like on Day 1 of our refresh. Please note the “On Sale!,” “New Arrivals” and search bar. In our on-going efforts to make ThePenMarket.com to best place to buy writing instruments online, we just made some major changes to our home page. You can now search for…
July 19, 2023 · The History of Pens
Here stands a blue Pelikan Level 5 fountain pen in its inkwell egg filling unit. The number one thing that attracts me to fountain pens and their history is all the many unique filling systems. One of the last great attempts at making a unique new filling system was the Pelikan Level system for its…
July 3, 2023 · How Do I Start Collecting Pens?
This is an authentic Mont Blanc JFK ballpoint pen with its original boxes and papers. In an effort to pay tribute to the United States of America’s youthful, idealist president who was assassinated, the Montblanc JFK is a special edition pen. It is a handsome pen that came in several color combinations and was most…
June 24, 2023 · Famous People & Pens
When I first started ThePenMarket.com, I also worked part-time at a brick-and-mortar pen shop in a mall. I was far more familiar with vintage pens than modern, and I was very excited to see that the Conklin Pen Company had been brought back to life at around the same time. I had no idea who…
June 4, 2023 · Ink Reviews
While wrapping up our ink tests in 2021, we had a bunch of loose bottles of ink that we tested on the same pieces of Rhodia paper to save paper and space. I left these test samples in the window for six months, and Dawn and I calibrated and tested the pH on these samples…
May 24, 2023 · Pen News
Since moving to Connecticut, I’ve befriended the artist and painter Jonathan Weinberg, who also happens to be the founder of the Charter Oak Pen Club and curator at The Maurice Sendak Foundation. (Yep, that Maurice Sendak who wrote “Where the Wild Things Are.”) This week, he invited me on to his podcast, “Drawing with Fountain…
May 19, 2023 · How Do I Start Collecting Pens?
Even for experienced professionals, it is really difficult to gauge a nib by its number. We get calls and e-mail with some regularity asking for a nib of a certain number. The trouble is, we often aren’t sure what the customer really wants. If the nib brand isn’t specified it can be a really challenging…
May 10, 2023 · How Do I Start Collecting Pens?
Is she? Or isn’t she? Can you pick out the real Montblanc Boheme in this photo? One of my favorite additions to the Montblanc line-up in the past 20 years was the Montblanc Boheme. What made it my favorite was the retractable nib, which made it look similar to the classic safety fillers of yesteryear.…
