All Pens and Ephemera

Few bridges in Europe are as famous as Florence, Italy's, Ponte Vecchio. It has spanned the Arno River since Medieval times and is famous today for its incredible shops. Early Visconti decided to pay homage to it with this Visconti Ponte Vecchio fountain pen. We love the way the oranges and blues pop in the light. Our preowned luxury pen comes from Visconti's rise to fame. It comes with its worn leather box and papers. Gently used, it still looks like new. You will love the way its smooth 18k gold nib lays down a medium line. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.2cm capped.

Pastels dominated the 1950s' Technicolor landscape, and Esterbrook Purse Pens specialized in those soft colors. This robin's egg blue pen has a great cap and barrel with no cracks but some discoloration. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. The pocket clip is on nice and tight. Click the headline for close-ups. You will see there is a crack in the section near the nib. It is a short crack, and we think we've successfully sealed it with rubber cement. You will write a buttery smooth fine line with an upgraded steel 9556 nib. 11cm capped.

Kick up your desk's fashion sense a notch with an attractive rocker blotter. We think the top of this blotter is made of pewter, but we aren't sure. A steel bottom bends like a spring to remove and replace the blotter paper. This model comes with blue blotter paper that was used twice and is ready for more action. The metal topper gives it some nice heft. There is some wear on the "pewter" topper. 9.2cm L X 5.2cm W X 3.3cm H.

Every desk could use a classic rocker blotter to complete the look of a fountain pen lifestyle. This wooden blotter shows a little wear from use. You unscrew the knob to access and replace the blue blotter paper held within. It has a little ink staining from use but still has a long life of blotting ahead of it. 4 1/4 inches wide by 2 1/8th inches tall.

Montegrappa Extra 1930 is a confusing name for a pen, as it made many decades after 1930. Nevertheless, it was made with all of the elegance of that decade's luxury design. Montegrappa is easily our favorite Italian pen manufacturer. It uses the most beautiful of celluloids, solid precious metal trim and its nibs are soooo damned smooth. This preowned luxury pen sports a "green marble" design and sterling silver trim. It was gently used and looks like it is in mint condition on a passing glance. Yet, a very close inspection reveals some wear to the celluloid where it rattled around a desk drawer for a little while. However, you really need to look closely to see it. You will write a delightfully smooth medium line with its 18k gold nib. Oddly, we don't see the gold purity stamp on the nib, but these pens all came with 18k gold nibs to the best of our knowledge. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.8cm capped.

Remember when everyone was soooo worked up about the year 2000? The late 1990s were loaded with all kinds of items to commemorate the new millennium. It was kinda fun and exciting. Italian penmaker Delta got in on the act with the Delta Y2K. Its frosted silver and "champagne" gold cap and barrel were undoubtedly signifying the party of a lifetime. Unfortunately, this pen didn't hold up as well as we'd have hoped. Heavily worn and pitted from use and time, it is still a functional reminder of those heady days. You'll write a slightly scratchy extra-fine line with its two-tone steel nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 14cm capped.

Who says pens need to be serious all the time. Some can be serious fun! Take our Hechter Travel Pen for example. It is like writing with an entire safari in Africa. As far as quality goes, it is just a basic fountain pen with a steel nib. It comes with a converter, too. The clip seems to have heavy brassing, and the pen has some wear. There is a little crack in the lip of the cap. Do NOT post the cap on the tail. You will write a fine line with a little feedback. 14cm capped.

We love finding Parker Vacumatics that are still in close-to-new condition. This vintage pen still has a light-yellow barrel clarity! It is no longer that green-yellow from right off the line, but it is still pretty good. No cracks, minimal--if any--brassing. We restored this pen with a new diaphragm. The biggest "flaw" is that its pocket clip spins, even though it is securely on the pen. The blue diamond was Parker's indicator that this pen was guaranteed for the life of its first owner. You will write an extra-fine line with its 14k gold nib. There is a little feedback, but this is a pretty good XF writer. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.8cm capped.