Category Archives: Pen News

We Have a Winner!

By on July 5, 2015
Leave a reply
Fireworks glow softly just out of focus on the Fourth of July. Congratulations to our winner of the First Ever Lamy Lottery.

Fireworks glow softly just out of focus on the Fourth of July. Congratulations to our winner of the First Ever Lamy Lottery.

Congratulations to Dacia N! She won the brand new Lamy AL-Star fountain pen and ink!

We had more than 30 entries from between June 4 and July 4. Thank you to everybody who purchased a pen during this time.

A special thank you also goes out to the good folks at Lamy who donated the pen for our drawing. It was a very generous gift, and we are grateful for their support of ThePenMarket.com.

This contest certainly seemed like a popular one, and I hope we can have more contests such as these in the future.

Thank you again to all of our participants, and I hope everybody had a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Customer Appreciation Lottery! Win a Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen!

By on June 4, 2015
Leave a reply

We like you. We really, really like you!

We will especially really, really like one of you on the 4th of July!

With every purchase of a pen or pencil from ThePenMarket.com between June 3 and July 4 (at 6 p.m.) you will be given a chance to win this great aluminum Lamy Al-Star and a box of ink cartridges.

With every purchase of a pen or pencil from ThePenMarket.com between June 4 and July 4 (at 6 p.m.) you will be given a chance to win this great aluminum Lamy Al-Star and a box of ink cartridges.

For the next month at ThePenMarket.com we are giving each purchaser of a pen or pencil a chance to win this brand-new, factory-direct aluminum Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen! It comes with a black medium nib and one box of blue or black ink cartridges of the winner’s choice.

Our native Chicago is a pay-to-play city, and our contest works the same way. For every pen or pencil you purchase between June 4, 2015, and July 4, 2015, at 6 p.m. Central Daylight Time, we will enter your name on a slip of paper and put it in a hat. The winner’s name will be drawn at random from that hat some time after the fireworks have finished for the night.

If you buy 10 or 100 or however many writing instruments you want this month, your name will be entered that many times. Ink, refills and other writing ephemera do not qualify for entry. Items purchased from our Trading Post do not qualify for entry, either.

The winner wins this pictured Lamy Al-Star Fountain Pen and a box of either blue or black ink cartridges. No substitutions will be allowed. The retail value of this prize is $52, but we will not grant a cash equivalent to the winner. You are stuck with a supremely awesome pen that writes smoothly, takes a lickin’ and travels extremely well on most any summer vacation adventure!

Seriously, we don’t vacation without one! I’ve taken my Lamy to Germany, Paris, Hong Kong and all over the United States. Their reliability and durability is why Lamy was the first new line of pens I decided to carry. Remember we have great bargains on Lamy Al-Stars, Safaris and 2000s on our new pens pages. Plus, we have a complete line of Lamy ink and refills.

Before I close, I want to give a special thanks to Mike D., our Lamy candyman, for this wonderful prize to give away!

Great Finds @ Atlanta Pen Show

By on April 24, 2015
Leave a reply

It has taken us nearly a week to recover from the awesomeness that was the Atlanta Pen Show. It was that good. The show was packed with collectors on Saturday and Sunday. We got to meet hundreds of people, and we saw more awesome pens than we could afford.

I did come away with a handsome Sheaffer PFM in maroon with a factory italic nib. It is wonderful, but I otherwise restrained myself.

However, along the way we met some great folks at businesses who are tied to our inky world. They weren’t other pen dealers so much as writing enthusiasts.

Cursive Logic is a new way to help teach kids how to write in cursive, when it is no longer being taught in many schools!

Cursive Logic is a new way to help teach kids how to write in cursive, when it is no longer being taught in many schools!

You might recall my series of blog entries about the demise in cursive writing education in America. Well, we met a woman who is as concerned about it as you and I are. More so, in fact. She has started her own cursive-writing teaching system called Cursive Logic. It is for kids who want to learn to write cursive outside of the classroom. I highly recommend checking out her website! www.cursivelogic.com

The folks at Candy Spotting make really incredible laser-cut cards with witty slogans and puns!

The folks at Candy Spotting make really incredible laser-cut cards with witty slogans and puns!

Another cool business we encountered is a new greeting card company called Candy Spotting. They make specialty laser-cut designs in cards, such as this one with a fountain pen nib! Many of their other cards are similarly witty. I highly recommend checking out their website at www.candyspotting.com!

Of course, there were many wonderful collectors and dealers with whom we got to talk and swap stories. It was wonderful seeing everybody again from last year, and I cannot more highly recommend the wonderful Southern hospitality. Visit if you can next year.

In the meantime, we are only a week away from the oldest pen show in the country: the Chicago Pen Show! Please come and say hi to us there!

Quirky Pen Collections

By on March 7, 2015
Leave a reply

One of the coolest parts about owning a pen business is learning about people’s “other” pen collections. Every pen collector has their collection of daily users and museum pieces often built around brands such as Sheaffer, Parker, Mont Blanc and all of the others. But many collectors have special side project collections, too.

I love collecting pens inscribed with some reference to Christmas 1926, such as this senior Parker Duofold. Please let us know if you have any. What quirky traits do you collect in pens.

I love collecting pens inscribed with some reference to Christmas 1926, such as this senior Parker Duofold. Please let us know if you have any. What quirky traits do you collect in pens.

Mine is built strictly around a single day. I love keeping an eye out for pens that were given as gifts on Christmas day 1926. Why that Christmas? I have no idea. I just found myself one day with a curious handful of pens that all happened to have some inscription on them from 12-25-26. The photo is of my favorite, a black senior Parker Duofold. The full inscription reads, “P. M. Curtis 12-25-26.” There was an Eversharp Doric that read “X-mas 1926.” Ever since acquiring those two pens, I’ve been on the hunt for more.

Friend of ThePenMarket.com, Elizabeth J., has two odd-ball collections. One is for any sterling filigree pen with an engraving. The other, my favorite, is a collection of pens with really weird names engraved on them. “Sam Jones” will not impress her. “Gladys Oleander Gardner” or “Aloysius P. Frankenheimer Jr.” will win her over every time, even on a junker Wearever.

Keith L. loves green pens. Vintage, modern doesn’t matter, as long as it is a clean, distinctive green.

Francis B. zeroes in on pens made in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area in the 19teens and ’20s. Tommy U. does the same with oversized pens made in Chicago during that time period.

What quirky collection do you have? Please tell us, so we can help you keep an eye out for those pens.

And please, let us know if you have any of the pens listed above. We’d be very interested in buying them!

Launching New Pens’ Site!

By on November 25, 2014
Leave a reply

We’ve done it! ThePenMarket.com is now a fully licensed and authorized dealer of Lamy and Yard-O-Led writing instruments!

When we first launched this business, we figured we’d have a complete assortment of every brand-new modern pen available on the market within 6 months. We also didn’t know jack about anything. Yet, after 7 years of hard but fun work, we are proud to finally deliver on that promise of new pens.

This is the incredible 18k white gold nib from the Yard-O-Led Astoria. It is one of many great NEW pens you will find on our New Pens pages, now that we are an authorized dealer for Lamy and Yard-O-Led.

This is the incredible 18k white gold nib from the Yard-O-Led Astoria. It is one of many great NEW pens you will find on our New Pens pages, now that we are an authorized dealer for Lamy and Yard-O-Led.

If you wonder why we have been so quiet on the blog for the past several months, this is why. We were just way too busy working behind the scenes getting the new pens ready with help from our wonderful friends at Computer Friendly Associates.

Enough, with the small talk, come take a tour of the New Pens section with us. Click that New Pens link in the last sentence. It should open up a new tab showcasing the new section.

To go exploring just click whichever brand you prefer: Lamy or Yard-O-Led. This will show you all of the models presently available for sale. If you clicked Lamy, you will see the Safari and the Al-Star! We will be adding more soon, but we wanted to open this to you now so you can play around in it to see what you think and to get your feedback.

Let’s say you are interested in the Safari. Below the main image you will see tabs for the different styles the Safari comes in: Fountain Pen, Rollerball, Ballpoint and Pencil.

Click the Fountain Pen, and you will see all of the colors and nib options available. Unlike any other dealership, we gladly offer 11 different style Lamy nibs that fit the Safari–including the calligraphy 1.1mm through 1.9mm nibs normally reserved for the “Joy” pen by Lamy!

Why Lamy and Yard-O-Led?

Lamy is a fantastic brand that makes really good, really affordable fountain pens for any skill-level of fountain pen user. Their terrific German engineering makes them durable for any adventure you go on, and their nibs are so smooth and reliable.

Yard-O-Led is a writing instrument company in England that specializes in luxury pens not frequently found here in the United States. Their pens and pencils are made of sterling silver and are true works of art. They are damn good writers, too. I think if American pen users were more familiar with them, they would switch their allegiances from Mont Blanc to Yard-O-Led in a hurry.

Well, have fun exploring the new section of the site, and rest assured more pens are coming! In the meantime, please let us know what you think about the new section and how it works for you.

Happy Hunting at the D.C. Pen Show

By on August 8, 2014
Leave a reply
Hello to the members of the Black Pen Society. I hope this year's pin is as cool as last year's!

Hello to the members of The Black Pen Society. I hope this year’s pin is as cool as last year’s!

This is the thrilling weekend of the D.C. Pen Show, one of the biggest vintage pen shows in the country.

Sadly, we couldn’t be there this weekend, but all of our best goes out to the our friends who are buying and selling at this year’s show.

I’d like to give a special shout out to our friends in the Black Pen Society. You know who you are. Enjoy this year’s “secret” meeting. Sorry I can’t be there. The Illuminati got nothin’ on us.

Inkwell Pages Fully Updated

By on July 27, 2014
Leave a reply
Some inkwells are too beautiful for words. How can they do a better job detailing the beauty of this art nouveau masterpiece.

Some inkwells are too beautiful for words. How can they do a better job detailing the beauty of this art nouveau masterpiece.

For too long we neglected our commitment to finding really nice inkwells and blotters for our customers. It was trickier than we thought it would be to find good ones when we first started this website.

Luckily, we found a delightful cache of them in Atlanta this past spring. From a really old bottle of Waterman’s ink to a luxurious brass art nouveau inkwell, you will find something remarkable to complete the look of your desk on our inkwells and plotters page.

Now we just need to start finding good blotters.

Adding Character with a 1915 Underwood Typewriter

By on July 24, 2014
Leave a reply
Every wonder what we use on our classic shipping labels? You are looking at our beloved 1915 Underwood portable typewriter. This machine is as dedicated a writer as any of our vintage pens.

Every wonder what we use on our classic shipping labels? You are looking at our beloved 1915 Underwood portable typewriter. This machine is as dedicated a writer as any of our vintage pens.

Several customers have noticed our shipping labels are always typed up on an “old skool” typewriter and have asked after it.

In addition to vintage pens, I have a fetish for classic, old-fashioned typewriters. It is amazing to me how past generations created these incredibly complex machines to type so smoothly.

My typewriter for mailing labels is a 1915 Underwood. The Qwerty keyboard hadn’t been 100% formalized and made uniform when it was made. Some of the keys are out of place with where they are on a modern computer. There is no key for the numeral one. I have to use the lowercase “L”. The ribbon must reversed by hand when it runs out in one direction. The poor thing often veers off on a different direction when trying to type a straight line. It adds lots of personality to the occassional letter that I write upon it. I hope I work as well when I’m 99 years old. If I make it that long, I sure hope I’m in as good a condition!

Believe it or not, I found it in a second hand store with its original portable case for $12. It needed close to $100 of professional restoration work, but it was worth it. If I can’t write with one of my favorite fountain pens, this is my favorite backup.

I cannot restore vintage typewriters, but I hope to learn how one day. They look like a ton of fun to rebuild…because that’s the way I geek out. Maybe one day I’ll show off my electric 1963 Smith-Corona typewriter that is robin’s egg blue and white.

Swag from the Atlanta Show

By on April 21, 2014
Leave a reply
This is just a small selection of the incredible swag we picked up for you at The Atlanta Pen Show. We will post it as soon as we can repair and photograph it. So keep checking back with us.

This is just a small selection of the incredible swag we picked up for you at The Atlanta Pen Show. We will post it as soon as we can repair and photograph it. Keep checking back with us.

Just look at me table of booty from the Atlanta Pen Show!

First, it was great meeting so many great pen collectors and dealers at the show. I love finally meeting people and getting to talk. The fact that we’re all there to talk pens is even more fun.

Special thanks also to the organizers who did such a good job setting up a really nice venue and getting a lot of buyers to the show. We had incredible sales for one table. Just look how depleted the site is…for now.

However, as you can see in the photo, we have more than 40 new pens to restore and post. Esterbrook fans can rejoice in a new wide selection of colors, and a huge collection of desk pens, too. Modern fans will love the new Visconti Wall Street we picked up as well as some limited edition Mont Blanc, Parker and S.T. Dupont.

The collection of inkwells we purchased for you is my personal favorite! From brass art nouveau to green glass and silver, this collection will be to die for. Now if only I had to the time to photograph, describe and post it all at once!

Proud to Present Rare Mabie Todd Pen

By on February 20, 2014
Leave a reply
Here is a nearly mint condition Mabie Todd Eternal. Fully restored, it works beautifully.

Here is a nearly mint condition Mabie Todd Eternal. Fully restored, it works beautifully.

We hate bragging so much we started a blog. Just be forewarned.

Although we try not to get too crazy about any one pen on our site, we think this one is worth all of the hype. It is an original, museum quality Mabie Todd Eternal fountain pen. More than that, this is our senior size or oversized edition.

The hard rubber body is practically perfect, as its orange and black design is immaculate. The imprint is a little faded in one spot but is otherwise strong. The trim is great with only a little brassing on the ball of the clip.

Oh, and the nib. The nib is spectacular. It is a 14k gold dream that writes a smooth medium line. This vintage fountain pen has been refurbished with a new ink sac. So you can use this pen or brag about it on display.