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Adding Character with a 1915 Underwood Typewriter

By on July 24, 2014
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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.

Proud to Present Rare Mabie Todd Pen

By on February 20, 2014
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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.

Fountain Pens Write Better Love Letters

By on February 4, 2014
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Sheaffer's early nibs of the 1920s featured heart-shaped breather holes. Who says fountain pens aren't romantic.

Sheaffer’s early nibs of the 1920s featured heart-shaped breather holes. Who says fountain pens aren’t romantic.

It’s true. Fountain pens write better love letters.

As St. Valentine’s Day approaches, it is important to let those you love know how you feel. You don’t need to buy a diamond mine or hire pilots with a knack for skywriting. You need a pen that can help you express how much you care.

“C’mon,” says the cynic, rolling his or her eyes. “Imagine the owner of a pen company insisting fountain pens write better love letters.”

Gauntlet thrown, but hear me out.

When was the last time your received any hand-written letter, note or missive?

A hand-written letter means more today than ever before. Not only does it show more effort than a text (gag me), tweet (double gag me) or e-mail, it shows your distinct personality. Each letter drips your subconscious essence in every loop, curve and angle.

"Roseglow" is the name of this pink and purple-looking Sheaffer Junior. It is an ideal Valentine's Day accessory.

“Roseglow” is the name of this pink and purple-looking Sheaffer Junior. It is an ideal Valentine’s Day accessory.

A fountain pen only accentuates your personality and emotions. Even on a standard nib, you can add weight to certain words and phrases. A stub or flexible nib greatly increases the dynamics of your writing. The line and flow of your writing expresses far more than an emoticon.

Lastly, fountain pen ink is very easy to manipulate to better detail your emotions. Ink colors are easy to change. Some inks are (or can be) perfumed. If you are a truly passionate person, there is one other trick used by famous romantics of past eras.

Noted playboy and the 20th century’s greatest Olympic and professional fencer was an Italian man named Aldo Nadi. He won Olympic gold, countless prize fights back when fencing was almost as popular as boxing in the 1920s, fought real duels, stood up to Mussolini and eventually sought refuge in the United States and a career in Hollywood as an extra and fencing coach of the stars. Along the way he seduced countless women. His trick: Love letters spattered in his tears.

Perhaps the average American male will have difficulty shedding tears of love on to a letter, but the water-based ink ought to run and splatter nicely. Of course, I’m not sure the average American female wouldn’t have second thoughts after receiving such a letter.

But that doesn’t mean fountain pens don’t write the best love letters.

Eversharp Sells America on the Doric

By on January 7, 2014
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We recently added a classic Eversharp Doric Junior to our vintage pens collection, and it is striking how handsome it remains, despite a great deal of wear. The layers of transluscent greens still flash through history as if impervious to age.

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep's catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren't all their ads color?

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep’s catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren’t all their ads color?

This made it surprising for me to have difficulty finding color advertising for these remarkable pens. True, the Depression was savaging America during the time these pens were produced. Also true, color ads were and are not cheap compared to black and white ads.

Nevertheless, the one thing that really stands out on the Doric compared to any other pen Sheaffer, Parker and Waterman had in production was the vibrant color and patterns in these pens. You would think they would want to make that the most prominent feature in the ad.

This page from the 1932 Eversharp catalog shows the very pen we now carry. It lists the color as Kashmir Pearl. The catalog itself is in color, which would have helped sell it to pen shops around the country. Yet, the print ad below it, which was published in “Time” magazine in 1935 is like all of the Doric ads my search turned up…black and white.

Here's an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn't you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Here’s an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn’t you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Not once mentioning the colors of the pen, it tauts a never-leak safety seal of some kind. That would have been an especially important feature on the pen at the time, but the only leak preventer I see in the pen is the inner cap, which most major brands had dating at least back into the 1920s.

Also peculiar is that the ad states the pen holds more ink. The Parker Vacumatic more successfully lays claim to that than any other pen that decade. ANNND, it never mentions the adjustable nib prominently featured in the illustration. That adjuster was supposed to help the pen write thinner and thicker lines, a feature you’d think Eversharp would be shouting to anyone in hear shot.

Then again, just listen to the radio or watch TV, and we still have ample ads that don’t discuss the product’s best features. Heck, sometimes, you can’t even tell what they’re trying to sell.

Santa: Fickle Pen Collector or Genius Fundraiser?

By on December 17, 2013
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Celebrity endorsements don’t come cheap, but it appears that Santa has been in high demand with every brand who has approached him over the years.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

In 1904 he says Waterman is the best. In 1939 he was hooked on the Parker Vacumatic. In between those years, and well after, old St. Nick has been quick to shill for just about every major and minor pen maker in the world.

At first I thought I should chastise Father Christmas for his inability to pick a favorite vintage pen.

Then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. That’s when I realized what a bloody genius Santa truely is.

Santa has to deliver presents to all of the good boys and girls around the entire planet in just 24 hours. This year alone we’re looking at approximately 3 billion children. True, not all of them are good, but for now we’ll give most of them the benefit of any doubt.

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

In many cases, Santa delivers more than one toy per child. Even if we average it out to just 3 toys per child, that’s 9 billion toys.

That is more than a boatload of toys. Perhaps in a bygone era Santa could get away with 9 magic reindeer, but the jolly old elf will need rockets and more on his sleigh to cart that type of tonnage around the world. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to imagine such a modern sled as that runs up to $500 million or even $1B.

Even a living saint can’t magically generate enough cash for a rocket sled and 9 billion toys in one year…unless…

Unless he cashes in on his celebrity endorsements! By advertising every brand of every product imaginable, St. Nick could easily gin up trillions every year! Coca Cola alone has likely paid him hundreds of billions. Why else would a single bottle of Christmas Coke cost nearly $2?! A dollar of that must go to pay for Santa’s likeness on the bottle and packaging.

As inspired as Santa’s marketing and fundraising is, he can always use a little extra help from the rest of us.

To help the big guy out, it is not too late to visit Toys for Tots today and make a donation. Just click this Toys for Tots, and you will be directed straight to their donations web page.

Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas!

A “-” Typical Cerf Family Christmas

By on December 3, 2013
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Among the many great holiday traditions in the Cerf family is a contest to see who can come up with the most ingenius gift for another family member at Christmas.

This is not a greedfest. The most expensive gift rarely wins. Hard-to-find and/or extremely clever often carry the day. The competition is fierce but loving, as we’re all going out of our way to find something the others will truely cherish. Some years are better than others, and there is no shame in average gifts. And in other years, average gifts are presented in such a way that trumps the gift itself.

When roughly 15 years ago my sister, dad and I all wanted the video tape of “L.A. Confidential,” instead of buying three copies, Mom gave us one copy held in a trust known as a tontine. The contract of her tontine was hilarious and not one of us can claim ownership of the movie until the other 2 are dead. (All three of us still have a working VCR. I told you the competition is fierce in my family.)

To be a true Cerf, you must have a thick skin and dark sense of humor.

When Christmas rolled around last year, I was at a total loss as to what to get my father for the holiday. Mostly, we had spent the better part of the six months leading up to it arguing about movies and movie stars.

Here's the "Life of Pi" box cover. My dad couldn't wait to see it, while I was more resistant.

Here’s the “Life of Pi” box cover. My dad couldn’t wait to see it, while I was more resistant.

The biggest battle was over the merits of going to see the film “Life of Pi.”

Me: That looks like it’ll be the most boring movie ever made.

Dad: Are you kidding?! It has a guy, and he’s trapped on a boat with a tiger. A tiger!

Me: Clearly, as a feature-length film, the tiger isn’t going to eat the guy. So you’re going to spend 90 minutes staring at a guy on a boat with a tiger doing nothing. It isn’t even a real tiger.

Dad: But it has a tiger in it! Guy, boat, TIGER. What don’t you get? It is going to be amazing.

Me: If you want to watch tigers so badly why don’t watch Animal Planet. They have tons of tiger specials. And they are real tigers.

Dad: But this is a movie…with a tiger in it.

This conversation could drag on for hours. So let me inter splice a different differing conversation.

Me: I just watched the world’s longest, most boring movie called “Far From the Madding Crowd.”

Dad: With Julie Cristie?

Me: Yeah, some bland blonde chick? It was made in the 1960s. It is 3 hours of nobody doing anything in some small farming village in England.

Dad: Bland?! Julie Christie was the most beautiful woman ever filmed.

Me: It isn’t like she got naked or anything. And even if she did, it wouldn’t have improved the 3 hours of my life that were wasted.

Dad: Who cares if she got naked. She’s beautiful.

Me: She didn’t do anything for 3 hours, except pine away for some lying, cheating lover.

Dad: But it is Julie Christie. She was also in “Dr. Zhivago.”

Me: She was Lara, right?

Dad: Yeah, and she was stunning.

Me: She was boring in that, too. She was only vaguely interested in Omar Shariff who ends up divorcing his arguably more beautiful, and certainly more lively and engaging, wife played by Geraldine Chaplin. I’d run off with Chaplin’s character in a heartbeat. Julie Christie was just kinda blah. Pretty for a one-night stand, maybe. But she’s got no anima.

Dad: What?! How can you say that? You’re not my son. She’s Julie Christie.

Me: This coming from a man who just wants sit in a theater staring at a CGI tiger for 90 minutes

Dad: [Gives a strangled scream of exasperated frustration]

***

And now you ask: You guys argued over that for 6 months?

To which my dad and I proudly reply: You’re not a Cerf.

Nevertheless, I was wracking my brains trying to figure out what to get Dad last year when inspiration struck. It required the help of my graphic designer friend Paul Szymczak, but it was the best gift I had given my old man in a good 20 years.

My friend Paul S created this sequel movie poster to the "Life of Pi." My dad looked at it confused for all of one second when I said, "It's a girl. In a car. With a tiger!" One year later he is still laughing at it.

My friend Paul Szymczak created this sequel movie poster to the “Life of Pi.” My dad looked at it confused for all of one second when I said, “It’s a girl. In a car. With a tiger!” One year later he is still laughing at it.


I simply gave him a movie poster.I had it framed. When my dad unwrapped his gift he looked at it with puzzlement for one whole second when I shouted out: “It’s a girl! In a car! With a tiger!”

Then he laughed and laughed. The poster now hangs in the hallway of my parents’ house, and my dad is still laughing at it.

May you find such joy in all of your gift giving this year

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas

P.S. I finally watched “Life of Pi” with my dad, and it was way better than a Julie Christie movie.

P.P.S. Just this past weekend Dad asks, “Do you want to go see ‘All is Lost’ with me. It stars Robert Redford.”

Me: Not this again.

Dad: What?

Me: Its a guy. On a boat. No tiger.

When Hard Rubber Misbehaves

By on November 22, 2013
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A Waterman's #15 eyedropper soaks in water to help loosen the old ink sealing its threads.

A Waterman’s #15 eyedropper soaks in water to help loosen the old ink sealing its threads.

Old hard rubber pens, especially eyedroppers, can be a difficult repair because the pens are so old and frail. It is very easy to overtorque them and crack or crush them.

The problem, especially in eyedroppers, is that old ink effectively turns into glue on these old pens. Eyedroppers are so problematic because the ink always seeped into the threads that held the section to the hollow barrel that served as the pen’s ink reservoir. Other pens with ink sacs get ink-glued when the old sac gave out flooding the inner barrel with ink.

Lucky for you, the solution is really simple. Once again H2O comes to the rescue. Fill a cup with room-temperature water and soak the pen over the line separating the section from the barrel. Let it soak for 12 to 48 hours. This is usually enough time to loosen the old ink and allow the pen to open the way it should.

Sometimes it takes a little heat. Heat is the enemy of your old hard rubber pens. Open flames will melt or burn the pen very quickly. Hot water will discolor the pen, too. If you need the heat, just hold the pen briefly under warm to hot water flowing from your kitchen tap. Don’t expose the pen to the heat for more than a couple seconds, and keep an eye out for discoloration. It doesn’t take a lot of time or heat to start the discoloration process.

Was Mark Twain the First Pen Pitchman?

By on November 18, 2013
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American author Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, was the spokesman for the Conklin Pen Company in 1903.

American author Samuel Clemens, who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, was the spokesman for the Conklin Pen Company in 1903.

Samuel Clemens, better known to lovers of classic American literature as Mark Twain, was possibly the first famous person used to sell a specific make and model of pen.

Twain was the writer of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “Life on the Mississippi,” “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” and what might be my favorite “new” find of the year “On the Damned Human Race.” (I have yet to read it, but with a title like that it has serious potential.)

His pen of choice…at least when paid to say so…was the Conklin Crescent. In 1903 he was quoted as saying, “I prefer it to ten other fountain pens because it carries its filler in its own stomach, and I cannot mislay it even by art or intention. Also, I prefer it because it is a profanity saver; it cannot roll off the desk.”

You can see on this gold-fill Conklin circa 1900 the crescent that would keep the pen from rolling off Twain's desk.

You can see on this gold-fill Conklin circa 1900 the crescent that would keep the pen from rolling off Twain’s desk.

In addition to being the paid spokesman for Conklin, Clemens was the very first author to start composing novels on a new fangled invention called the typewriter. The novel was “Tom Sawyer.” Can you imagine writing a book that long with a pen? Can you imagine being the poor editors back in the day who had to decifer the handwriting in hundreds of manuscripts?

The Conklin Pen Co. was originally located in Toledo, Ohio. The unique part about it was that instead of an eyedropper or lever filler, it used an ink sac activated by a crescent protruding from the center of the hard rubber pen body. That crescent was connected to a flat metal bar that simply squeezed the ink sac. It was prevented from being accidently activated by a hard rubber ring that served as a safety that had to be spun to a clearing that would allow the crescent to be depressed.

Roughly a decade ago, the Conklin Pen Co. was revived. As part of their revitalization, the company restored the Crescent model to the selves of pen retailers. They even made a special model dedicated to Mr. Clemens.

At ThePenMarket.com we have an original early 20th century black hard rubber crescent filler and a much rarer gold-fill Conklin Crescent.

Treat Yourself as You Write Your Christmas Cards

By on November 14, 2013
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With its striking greens and golden browns, this beautiful Parker Duofold fountain pen from 1941 would make an ideal pen for writing your Christmas cards. Not only does it look good, it is fully restored and has a very smooth fine-medium nib.

With its striking greens and golden browns, this beautiful Parker Duofold fountain pen from 1941 would make an ideal pen for writing your Christmas cards. Not only does it look good, it is fully restored and has a very smooth fine-medium nib.

I love writing Christmas cards. I don’t do group letters or holiday e-cards. I don’t care if you think it is hoaky. I love sitting down with some hot chocolate, my favorite holiday CDs and writing actual Christmas cards.

It is part of the holiday ritual that helps get me in the mood for the season’s festivities. It is a cathartic time to reflect on the past year and reconnect with my family and friends who are flung to the 4 corners of the map. For many of these people, this is the only time I hear from them…and they me.

The smell of vintage Sheaffer green ink for the cards and modern Parker red for the envelopes is heartwarming.

Plus, part of the ritual is selecting a new, or new-to-me, fountain pen to add to the collection and joyously write up each card and letter.

While it is way too early for me to buy the cards, let alone start writing them, this is the time I pick up my new or vintage pen. I’m already winnowing down my options…a restored Snorkel, a brand new Pelikan, or maybe that Cross Century II midnight pen with little pin-point stars that came out a couple years ago. The process of making that selection is half the fun.

Whether you are planning on sending out your first Christmas cards or 70th season’s worth of them, treat yourself to a new pen to make the most of your holiday writing experience with our more than 200 fully restored vintage pens and lightly used modern pens.

We Don’t Want No Fountain Pen Drama, Ladies

By on November 11, 2013
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Despite the beautiful watercolor painting and classic 1930s fashion, this vintage pen ad is loaded with sexism that seems sure to guarantee the Lady Duofold never sold.

Despite the beautiful watercolor painting and classic 1930s fashion, this vintage pen ad is loaded with sexism that seems sure to guarantee the Lady Duofold never sold.

Seriously, how effective was this catty Parker Duofold ad from 1931?!

The ad headline reads like a movie synopsis for a cheap melodrama about a bunch of bitchy women who haven’t got much else to complain about in life. In case it is too small on your computer or mobile device it reads: “She laughingly apologized whenever she borrowed a pen, but she left a trail of ill will.”

It is hilarious for all of the wrong reasons.

The copy block only gets better…I mean worse:

“She had an ‘inexpensive’ pen, but it never seemed to work. In buying it, she thought she was saving money. But she only ran into people’s debt by borrowing pens.

“Because her request always met a courteous smile, she little suspected herself of being a nuisance.”

Is it any wonder Parker stopped making “Lady’s” pens not long after this ad came out in 1931?

As bad as the marketing was, the Lady Duofolds were and still are remarkably good pens. They write smoothly and are easy to maintain. We have a very nice one for sale, if you don’t mind a little discoloration. It still works perfectly. CLICK HERE to see this fully restored vintage pen.