More Pens

It's been a somewhat slow day that went by very quickly.  Make sense?  Nah, didn't think so, but take my word for it.  I really didn't get anything done, though I had all sorts of things I should've been working on...

I was actually wanting to write about something else this evening, but that would've required me doing a little work beyond (ie, taking some pictures, setting things up, etc.), so I decided to do something short  and (at least to me) sweet.

While wandering through some photos here on the MacBook, I tripped across a couple not-too-good pictures of a couple pens I've had for a while now.  Both are what pen collectors call "grail pens", ie, pens I've been trying to get for ages.  I thought I'd put them up here, and just ramble on about them a bit.

The first is particularly special to me, an Aurora "Leonardo de Vinci" limited edition pen.  I'm not a big person for LEs, as they're called, but I took a shine to this design when it first came out, years ago.  It's a cool design, with an intriguing design.  The cap is engraved with a selection of Leonardo's writings and sketches.

The Aurora Leonardo fountain pen

I went a little bit crazy with this pen, and I'll admit to it.  But it 's sort of a special pen.  When I got it, I was going to one of those crazy periods in my life, and was buying up some really expensive pens that I had always had a eye for.  I actually asked a great dealer I knew if he might be able to find another of these (he'd recently sold one, which got my interest up).  He made the round of pen shows, and contacted me with this.  The price was stiff, but it was a Leonardo, and I so wanted one.  And this one had a special little bit of cachet:  The serial number on the pen is "0000".  I don't know if that means this is a prototype, or it's the literal first off the machine, or what.  I've never contacted Aurora.  I've just enjoyed the pen.  (It writes wonderfully, by the way.)

 The second pen is a Montegrappa "Gea."  This one isn't a fountain pen, but is a rollerball.  I would love to have the FP version, but even I am not crazy enough (nor well-heeled enough) to lay down the kind of cash required for that.  I'm very happy with my RB, though.

Montegrappa "Gea" rollerball

The engraving on the barrel and cap is a map, done in a sort of Renaissance/Baroque style.  I've seen video's posted online of the initial production of these pens, showing the engravings being done entirely by hand.  I believe the barrel is sterling silver, with some gold foil overlay on the continents.  However it's made, the design of the pen is spectacular.  Mine is second hand, of course, and it's seen some heavy (and heavy-handed) use.  The section had some scarring on it, where someone went a bit wild opening it up to get at the rollerball refill.  But I don't care.  I enjoy it enormously, and can sit and look at the engravings for ages.  You'd think the pen would weigh a ton, but it's actually fairly light and very well-balanced, making it a joy to write with.

I have a weakness for stuff like this.  I call it my "gothic-y" side, even though "gothic" has nothing to do with it.  I've pointed out that I like the arcane, and these pens have a charmingly arcane feel to them. Like the Visconti Romanica I showed off earlier, these pens would feel right at home in some ancient library in a castle deep in an imaginary dark European setting.  Pens, used to help one ferret out the enigmas of the past...

I guess you take your fantasies where you can get them.  Mine sometimes come in the shape of a pen...