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| March 2004 |
Newsletter |
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| Melbourne Vintage Pens |
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in this issue
It's all in the Elastic
For years I've looked for the perfect pen case/folio/storage. I've begged, borrowed and bought just about every conceivable variety, including manufacturer's custom made efforts. The best, I now have to admit, are manufactured in the US; designed by two US pen collectors; they are strong, well padded and lay flat for display. Their best feature I think is unique to these cases; that is the WIDE double elasticated web, which holds pens firmly without adjustment. Narrow elastic allows adjacent pens to clash against each other, while double elastics create a threading problem!
More....
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Dear xxxxxx,
Another long overdue update to our website has just been posted. One new page "Pen Storage/Carry Cases" has been added. A number of hard to find pens have also been added including a cartridge fill Parker 51 set.
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Conway Stewart - Book of Numbers
 Ever popular Conway Stewart fountain pens had resurgence amongst collectors over the last few years, and a number of dedicated websites have sprung up. The most definitive of these is Jonathan Donahaye's site containing Jonathan's "Book of Numbers", a compilation of those numbers with descriptions and available colours. There's a printable version of this book, which you are free to copy. No Conway collector should be without this well researched volume.
Further Information... »
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Onoto in Australia
I was recently asked what I knew about Onoto pens manufactured in Australia. The answer was not very much I'm afraid. Information is very hard to come by, but for what it's worth, here is what I have been able to discover.
A company, Norman Baker & Longhurst Pty Ltd, were manufacturing Onoto in Australia under licence when Thomas de la Rue ceased production in the UK in February 1958, and it is known that they carried on manufacture here for a number (?) of years. However, the only Australian made Onoto's I have ever seen, were of rather ordinary quality, and all of the "injection moulded" variety.
Still in existence, Norman Baker & Longhurst is a company of "Hardware Wholesalers" according to the local Yellow Pages Entry.
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Pen Shows
As usual, we attended the LA Pen Show in February this year. A great show, with more tables than ever before, but maybe a smaller Sunday crowd than expected. Trading was brisk, and most would have come away happy with their acquisitions or sales. This year, thanks to a special from United Airlines, we had a short break in Hawaii on the way to the show. It was most enjoyable and could become habit forming.
It's now about six weeks before we leave for the Chicago Pen Show, where early promises for the auction sound extremely interesting.
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Quotations
If you believe you can do something, you are probably right. It's the same if you believe you can't.
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email: pford@vintagepens.com.au
voice: INT+61 3 9891 6315
web: http://www.vintagepens.com.au
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