The necessities were going by default to save the luxuries until I hardly Knew which were necessities and which luxuries.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Antique dealers often ask what they should look for in fountain pens. In other words how does a novice value a pen? Generalising, and keeping it simple, the following points are the best I can offer.

Maker – preferably well known (household name like Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman), Gold Nib – quality item, Size – the bigger the better, Colour – the more outlandish the better.

Of course, you could add to this list; nib grade, popularity, age, and size of issue. But we don’t want to turn our dealer into an expert; there would be no more bargains!

"From a 1966 Stationery Trade Journal.

President downgrades his pens.

The world’s largest consumer of pens, President Johnson, who in five bill signings gave away 587 pens, has been forced to slash costs. He has stopped giving away $1.11 pens, and is now giving away 17 cent ones – a cut of 84% in unit costs.

The practice of signing bills using several different pens, and giving them to people associated with the bill, and other friends, was once a pleasant gesture, but the number of pens used at a signing has increased so much over the years, that the pens used have become cheaper and cheaper.

Move is now afoot to build up the price to $5.00, but give away fewer pens.

Auction sales on eBay represent a significant part of our Internet pen sales. Because of the nature of these sales, we’ve found it necessary to discontinue auctions a least ten days before we travel. On return, it generally takes a couple of days before we can resume. We will resume during the first week of November.