Pens and Paper

Carter's Nib: Pen or showpiece?

Here's a cute little item I picked up recently in a flea market in New York.

It's a Carter's nib in a plastic holder, and the whole thing is 3.5 inches long. Carter's was a very old brand, dating to 1858 and located in Massachusetts. It made pens until 1932 and then concentrated on making ink.

The plastic barrel reads "Carter's" and "Made in U.S.A.," and the number 11. The nib reads "Signature 6 Made in USA."

I thought it was a salesman's sample, but I've since seen several on the Internet advertised as short dip pens, or as signature pens ... perhaps something you kept on your desk for people to sign items when they didn't have a pen of their own.

Whatever it is, at $8.00, I couldn't leave it behind. It's never had ink on it, but the barrel is rather cheaply made, and the flashing hasn't been polished off.

Cursive writing: What about signatures?

In their mad quest to drop cursive writing in favor of allowing students to use keyboards and texts, schools may have forgotten one reason why we learn to write: so we can sign our names. Here's a Toronto Star story on a man who has to teach his teenager how to sign his passport.

Cursive - foiled again!

I know I'm getting old ... I can't believe there are students who can't write cursive. Watch a Toronto Star video on it here.

My new Conklin Glider ...

I was on vacation in New York City recently, and of course that included a visit to Fountain Pen Hospital.

I got a couple of new pens, including this Conklin Glider. It's a lovely piece from a company that has "reinvented" one of the older U.S. companies - according to the cap, the first firm was founded in 1898. The store only had a broad nib left, but fitted a fine nib in for me. It's beautifully smooth and a big, well-balanced pen.