The PENguin Blog

He Changed Our World

Many of you know that webmaster Liz and I (well mostly she) have been working on an all new look for The PENguin. Well, today is the day! We go live at 11:00 AM Pacific/12:00 Mountain/1:00 Central/2:00 Eastern. Here's just a quick peek at what we will look like. Stop by later today to check out all the new features andand take advantage of our opening day special, 10% off on any purchase over $300.00. And that includes free shipping, available for the first two weeks.

Right now things are quiet at PENguin Central. Webmaster Liz is putting the final touches on the new website, coming June 1, and I am finishing up with final exams. However I thought I’d see if we can drum up some interest and some sales, so while we are not adding new pens until after the 1 st , here are a couple of new arrivals, I just could not wait to get up on the site. Both are kinda special. The first is a set, 1930s Wahl-Eversharp Gold Seal red checked hard rubber pen and pencil with the soldier’s clip. This is not a commonly found set. The nib is a fine flexible Gold Seal. The pen is 4 ¾ with a nice chunky section for a good grip, and the pencil 4 1/4The set does have some issues. The pencil works, but a bit strangely. There seems to be wear to the slider. And there is a slight crack in the barrel through three threads. It is stable. But for these the set would be $850. The price here is $575.00 The next is ...

Early Saturday morning when I was in a meeting, I got a text from my daughter,""Would you like to go to the maker's fair? It's where people show2 off the fire breathing robots they built in their garage." Always on the lookout for amusement my reply was, "Sure. When? Where?" Long story short, later in the afternoon we hooked up with Anna and her friends Annie and Jay. Here's some of what we saw: The Tesla Stage Apologies for the image quality, I forgot my camera and had to use the iPhone.

We have a couple of these cool, but very hot pens. PE2458/59-2011 Pelikan M1005 in clear transparent acrylic with white metal trim. Pelikan’s latest “demonstrator” is built on the large M10XX chassis. It is an understated pen in cool tones with really very nice white metal highlights at the filler. The all rhodium plated 18K nib is a sweet finishing touch. We have two pens, a fine and medium. Comes in a nice, simple compact display case very suitable for desktop. This is one of those pens that you come to admire increasingly. $650.00, a competitive price, I believe.

The next batch of pens from The 1200 are ready for final polishing and listing on the site. Intentionally these are not the blockbusters that a few of the last lot were. If you see anything you like, give me a shout.

The first of the twelve hundred are up on the website, with more coming shortly during this Spring Break week. Check them out on the Parker and Others Pages!!

In early March I was contacted by someone who had brought some pens into a Bonhams appraisal clinic. Ivan Briggs, the business manager for pens, who I have worked with for more than three years, recognised immediately that there were some good pens there and directed her to me. We set up a meeting on a Thursday and I was able to review what we estimated to be about 1200 pens of all sorts, from the superb to the less so, but, in all, a collection worth having. We talked price and I left thinking that the pens were maybe, just maybe, worth the asking price. On the way home, as I reviewed what I had seen and with the understanding, as we had left it, that the owner would shop the pens around, I called to say that I wanted to talk a bit more. We did. Bargaining ensued. I lost, and paid up. As I came to understand it these pens were accumulated over two generations by the owner’s father and grandmother. The collection had none of the structure and theme that we associate w...

The Bonhams February sale is coming up in just over two weeks. Many of you know us for our auctions of modern limited edition pens. This year we are selling nearly 300 lots of vintage pens and I have tried to showcase some of the truly exotic examples. Lest you think that is all we have to offer, here are some more accessible pens that we will be selling. For more information see our online sale catalog http://www.bonhams.com/USA/sale/19189/1/ Or visit our pens webpage http://www.bonhams.com/usa/pens/

I don't have a whole lot of modern grail pens, most of the pens I burn for are vintage. But every once in a while I have to have something that's modern. A few years back it was a Montblanc PoA Medici, something I had burned for since handling one in 1992. It only took about 15 years for me to get there, and only after a used one came up on the boards at a price I could justify. More recently, it's been the OMAS Paragon Arte Italiana in blue saffron celluloid. But one never seemed to come my way. And then one did. Recently Charlie Harles, whom I have known for more than ten years, offered a saffron ballpoint on one of the sales boards along with another OMAS I have wanted, the Bibliotheque Nationale. I figured that if I ever got a saffron, I would then have a set. Riiiight. Soon the ballpoint arrived and within minutes I was out on the 'net searching "OMAS Paragon saffron." Oh joy. Classic Fountain Pens (John Mottishaw) has one on his page. Cool. Ring,...

We have just completed the catalogue for our annual February Pen Sale in Los Angeles. What is most exciting to me is that we will be offering close to three hundred lots of vintage pens on Monday, February 22, in addition to our regular sale of modern limited edition pens later the same day. A selection of these pens will be available for viewing at the LA International Pen Show on both Saturday and Sunday. You can preview the sale online at http://www.bonhams.com/USA/sale/19189/1/ Also please check out the new Bonhams pen page at http://www.bonhams.com/usa/pens/