The PENguin Blog

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

2011-10-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

He Changed Our World

Special Sneak Preview

2011-06-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

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.

MidMay News

2011-05-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

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 a 1930s Pilot (Namiki) black urushi over hard rubber. The pen is in very good condition, but showing expected wear. The nib is a superbly flexible Fine marked Warranted Pilot 14 K Made in Japan #2. I was not at all sure how to price this, so I checked with my resident expert who advised $500-600. So let’s move this one at $395.00. I have filled and used the pen. It holds ink and writes superbly, but would advise having it resealed before entrusting it to your prized kimono.

Maker Faire

2011-05-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Pelikan M1005

2011-05-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Sneak Preview

2011-04-03T11:53:00.001-07:00

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.

They're Here!

2011-03-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

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!!

Coming Soon to a Website Near You

2011-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

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 with modern collecting. They were, in essence, an accumulation, but an accumulation of good pens. There were a handful of early Parker and Watermans eyedroppers, including a couple with overlays; a goodly number of Conklin Crescent fillers and Senior Enduras; and an assortment of later Watermans as well as Parker Senior Duofolds, several of them in red hard rubber and Mandarin yellow; and a somewhat lesser number of Wahls. You get the idea.

In the days before flea markets and upscale antiques shops one can only imagine these folks prowling dark, dusty junk shops picking up these pens for pennies. Ahh, the days.

On the following Saturday, I brought a cashier’s check to her home and took possession of the pens. What follow are images of the purchase and first examination and some images of the pens as they are readied for sale, followed by images of the first pens to be offered on The PENguin in the next few days. In the meantime, if, among them, you see something you want, give me a shout.

The pens barely fit into the shortened trunk of my wife's Hybrid Camry, no way I could have carried them in the roadster.

Lots of Parkers, the yellows and reds jumped out at me.

A first attempt to seriously examine and assess what I had bought.

A real mixed bag of early eyedroppers. I'll be sorting these out for a few months.
These are the first forty pens that I examined and restored. Some still need touching up.

These will go up on the site in the next few days. From left to right, 1897 Waterman’s 402 sterling overlay in the “Chased” Pattern, 1910s Parker 45 alternating abalone and mother-of-pearl slabs with chased barrel and cap bands, 1927 Parker Lucky Curve Duofold Senior in Mandarin yellow, 1920s LeBoeuf 55 in what I believe they called Tiger’s Eye, golden celluloid, 1920s Waterman’s 455 Sterling Silver Filigree overlay, 1920s Waterman’s 7 in red ripple hard rubber, Parker Lucky Curve Duofold Senior in red hard rubber with Large imprint, 1920s Moore Safety Pen in red mottled hard rubber, 1932 Parker Lucky Curve True Blue in blue and white celluloid, 1930s Waterman’s 52V in olive ripple hard rubber, 1928 Parker Lucky Curve Duofold Jr. in white on blue lapis celluloid

Bonhams February Sale of Vintage and Modern Pens

2011-02-06T05:16:00.001-08:00

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/

It Takes a Village (to Make a Happy Pen Collector)

2011-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

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, ring "Is John there?" Sadness, he looks for the pen and it is sold. Woe! But while we're here, I could use another one of those remaining 14 K Flessible Extra nibs like the one on my modern Extra Lucens Ommagio. Grind a Broad to a stub? Sure. Cool, "Thank you, John."

But there's still a little matter of the pen. Novelli has one on their site. Do they? Yesss! Back and forth a couple of times with Marco, who has provided some of my best pens, and voila. It's here and, wonder of wonders, in time for the first day of classes.

So here it is, with a little help from my friends, my newest acquisition.

Bonhams February Sale of Vintage and Modern Pens

2011-01-21T02:19:00.000-08:00

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/

Pelikan blue o' blue

2010-12-12T12:15:00.000-08:00

got just one of these remaining

Pelikan Blue o' Blue

2010-12-02T15:06:00.001-08:00

I just got in four of these, one for me and three for whoever gets them first.

As far as I can tell, the street price on these is around $475.00.

So, I'm going to undersell those guys significantly and offer these pens for $425.00 ending this weekend.

Some choice of nibs possible.

First I want them gets them.

I've just been informed that there is one lower price out there with which I cannot compete (and no, I'm not gonna tell you who, do your own homework!)

So here's the deal: Lovely as these pens are, they still do not come with the older style turning knob with the gold medallion. I have a store of these and would be happy to replace the new style turning knobs with a "gold dot" one on any purchase.

No one else can do that!

Last Day In Hong Kong, Thursday 25 November

2010-11-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this from memory early Monday morning, 29 November, having gotten back mid-day on Friday the 26th. It was a great trip, a great experience. For those interested, the sale was a considerable success, enough so that there are preliminary plans for us to participate in the Spring 2011 Hong Kong sales.

I am still hoping to get up on the blog my early impressions of China (based on my vast experience-two days in Shanghai). We shall see . . .

Our last day in Hong Kong. On the advice of Alice Leung, who, alongside Carson Chan, managed the sale, we went to see the Big Buddha on Lantau island and to visit the fishing village of Tai O.
The visit began, once we were out of Hong Kong and across Lantau, with a spectacular cable car ride up the mountain to the Big Buddha housed in the Po Lin monastery. Now this is not an ancient shrine, having been built in 1993, but it is impressive. The ride up is spectacular.

There is actually a trail up the mountain and we figured that an extremely fit person would take at least five hours to climb the mountain. I could not help but think of my hiking buddy mark levy, who would probably do it in four.
First view of the Buddha through the haze (that's spelled s-m-o-g).

The guardians
The Buddha. Seen in context, all the images of the Buddha, jade, reclining, etc., radiate a powerful sense of peace and spirituality that I was not prepared for.
It is amazing the difference the guide makes on a tour. On our first tour the guide was horrible, lacking any real knowledge of Hong Kong (it was a city tour), and unable to control his group. Roger (or Raja), was the opposite--knowledgeable, personable, skilled and smart. He was born in Manchester (England) and grew up in North London. I never did find out how he came to Hong Kong.
Rosa took in the sites, as well. She was too shy to pose with the Budha, but did meet the tmple guardians and her zodiac mascot.

The next stop was the fishing village of Tai O. In contrast to the fishing village at Aberdeen in Hong Kong, this was a much more extensive community with a functioning market designed as much to serve HK residents as tourists.

Many of the shops sell dried and fresh fish

From the tour's end, we were off to tea at The Peninsula Hotel on the Kowloon harbour front, a fixture in Hong Kong's colonial past and the building that the Japanese seized in December 1941 to rule Hong Kong from until 1945.

Rosa contemplates the goodies. Fortunately she does not eat much or I would have had to hurt her.
The wait staff is dressed straight out of the '30 in shantung silk
By the time we finished tea, night had fallen, and though weary, we could not but stay for a twilight harbour tour and the lights at 8:00
A sailor on board the famed Star Ferry between Hong Kong and Kowloon
A nice shot of Sharon by natural light

The lights get quite spectacular what with sound and motion
And at that point I realised that I have a video capability on the S5

As I noted above I hope, still, to publish some impressions of Asia. As a modern historian I was fascinated not just with the past, which I am able, honestly, only to barely comprehend, but with the future.

On our first morning in Hong Kong, the CNN Asia financial news, which was playing on a television in the breakfast room of the Regal, noted an observation by George Soros that the financial center of the world had shifted from the US to China. Twelve days in Asia made that observation startlingly obvious. In both Shanghai and Hong Kong we were struck by the energy of that nation, a vital sense on the part of its people that the future belongs to them. It's hard to disagree with and one can only hope that, finally, the west will accept China as the great power it truly is and is becoming.

To Work

2010-11-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

This is our preview for the big Bonhams Hong Kong sale of Asian fine art and objects, jewellery, watches and of course, Pens.

We are most fortunate to be located right at the entry point.

Angel Chu, who is an art student, has been helping me with the preview and will be studying next semester at Carnegie-Mellon University's art program.

If the preview looks good, it's due to her work.

Hong Kong, Part Two

2010-11-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

Saturday was my last day of touring until after our sale. Still trying to get a "handle" on this remarkable city, we decided to take another tour, this time using our favoured mode, the "hop on, hop off."The streets here are, indeed, less congested than those of Shanghai and the driving style a bit less fierce, but they do it on the wrong side! It's like being in England again.
Especially with buildings like this, a remnant of the colonial past.
Sharon says this is her favourite building in Hong Kong, for its graceful lines. I'll leave my comments at that.
From Hong Kong to Kowloon on board the famed Star Ferry

Christmas in Kowloon
Another remnant of colonial days, The Peninsula Hotel was the city's leading luxury spot and the site of the British surrender of Hong Kong to the Japanese in December 1941.
The scale of Kowloon is a bit smaller than that of Hong Kong
And these overhanging neon signs seem to define the streetscape. Some are so low that if you were to stand in the double decker bus you could touch them (and die).

The Avenue of the Stars along the waterfront celebrates Hong Kong's film industry

Rosa enjoyed the Avenue of the Stars, as well.

At this point, we decided that riding around looking at things just wasn't working for either of us. Earlier, at the Man Mo Temple we had noticed Hollywood Road, an area of bookshops and galleries. Still looking for presents for folks other than ourselves and not drawn much to the luxury designer goods so much on offer here, we decided to grab a taxi, relatively cheap and plentiful here, and head over to Hollywood.

Then the inevitable happened and I found Upper Lascar Road, think of Portobello Market on a Saturday and you have the idea. And to top it off, I actually found a lovely brown marbled Osmia with a 14 K nib. My day was complete!
But more than that, the street life made me happy.

Upper Lascar Road dropped us off at the area known as SoHo (South of Hollywood), where as luck would have it, the annual street fair was starting up.
We wandered, had Nepalese food for dinner and wandered a bit more, before turning in for the night.

Today, work starts with an 8:00 meeting followed by preview set-ups.

Shanghaied

2010-11-19T12:33:00.001-08:00

For now, I'm loading images without narrative and just a bit of commentary. Since we went to Shanghai without the laptop, my observations of this remarkable society and culture (for what they may be worth) were made the old fashioned way in pen and ink in my journal and will be added in time, inshallah . . .

These are from our first day and the bus tour, an overview of the city:
I tried here to convey just a bit of the architectural diversity of the city
For those of you who know her, Rosa greatly enjoyed the sites as she enjoys all her travels.
It is said that the city used to belong to bicycles and then to scooters. Today is seems owned by cars, though not entirely.
The walkway along the PuDong River is referred to as The Bund, housing, among much else, the city buildings.
This highlights the pall that settles over the city as the day passes. We were not at all sure how much is natural and how much pollution.
We were not prepared for what modern Asian cities do by night with architecture and light.

The second day, our only full day in Shanghai, was given over to temples, starting with the Man Mo temple . . .
And then to the Jade Temple, no images of the jade Buddha. The Chinese seem quite comfortable with visitors to the shrines and encourage images, but the jade Buddha is beyond that, it seems.

The reclining Buddha
After visiting the jade Buddha, we made our way toward the monastary and stream and gardens.
This little fellow with his light amused me.
And the not so coy Koi
The temple was really remarkable not just for the buddhas, which convey a powerful spirituality, but for the place. It was a snapshooter's paradise and at the end we found it hard to leave this island of tranquility for all the people. Remarkable!
The ancient and the modern
the ancient and the modern and the divine and mundane
After the sacred, we went fully for the profane. Our hotel was located close to the Nanjing pedestrian Mall. Unlike many of the new shopping areas (there is a street dedicated for two blocks to nothing but watches, from Omega to Breguet and Vacheron and beyond) this combines some luxury goods with more everyday goods. It is also just a great kaleidoscope of city life, the old, the new . . .

The drabness of the cultural revolution surely a thing of the past
More of the ubiquitous scooters

Our final day in Shanghai was devoted to the Shangai Museum on Renmen (People's) Square. I'm not much for photographing museum exhibits, but I trust that these images of porcelains and jades will speak for themselves.
The building, itself, is a marvel

These rooms settings were stunning

Hong Kong First Day

2010-11-16T04:38:00.000-08:00

My first written comment on Hong Kong was sent in an e-mail to a friend who has provided much-valued advice on touring the city last night on the way in from the airport. Wow!

We arrived here late Monday afternoon/evening after what may have been the longest flight of my life, 15 hours

Only today, nearly 24 hours later, after a day of desultory touring (thanks Gray Line), was I able to synthesize my response to the city. Imagine, if you will, London and Los Angeles and New York compressed into a dense ball with accents from London’s and San Francisco’s Chinatowns. You may get an idea.

Generally Sharon’s and my approach to a new city is a tour, usually a hop-on, hop-off. They don’t seem to do those here, so we ended up with a Gray Line tour. It was a new experience. Back in the day, my parents used to travel a lot and they invariably toured with groups, returning with all sorts of stories of this one and that one and those whom they liked and those whom they disliked. Today we got a bit of that as we were loaded onto a bus for seven hours with a group of interesting folks. I’ll not go into that, as I have not the narrative skills to do some of these characters justice, but there was the group from New York. As Sharon put it, I never thought I would come this far to hear that much Yiddish. And the French family, the parents from France, the semi-gorgeous daughter apparently living here. Then there was the most exotic pair, two women, both in hijab, one a neo-natalogist practicing in Ulm, Germany who has to be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, and her companion; and then the rest of us, mostly unremarkable.

The tour got off to a late start, as is the manner here. Like New York, this city never sleeps, although unlike New York it gets up late. We thought we were sleeping in this morning and hit the streets at around 9:30 to find plenty of folks shopping, vegetable and fish markets dot the city in every precinct, but no shops open at all before 10:30. Still we got a chance to wander a bit and experience the opening of the Christmas season here (yes, it’s a big deal).

One is tempted to suggest purely for the sake of commerce, but our guide said it is also a big family holiday as well. By then we were on the bus which then wound its way through an unnarrated tour of the city picking up folks from various hotels. Oh, well, we got to see a lot.

By the time we got onto the big bus for the tour proper it was closer to noon. Our first stop may have been the most authentic and exotic, the Man Mo Temple, begun in 1847 and actually three spaces, one a temple to the god of literature, one to that of the martial arts and the third a shrine.

From there we went to Victoria Peak, an amazing site. As you emerge from the tram you run a gantlet of tacky shops and fast food joints, our favorite New York fries offering french fries adorned by hideous English-style sauces. Get past them (the shops, not just the fries) onto the trail that curls around the peak and you get a wonderful perspective of this city.

From there Gray Line takes you to the Aberdeen Fishing Village. A brief tour of this water village gives you a peek at the lives of Chinese fisherfolk who were, in Hong Kong, forbidden education before 1971. Since that date, which seems to have been a turning point in the history of the territory, the population of fishers has declined dramatically as these hard-working people have had alternatives to the lives they were confined to previously. So much for imperialism as a good thing, as argued by the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson.

Aberdeen Bay also gave us a surprisingly good lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, an elegant and tasty tourist trap.

After lunch we were shepherded into the Dynasty Jewellry Manufacturer. OK, we fell for it, purchasing a diamond and ruby cocktail ring for Sharon. It is our 40^th wedding anniversary next year and I have been known to spend money on myself for pens, you know.

The visit to Stanley Market was worth it only because we wound through the hills and the spectacular architecture of Repulse Bay. Unfortunately we did not stop, so I could not shoot any of it.

The Market? Think of the largest weekend drive-in flea market you have ever seen and treble it. Ugh! At the foot of the market is a nice little village.

I did get a silk pouch that will stand-in for a three place pen pouch as I forgot to bring an extra pen case and don’t want to bring a dozen or more of my “travel” pens into China proper tomorrow. Next stop, Shanghai for three days starting tomorrow. I’m not gonna bother with the laptop, I don’t think, so the blog will come only after our return.

Unintended Consequences

2010-10-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend at the New York City Pen Show, where I was representing Bonhams, I managed to acquire one of my recent “grail” pens, a barleycorn sterling Montblanc 146 from the 1990s. Earlier this year I fell in love with when I was cataloging one for our August sale.

Sadly, I do not let myself bid on or otherwise acquire any of the pens I work on, so rather than buying it at a bargain price at our sale, I paid a premium, but was thrilled to have it

Later in the show I casually picked up an OMAS Italia 90 set, just because I like OMAS pens, it was a three piece set and the color appealed.

I happily carried the Montblanc through the rest of the weekend and to school on Monday, but always in the background was the OMAS set, which kept calling out to me. Finally, yesterday I succumbed and have fallen in love with the set, which is now is in my pocket.

I’m not saying I don’t like the 146 or that the OMAS will forever be in the rotation, but I find it curious how the pen I came for, so to speak, is in my user tray and the casual purchase is in my pocket.

Pen of the Day

2010-10-13T06:46:00.001-07:00

PE2292-1933 Pelikan 100 in black. These pens seem to be hard to find, even moreso than the grays. This is a good clean example although the ink window has ambered to a deep red, not easily seen through. The nib is a fine flexible 14 K. A superb user or part of a basic early Pelikan collection. $595.00

2010-10-09T02:58:00.001-07:00

Any of you who plan to attend the New York City Pen Show are invited to stop by and chat about possible consignments, appraisals and things and stuff in general.I will be there show hours Saturday.

If you will be in Manhattan and not at the show, please feel free to make an appointment to see me at 580 Madison Ave. on Friday.

Pen of the Day

2010-10-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

An early heads up on this one:

PE2189-1930 Pelikan in black. This pen is an early second year Pelikan with a bakelite body under a black binde. The cap is a correct double vent but with a later clip. The cylindrical captop has a strong imprint. The nib is a KM with extraordinary flex. $1500.00. Note: that with a correct cap and heart hole nib, this could be a first year pen

It will go on the site in the next couple of days.

Help Wanted: The PENguin

2010-09-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

After more than five years as webmaster-extraordinaire, Gillian Hart has decided to devote more time to several of her own projects and has asked to step back as webmaster for The PENguin. No one has done more to ensure the success of this project and I find it hard to think of The PENguin without Gilly. I want to take this opportunity to thank her for everything she has done and for putting up with me.

Now, however, I need someone who can not only step into her formidable shoes, but to take a somewhat larger role than previously. As I have become increasingly involved with Bonhams & Butterfields, I have not had as much time for the site. Therefore the ideal person for this position will not only be able to work in HTML and CSS (as necessary), but will take an active role in creating content and announcing updates to penboards and social media. In short, the new person will work as a partner with me on the site.

The hours are flexible, the compensation negotiable. At times there will be tight deadlines and, above all, the person chosen must be able to work independently, take initiative, be responsible and, after a trial period, offer a longterm commitment.

If you are interested in becoming webmaster for The PENguin, please contact me: rickpropas@comcast.net. Résumés appreciated.

German No Name Pens

2010-09-25T01:39:00.001-07:00

These are a lot of about fifty German No Name Pens that a client offered to me a while back. They were interesting and came with a great backstory, so I bought them, put them in a box and got very busy.

Now I want to “re-home” them, as they say. So here they are.

GNN1/2 are probably the most interesting of this lot of pens. They are Kaweco Dia 805As and the initials on them are those of the founder of the firm, Heinrich Koch. I have a letter of provenance that goes with the pens. They are unused and have goldplated alloy Kaweco OM nibs. $225.00. I have just two of these.

GNN3 kind of speaks for itself, a wartime "Elita" pen. It has no clip, though I could fit one, and has a fine flexible steel Bock nib. It appears never to have been used. $95.00

GNN4 are a group of wartime no names, with a very flexible gold plated Degussa OM nibs. I have a bunch of these and will choose for you the nicest. Most of them appear never to have been used. $95.00

GNN5 another group of wartime no name this time in black chased celluloid with a gold plated Bock OM nib. I have a bunch of these also, in varous patterns and will choose for you the nicest. They appear never to have been used. $95.00

These pens are as I got them. On request I will polish them. All pens are in working order.

Pen of the Day

2010-09-15T06:55:00.001-07:00

Let's try something new: Pen of the Day
PE2290: 1987 Pelikan M800 green stripes. This
is an immaculate first year M800 with the carved logo, marked W. Germany
and with a 14k Broad nib. They do not get any better. In velvet
topped black clamshell with papers. $425.00

September Site Update

2010-09-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

We have just completed a modest update to the website.

As always we have a fine selection of Pelikans, from a first year black 1929 to a number of other early pens. Now is a great time to start in or to fill in your early Pelikan collection.

We have a strong supply, too, of often hard to find Pelikan 400s in black and tortoise.

Among the moderns, a first year M800 with a broad 14 K nib is a standout.

Don't forget that we have also plenty of Parkers and other pens, including a vintage Montblanc 149 and a more modern one.

2010-08-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

>
> Please Join Us
>
> Join Bonhams for a celebration of the modern fountain pen with our largest-ever sale on August 19, preceeded by a reception and lecture on Limited Editions by our pen specialist, Rick Propas on August 17.
>
> Tuesday, August 17th, 7pm
> 580 Madison Avenue
> New York, NY
>
>
> Please RSVP to:
> events.us@bonhams.com
>
>
>
> View Online Catalog
> Buy Catalog
> Preview Times
> Auction Inquiries
>
>
>

580 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022 • 220 San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103 • 7601 W. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
© 2009, Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. • All rights reserved. • Bond No. 57BSBES3248. • Principal Auctioneer: Malcolm Barber • NYC License No. 1183017

Bonhams & Butterfields Preview and Sale in Manhattan

2010-06-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are in and around Manhattan this weekend and into next week will want to set aside a bit of time to visit our showrooms at 580 Madison Avenue to preview a quite remarkable collection of Montblanc, Dunhill-Namiki and Namiki modern Limited Edition pens. The preview will run from Saturday, June 12 until Tuesday, June 15. Saturday and Sunday hours, 12-5, Monday and Tuesday, 10-5. The sale will take place on Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 PM eastern time and will be simulcast in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The illustrated catalogue is at:

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/WService=wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=Catalogue&iSaleNo=18520

On a personal note, I will be in New York from the 11^th through the day of the sale, the 17^th, and looking for pen friends to hang out with when not working. If anyone wishes to do so, contact me at rickpropas@comcast.net or 510-754-3278

Bonhams & Butterfields June Sale of Montblancs, Namikis and Others

2010-05-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

Bonhams & Butterfields would like to issue a special invitation to Bay Area pen collectors and those who will be in the San Francisco area this weekend to attend our first-ever preview of fine writing instruments. The preview will run from noon until 5:00PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 21-23 and will feature spectacular modern limited edition pens from Dunhill-Namiki, Montblanc and Namiki, among other makes. Bonhams pen consultant Rick Propas will be on hand to meet and greet and talk pens.

The B&B Showrooms are at 220 San Bruno Ave., San Francisco, CA 94103.

A map to the site is available at:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=220+san+bruno+avenue,+san+francisco,+ca+94103&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=37.766559,-122.405913&spn=0.009431,0.020299&t=h&z=16&g=220+san+bruno+avenue,+san+francisco,+ca+94103&iwloc=addr

A link to our illustrated catalogue:

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/WService=wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=Catalogue&iSaleNo=18520

Another Bonhams Sale

2010-01-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

These days, February means a big Bonhams Pen Auction in LA following the Los Angeles International Pen Show. This year's sale is a blockbuster featuring Montblanc Limited Editions exclusively, in 130 lots including pens rarely seen on the aftermarket.

For more information, check out the Press Release below and you can find the catalog online in draft form at:

http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=WholeCataloguePrint&iSaleNo=18304

So if you are coming to the LA Show, plan to stay another day and join us for a truly memorable event.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

My resolution for this year is to use this blog more while avoiding bloggerly banality.

Let's see how I do.

An inactive blog

2009-11-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

These days too busy is good, right?

If so, I'm good, but no time to recount my adventures major and minor.

But I have been buying a ton of pens. Many are on the site, many are not.

Here's a listing of some of the new arrivals as noted on the webiste. If anything interests you, give me a shout at rickpropas@comcast.net:

*****************
The last few weeks have brought us a ton of pens, from new Pelikans (including a couple of black 100s) to a whole trove of Parkers, mostly not yet up on the site. Heading the list is a first year Parker 51set double jewel (of course) in black with the really uncommon wavy lined caps. Next is an extraordinary full size burgundy Parker Vacuum Filler, complete and correct with excellent colour. Not far behind is a sterling silver lined capped Nassau double jewel 51, along with a double jewel dove gray and alloy 51, and a gold filled black double jewel. The same lot of pens brought aerometric 51s in forest and plum as well as regular colours. It was a ton of pens. Heaven only knows when I’ll get these on the site.

In addition, there is a very fine selection of Pelikans, perhaps our best ever, up on the site. Check it out!
******************

Next semester brings a reduced teaching load, some of that time will get taken up by Bonhams and some (I hope) by writing, but my great hope is to be able to grow the offerings on the site.

Stay tuned.

The Washington DC 2009 SuperShow

2009-08-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

The Washington Pen Show usually comes toward the end of my pen show year, after Portland and before Columbus. This year, because of our stay in England, it kicked off a short, modified year for me.

Along with Los Angeles, Washington is arguably the largest show in the world. If you are unfamiliar with it and/or interested in learning more, just follow this link to the show’s wildly eclectic website: http://www.pencentral.com/

This was my first show in nine months and it was great to see old friends and meet some new people, most notably Brian and Andrea Gray of Edison Pens, with whom I placed an order.

The show, itself was most excellent in every respect. I was able to put quite a few excellent pens into peoples’ hands and got to meet a couple of people whom I have been selling pens to, in person. I found more good pens, both for myself and for the website than I ever recall at any single show, and I had a great time.

My Washington show went on a day longer, as the Board of Directors of the pen Collectors met on Monday in retreat. It was a productive day in which we were able to assess the work of the last few years, define some mid-course corrections and chart our direction into the future.

It was a grand weekend.

Because of space considerations and baggage restrictions I did not bring along my camera, but in truth, images do not tell the story of a pen show, it really is more than a roomful of pens and people. I am presenting below a couple of images from previous shows taken from the show website and I am showing off my haul of pens, both for others and myself.

Enjoy!

Some images of previous DC Shows taken from the show website.

These are the pens I brought home from the show. Over the next few weeks they will get loaded onto the site. Among the more notable of them are a yellow binde Pelikan 100, lizard Pelikan 101N, a tortoise 100N, a burgundy 140 set, nearly mint, in the pouch, a seagreen 400 set, an M605 in blue and so on. Among the more notable Parkers were Vacuum Fillers in silver stubby and in crystal and an ever-popular Premier.
These, however, are mine. The weekend yielded up two of the pens on my short list, an OMAS Paragon T2 Limited Edition and a bakelite Parker 28. I also scored a lovely Parker 25 1/2 and a delightful Italian nesun nome.
It was a rockin' weekend.

And next week, back to school. While I shall be happy to see colleagues again and meet new students, it will be the most difficult year in my career as a result of the severe budgetary cutbacks, pay cuts, furloughs, student dismissals, the lot.

One More From Bonhams

2009-07-30T07:20:00.001-07:00

Just another tease. We will also be offering a matching skeleton watch.

Lillies From Our Garden

2009-07-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Playing Around With the Camera

2009-07-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of another update on the site and to break the boredom, I'm playing around with some images that will shortly go up on the Gallery feature of the website. Thought I'd post them here first, with captions for those for whom they are not immediately recogniseable. (Does anyone but pen folk still read this?)
Pelikan 400NN, this took heavy photoshopping to come out even as well as it did. Maybe it was the black background, since I've had it easier shooting other transparent pens.
The 1964 Parker 75 Spanish Treasure Fleet started the mania for Limited Editions. The pen is made from salvaged Spanish silver, taken from the Anocha, an unfortunate Spanish Galleon caught and sunk by the Brits off Florida.
The OMAS Nishiji-Nuri, sprinkled with gold dust, another challenge to depict.
These Parker Senior Duofolds in the rare Mandarin colour are one of the highlights of the collection. Not only are they rare, but they are flawless, even the imprints are crisp and proud. I've used them a few times, not often though.
Parker 75 bicentennial, in pewter.
Pelikan 700/750, all 14 Karat gold pen and pencil. They are not a set, however, as the guilloche patterns do not match and the pencil is earlier than the pen, regular 750, 700NN.
Looking at it here, the rainbow capped 61s did not turn out so well. Capturing the stripes in the drawn metal is another challenge.
I think I did it better with these rainbow Parker 75s
The ne plus ultra of later Parker Vacumatics, made for less than a year in 1937, the so-called Vac Band. The Band featured the words Parker Vacumatic in high relief and turned out to be too expensive to manufacture. I need to do a close-up of the bands.

A Tease

2009-07-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my daughter Anna (also known as research assistant and web designer) and I are writing the catalogue for the next big Bonhams Pen Auction in New York City tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2009, just following this year's blockbuster New York Pen Show.

Just to tantalise, here is an advance peek at two of the pens that will be among approximately two hundred lots.

Part of OMAS's Exploration series, this 18 K white gold overlay pen celebrates the moon exploration. Only 69 of these were made, and the packaging is almost as spectacular as the pen.

In 1997 OMAS offered a series they called Legni Pregiati (precious woods), made of a series of rare and beautiful woods. I have one of them in my collection. Some lucky bidder will walk away with the entire series, number 8 of 500.

And here are a few more:
You can find out a bit more about the sale at The New York Pen Show website

Stay tuned for more information.

Not Just Pens

2009-07-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

It seems like the roses this summer have been even more spectacular than usual.

PenFortunate

2009-07-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

Happened to look over at the corner of my desk while packing up some pens to go out to clients and noticed what I had been writing and playing with over the holiday weekend.

This is not to be boastful, but grateful.

Return to Bonhams

2009-07-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read the blog regularly know that last fall Anna and I were involved in researching and writing the catalogue for a big sale of of about three hundred lots, comprising four hundred pens, mostly modern, ultra high-end, limited edition pens that took place in Los Angeles in February. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend as I was just starting the semester in England. But the sale was a big success, especially in these difficult economic times.

Well, to cut the long story short, what we offered was just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We still have another six hundred or more pens, including a number of the Chinese lacquer and very limited edition pens from large makers and small.

And, the sale was enough of a success that we are now planning and working on a sale to be held in New York in the fall.

So I thought that folks might like to see what we do to prepare for the sale and how we do it, basically following the process along from start to finish. I won’t be blogging the work every week, but will post entries as the process moves along. So here is the start:

The rear entrance to the building where we work
My colleague Ivan Briggs gave a far better name to what we formerly just called "the pen room." I'm not sure, though, who is in purgatory, us or the pens.
Pens
and more pens
Even after the first sale there are more than six hundred pens waiting
Tradition notwithstanding, we both work on laptops using print catalogues and books and online sources to create first the sales lists that will become databases that will form the core of our own catalogue for the second sale to be held in the fall in New York.
Here Anna examines a pen before including it in the first cut.

How I Do What I Do

2009-06-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

In the course of my wanderings through pendom I have seen a number of workshops, from the exquisite workspaces created by Richard Binder and David Parisi to the creative caverns of Victor Chen, Jim Marshall and Osman Sümer. My own space cannot compare to any of them.

We like in a small house at the northeasternmost reaches of California’s Silicon Valley, where even in these hard times the smallest house can approach seven figures in cost. Moreover, my small office must also do its duty to my academic work, such as it is.

Therefore, pens, tools, parts, shipping supplies all vie for space with books, papers and the like. Thus all my pen stuff must be storable.

This includes my “photo studio,” which lives in a nether corner of the office tucked between bookshelf, inventory box, and file cabinet; and when it comes out it gets set up in the dining room, often to Sharon’s patient dismay.

Recently, I undertook the largest update ever to the site, one which is still going on. Despite the fact that my workplaces are so humble and disorderly I thought folks might like to see what goes on behind the scenes. So here goes a tour of the recent update, for what it’s worth.
It all starts on my desk, so to speak, with pens, tools and a database
Although with an update this big, stuff got stacked on my Parker pencase alongside the desk
At this point stuff is getting unpacked to get examined, go through the first testing, and to get catalogued. After being entered into the database, I begin describing the pens for the website
Further testing and cleaning

Here a couple of 51s get resacced, the one on th top is for a client and the double jewel buckskin will go to webmaster Gilly who has finally gotten the 51 bug.
A trio of 51 sets, the buckskin set is the only one still available at this writing. Both the Nassau and Cordovan are in new hands.

This is the "photo studio." Ninety five percent of the images you see on the website are done in this fashion. Until recently I used the 500 watt, blue 5600 K photolights, but those seem no longer to be available. Note that they are supplemented behind by little table top fill lights. Recently, for top highlights I have begun using a fifth light, the camera's own flash. It adds additional dimension and highlight. When shooting metal pens I leave it off.

I do use photoshop after the fact, mostly to adjust exposure, occasionally to sharpen. Sometimes to adjust colour when the camera misses, especially now that I have had to go to 300 watt clear incandescent lamps, at least for the interim, until I decide what new light source to use permanently. Like much of what I do, it's pretty primitive, but it works, I think

Here's where the "studio" lives.
And, when I have finished everything the pens will live in the portfolios, boxed pens in the tub. For pen shows, all this has to go into a suitcase that I can carry onto an airplane. Wish me luck. It's part of the reason I lift weights, so I can hoist the seventy pound suitcase into an overhead compartment on a Boeing 737!
After seeing all this, maybe no one will ever want to buy a pen from me again!

The PENguin is Back!

2009-06-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

As many of you know we have been closed for the past five months while I have been teaching and travelling abroad. I’m back, and I brought with me more than one hundred new pens. We now have our largest inventory of pens ever.

To celebrate, we are re-opening with our biggest sale ever.

For the rest of June and July there will be neither shipping nor handling charges on any pens shipped to the United States. Buyers outside the US will enjoy savings similar to those at home.

Purchases over $400.00 will enjoy a 10% discount.

Or if you buy two pens at any price, the pen of lesser value will be discounted 20%.

Also, watch for our new specials of the week, marked by a gold star. These pens, often, but not always, premium or limited editions, will be at significant discount. But only for a week. The pen of your dreams may become more affordable, but only if you visit often.

Back to Pens

2009-06-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

So, what did I get in England and Germany?

In truth some interesting stuff, most of it as you will see, for the website. It will be a few days before I can get all this stuff checked, restored as necessary, listed and photographed.

But for now, here are some teaser photos, not very good ones, yesterday was my worst day for jet lag, but here they are:

And, so what did I get for myself? Less than I did for you guys, but at least two were spectacular Pelikan finds, the short captop tortoise 101 and the three piece M/K/D tortoise 800 set. Before this one, which has a great backstory, there were no known tortoise pencils. So I am stoked. And there were a few English pens most notably an antique (read rmhr) Onoto 1850, a massive pen with a super nib. I also fed my interest in large German safeties with a RicLei number 6 and my fondness for Italian celluloid with a rosso verde large faceted “Duchessa,” which I think was one of many OMAS sub-brands.

The array of pens for the website
The Pelikans, most notably a yellow Pelikan 100 top left and a Magnum tortoise 100N. Bottom right, a wood OMAS and a LeBoeuf 6 set in jet and pearl.

Lots of interesting German pens top left and some other stuff
Parkers, including three DJ 51 sets, in cordovan, Buckskin and Nassau
This is a verrrry sweet three piece M30 in blue set in a designer case
An Aurora Jubilaeum
The M800 demo is the rarest of the rare, with the Spanish makings, but with an error. Only 19 of these are said to survive. At bottom an M750This is a tray of 140s restored by the Pelikan guru, Jürgen Dittmer
Mine, all mine, including a curious Ibis marked Pelikan Junior, the short captop 101, a lovely Carters oversize in blue, a couple of early swans, the Onoto,a rmhr Relief, the Duchessa, a lovely little Juska that needs some work, the Ric Lei and a Tibaldi Rosso Verde pencil, anyone got the pen? If so, you own me
I had a Nassau set, of course, but this last year 1948 set captured me
Sharon says the bird is ugly, but it's from the 1930s and rare, besides I kinda ike it. The desktop case will help me keep track of which early Pelikans I have inked. Better maintenance.
Well, that's it for now. I'm gonna ask that you penhounds refrain from inquiries for now until I can get everything going. Today, Wednesday, the jet lag seems to have lifted, but I'll need a few more workdays to sort stuff out.

Home Truths

2009-06-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

Finally starting to settle in. We arrived in San Francisco at 2:25, a scant three hours after our departure from London at 11:35 Sunday morning. (Yeah, right!)

Despite the fact that I had arisen early hoping to be tired enough to sleep through the flight, that was not to be. The family in the row ahead of us were active enough to draw the notice of all around them.

Having gotten home, we began tearing into our suitcases, unpacking, sorting, laundering, finding places for new things, you know the drill. By the time we called for pizza (Mission Pizza in Fremont may have the best pizzas I haave ever had) we would actually rather have just crawled off to bed.

What kept us going were the greetings we got from Anna and Percy (the cat). We half expected Percy to have forgotten us, but to the contrary he has been our constant companion day and night since our return. Anna has managed to tear herself away from our presence.

By Tuesday morning when these images were taken, both Sharon and I were unpacked, laundry was complete and the house getting (mostly) back to normal. But after 4 ½ months in Europe and having been on the road for five weeks, we are both wiped out. Work’s getting done, but slowly and unevenly.

Still, it’s good to be home.

Still got suitcases in the living room
And more clutter, lots of mail to be dealt with, but not today.
My office piled with pens
Desk not fully rebuilt, need batteries for wireless keyboard and mouse, though I've gotten used to the trackpad and keyboard on the new MacBookPro
Bedroom looks good
This may be the feature of the house I most missed.
And the BMW actually started without a jump, though the radio seems to have dumped and won't take its code. Arrgh.

Anyways enough of this banal stuff, this is why folks don't read blogs. Next post--pens.

One Last Tour

2009-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

We arose in Kent around 5:30 Sunday morning ready, more or less, to go to Heathrow airport, the start of our journey home.

I think I have mentioned before that by training our friend Ray Atkinson is a London cab driver, not one of those who drive the thousands of mini-cabs that swarm through London like so many insects. Ray is the real deal, having spent two years of his youth on a motorbike learning the backstreets and by-ways of London as well as the locations of all the city’s major sites. If you want to see this kindly man sneer in contempt just mention SatNav (global positioning navigation devices). Ray was, of course, going to take us to the airport on that gray, rainy Sunday morning. It was the darkest, wettest dawn in several weeks and as we loaded up in the rain he suggested that perhaps we had packed up our weather to take back home. The previous fortnight had been absolutely glorious as only England can be when the weather, all too infrequently smiles on them.

I assumed that we would use the London Orbital, the M25, as millions do each day. But Ray, like most Londoners, fears that road, especially in bad weather. When I first asked about our routehe noted that the road isolates you. Once you have made the choice, there are no reasonable alternatives and a traffic disruption, even on an early Sunday, could spell disaster.

So we set off winding in a westerly direction along the backroads and country lanes, first through Bromley, the biggest nearby suburb, through the notorious Brixton area, through Battersea and across the Chelsea Bridge. Here, of course, the urban landscape changed dramatically, from the mean streets of Brixton, which Ray replied to one of my many queries, had quietened in recent years, to the muted elegance of London’s west end. Through Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, Kensington--along the south perimeter of Hyde Park—through Earls Court, we wound our way across this corner of London finally emerging onto the A4 and its approach to the airport.

It was a lovely final tour of the city, and a part of it we actually had not gotten to during the visit. I did not ask Ray if he planned the route as a final tour much less if he meant the route as a tour de force. But we sat in awe at both the sights through rain spattered windows in the muted gray morning light and the tortuous route he was tracing with quiet assurance.

It was a lovely end to a long trip, one that began so tentatively in January and proceeded through more turns and adventures than I have even recorded here. As those of you who have followed our progress, we have gone from the initial gee whiz of touring with our students to our own journey of reconnection. Along with everything else, the touring, the teaching, the traumas of homesickness and student excess, for Sharon and me a major theme of this trip has been to connect and reconnect with friends old and new. Ray’s choice of this singular route seems to have highlighted this.

Had anyone been watching that Sunday morning as Ray dropped us off at Terminal 5, they would surely have wondered why first I and then Sharon hugged our cabdriver before setting off, him to drive for the day and us to cross an ocean and a continent to return home.

Last Hoorah

2009-06-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we take off for home, but made one last excursion with Sylvia, Ray worked today, to Down House, the home of Charles Darwin for the last forty years of his life until his death in 1882.

In a previous life, I actually managed a historic house museum, San Francisco Heritage’s Haas-Lilienthal House, and have retained both a professional and amateur interest in historic house museums, and I have to say that this house, operated by English Heritage, is one of the best I’ve toured. I would say that for anyone in the London area (the house is in Kent) this is a must see.

I j snapped just a few photos, including a few interior shots under the mistaken impression that non-flash photography was allowed. Oops, sorry!

Model of the HMS Beagle
The family sitting room, though he often had experiments running here, too.

The study where he worked and wrote, including the Origin. He did not write at a desk, so note the writing table that spanned his armchair where he composed.
The gardens were ornamental, provided for the kitchen and served as an extension of the great man's laboratories as well

Note the bee on the bottom flower. Darwin studied bees, along with everything else, and built hives. The hives have been recreated and the gardens are abuzz.
Sylvia had a party tonight, so we went with Ray to a local Indian restaurant. Tomorrow, Sunday, he will take us off to Heathrow and by day's end we will be back home for the first time since 23 January.

Folks have asked if we have had a good time, and the answer is that this has truly been the trip of a lifetime. We are blessed to have done a similar trip, for six months in 1972, and this time has been easily as wonderful. At some point I shall try to offer some sort of summation, but not tonight.

Great Britain, Labour Meltdown

2009-06-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

For me, before there were pens there was politics. By my thirteenth birthday I was fascinated by the political process that led to the rise of John F. Kennedy, and in high school I was active in and a local officer of the Californai Federated Young Democrats. In college I studied politics as first a political science and then a political history major. My interest and activity extended through the late 1980s and into the 1990s.

So, it has been interesting to be in the UK for the past four and a half months during a period of political instability that now looks as if it might result in the parliamentary (but not electoral) replacement of an unelected prime minister by another unelected prime minister. Parliamentary politics can be complex.

For those who know the system, no prime minister is ever elected in the sense that a president is elected, even indirectly, by the people. In the UK folks vote for members of a party who have selected their leader. Should that party achieve a majority (or create a majority coalition) that leader becomes PM. Still with me?

In 1997, Labour, behind the seemingly skilled leadership of Tony Blair, who had reshaped Labour from a socialist to a moderate social democrat party, swept to one of the strongest victories in modern history. Blair called subsequent, early elections in 2001 and, finally, in 2005. But even then, there were cracks in the party, as many loyalists came to doubt the rightward swing of Labour and within the party Blair had to cut a deal with his powerful Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. It was a comedown for the man who, in 1997 all but destroyed the Conservative party. Two years later, as a result of a party revolt, Brown replaced Blair.

Since then, the British-- from his colleagues, to the media, to the people--have come to hate their leader with a ferocity that is hard to fathom. Perhaps the best parallel is with Gray Davis, the aptly named California governor who was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Davis was a more than competent apparatchik who lacked the common touch. Add to this Brown's seeming inability to understand any aspect of modern political life and you may have the recipe for his downfall. For example, his own ally and Europe Minister, Caroline Flint, resigned yesterday calling for Brown's ouster, after having earlier pledged support, apparently no longer willing to be regarded as, in her words, "female window dressing."

All this notwithstanding, from a policy perspective it is hard to fault Gordon Brown’s brief tenure as Prime Minister. But almost from the start he has shown a remarkable inability to communicate with the British people. Add to that the economic meltdown (which he actually did much to mitigate both at home and internationally), the fact that Labour has been in power for twelve years through four elections and you have a recipe for regime change. That, along with the recent revelations about excessive claims for expenses by members (of all parties).

Still, in April when I had occasion to meet with the member for Bath, Don Foster, a Liberal Democrat (Britain’s somewhat incongruous third party), in response to my question about a possible coalition government coming out of the upcoming elections, he predicted a fourth electoral victory for Labour, albeit with a severely reduced majority. Today, no one believes Labour can win in 2010, especially behind the leadership of Brown who is under intense pressure to resign, presumably in favour of Alan Johnson, newly appointed as Home Secretary, or possibly Alastair Darling, Brown’s powerful Chancellor.

For an erstwhile political junkie, it has been fascinating to watch all this play out, even as I have been forced to observe the even more compelling advent of Barack Obama from a distance.

Once I return home, not only will I be able to watch the remarkable changes in the American political landscape closeup, but thanks to the internet I will be able to keep track of British politics, simply by keeping open the Guardian tab on my browser.

My guess is that it may take a few more weeks for the full impact of Friday’s elections in which Labour ran third and lost every single of the local council elections, to sink in. But if parliamentary elections were held today, the Tories under David Cameron, would win handily; and, in my opinion, that would be a tragedy for the British people.

Of the major nations, Britain seems the hardest hit by the current depression. Already their social services are strained beyond breaking (viz the recent Sannix trial and several child deaths due to lax social services). Nor does it seem that the Tories would do anything to arrest the British slide toward authoritarianism in the name of national security (for which Labour is rightly blamed).

It seems inevitable that Brown will be ousted. One of the hallmarks of a “free” society is that leaders are not only opposed, and even mocked, but when they start laughing, you, as a leader, are cooked. Brown is the focus of not just opposition, but both mockery and derision. His days seem numbered, his replacement as party leader and then prime minister ahead of the June 2010 elections inevitable. But even if that occurs, progressive government in Britain may be doomed.

Enough of my political ramblings. This afternoon we will undertake our last excursion, to the nearby home of Charles Darwin.

Final Days, partie deux

2009-06-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Catcher in the Rye

No big story here. On Thursday both Ray and Sylvia were able to clear their day and take us out to see Rye, which is part of what is locally called 1066 country, the area around Hastings, site of the Norman invasion.

Located too far inland to be an active port today, seven hundred years ago Rye was one of the cinque maritime ports and was important enough to have been invaded and burned by the French in the mid 14th century. Only later was it returned to English control and became one of the bases for the rise of English maritime power in the late 16th century.

While we only spent a few hours there, it was long enough to enjoy a brief walk through the town, have a lovely lunch in Thomas Fletcher’s house, and for me to get a hot(?) lead on a possible source for pens.

As you walk up , you are treated to this view

The approach to the church, the Fletcher house, where we had some great crab sandwiches and even better lemon and lime/raspberry tarts for dessert. The real surprise, throughout this trip has been how easy its been to get good, even great, food here.
The church dates back to Norman times

Sharon and Ray in the churchyard

Sylvia in her Hollywood shades

Final Days, part 1

2009-06-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

Rolling on the River

These are our last days before (finally) returning home on Sunday. It’s been a fine trip, a superb trip, but the allure of the familiar is now greater than ever. I‘m looking forward to picking back up all the threads, school and a new teaching assignment, restarting The PENguin, resuming my work with Bonhams on another spectacular auction to follow up the success of the last one in February, serving the PCA as the board best sees fit for me to do.

But we are still in (just outside, really) London, and we know what Dr. Johnson says about that, so yesterday we decided to do something we’ve not done before, and we took a three hour leisurly sail down the Thames to visit Hampton Court.

As you will see from the images, it was a fine summer day, perfect temperatures in the upper teens (upper 60s to you), nary a cloud in the sky, lovely weather as you get only in England (and not too often at that), still all the better to be enjoyed.

Hampton Court was built on the basis of an older manor house by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and later by Henry VIII. A word on Henry: this year marks the quincentennial (doncha just love that word?) of his coronation, and even moreso than ever he seems to be everywhere. The Brits have a love/hate relationship with this oversize monarch who did so much to set in motion the forces that have shaped this nation, and even now don’t know whether to revere or revile him.

But that does not stop the celebrations, and at Hampton Court they are intense. We will miss the late June coronation weekend, but did get to experience the events leading up to Henry’s sixth wife Kateryn Parr. As we toured through the rooms well trained actors led groups in reenacting the events of the wedding and we were even presented to the King. It was fun, followed up by lectures on Medieval clothing, as well as all the other exhibits and attractions of the palace. We even got out into the gardens and Sharon, remembering the old trick, was able to lead us to the centre of the maze.

We did not return by river, pleasant though that might have been, but took the train into Waterloo Station and happened into Cubana, nearby on Lower Marsh. We did not know what to expect from this crowded, noisy colourful space on three levels, but the mojito (Sharon) and lime cooler (me) were very good. After a vigorous day we were ready not just for drinks, but starters, so I had the croquetas of chorizo and sweet potato and Sharon the crab rosti. Ou measuring point for Cuban restaurants is the famous Bodeguita del Medio, in the Bay Area, modelled on the Havana original. This hole in the wall looking place exceeds it. The drinks and appetisers were grand and the main courses, mine the Congri Santiago (think Cuban red beans and rice, with chicken and more chorizo), and Sharon’s a seared tuna, were even better. We skipped dessert as it was getting late and we had a train to catch back to Petts Wood.

It was a lovely finish to a fine day of touring. Today we visit Rye with friends Sylvia and Ray.

While waiting for the boat, I could not resist snapping off a few more images of Westminster.

Especially close in to the city, the river, these days, is lined with luxury high-rise apartments
Developers often like to locate them in rather incongruous structures like this disused generating plant.
But there are also plenty of signs of more traditional riverside life

One of the bridges we crossed under left us with about six inches of headroom to spare. The captain came on twice to be sure everyone remained seated

as well as more luxury high-rise apartments for the wealthy

and posh homes
But, not everything on the river is posh
And it is, after all, a working river with locks and all that

A contest: if anyone can tell me (not guess) what this is, I'll send them a penAfter three leisurely hours we got to Hampton Court Palace, awed by what we saw, but not having yet seem much of anything
Here a Tudor courtyard with a Georgian facade as added by William and Mary, who were the first monarchs after Henry to do much with the palace
The exterior is filled with these little details that beg to be photographed, doncha think?
The guide to the place starts you at the Tudor kitchens which have been lovingly restored and interpreted.

For scale, Sharon and her audio guide in front of the great fireplace where dozens of roasts would have been prepared for banquets to feed as many as 1200 people.
The great hall with its timbered, vaulted ceiling
An actress portraying Kateryn Parr's sister passing along court gossip, including that of Henry's sexual abilities in 1543
The great man himself
And Mistress Parr being led by a "courtier"
The king and his queen-to-be

The long water, centerpiece of the gardens

Sharon and Rosa at the entrance to the maze.The truth is that Rosa guided us through

Rosa finds her niche at court

Only as I was writing this did I find out from the website that rooms in the palace can be rented. Hmmmmm???

York

2009-06-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Apart from our last week, which we will spend in Kent with our friends Sylvia and Ray Atkinson, this is our last English city for this trip, and I have to say that York has been a real highlight for us both, tired though we are at this point. The weather has been about as good as it gets here, in the upper 60s and even into the lower 70s. The sites have been fantastic and the food has been (mostly) superb.

We began, as we do, with a hop-on hop-off familiarisation tour on Friday. These tours can be uneven, depending on the guide, but the woman who toured us through York was most knowledgeable.

One of our goals was to walk the walls and so after the motor tour we did that both Friday and again Saturday (sometimes the easiest and quickest way to get somewhere in York is along the walls).

After that, we headed for York minster, one of Europe’s oldest, largest and most grand cathedrals. It is, of course, abustle with tourists, especially now that school is out, but I still managed to find a quiet place for meditation.

Afterwards, while rambling along Fossgate and not even looking for it, I came across a hitherto unfamiliar pen shop, Signatures, run by Mike and Andrea Lewandowski. I asked, and there in the corner were the vintage pens. A lapis Parker Streamline Duofold Senior set caught my eye and within a few moments we agreed on a price and the deal was done. After some further discussion, we decided to meet again Saturday when Mike would show me a few treasures from his own collection of Parker 51s, an area of mutual interest. I also, on Saturday, brought along my own 1948 (last year of production Nassau green 51 set, which he was surprised to see).

The rest of the afternoon was spent rambling the streets, many of which in the heart of the city are pedestrianised, and strolling along the river. We finished up the day with dinner which was pealla, which we happened to come across being cooked at the la Place Verte, a Belgian café located in the old toll house on the Skeldergate Bridge leading out of the city and to our B&B.

Saturday, we began with a tour of the River Ouse, which along with the Foss, is part of the lifeblood of this ancient city which predates even the Romans. From there we headed back to Fossgate, both for pens and for lunch. This weekend there was a racing meet in the city and bookings were hard to come by. Jenny Warren, our host at the B&B, had recommended Melton’s on Thursday and suggested even more enthusiastically JBaker’s. But we could not get a table there in the evening. However, they did have room at midday, so off we went. But first Mike and I played show and tell, and I have to admit to having been blown away by his new old stock Parker 51 sets from the 1950s, among them forest green and the rarest of all colours, plum. Yummy!

Jeff Baker is one of those chefs who, either through training or instinct, knows how to combine flavours that in other hands might not go together. Although we did not know or plan it, he was in the kitchen that day, and we could tell, even before we knew it, by the flair with which our dishes were prepared. At our request, we were guided by the front end manager, Lydia, who clearly knew the food and the cook well. She suggested that we begin with the “grazing plate” that was put together to accommodate Sharon’s avoidance of meat. The soup was a gazpacho with an almond cream base and there was a salmon paste and another dish that slips my mind. Regardless, by then we knew we were on to something. My main course was a skirt steak that was cooked using a technique I’ve heard of but never used that involves soaking the meat in cold water before cooking briefly at very high heat. It came with a duck’s egg that Jeff cooked in a similar manner. At this point, words escape me. Sharon had the cepe mushroon cakes, which were equally superb. Dessert was a chocolate ganache with a beetroot sauce and a star anise and fennel ice. Lydia assured me that all those flavours would work together in perfect harmony with the 70% guanja chocolate and they did! Sharon had the Seaside Special - Lemon curd ice cream with a jelly and biscuits.

From there, we managed to stagger over to tourist information looking for something to do in the evening and happened onto The Black Swan’s weekend folk festival. A quick hop up onto the wall brought us there, we could hear it before seeing it, and smack into the middle of a totally unanticipated scene. The pub was totally given over to the festival with musicians in one downstairs room and singers in another two rooms upstairs as well as a stage in the car park. We sampled the stage and then whilst getting our drinks heard Celtic music in front. For the next two hours we revelled in a real Irish house party (for reference, see the Dublin entry), in which a shifting group of musicians most of whom, but not all, seemed to know one another, just jammed. Most often someone would start a tune, others who either knew or sorted it out by ear, would then join in. There were fiddles, guitars, a banjo player, a couple of bodhrans, a penny flute, a mandolin. About what you would expect. A woman brought out Irish bagpipes but we never heard her. Most of the people in the room were musicians and families, but we were welcome to listen, of course. At one point, one of the fiddlers (there were three or four, depending on who was in the room or not) began a tune with such feeling that the room fell still, everyone intent on each note. When he finished there was quiet applause to mark a signal performance.

After a time, we wandered back out to the main stage and then upstairs to hear the singers. Finally, after 10:00, we made our way home, happy but tired.

We had a nice lie-in Sunday morning and then headed out for our day with the Vikings at the Jorvik Viking Centre. After the Romans, who had founded Eboracum, left in about 400CE, came the Vikings who invaded the settlement around 800. The Jorvik Centre visit begins with a trolley ride, not unlike Disney’s Small World, that takes you through time and introduces the work of archaeologists in York. From there you go through a more conventional museum setting and exhibits on York. Much of what is on display highlights the work of the archaeologists and we found the experience of sufficient interest to want to wander over to their Dig, an archeological museum that offers simulated digs and some innovative displays on the work done by the York Archeological Trust which owns and operates the Centre. In conversation, we were interested to learn that most of the employees of the Centre are students of archeology at York University, including the lovely young woman who made my cappuchino, not to mention guides at the centre and the dig. It is, as they claim it to be, a must see.

After that we agreed that we were museumed-out and that the day was too lovely, anyways, to spend indoors. We had a terrible lunch (think of English food as it used to be), and then a bit of a wander through the railway station and gardens, before heading off to an early dinner.

If JBaker’s offered the best meal we have had in England (and in a very long while), the Blue Bicycle gave us one of our top four or five during this journey. We started by sharing the curry cured salmon, a most innovative and delicious treatment of salmon. I had the baked cod, not a fish I usually go for, but we are on the North Sea, right? In truth, what also drew me to the dish was the Yorkshire ham lasagne, which was luscious. Sharon’s main course was the skate, which resembles steelhead trout. Once again, the food was imaginative, using the best provisions one could ask for, and fine preparation. Sharon was not up for dessert, but I was, and had the pistachio and olive oil cake with strawberries and a raspberry and pink peppercorn sorbet. It came close to being the highlight of the meal.

Part of the restaurant’s backstory is that, located along the River Foss, its undercroft (read basement) was at one point used as one of York’s most noted brothels. The lower rooms are used today as part of the restaurant but the alcoves, where now there are dining booths, are decorated with images of the women who “may have” been employed there. It was a fun end to the day to explore down there.

Our first look at the walls
The seemingly ubiquitous statues of 'defenders' who must have fooled no one?
One of the many gates to the city
The city's magnificent railway station from the walls
The minster. The walk along the walls provided another suerb overview (literally) of the city.

This one is for webmaster Gilly

More walls . . .

The minster, which was hard to capture even with a wide angle lens, from the street

The interior
Although not as elaborate or ornate as some of the later cathedrals in the south of England, the wealth and power of York cathedral is reflected in the carvings and shrines in the walls
A detail from the East End window, which is curently undergoing massive restoration

For (I assume) security reasons,we couyld not photograph in the undercroft, but I managed a quick shot into it from above.This would have to be the city's most famous street, The Shambles, one of my few clear recollections of the city from our first visit 37 years(!) ago

The unanticipated pen shop: Signatures. Definitely worth a visit when in York.

Mike, me and the lapis.Geese revel in this city. They are everywhere
One of the city's three main bridges

The merchant Adventurers Guild Hall, dating back to the mid 14th century and still owned, operated and maintained by them

This advertising figure of Napoleon was used to sell snuff.

A devil, perched

More walls.
The musicians in the front room of the Black Swan during the weekend folk festival
Singers outdoors
A chilling moment, this plaque commemorates the 1190 suicide of the city's Jews, who chose to take their own lives in Clifford's Tower rather than to face a mob demanding that they renounce their faith.

On Sunday, we visited the Vikings, note the equipment that carried us through the recreated village to start the visit. It may seem hokey, but led on to a thoroughly informative series of galleries.

From there we went to the Dig, which presented the work and methodologies of archaeologists. All the personnel were informed and effective.

Showcases used Potter's ghost figures to present the work and illustrate peoples' lives
We finished Sunday with a ramble through the Victorian train station, built in two parts in the 1840s and 1870s

And after dinner, a final ramble through the streets to our B&B

Travel Tidbits, or vignettes from the road.

2009-05-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

We are now back from Germany having spent a rather wonderful short week renewing an old friendship and gathering in a last few pretty great pens, as it turned out. All the time enjoying the great weather and fine sights of Nürnberg.

On arriving in England Tuesday, we set off from Heathrow mid-afternoon and got into Bedford in the evening. Wednesday brought us to York, and today, Thursday, we set out to explore the city, which we last visited in the 1970s.

To be honest, for a number of reasons the trip back found me grumpy, but not so much so that I did not enjoy perhaps the best response to pens since the institution of current security procedures, bearing in mind that I fly an average of five or six times a year, often more, with a significant number of pens in my carry-on luggage.

At Schiphol (Amsterdam) you go through security at the gate (often for a second time, if your flight originates elsewhere, as ours did), a really efficient manner of dealing with the problem. So we go through, off comes my belt and I empty my pockets, including the Tighe M800 set that are generally my travel pens, into my backpack. Out comes the laptop, and we go through. At this point one of two things usually happens, either the pens and I go through without comment or the backpack gets searched.

So, I was not too surprised when the head of security came over bearing my bag and asked if the pack was mine. “Yes,” I answered. “I have to make a note," he replied. "Would you happen to have a pen?” My bad mood broken I replied, “I may have.” We both grinned widely and he walked off.

Having stayed the night just beyond London at the Bedford Swan Hotel, we set out Wednesday along back roads headed for York. Along the way we made two stops, one in Fotheringhay village, based on nothing more than a whim, and the other born of my desire to visit Peterborough, the scene of the infamous Peterloo massacre of 1819, the last truly revolutionary moment in modern British history. Well, one for two ain’t bad. We struck out, totally, in Peterborough, a thoroughly modern city that, honestly, we were too fatigued to cope with, but Fotheringhay turned out a treat.

The village is the birthplace of Richard III, a crossroads in the War of the Roses, the site of the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and is little changed since then with its simple early Gothic church.

From there we continued north without stop after the abortive detour to Petersborough. On the way, though, we did notice in one village perhaps the best name for a fish and chips shop we have seen, Frying Nemo.
We got to York mid-afternoon, settled into our B&B, Sharon got some work done and then we headed out for a bit of dinner at a local restaurant the owner of the guest house had mentioned as being good and close. Score!! Melton’s offered us one of the best meals we have had in quite a while. If you are in York, don’t miss it, especially as the prices are quite reasonable for the UK.

Fotheringhay church. A simple late Romanesque/early Gothic parish church the villagers struggle to maintain it. I emptied my change pocket (about £5) and should have left more.

The village.

The farmhouse, understandably, is more modern.
Today, we explore York. Stay tuned.

Nürnberg and Franconia

2009-05-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Nürnberg exists within, though it was not historically part of, Franconia.

On Sunday and Monday, Ekke and Gudrun gave us a taste of Franconia when we visited Bad Staffelstein, Lichtenfels, the Convent of Viertzenheiligen and the Kloster (cloister) Banz. Taken all together, these sites make up a major regional cultural and recreation area and are a place that Ekke and Gudrun visit on a weekly basis to take the waters as is common German practice. We accompanied them and in the course of the afternoon got a nice taste of regional history through the two religious sites which featured two lushly baroque/rococo churches as well as the baths.

On Monday Ekke had an appointment in Erlangen, but before going there detoured us to visit Bamberg, a wonderfully intact city that showcases several centuries of southern German architecture and culture. A castle on the site is first mentioned in the early 10th century, though the city rose to prominence with the election of Heinrich II and his queen Kunnigunde to rule Bavaria as part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1007.

On Tuesday, our last day here, we rambled the altstadt of Nürnberg, following the Pegnitz river which bisects the city. Even though Nürnberg was badly bombed in the waning days of World War II, much of its architectural heritage either survives or has been rebuilt, as is often the case in Germany.

Throughout, as is apparent, I had tons of fun with my camera:

The approach to the Vierzehnheiligen (fourteen saints)
This was Sharon's and my first recent taste of the baroque/rococo. Gudrun noted that the style is not to her taste, but that this was a spectacular example. We had to agree.

The valley between the two religious structures. You can just see the twin spires of the fourteen saints convent in the hills. Kloster Banz prohibited photography.

The slopes of Kloster Banz are used on Sundays by hang gliders

On Monday we visited Bamberg

Sharon and Ekke at the entrance of the cathedral in Bamberg.

The Domplatz looks out onto the New Residenz of the city's rulers and a civic rose garden

While the roses were not fully out yet, the garden was lovely and offered some great prospects of the city.

After a brief bus tour, which took us to the altenburg, the old castle, we rambled the streets, headed toward the bahnhof.

These fisherman's houses date back more than two hundred years

We enjoyed a lovely day in Bamberg, surrounded by historic architecture.
On Tuesday, Ekke took us for a through the old city of Nürnberg. With the Pegnitz flowing through the city centre, Nürnberg is a city of bridges, lovely to photograph.

For a few hundred years these buildings have provided public housing

Could not resist taking a picture of this Gogomobil, one of many tiny cars built during Germany's early postwar recovery. The proud owner gave me a thumbs up for my appreciation of his car.
This 1984 fountain depicts relationships. I was drawn to the family in the pelikan, of course.
From here, we embark on the last two stages of this remarkable journey, the English walled city of York, and a final stay with our friends Sylvia and Ray Atkinson outside London.

Die Blaue Nacht

2009-05-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

While discussing plans for the Nürnberg penshow, my friend Gerhard Brandl mentioned the blue night, which has been going on in Nürnberg for ten years now. As it turned out our friends Ekke and Gudrun had never been, so following the pen show all four of us set out with approximately 130,000 others to the old town of Nürnberg to experience this great cultural event that literally lights the city in blue, opens museums and other institutions all night, and this year featured more than 250 installations loosely grouped around the concept of “a canopy of stars” in conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy. If you seek further information (in Deutsch), check the website http://www.blauenacht.nuernberg.de/

So, after a light supper, we headed into town to see what we could see. Well, it was an incredible event, what we back in the ‘60s would have called a “happening,” but throughout the city. We visited a half dozen installations, including one in a disused bomb shelter, stopped for coffee and headed for the Haupt Marketplatz where they were firing three hot air balloons. The crowd there was scary intense, so we headed up the hill to see the castle, but did not quite make it. It was a unique and intense experience, one worth doing.

The following images provide just a small taste:

Left to right Ekke, Gudrun and Sharon inforn of the planets

Nürnberg (or Nueremberg or Nuerenberg, I’ve seen all three spellings)

2009-05-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

In truth, this visit is only to a small degree about the city. We are here, in about equal importance, to renew an old friendship and for me to attend the second Nürnberger Schreibgeräte-Sammlerbörse held at the Ofenwerk, Zentrum für mobile Klassik-Autos on Saturday, May 23.

The other reason for our visit takes Sharon and me back 35 years to the early 1970s when I worked in a reproductive biology lab and became most friendly with a German physician who was training there as a Ford fellow. Despite our different ages and backgrounds we became fast friends but after he returned to Germany in 1974, we lost touch. Long story short, Ekkehard got in touch with me a couple of years ago via the internet and we renewed our friendship. For a time, in fact, it seemed that he and his wife would visit us in the Bay Area, but we got to Nürnberg first.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and Ekke met us at the airport, all of us wondering if we would recognise one another. We spent the rest of the day quietly, a badly needed rest for Sharon and me after the rigours of the past few days.

The next morning Ekke’s wife Gudrun returned from a business trip and we spent another quiet morning, going out after lunch and into the early evening to view the town. From there I went on to the pre-show dinner and Ekke, Gudrun and Sharon headed off to the theatre.

On Saturday, Ekke, who collects books, was curious to experience my addiction and came along with me to the show, staying only briefly. As is so often the case, I managed to get myself in trouble before the show even began when I was offered a pen I never thought to own, a short captop Pelikan 101 in tortoise. After a restless night, I took posession in th morning, excited and thrilled.

As I wandered through the show buying relatively inexpensive pens for the website I ran into another friend, perhaps more addicted to tortoise Pelikans than I am, who purported to have a set that, if real, goes beyond legend, a three piece Pelikan M/K/D 800 set.

“Oh, yeah,” says I. “you happen to have it here?”

“I do” says he.

I expressed the requisite admiration and envy and so the story ended, I thought.

Again to cut to the chase, a half hour later, he offered me the set. There it was, in the space of eighteen hours I had spent a small fortune on a pen and a set I never expected to see.

Thus sated, I was able to relax, enjoy the show, the company of friends, a good schnitzel for lunch and view the cars.

For this show combined major and minor addictions as the site was a complex that restored, displayed and sold classic cars, including German, American and British makes.

So, first Nueremberg and then the show:

My friend Ekkehard Jecht along the river. In truth, the following images are just a tease, as we plan a much more extensive walk of the city for Tuesday.

The show and the cars
Michael Gutberlet, show organiser
BMW 2800CS, designed by Bertone, one of the prettiest BMWs of the era
Tom Westerich talking to Michael with his back to the camera
My first sports car was a Triumph TR3, in nowhere as nice condition as this one
In truth, the show was a bit lightly attended by the public, but the quality of pens and the welcoming atmosphere more than made up, and people there had time to talk to one another and I saw (and participated in) a lot of commerce. From my perspective the show was simply grand. When I am able, I'll attend again.
The shop does ground-up restorations, such as this BMW 2002. My 1970, which I drove for twenty years and 300,000 miles was in red.
Gerhard Brandl
David Parisi
The tortoise 101

The M800s in tortoise
The pencil, heretofore rumoured, but never seen.

Out of Scotland, Slowly

2009-05-22T03:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we left Edinburgh, headed for Northumberland and (we thought) York.

Now, if someone says England and tourism, your first thoughts do not turn to Newcastle Upon Tyne, which formerly was the county’s largest city, or for that matter to any place in Northumberland. But for many English folk we have talked to, this area is a great treat, as it has become for us.

Jim Marshall first put us onto the area, marking out Alnwick, Holy Island and Bamborough on our maps. We took it from there and spent three days prowling the backroads and coming to love the area, enough so that we delayed our trip to York until after our return from Germany, in order to get a bit more time in that corner of England.

So, what have we seen and done to warrant such enthusiasm?

Our first stop Sunday afternoon was, in truth, still in Scotland, at Preston Mill and Dovecote or as they put it Phantassie Doocot. The mill, which seems to be a locally popular stopping and walking place, was located an easy half mile stroll from the dovecote and provided a lovely break in our morning.

Our next goal was Holy Island with its ancient abbey and Lindisfarne Castle. We drove the causeway to the island, which is cut off at high tide, parked and walked the village and then out to the castle, which despite its ancient lineage turned out to be just another Edwardian pile (we are becoming such castle snobs that anything newer than two hundred and fifty years barely warrants our lofty attention). Still the castle and village made for an amusing stop.

From there we headed for Bamborough and yet another castle. Scotland and in the north taught us one of those interesting practical lessons. We all know about feudalism. Ya don’t have to be a college professor to know about lords, barons and all that. But driving across this part of the UK taught us the truly local nature of feudalism. All this is a gassy way of saying that in both Scotland and the north

From there we pointed our SatNav toward Alnwick. A word, here, on local pronounciation. The river is, of course, the Aln, pronounced as you would expect. The town nearby is Alnmouth, again, prounounced as you would expect. Alnwick is pronounced “annick.” Go figure.

Our first night there was spent at Blackmore’s Hotel which did not meet our needs, but the dinner was very good and the hotel manager was more than fair in compensating us for our inconvenience. From there we transitioned to the Roxboro House B&B in nearby Warkworth. Run by Claire Gibson, it is among the one or two nicest B&B’s we had occasion to stay at. And you could not beat the view from our bedroon window. In fact the place occasioned our decision to stay another night. We spent the day Monday at Alnick Castle and Gardens.

Only as we entered did we realise that this castle was and is the seat of the Percy family who were first projected into English history by Harry Percy, “Hotspur,” celebrated by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part I. For exactly 700 years the family have inhabited the castle as the Earls and Dukes and Duchesses of Northumberland.

By this time, of course, we have been through more castles than we can recall and have developed a sense of them. We agree that for us the most resonant ones are those which have been in the hands of a single family through time, and, of course, the Northumberlands have played a major role in the history of England.

In contrast to the Spencers, who occupy Blenheim as the Marlboroughs, one does not get a sense of entitlement from the current Northumberlands. This, perhaps, is because the 12th Duke is the younger son and would not have inherited save for the early death of his brother, but the Percys seem to play a major and constructive role in the life of the area.

Recently rebuilt and redesigned by the current Duchess, The Alnwick Gardens are a horticultural fantasyland in which I had some fun playing with flowers.

Like so many of these families, the Percys had multiple holdings in the area and only when we briefly visited Warkworth Castle, outside our window, did we realise that it, too, though now in ruins, once belonged to the Percys.

Preston Mill.
The drying room, for grain

the dovecote

Lindisfarne Castle, built from the wreckage of the 11th century priory following the dissolution of the monastaries in the 1550s, the castle was extensively rebuilt in Edwardian times and includes a Gertrude Jekyll Garden which we did not visit.
Nearby Bamburgh castle.

And here, Roxboro House where we spend two lovely evenings.
The view of Warkworth Castle from our bedroom window.
A photo of us both in front of Alnwick Castle taken by a friendly passerby.
Along the crenellated tower "defenders." One wonders if anyone was really taken in by these non-lifelike figures.
The most famous of the Percys.

The grounds, as designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. In the mid-18th century, Brown literally invented the English landscape garden looking out over the grounds at Alnwick one can see why he was called on to landscape so very many of the great houses of England.

The present duchess, who has recently been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland , began a project to rescue the garden from ruin in 2000.
The grand fountain, recently designed

Some flowers

A poppy

In truth, after Alnwick we were a bit castled-out, but it was our last day in the area and Warkworth was across the street. We had time for a flying visit just as they were closing.

And, of course, I am powerless over ruins.

In order to have the maximum amount of time in Northumberland, we stayed there Tuesday night and then drove 350 miles on Wednesday before leaving Thursday for Nürnberg. Why is it we are so tired?

Edinburgh

2009-05-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Edinburgh on Thursday afternoon, settled into our bed and breakfast, 23 Mayfield, which was one of the two nicest we have stayed in while in the UK. Our host Ross not only offered me use of his weight training room (I had not worked out in almost two weeks), but suggested The New Bell where we had the first of several excellent meals, for me a woodpigeon starter, followed by some of the best venison I’ve had since Quebec in 2004. Later that evening, I managed to connect with penfriend Azad Sadollah who graciously offered to tour us through the city on Saturday.

After a good night’s sleep first thing Friday we jumped onto a hop-on hop-off tour through the central city. Our host suggested the green buses, as they had live narration. The only drawback here is when, as happened to us in Oxford, you get an underprepared narrator. The guide for Edinburgh was just fine and gave us a nice overview of the central old and new cities. After touring and identifying points of interest, we departed the tour and spent most of the rest of the day exploring the Royal Mile. One of the tips we picked up on the bus tour is to explore the closes or wynds, those little alleyways off the main streets.

Up ay the top of the street, near the castle, the street was very touristy, lined with souvenir shops offering merchandise of dubious quality and cashmeres and woolens (some of them Scottish) of varying quality. On the second day of our visit to Cumbria with Jim and Jane Marshall, Jane took us to the Woolen Mill, a women’s cooperative that sold both exquisite yarns and finished products. There, among other things Sharon bought a hand knit sweater, but they had none in my size. Having left our heavy woolens in London under the mistaken assumption that spring meant warmer temperatures, Sharon let herself be talked into the purchase. I was jealous. Cold weather in St. Andrews led me to purchase a Johnston’s lambswool jumper, not a hand knit, but it kept me warm, but, thinking Friday would be warm (stupid or what?) I left it home. After some searching we found a shop offering cashmere Pringles’ seconds at attractive prices. Each of us scored.

But shopping was not the main focus, just down from the castle was Gladstone’s Land, a Scottish Trust property. Our National Trust tickets got us into a museum that depicted the growth of one of Europe’s most densely populated cities in the 16th and 17th centuries, during which time tenements built of stone and timber and supported by the hillsides, rose to as many as 12 stories. Home to both the wealthy and the poor and built cheek-by-jowl, the conditions, even for the well-to-do who occupied the middle stories, must have been appalling.

We wandered on, had a lovely Italian lunch, spaghetti carbonara for me and for Sharon a fruitti di mare calzone the size of Edinburgh, and made our way down the Royal Mile toward the Holy Rood. On the way we stopped at another museum (if I am powerless over ruins, Sharon is powerless over museums), one dealing with Edinburgh life. Between that and the Land, we got a nice vignette of the life of the city in the past and more recently.

Then came Canongate crafts. As we passed the shop, my comment was that this was the place we should have gone to start with. It was a bright blue storefront run by a woman who both knit and commissioned and sold knits and yarns from friends. After chatting with the owner, who had been there for twenty five years, and trying on several possible purchases I found the perfect hand knit and Sharon managed to get our last family gift, a necklace for our niece.

A combined bus ride and walk got us back to our B&B despite a pretty heavy downpour which left all our outer clothing pretty drenched. Still, a good day, but with more to come.

Saturday dawned with better looking weather than anticipated. So around 10:00 we left to go downtown to meet Azad. We were early and so walked over the South Bridge across to Princes Street and the Scott Monument and then met up with him for a seven hour stroll across the side streets, by-ways and museums of the city, finishing with a walk along the Leith River and past Deans Mill. On the way we stopped back at Azad’s flat for tea and some pen show-and-tell. Azad’s collection is quite formidable for both quality and breadth, and a curious little Pelikan, built like a post World War II Ibis but marked Pelikan Junior, came into my hands. Dinner was at the Red Fort and unfortunately by then it was past 9:00 and Sharon had faded, so we had to pass on an evening of Iraqi music. It was a lovely day and a short cab ride brought us back to our B&B.

Our first view of the old city and the south bridge.

The approach to the castle at the head of the Royal MileHere, tucked between two of the typical (and often hideous) tourist shops along the mile, was one of the most fascinating house museums we have seen, the Gladstone Land. Sadly we could not photograph inside.Scenes along the mile
Like most cities, to fully appreciate Edinburgh you must look up.

Canongate Crafts, the cooperative where I got my very own hand knit sweater. Apart from the desire for a hand knit, it was most a most comfy find in the rather challenging weather Edinburgh had on offer that weekend.
Part of the joy of the mile were the closes, or wynds, that led off the street
Nineteenth and early twentieth century working men's banners fighting for the vote and other basic rights on display in the museum at Canonsgate that presented life and work in Edinburgh
Couldn't resist shooting these advertising plaques

Sheltering from the blustery weather.
The city's most prominent monument, to Walter Scott.

David Livingstone, (think H.M. Stanley and "Livingstone, I presume") who the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson regards as "the Victorian Superman," a leader in the effort to bring morality to the British Empire and Christinity to Africa.
After a bit of a wander and a gaze at Scott and Livingstone, we met up with Azad for a wonderful walking tour that would take us to places we'd not otherwise have seen.

Azad and me at the entry gate of Edinburgh University, where he studied Law and then did articles in private practice to become a solicitor (Americans, think lawyer).
At the museum of Scottish technology.
We had to visit Greyfriars, of course,
the cemetery also offers some grand views of the city above

A particularly gruesome memento mori

The foot of the Royal Mile.

Monument in the park below the castle.
A crescent very different from those we were used to in Bath.
The Presbyterian hand
The side wall of one of the mills in the Dean's Mill area, Leithside. This is now an area of gentrified housing. From here we took a lovely walk along the river back toward the main city.

Until recently a school for disabled youth, this impressive building now houses Edinburgh's modern art museum. Sadly we spent too much time walking and on pens to see the collection.
From here, a short walk took us back to the city, to dinner at The Red Fort where we had a fine Indian meal. By this time, Sharon and I, tired from a day of sightseeing, took a cab back to our B&B and Azad went on to a concert. Thanks, Azad, for taking the time and being a fine host in your city.

Sunday morning, we headed south.

Scotland, part I

2009-05-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Leaving Cumbria Monday morning and following a route Jim had traced for us, we set out on a sunny morning for Scotland making our way up through Glasgow and headed for Troon.

Along the way we stopped in, briefly, at Gretna and Gretna Green, famous since the 18th century as a place of elopement for couples who could not, for various reasons, marry in England. It was horrible. The marriage houses, as they are called, are still there, but have been converted to tourist traps of the worst sort. I’ll spare you the details. But it made Reno look like a garden spot.

Partly because of the narrowness of the roads, we did not stop to take a lot of photographs along the way, but the scenery was quite grand.

Throughout this trip, Sharon still must work her twenty (often more) hours a week, so our sine qua non for lodgings is internet access, not so easy to find in remote areas, it turned out, but we lucked into the Pierpont House Hotel in Troon, especially so as the place is a golfing centre and we happened into some sort of run up for the event. The hotel was built as a home by Alexander Walker, heir to the Johnnie Walker fortune. The hotel was lovely and dinner was quite good.

From Troon, we struck out for Loch Lomond and the Highlands. I’ll let that scenery speak for itself.

We ended the second day in Fort William at a lovely little guest house, the Ardgowan Guest House. Fort William is the jumping off place for those who both walk the highlands and scale Ben Nevis. It seemed like everyone at the hotel was disgustingly fit and ready to take on the UK’s largest mountain. One fellow I spoke to was in the second year of an effort to walk from Land’s End to John o Groats, that is from one end of Great Britain to the other.

We toyed with the idea of heading from Fort William to Inverness, which would have added a day to our time in the Highlands, but would also have taken Edinburgh or York off the itinerary, so decided from Pitlochry to head to St. Andrews via a route that I could not retrace the next morning. Throughout this stage of the trip, we have more or less followed an itinerary laid out by Jim Marshall earlier this week and I must say that the scenery has been superb. The only real disappointment has been Pitlochry, which was rather touristy.

From Pitlochry, we continued, without very many photo stops, to St. Andrews.

St. Andrews is known for two things, golf, of course, and the university. Unlike Jim, we have no interest in golf, but the it has been fun to see another British university. Even moreso, we enjoyed seeing the city, the castle and to get a taste of the bloody history of the Scottish Reformation which seems to have started here. We spent most of Thursday there before taking the short drive to Edinburgh.

While we were with Jim and Jane, Jim complained about the rampant spread of gorse, but it is pretty stuff. But as we toured we came to see his point. It's everywhere, including all around Edinburgh.
Our first Scottish ruins (wait, there will be more). Honestly, neither Sharon nor I can identify this abbey, except that it is dedicated to some saint and is a Scottish Trust property.

This we can identify, Loch Lomond
From there we went into some spectacularly desolate highland moors

A cairn, with no identification in the middle of nowhere.

This is, I think, Loch Rannoch. Part of the problem is that we are tired and are probably moving too quickly, but also we have been wandering, letting fancy lead us and only when lost switching back on the SatNav.

Sharon wanted a picture of some highland ponies.

St. Andrews would not have been on our list, but the town turned out to be delightful, not for the golf, which we have no interest in, but for the university and the ruins(!) of the castle and cathedral.If this is to be believed, W. Malcolm carved his name in 1798. Students commonly did this.

Could not resist this street scene
The castle. St Andrews was the ancient centre of Scottish Catholicism and was the site of some of the bloodiest chapters of the Scottish Reformation

Your humble blogger
At one point, the castle came under seige, and the attackers dug mines to try to take it. Frantically the defenders dug countermines and here they met.

The abbey and cathedral

After the dissolution and destruction of the abbey, townspeople simply used the grounds for burials.

What is charming is the way that students use the walls of the ruined cathedral as outdoor carrels for study and lounging.
From St Andrews, on Thursday we made a relatively easy two hour drive to Edinburgh