The Journal
Notes from the curator's desk.
The research behind the collection — how pens are dated, what condition language really means, and the small histories these objects carry.
Reading the imprints: how a patent number dates a Montblanc to a single year
Catalogues estimate; the pen itself records. The D.R.P. markings on pre-war Montblanc piston fillers form a chronology precise enough to date some pens to one year of manufacture.
What New Old Stock really means — and what it doesn't
NOS is the most abused phrase in vintage pen listings. Here is how we use it, why a serviced pen can still be NOS, and the details that separate the claim from the condition.
The Manifold nib: the office tool that became a collector's prize
Before typewriters and duplicating machines, copies were made by hand pressure — and Waterman built a nib for the job. Almost none survived the work. That is precisely why they matter.