Pen World v33.5

The Journal of Writing Culture

tranquil waters:
David Oscarson’s
Sea Turtle collection
Sailor’s Compass,
Broadwell’s legacy,
Ferris Wheel Press

plus: every vote counts!

2020 PW Readers’ Choice
Awards winners

AUGUST 2020

$6.95US $7.95CAN

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AUGUST 28 44
48
Volume 33, Number 5
35
ON OUR COVER: David Oscarson Sea Turtles
fountain pen in white and teal enamel.

35 the turtle’s wisdom
David Oscarson pushes the boundaries
of his art while honoring the longevity
and majesty of sea turtles.

28 Talistim’s hidden secrets
The fountain pens of Russian artisan
Vasilev Eftim are full of surprises.

32 and the winners are…
Here they are: the winners you chose for
the 26th annual Pen World Readers’
Choice Awards!

40 Sailor’s Compass
The Japanese accessories company is
releasing a new series of colorful and
affordable writing instruments in the
United States.

44 the Broadwell effect
Approaching 20 years in pen making,
artisan David Broadwell sits down for an
in-depth interview.

48 under the Big Top
The newest ink colors from Canada’s Ferris
Wheel Press are as fun and bright as a day
at the circus.

40
32

14 departments
20
6 view
in praise of logistics

8 mail
our readers, noted

10 date
mark your calendars

14 now
new products

20 news
in memoriam and Denis Brown

24 shop
South Carolina’s Truphae

52 network
classified advertising

54 source
brand contact information

56 auction
fine pens from PBA Galleries

24 56

In Praise of Logistics Ruth Korch

BY NICKY PESSAROFF

The annual Pen World Readers’ Choice Awards are an
opportunity to recognize the technical and artistic
mastery of those who make fine writing instruments.
Indeed, that’s what PW is all about. We show beautiful utili-
tarian objects in the most beautiful way we can. We highlight
the art of industrial design. We explain the genius behind
these technically innovative and artistically singular writing
instruments.

But there’s another element besides the technical and
the beautiful that goes into making a successful writing
instrument, an element that we don’t talk about that much.
Why don’t we talk about it? Because on its face, it sounds
kind of boring. In practice, the logistics behind getting you
that new writing instrument are not only instrumental, they
are downright dramatic.

I think it’s important that people understand the
Herculean effort it takes right now to manufacture and dis-
tribute the accessories you see in these pages. The threads
that hold our logistical securities together—especially when
those threads run across countries and span oceans—are
fine lines at the best of times. During times like these, those
threads are as thin as the line of a needlepoint nib.

In the past months I saw the problems of supply and
demand, heard the personal struggles of makers, and planned
for shutdown-induced production delays—both those of
third-parties and our own. Then I witnessed amazing
resilience as big companies and artisan makers reemerged, regrouped, planned, and began to find new rhythms, new means of
production and logistics.

These are times meant for the Serenity Prayer. It’s more challenging than ever to produce a pen or ink or paper—or a
magazine, for that matter. Like everything these days, the ties that hold our community together are challenged daily by gross reality.

But the line of a needlepoint nib, though thin, is clear and reliable.
Despite all the craziness and uncertainty, I see extraordinary potential for the pen enthusiast community. We had more
votes than ever in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards regardless of the shutdown and a mail system that is currently understaffed
and underfunded. We’re seeing exciting releases, successful auctions, burgeoning online pen shows.
In other words, we’re seeing signs of hope—because creativity and creation are inherently hopeful acts.
In terms of content, this issue is as full as can be. In addition to our RCA winners, we have our cover story on David
Oscarson’s newest hot enamel and guilloche art pen. We have an interview with artisan pen and knife maker David Broadwell.
We have a profile of the intricate work of Russian brand Talistim. We have pages of colorful, inky goodness care of Canada’s
Ferris Wheel Press. We have a pen shop, Truphae, that’s a little over a year old but that already sets itself apart. We have
pens and inks from the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and more.
We have all this fulsome content because the pen industry is still designing, producing, and distributing fine writing
instruments and accessories despite the current circumstances.
That’s logistics: the systems that connect our pen world.

[email protected]

6

Creativity

BY SUZANNE C. LEE that Flows like Water

The David Oscarson Sea Turtles collection displays the
artisan pen maker’s continuing fascination with water
motifs and groundbreaking enameling processes.

Left—David Oscarson Sea Turtles fountain pen with teal turtle shell enamel, white
background enamel, guilloche wave engraving, and gold-plated accents.
Above—Oscarson (middle) with his children (left to right) Max, Anni, Alex, and Grant.

Certain fauna have been cultural stars from the dawn of humanity, painted in
ancient caves, described in the earliest scripts, and featured in legends. Of
these titans, the turtle is among the most revered, figuring prominently in
multiple creation myths. Indeed, in some of these cosmological stories, the universe itself
rests atop and is carried by a World Turtle; in others, a turtle holds up the sky. Commonly
associated with wisdom, longevity, and patience, the turtle additionally represents a keen
ability to defend against threats.

The sea turtle is also, and in particular, beautiful—and uniquely so.
David Oscarson’s fountain pens are always vivid in impression with exquisite aesthetic
form. Often contrasted with “substantive” content that results in meaning, “form” in this
instance refers to the design and construction of a piece of art. Oscarson’s work is an
obvious refutation of this hypothetical division, of the idea that the relationship between
form and content is one of opposition. Sometimes, his art suggests, form itself can be an
equal conduit for truth or can move so perfectly with what the content seeks to transmit
that the symbiosis between them feels essential to the piece’s meaning. That significance,
that harmony, flows from Oscarson’s pens like water.

35

From left—Sea Turtles
fountain pen with deep
blue enamel
background, blue
enamel turtle shells,
and sterling silver
appointments; teal
background with blue
turtle shells and gold-
plated appointments;
and black background
with teal turtle shells;
black enamel cap and
barrel ends with the
Japanese characters for
“sea” and “turtle.”

“There’s life going on in this collection. There’s serenity, comfort. critical points in Oscarson’s life and career, Lane was always there,
Shells represent the universe and the universality of love. With always supportive, and Oscarson has noted the parallel rhythms of
this pen, you’re only constrained by the story you want to tell,” existence the two men have enjoyed. Both felt the same cresting
says Oscarson. “My favorite places are always near water. Just to waves of their mutual and respective journeys from young upstarts
walk beside the water is soothing.” to firmly established and deeply respected old guard.

The ease of interpretation can be credited to the frank nature When Lane saw Oscarson’s prototype for his 2018 Koi collec-
of the new David Oscarson Sea Turtles pen collection, for what you tion—companion and natural complement to the new Turtle Pen, a
see is what you get—just as the ocean is an immoveable fact. His hot enamel and guilloche treatment of the traditional Japanese maki-e
writing instrument gives us the sense that there are boundless motif of carp—Oscarson was happy to accommodate his suggestions.
ways to understand its meaning, and it is truly one’s own.
Lane said the Koi collection was a homerun, then he tapped
Still, an irresistible anecdote connected to the pen’s origins feels the turtle rendered on the cap of the Koi pen with his finger,
natural to address; also, Oscarson insists he give credit where it’s stating firmly, “That’s your next new design.”
due. John Lane, his longtime friend, was the one who initially coun-
seled Oscarson to make this new writing instrument collection. Oscarson listened and removed the turtle elements from the
Koi collection design, holding the turtle conecpt for another day.
The two men entered the pen industry around the same time, We can thank Lane, then, for the great idea and for being the impe-
and they bonded even though officially they were competitors. At tus behind the David Oscarson Sea Turtles collection.

36

From left—white enamel cap
and barrel ends; Sea Turtles
fountain pens with blue turtle
shells, gold-plated or sterling
silver appointments, and
background enamels in
white, light blue, and black.

The execution, though, is pure and quintessential Oscarson: newest enameling technique—blending different colors of enamel,
a writing instrument that offers a surreal view from under the an extremely difficult technique to master.
sea, with strange animals that dapple brilliant waters.
For the Sea Turtles collection, Oscarson creates shading from
If the ocean were somehow to be captured in a finite, aquarium teal or blue to white within the turtle shells on the sterling silver
form, this pen is what that would look like. A single, larger turtle body. Sea Turtles is offered in seven color combinations. A white
made with smooth blue or teal turtle shells graces the barrel, a more enamel body with sea turtle shells in teal is matched to gold-plat-
focused impression of the tiny turtle prototype that graced the cap ed accents, while a second white enamel version has blue enamel
of Oscarson’s Koi pen. Fish—angel and otherwise—swim nearby in turtle shells. The black enamel background version has gold-plated
captivating detail. What makes the barrel of the Sea Turtles pen even accents with either teal or blue enamel turtle shells. Sea Turtles
more impressive is its delicate pattern of graduating guilloche wave with teal enamel background has blue enamel turtle shells with
engraving. Such fine and difficult work seems otherworldly, almost— gold-plated accents. Oscarson also offers a version with sterling
too precise and unbelievable an effect for an artist to have achieved. silver appointments either with a deep blue background enamel
and dark blue turtle shells or with a light blue background enam-
The process of enameling involves heating powdered glass onto a el and dark blue turtle shells.
surface material such as gold or silver. Different enamel colors must
be fired at various kiln temperatures, which risks cracking as the The gripping section has a tortoiseshell pattern, and the Japanese
material heats and cools. It is an especially time-consuming process characters for “sea” and “turtle” are displayed in low relief on the cap
with various fits and starts, especially considering Oscarson’s and barrel crowns respectively. The sterling silver clip has a pitted

37

From left—David
Oscarson Koi fountain
pens in Ruby Red and
Translucent Teal, both
with cap end detail
showing the Japanese
characters for “koi.”
Below—Koi fountain pen
in Sapphire Blue with cap
end detail.

look and is shaped like coral. On the cap ring are the Japanese characters for “David
Oscarson.” The cartridge/converter/eyedropper-filling David Oscarson Sea Turtles
collection has an 18 karat gold bicolor nib with the David Oscarson logo in sizes of
fine, medium, or broad. Each color of the David Oscarson Sea Turtles collection is
limited to 88 fountain pens or rollerballs total.

In addition to its status as companion to Oscarson’s Koi collection, the Sea Turtle
collection has a thousand stories. In an immediate way, the writing instrument is what
it is on its face; yet when examined, the complexity of its execution is made clear. The
pen offers entry into a nameless sea, where one can almost hear the sporadic slaps of
meditative waves flinging themselves furiously upon shell-strewn beaches.

To achieve such a thrilling temporal experience, the Sea Turtles collection must be
made with great care, with grueling craftsmanship and intricate engineering.

“It’s an incredible amount of work, the artistry and the science,” says Oscarson.
“The heating, cooling, and cracking involved are so labor-intensive.”

Oscarson is renowned for his ability to thread together disparate elements, weaving
with ease fragments of experience into an ineffable (but evident) whole. To appreciate
more fully his art, one must consider each pen both without context (as independent
subject matter along with style) and as a component in the larger canonical succession
of each Oscarson pen.

There’s a sense that each one, every individual pen, is a sentence in an ongoing but
tacit conversation. Indeed, each Oscarson pen can be discussed in contrast to other
signature works, and the exercise can illuminate even further meaning for each.

38

In 2020, PW readers have recognized Oscarson’s Above—Carl Milles Marriage of the Waters
work by awarding him a Readers’ Choice Award for fountain pen in blended dark and light
Best Industrial Design (p. 32). His Carl Milles blue enamel with gold-plated acents.
Marriage of the Waters collection honors the Left and below—David Oscarson Russian
Swedish-American sculptor Carl Milles and his Imperial collection in ruby red.
Marriage of the Waters fountain installation in
St. Louis, Missouri. Marriage of the Waters displays 39
the same enamel blending expertise as the Sea
Turtles collection and also showcases Oscarson’s
ongoing thematic fascination with water.

Devotees and pen enthusiasts will recall
Oscarson’s previous Russian Imperial Collection,
which has similarly brilliant guilloche work yet is
entirely different in theme and focus. It is not
merely that the two pens have such wildly different
topics, but that they are each meant to be experi-
enced in divergent, unique ways. The Russian
Imperial Collection addresses a topic—the history
of the Romanovs—and feels cerebral. In comparison,
the Sea Turtles collection transports its writer to
a purely visual scenescape, an experience that
seems both temporal and emotive.

In the Russian Imperial Collection, Oscarson
also pays homage to Carl Fabergé and his master
craftsman Henrik Wigstrom, the magnificent artist
who produced the breathtaking and famous
Fabergé eggs for the Romanovs, who themselves
helped to propel Fabergé’s creative use of guil-
loche and hot enamel—the very techniques and
materials for which Oscarson is famed.

Oscarson insists that his writing instruments
be more than gorgeous and goes to great lengths
to ensure that, rather than a lifeless knickknack on a
shelf, his pens work, and that they do so beautifully.
They are meant to function magnificently and to
effect with each use.

“We go to great lengths to ensure that the
performance of each piece is every bit the ‘writer’
that it is a showpiece, and our faithful retailers are
quick to support us in this claim,” says Oscarson.

The premiere of the David Oscarson Sea Turtles
collection shows, yet again, that Oscarson’s art flows
perfectly from unique piece to unique piece, a river
of one man’s talent through time. His new pen will
take you to water in all of its mysterious manifesta-
tions and exquisite forms, its many intriguing
inhabitants and unfamiliar but delightful depths.
Visit davidoscarson.com.

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auction

PBA Galleries

Fine Pens Auction

Above, top to bottom—Montblanc Marcel Proust and Gustave Eiffel foun-
tain pens; Parker No. 47 “Pregnant Parker” Lucky Curve.
Right, top to bottom—Montblanc Master of Urbino, Salvador Dalí, and
Otto von Bismarck fountain pens.
Below—Montegrappa Dragon Restyle Artist’s Proof fountain pen.

Fine Pen auctions are returning to Berkeley, California’s Shown here are some of those Montblanc fountain pens
PBA Galleries, and PBA Director of Fine Pens, Watches, being offered for sale: a Writer’s Edition Marcel Proust limited
and Comics Ivan Briggs could not be more pleased. The edition fountain pen; an Artisan Edition Master of Urbino
live auction is set for ll a.m. Pacific Standard Time on [Raphael Sanzio da Urbino] 18 karat gold filigree fountain pen,
September 3 and will take place online at the PBA Galleries a limited edition of 83; a Montblanc Artisan Edition Salvador
website. An online catalog gives details on all of the approxi- Dalí 18 karat gold skeletal fountain pen, part of a limited run
mately 250 lots for sale. of 100 pieces; an Artisan Edition Otto von Bismarck fountain
pen in 18 karat gold, a limited edition of 71; and an Artisan
Briggs notes, “The sale will be heavy on Montblancs, with Edition Gustave Eiffel 18 karat gold skeleton fountain pen,
many Writers-series pens as well as a number of Patron of which was limited to 91 fountain pens total.
Art and Artisan Edition series.”
Two unique lots in this auction include a Montegrappa
Dragon Restyle fountain pen with 18 karat gold and white
diamond accents, one of an edition of 10 special Artist’s Proof
versions, and a Parker No. 47 “Pregnant Parker” Lucky Curve
fountain pen with mother of pearl panels, considered by
many to be the most beautiful pen ever made.

Visit pbagalleries.com for more auction details or email
Briggs directly at [email protected].

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