Nancy Handy wrote:


I was under the impression that Cliff's book was the original book, but
apparently it might not have been.

It was by far. 1977. Paperback, not large but many pages in color.
Rather useless by todays standards other than its historical importance
to pen collecting since it did really "start" the hobby as there was
nothing formal before it and within 2 or 3 years after it pen shows,
other books, newsletters (mainly Cliff's own, although some others as
well) all followed. No book before it. Period. No book after it could
ever have the impact of this small book. No matter how large or how
well done. Cliff began it. Everyone else followed. Myself included.

I don't think its far to complain about the lack of foreign pens in
early books. None of the early books gave much notice to non-US made
pens. Which was as it should have been for books printed in the US and
directed at a US market. As I pointed out many times until the mid
1980s it was nearly impossible to buy non-US made pens in the US with
the exception of MBs and an occasional pen from Japan. I never saw a
Pelikan in any store in my life before the mid 80s. Never yet in 50
years of looking have I ever seen a vintage Omas outside of a pen show.
Such pens have almost all been brought here by European collectors or
travelers. Nothing wrong with that, but Cliff, like myself had
virtually no exposue to non-US made pens in 1977. Almost no one here
did unless they travled overseas. I'm sure Cliff knew about MBs but to
not include them in his first book was correct since it was a book on
collecting old VINTAGE fountain pens and it was all but impossible to
find a vintage MB in the US back then since MBs were also not usually
sold here until the 1960s and Cliff's book was concentrated on pens from
the 50s back and its main info was on pens before WW2. It never was
intended to be about pens of the "world" since the entire world of pens
in the US consisted of US made pens at the time. It was a book about
collecting pens in the US and it reflected well what the hobby was and
would become in the US back then as well as what the average US
collector could hopefully find here. Frank