How many 'collect' non-functioning pens?

Just curious. For a long time I only had functioning pens, mostly new.
Maybe buying a couple of more flexible older(working) pens was the
beginning of the dam breaking, but lately I've purchased four pens,
all older, all non-functioning. None of them cost over $ 10 and they
all were different in at least one way from other pens that I own. I
have no real intent of making them functional (hell, I write almost
entirely with the same three pens now, so I hardly need them to
function), although I will take it to a local guru and have him look
at them.

Anyone else keep non-functioning pens in their collection, or do you
toss/trade/lose them if they don't work? If anyone does own a
non-functioning pen, what's the most you'd pay (I'm guessing my
threshhold is around $ 25 for a nice, unique pen)?

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Curtis L. Russell wrote:

Just curious. For a long time I only had functioning pens, mostly new.
Maybe buying a couple of more flexible older(working) pens was the
beginning of the dam breaking, but lately I've purchased four pens,
all older, all non-functioning. None of them cost over $ 10 and they
all were different in at least one way from other pens that I own. I
have no real intent of making them functional (hell, I write almost
entirely with the same three pens now, so I hardly need them to
function), although I will take it to a local guru and have him look
at them.

Anyone else keep non-functioning pens in their collection, or do you
toss/trade/lose them if they don't work? If anyone does own a
non-functioning pen, what's the most you'd pay (I'm guessing my
threshhold is around $ 25 for a nice, unique pen)?

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

I have a few that I intend to make functional. They will be in my
collection until I can find better examples. Eventually they will be
restored or sold off.

Some pens will always be worth that extra something no matter what their
working condition. For those very rare pens, doing nothing can be far
better for their value than doing something.

CH

From: Curtis L. Russell

Anyone else keep non-functioning pens in their collection, or do you
toss/trade/lose them if they don't work? If anyone does own a non-functioning
pen, what's the most you'd pay (I'm guessing my threshhold is around $ 25 for a
nice, unique pen)?

Well if you are speaking of vintage pens in need of restoration, there is quite
a range. 99% of the pens I find are non working, but I enjoy getting them up
and running.

If I found a "no name" pen I would not pay more than 1 buck for it, on the
other hand, when I stumble on the Parker Sr. mandarin, I might go a couple
hundred or so. It all depends on the pen.

Many of the *very* serious collectors, the ones you never see posting
anywhere on the Internet, collect nonfunctioning pens. Or I should say
collect pens and leave them in their as-purchased condition. We are
talking pens in the thousands-of-dollars range here and sometimes well
into five figures. It's a whole 'nother world of collecting and the
rules are totally different.

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 21:12:05 -0400, QuarterHorseman
wrote:

Many of the *very* serious collectors, the ones you never see posting
anywhere on the Internet, collect nonfunctioning pens.
Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu use me.

"QuarterHorseman" wrote in message
...
Many of the *very* serious collectors, the ones you never see posting
anywhere on the Internet, collect nonfunctioning pens. Or I should say

I would take issue with the term "serious."

To each his/her own. Makes sense they wouldn't post to such lowly places as
this. How can you really discuss and evaluate a pen that you've never seen?
I suppose it's akin to evaluating a famous painting in a book - it seems
very limiting.

KCat wrote:

I would take issue with the term "serious."

To each his/her own. Makes sense they wouldn't
post to such lowly places as this. How can you
really discuss and evaluate a pen that you've never
seen? I suppose it's akin to evaluating a famous
painting in a book - it seems very limiting.

Why are you guys taking what QH said so personally? It's not personal,
really. "Serious" collectors are folks for whom pens are more than
utilitarian objects... they're important bits of history. Many of these
folks build complete collections of a particular manufacturer's pens...
not to use them but out of respect and admiration for the past. They
probably also collect paraphernalia, advertisements, records from
manufacturers (including design drawings, balance sheets, patent info.,
you name it). These are folks who are interested in history and
minutia... For them, pen collecting is a scholarly endeavor. Often the
most perfect examples of vintage pens are non-functioning (e.g., have
petrified sacs, frozen fillers, whatever). Because such pens are often
priced to the stratosphere, only "serious" collectors are likely to
express interest in them. Personally I think it's great that such people
are out there because they are preserving fountain pen history (a good
number of them are writing about it and making pens, catalog reprints,
etc., available to the rest of us). Don't assume these people are
elitists... Many are regular Joes and Janes who started collecting old
fountain pens before collecting old fountain pens became a hobby. QH
wasn't saying that this is what all pen aficionados should do, but
rather this is what some very serious pen aficionados do. I think the
term "serious" is generally well understood and not considered
elitist. --- Bern

"BL" wrote:

| KCat wrote:
|
| I would take issue with the term "serious."
|
| To each his/her own. Makes sense they wouldn't
| post to such lowly places as this. How can you
| really discuss and evaluate a pen that you've never
| seen? I suppose it's akin to evaluating a famous
| painting in a book - it seems very limiting.
|
| Why are you guys taking what QH said so personally? It's not
personal,
| really. "Serious" collectors are folks for whom pens are more than
| utilitarian objects... they're important bits of history. Many of
these
| folks build complete collections of a particular manufacturer's
pens...
| not to use them but out of respect and admiration for the past. They
| probably also collect paraphernalia, advertisements, records from
| manufacturers (including design drawings, balance sheets, patent
info.,
| you name it). These are folks who are interested in history and
| minutia... For them, pen collecting is a scholarly endeavor. Often
the
| most perfect examples of vintage pens are non-functioning (e.g., have
| petrified sacs, frozen fillers, whatever). Because such pens are
often
| priced to the stratosphere, only "serious" collectors are likely to
| express interest in them. Personally I think it's great that such
people
| are out there because they are preserving fountain pen history (a
good
| number of them are writing about it and making pens, catalog
reprints,
| etc., available to the rest of us). Don't assume these people are
| elitists... Many are regular Joes and Janes who started collecting
old
| fountain pens before collecting old fountain pens became a hobby. QH
| wasn't saying that this is what all pen aficionados should do, but
| rather this is what some very serious pen aficionados do. I think the
| term "serious" is generally well understood and not considered
| elitist. --- Bern

Very good points, all. But I thought serious collectors were those who
didn't get looked at with suspicion by Frank Dubiel because we were far
too jovial and discussed too many things that had nothing to do with
pens!

You know, people like Satrap, Lattie (where is he, anywho?), coaster
riding fools, etc.

john cline ii, who just had to!
|
|

Earl Camembert wrote:

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 21:12:05 -0400, QuarterHorseman
wrote:


Many of the *very* serious collectors, the ones you never see posting
anywhere on the Internet, collect nonfunctioning pens.

Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu use me.

You know what he meant. He meant serious as in "big wallet". He wasn't
impuning any of us.

CH

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 00:02:13 -0400, "BL" wrote:

"Serious" collectors are folks for whom pens are more than
utilitarian objects... they're important bits of history.

I'd look pretty serious if I spent tens of thousands on a pen. My wife
would look downright grim.

That's the price of a tandem and two singles. Maybe even some left
over for water bottles...

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...