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#1
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Ronald Reagan's pens
During an interview last night with a former White House staff member
during the Reagan Administration, he mentioned that Ronald always had a lot of pens on hand that he was fond of. Some of them were gifts from foreign dignitaries and friends from all over the world. I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? -- Sincerely yours, Ron Wilbanks "Like a prized watch, a good fountain pen is a trusted companion for life." Spam filter: -1 for the real thing! |
#2
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On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 05:56:14 GMT, Ron Wilbanks
wrote: I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? I think most important documents are signed with Presidential Seal ball points that are distributed to the bill sponsors or key people involved as souvenirs (this is from memory from what someone else said, so this is not remotely authoritive). It would be more significant anyway (IMO) to find out that someone like Reagan kept a journal or similar in fountain pen. Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels... |
#3
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Curtis L. Russell wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 05:56:14 GMT, Ron Wilbanks wrote: I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? I think most important documents are signed with Presidential Seal ball points that are distributed to the bill sponsors or key people involved as souvenirs (this is from memory from what someone else said, so this is not remotely authoritive). It would be more significant anyway (IMO) to find out that someone like Reagan kept a journal or similar in fountain pen. Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels... In "La Gaceta del Club" - a fountain pens magazine in Spain- I saw some pics of R.Reagan and Gorbachev signing with Orange Duofold Rollerballs. Bush Senior also appears using an orange Duofold (don't know whether it is a rollerball or a fountain pen; the pic doesn't show the nib) Juan |
#4
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Ron Wilbanks wrote in message .com...
During an interview last night with a former White House staff member during the Reagan Administration, he mentioned that Ronald always had a lot of pens on hand that he was fond of. Some of them were gifts from foreign dignitaries and friends from all over the world. I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? I had the same thought as you did. FYI, look at website Parker75 and you will get some information about Parker pens he used. The 1987 INF treaty was signed with specially made Parker Keepsake sterling silver pens in wooden boxes with both leaders names engraved on the side of the cap. I am curious as to where the pen with Gorbachev's name is located. (Both Reagan and Gorbachev exchanged pens after signing the treaty when Gorbachev initiated the request and Reagan graciously reciprocated.) Is it in the Reagan Museum or is it in his personal effects at his Bel Air home? It would be nice if Gorbachev donated his Reagan pen to the Reagan Library where both pens could reside in perpetual display in their boxes alongside each other below the explanation of this event. FYI, the Parker Pen company was the preferred supplier of pens to the White House which were used for bill signers and gifts to foreign dignataries and friends. I presume that Reagan had every opportunity to sample the company's products and did take advantage of the opportunity as I am sure thatt he pen he used in the office was a Parker product. I do not know what kind he used or preferred to use - fountain pens, roller balls or ball points. I checked website for Reagan library to see if they had a collection of the pens he used in his duties or even as gifts from world leaders. Much to my disappointment, there is no mention of such in the website. The only way to get an answer is to have one of the penlovers in the California area pay a visit to the Reagan library to see if such a colleciton exists in the display or even in the storage areas and report to the rest of us on his or her findings. In another related search of Richard Nixon who was a lover of Parker pens, I was not able to find out if his pen collection survived intact to be displayed in the museum. I recall from memory that someone who owns a restaurant in Whittier has a glass display of the pens Richard Nixon used in the White House and the pens may range from the mundane to the exotic as Nixon sampled a lot of the Parker products that came his way through the White House. Parker used to be the preferred supplier of pens to the White House until they closed shop in Janesville, Wisconsin and moved to Newhaven, England. Now Cross has replaced Parker as the preferred pen supplier as they manufacture pens in Rhode Island. So, we do need confirmation of this from local penlovers in California who would be willing to check things out and report back to us on this newsgroup. To answer the question about Bush, he uses Cross rollerball pens as bill signers or daily writers. They are blue with his name printed along the cap. Guess he prefers the ease and cleaniless of a rollerball as to a fountain pen which requires maintance to keep it clog free. James K. Goodwin |
#5
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One of the Diretors at Parker once told me that Reagan was the first and
only president who had ever specifically asked for a ball point: They always used to supply fountain pens for these ceremonies. OTOH I suppose they ALL use ball points nowadays as giveaways? Which is even odder if you think about it as a FP giveaway is so much classier than the 2c ball points I have seen used this way. Those ball points ALWAYS look cheap and nasty? (or in the case of the Cross, they are so small that they look totally inconsequential when taken out of their presentation box) I suppose the vaguely inexpensive fountain pens which are actively marketed are mostly made by Pilot these days? Licensed to Quill "James Goodwin" wrote in message om... Ron Wilbanks wrote in message .com... During an interview last night with a former White House staff member during the Reagan Administration, he mentioned that Ronald always had a lot of pens on hand that he was fond of. Some of them were gifts from foreign dignitaries and friends from all over the world. I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? I had the same thought as you did. FYI, look at website Parker75 and you will get some information about Parker pens he used. The 1987 INF treaty was signed with specially made Parker Keepsake sterling silver pens in wooden boxes with both leaders names engraved on the side of the cap. I am curious as to where the pen with Gorbachev's name is located. (Both Reagan and Gorbachev exchanged pens after signing the treaty when Gorbachev initiated the request and Reagan graciously reciprocated.) Is it in the Reagan Museum or is it in his personal effects at his Bel Air home? It would be nice if Gorbachev donated his Reagan pen to the Reagan Library where both pens could reside in perpetual display in their boxes alongside each other below the explanation of this event. FYI, the Parker Pen company was the preferred supplier of pens to the White House which were used for bill signers and gifts to foreign dignataries and friends. I presume that Reagan had every opportunity to sample the company's products and did take advantage of the opportunity as I am sure thatt he pen he used in the office was a Parker product. I do not know what kind he used or preferred to use - fountain pens, roller balls or ball points. I checked website for Reagan library to see if they had a collection of the pens he used in his duties or even as gifts from world leaders. Much to my disappointment, there is no mention of such in the website. The only way to get an answer is to have one of the penlovers in the California area pay a visit to the Reagan library to see if such a colleciton exists in the display or even in the storage areas and report to the rest of us on his or her findings. In another related search of Richard Nixon who was a lover of Parker pens, I was not able to find out if his pen collection survived intact to be displayed in the museum. I recall from memory that someone who owns a restaurant in Whittier has a glass display of the pens Richard Nixon used in the White House and the pens may range from the mundane to the exotic as Nixon sampled a lot of the Parker products that came his way through the White House. Parker used to be the preferred supplier of pens to the White House until they closed shop in Janesville, Wisconsin and moved to Newhaven, England. Now Cross has replaced Parker as the preferred pen supplier as they manufacture pens in Rhode Island. So, we do need confirmation of this from local penlovers in California who would be willing to check things out and report back to us on this newsgroup. To answer the question about Bush, he uses Cross rollerball pens as bill signers or daily writers. They are blue with his name printed along the cap. Guess he prefers the ease and cleaniless of a rollerball as to a fountain pen which requires maintance to keep it clog free. James K. Goodwin |
#6
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In article ,
Ron Wilbanks wrote: Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? I thought it was fiber tip he prefers. -- Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/ A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. |
#7
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Urban Fredriksson wrote: In article , Ron Wilbanks wrote: Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? Now that you mention it, he could be using a Crayola Crayon ! ;-) -- Sincerely yours, Ron Wilbanks "Like a prized watch, a good fountain pen is a trusted companion for life." Spam filter: -1 for the real thing! |
#8
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On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 03:06:18 GMT, Ron Wilbanks
wrote: Urban Fredriksson wrote: In article , Ron Wilbanks wrote: Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? Now that you mention it, he could be using a Crayola Crayon ! ;-) Yes it is a crayon, they don't trust him with sharp objects. |
#9
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Every time I see a pic. of Bush editing a speech he's got a wooden
(#2?) pencil in his hand. James Carpenter Just west of Guthrie, KY Ron Wilbanks wrote in message .com... During an interview last night with a former White House staff member during the Reagan Administration, he mentioned that Ronald always had a lot of pens on hand that he was fond of. Some of them were gifts from foreign dignitaries and friends from all over the world. I am curious, what kinds of pens did he mostly use and what kind of fountain pen did he sign important bills and documents with? I think somebody once commented on here that he did an advertisement for a pen company in the 1940s? Interestingly, I see that President Bush never uses a fountain pen, preferring a rollerball or a ballpoint? |
#10
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I recently saw a video of President Reagan signing a bill with
multiple pens (as is custom, so that he might give them away) and he was definitely removing and replacing screw-on type caps. LL |
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