A Lasting Hobby
This article
was to contain a completely different topic, but the loss
of so many in the pen community has sparked this one instead.
In a relatively short period of time, our community has suffered
the loss of more than five distinguished and respected pen
collectors. For those of us who were their friends, the loss
is personal. A far greater potential cost to the pen-collecting
community at large is the extinguishing of the knowledge,
judgment, and expertise that these lives represented. That
experience, if not passed on, is very, very difficult to replace.
Those collectors started with nothing, just a love of pens
and pen related items. They hunted, bought, studied and learned
everything there was to know about the pens they collected,
their origins, each of the models produced within the time
periods, all of the small, insignificant and vital details
of each of their collection. Their positions as experts were
earned. Some made notes, some kept the information in their
heads and some passed it on to friends also interested in
the hobby and this is how the hobby has grown, flourished
and exists today.
The bulletin
boards and chat groups such as we have here at Pentrace, Penlovers,
and alt-pen collecting are a relatively new and important
means of developing a sense of community and belonging among
pen collectors. However, as a source of reliable information
for novice collectors with little experience, the value of
the bulletin boards is suspect. The reason for this is easily
understood. For the most part, collectors with the experience
and expertise matching that of the comrades we currently mourn,
with a few notable exceptions, are not contributing or following
these bulletin boards. So when someone posts asking for an
opinion on a particular pen, the opinions voiced in response
are not being made by someone who may have seen a couple of
hundred or more of those pens. The response is often by someone
who has written with only one of them. Everyone has an opinion
and is ready to express it with an air of authority, whether
or not the opinion is backed up by experience. It can be very
difficult for a novice collector to tell the difference. In
real life, questions may often have many different correct
answers depending on the particular pen being discussed, even
questions referring to two pens of the same make and model.
There are many new people in the hobby less than a year or
two, who have accumulated a vast amount of information and
knowledge; but many have gathered poor information as well
from self-declared experts. An example: I have heard said
that any pen with an inscription is not worth as much as those
without. Well, I would say this is a fairly accurate statement
when you are talking about pens that can still be found in
the wild, or most of those that were made later than 1920,
but the fact remains that whether or not a Parker Aztec is
engraved or not has no bearing on its value, the same would
go with the Parker Snake, the Pregnant Parker, etc. You do
not often find them in the wild, save for a miracle, some
models exist in numbers less than 10, and any found, in almost
any condition command a considerable price. Do those who are
just entering the world of pens know the difference? Often
not, and it is for this reason that those who have the knowledge
should be sought out by those who really want to learn.
In my
personal experience, this passing of the torch cannot take
place on a bulletin board. You have to be able to see and
hold the pen and hear and feel what is being said behind the
words. On a bulletin board, one comment by a well-informed
collector could elicit responses for literally weeks, with
no hope of adequate response. Most knowledgeable collectors
have been happy to share their learning with me on a one-to-one
basis, usually to a far greater degree than I would have imagined.
Are you willing to drive a few hours to spend an afternoon
learning about a pen from someone who knows?
I constantly read posts about people who have purchased from
Ebay or Penbid or other auctions or even a collector's website
when purchasing pens complaining that the pens are not as
described or not to their expectations. It is unfortunately
true that there are many people in this business who will
take advantage of inexperience. Everyone makes mistakes and
buys their fair share of crummy pens. However, you very seldom
hear that Ed Fingerman, Geoff Berliner, Rick Horne, Don Lavin,
(who sometimes posts to the chat boards) etc. have purchased
a pen that was not to their expectation. It just does not
happen. Why? Because they look for things that the beginner
or new collector is just not aware of. The subtle little details
of a pen that determine its authenticity, and certainly its
value. This knowledge comes with years of buying, selling,
collecting and studying the pens. They did not start with
this knowledge, they put the time in and the effort to find
out everything there was to reach this point in their beloved
hobby.
Are you willing to put in the time and effort it takes to
become the next generation of expert? You, as a new collector,
need the information, but you also need to develop the inner
sense to know or at least feel that something is either right
or wrong with the pen you are thinking of buying. Without
that sense, no amount of knowledge or information can insure
that you will not be straddled with a bad, incomplete or useless
pen. You have to hold a lot of pens in your own hands to get
that sense.
Sure, you can gather information at a pen club meeting or
a pen show, but how much can you learn and still kept straight?
Only a little at a time. The Internet has contributed to a
rapid growth of interest in our hobby, but with a change in
the way things work. Pickers now place their pens on the web
instead of selling them to antique stores. New collectors
have the opportunity to see in an evening, more pens than
they would have seen at a pen show not too long ago (OK, they
see a picture of a pen - quite different). So they have more
of an opportunity to get in trouble faster than ever. Its
harder and harder to find pens except at pen shows, on the
Internet, or through a dealer. The Chicago Pen Show is setting
up a Seminar for this purpose.
Do I have an answer? No, but I do have some suggestions. Read,
read everything you can on the pens, or pen companies that
you are interested in. Join the Pen Collector's of America
and the Writing Equipment Society in the U.K. and utilize
their archives, which are bursting with information on almost
every pen and pen manufacturer. The Chicago Pen Show is taking
what could be a very nice step in the right direction. Don
Lavin has said that a Seminar will take place consisting of
a panel of experts to answer questions and give advice. Attend
the seminars held at the pen shows or pen club meetings, ask
questions, write the answers down and digest them. Ask for
help and you will get it. This I guarantee.
To our experienced collectors, I would say that this hobby needs new, excited and interested people to insure that it will grow and flourish. Without our help, guidance and care, they will not stay in the hobby. Out of disgust and disappointment, they will leave for another area, where they will be able to enjoy what they are doing. Don't let that happen. We must step into the shoes of those who have gone before and cultivate, educate, and befriend - it is the only way to insure the hobby's lifeline.