Contributor Biographies #18

 

Mohan Apte

Have been meaning to introduce myself to the Pentracers for quite a while but couldn't get around to doing it formally by contributing to the "Bio-D" section of this site - so here goes....(well this isn't really a bio–D, just a brief intro...)

I must admit that DonM's previous message finally go me to type a few things about myself so here goes....

I am 32, based in Bombay, India (for those who have a problem finding the place on the map – locate Afghanistan !!!, and move south–east – easy). I am a banker by profession (graduated as an electronics engineer but moved over to a profession in Finance and Banking after post graduating in Business Management). I work in the Corporate Finance department with one of India's largest financial services provider (more on the web site – icici.com). I am married to an Architect and have a son who's 4. Have recently been introduced to the joys of writing with a fountain pen and am in the process of building my collection in this rather expensive but addictive hobby. I don’t get to use the pens too much what with so much typing these days and I have to admit that I type faster that I write !!! Having said that, I take great pleasure in writing with my current modest collection comprising a Pelikan M 600, a Sheaffer Balance Millenium and my trusty Parker Frontier (which started it all !!!)

I also take this opportunity to thank fellow pentracers who have contributed their bits to so many queries I had raised in the past – especially vivek (lowercase) narayanan, David R, MarkH, Ray Hull Karmann, WJD, Fran, Paul G, Joel A, Larry, John Cullen, Donal etc..(and with some I have communicated separately off the message board)

Look forward to getting some snailies from the US (and elsewhere...)

 

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Daniel Dong

Hmmm. Where to start? I bought my first journal about a year and a half ago at Caesar's in Tahoe. Beautiful black leather with two oriental dragons intertwined on the front. Impulse buy after a good day at the BJ tables. I enjoyed writing in my journal with cheap uni-ball pens from Price Club for about six months, until a trip to Vegas. After a very good night at the BJ tables I head to the factory outlet stores. I decide that I'm going to find a pen that can stand as an equal with my prized journal. I end up buying a titanium Fisher space pen for forty bucks instead of their MARS pen for $200. The pen store didn't have any fountain pens which now I think is odd. I really liked the MARS pen, but $200 for your first "nice" pen? But I couldn't get that pen out of mind when I got home. I started searching the internet for a deal. While searching on EBay an ad for a burgundy Pelikan M250 came up and I knew that was the pen to go with my journal. So now my collection has a Pelikan M250(M),Eversharp Skyline(F),Parker 61(M), and a Parker Sonnet(B).
Interests: wine, mountain biking, jazz, Rolling Stones, books any genre, Chevy Camaros, and shooting
But I'm also looking forward to hearing from people who have different interests than mine. Boy, writing a bio for yourself is pretty tough. Maybe I'll consider this one a first draft. Thanks for reading. Look forward to reading your letters.

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Giovanni Abrate

Born 51 years ago in Milan, Italy. Grew up in the 50's, when every Italian student had to use inkpens: first a dip pen, used for basic writing and calligraphy, then, upon reaching third grade, the coveted fountain pen! It made us feel really grown up; after all, our fathers all used fountain pens! My dad, a surgeon, liked Parker pens while my teacher would only use an Aurora 88. Students used a variety of pens: Pelikans, green and black and very reliable, Aurettas (by Aurora, with their modern looks and smooth hooded nibs) and the cheapo "LUS Atomica", which sold for 100 Lire at every stationery and tobacco store and came equipped with an extra long plastic cartridge, closed by a ball bearing that would rattle inside the cartridge and keep the ink flowing freely... It lasted only a few weeks, but it wrote smoothly and was ideal when taking dictation and having to write really fast!

I moved to the US eleven years ago, but I had first lived in America in the early 70's when I was 21 attending professional flight training. I went back to Italy after becoming a pilot, to serve in the military and then became one of the very first Europeans to fly the Goodyear blimp. Great experience that brought me together with many old aviation pioneers, who were still alive and honored me with their presence on many of my flights. I later moved to the UK, where I worked for a few years as a test pilot and then joined a large US aerospace corporation. After a few career changes, I am now working as a V.P. for a Canadian aerospace company, with my office in the Palm Beach area of Florida. I have two great sons in their early twenties who live in Australia close to my ex wife.

I started collecting fountain pens in 1968. At that time I lived in Turin, the Italian capital of fountain pen manufacturing. Nobody, in 1968, cared for fountain pens: they were definitely "passé"! In fact, when I bought my first pens, the owner of the small shop in Turin that I visited was in the process of pulling all the gold nibs from the pens with a pair of heavy pliers. He would sell the nibs for the gold and throw the pens in the garbage! These were beautiful celluloid pens from the 40's, 50's and early 60's. I bought two gorgeous Williamson pens, made in Turin in the 40's: one a beautiful Vacumatic lookalike and the other a lever-fill Doric-looking pen. Wonderful! I was by then bitten by the pen bug. I went on collecting and bought a lot of pens during my very frequent overseas trips. I now have (after 33 years of collecting) about 1,000 pens (a mix of 60-40 between old and new) and all my pens are in mint, often unused condition. I love Auroras (old and new) and my favorite pen of all times is the classic 88. I tend to collect many italian pens, including several school pens: very inexpensive but also very reliable. Many "elite" manufacturers of today built inexpensive school pens in the 50's and 60's: I have interesting models by Montegrappa, Aurora, Norex and even OMAS.

One of my most treasured pens was given to me by a British colleague and friend. Shortly after his father had passed away, he brought me a pen that had been given to his dad by King George of England. My friend's father was a naval officer and served King George in some official capacity. He treasured his pen all his life and kept it as a trusted friend, a reminder of his association with his beloved monarch. I proceeded to tell my friend all about the pen, a beautiful chased ebonite Swan pen with a wide gold band and I told him how he should treasure such a great object. My friend went back to his home, talked to his lovely wife and they decided that I should have the pen. I was embarassed by their generosity and, after a while, I agreed to be the keeper of THEIR pen, an object that I treasure and cherish for it reminds me of their generosity. My friend's wife passed away recently, while still young and full of life and now the pen also brings me memories of that lovely person.

On a less somber note, I have also become a good friend of Sig. Francesco Grisolia, one of the last penmakers in the town of Settimo Torinese, where, at the peak of activities in the early 1940's, there were no less than 180 pen factories in operation. Now there are lstill about 50 pen manufacturers and Mr Grisolia's company carries on that great tradition. His Filcao pens are hand made by his staff of talented craftsmen and his celluloid pens are a delight for those, like me, who always loved the colorful pens of our youth.

I love the pen-collecting community and enjoy meeting my friends on Pentrace, the newsgroup and the Zoss list.

Ciao!
Giovanni

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Sheldon Crook

I am 57, retired electronics technician and an ordained minister in the Christian Church/Churches of Christ.

I collect all types of pens, within my budget. I love to travel and have been in around 30+ countries to date. Some of my other interests are photography, astronomy, amateur radio (inactive at present) and curious about most everything else. I am divorced (and happy that way).

I'd enjoy hearing from anyone will reply to as many as I can.

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Cathy Ellenwood

Age: 33 years old Profession: domestic Engineer and sometimes Calligrapher
Interests: I am interested in all types of pens. Currently some of my favorites are the Gelly Roll series by Sakura, various newer(non-antique) fountain pens, all kinds of italic/calligraphy pens, and I collect but don't often use some of the older fountain pens.

Other than pens, my interests include: journaling, the internet, reading(the author of the moment is SARK), paper crafts (such as rubber stamping, paper cutting, making journals), and caring for my menagerie of pets(eight cats, two dogs, and a hamster). One of my biggest hobbies and missions in life is raising a healthy well-adjusted daughter(she's 14 now!). I also enjoy writing and corresponding.

 

 

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