Pentrace.com Homepage (October 2000)
An archived front-page snapshot from early Pentrace.com, preserved here as a piece of the site's own history. Several of the headline stories below are preserved in full elsewhere on this site, linked where available.
But what does it mean?
posted by Paul LoCasto — from the Pinker and the Brain dept.
'Fountain Pen', what does it mean? The word fountain is borrowed from Latin [fontana (spring, fountain) from 'fons'] and can be traced back to the IE (Indo-European) *dhon-ti-, from the root *dhen- (to flow). Fountain, as used in 'fountain pen' is of the sense: "a reservoir or compartment for holding oil, ink, etc." (OED). However, the IE sense 'to flow' is certainly applicable to how fountain pens operate.
Pump the Vac Slowly
by David Mason — new fiction for Pentrace readers.
"The dark sordid days were upon us. E-mail, relentlessly hammered into the hearts and minds of our people, handwriting, all but banned by the Fascist Pig Ruling Class, knuckles irreparably shattered for the mere whiff of royal blue, emerald green, burgundy, sepia. Only one force stood tall for the true believers..."
The Parker Duofold Monoplane
by Len Provisor — recaptures the Golden Age of American fountain pens.
May 1927, and Charles Lindbergh achieves the first solo flight across the Atlantic, igniting the world's fascination with flying machines and the endless possibilities of the future. Rewind to 1921, when the Parker Pen Company introduced their new oversize Duofold fountain pen...
The site for fountain pens that write!
A guided tour of the new pentrace site by Donal Higgins.
Some fountain pens are used on a daily basis, some disappear into collections without a trace. This site is about fountain pens and writing with fountain pens...
What to buy next?
by Robert Helfrich.
"What you should buy next is BOOKS. Even a wildly expensive book like Lambrou, Andreas, Fountain Pens of the World (reprinted 1998)... This history of major and minor manufacturers along with good color pictures is like having 1,000 pens...."
Inky Linkies
The site's link directory at the time was organized under: Blotters, Inks, Nibs, Paper, Pen Companies, and Pen Repairs.
Shop Window
Sponsors and shops linked from the front page: Battersea Pen Home, E-Bay, Fountain Pen Hospital, Ink Palette, David Nishimura, PenBid, Pendemonium, The Pen Shop, Pen World, and StubHead.
Pen Shows (as listed at the time)
- 11th Annual Michigan Antique and Collectable Pen Show, Sept 8-10
- San Francisco Bay Area Intl Pen Show, Sept 21-24
- 6th London Pen Show, Oct 6-8
- 14th Annual National Pen Show, Oct 27-29
- Ohio Pen Show, Nov 2-5
- Philadelphia Pen Show, Jan 5-7 2001
- Los Angeles International Pen Show, Feb 15-18 2001
- Melbourne Pen Show, Feb 23-25 2001