The Universe of Writing Culture
DAVID OSCARSON’S Sankta Lucia: a light in winter 110 years of
MONTBLANC making history:
TIM CULLEN PW’s Fall Preview presents
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VOLUME 29, NUMBER 6
ON OUR COVER: David Oscarson’s Sankta Lucia
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a Cornucopia of Color Get your fill with the 24th annual Fall Preview of Pens.
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Fall
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Preview
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41 pens with a history
artisan pen maker Tim Cullen uses unique materials to produce one-of-a-kind pieces.
48 in honor of Churchill
RiKwill and Conway Stewart partner in an homage to the legendary British leader.
52 light in winter
David Oscarson recognizes his Swedish heritage with the new Sankta Lucia pen.
48
56 red & black & hard rubber
Montblanc celebrates 110 years with new pens based on the old.
60 the master of maki-e
Bernard Lyn of Danitrio looks at maki-e not just as a business but as a calling.
64 this is only a test
The Wahl-Eversharp Decoband gets a workout…and rave reviews.
67 the air in there 70 fill ‘er up!
A history of the earliest self-fillers.
Questions surround the Parker Fil-O-Matic desk set. Not anymore!
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52 Cover photo:
David Oscarson’s Sankta Lucia fountain pen
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e decided to title this year’s Fall Preview of Pens “A Cornucopia of Color.” My first choice was “It’s Raining Pens,” but I was overruled. As a symbol for our annual Fall Preview, the cornucopia makes sense, as it’s closely associated with the autumn harvest season. Traditionally a goat’s horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn, the cornucopia is a symbol of abundance in the face of the barren months to follow. It metaphorically says to the populace, “Don’t sweat the winter; we’ve got this.” I hope you’ll see from this issue that we at Pen World have the whole thing covered, too, because we have a cornucopia of offerings for every type of pen lover. The Fall Preview (p. 73) is bursting with colors and textures from your favorite brands, while “Now” features relatively new brands or singleperson operations, showcasing as a whole what a lively place the pen community is. David Oscarson’s guilloché brilliance graces our cover and Laura Chandler’s profile, “Out of Darkness, Light” (p. 52). Tim Cullen, a man who didn’t come to pens until retirement, is profiled by Suzanne Lee, the unique materials he works with on full display (p. 41). From the other end of the spectrum, John Mottishaw recognizes the life and works of Danitrio’s long-time head, Bernard
Lyn (p. 60). And in another milestone, Montblanc celebrates its 110th anniversary with new pens that pay homage to the venerated company’s first years (p. 46). Finally, Conway Stewart and RiKwill have partnered to celebrate the life of Winston Churchill in silvered brilliance (p. 48). Anyone who’s read one of the books in the Griffin & Sabine series knows Nick Bantock works in a lot of colors, and in the first part of a two-part profile, Deborah Basel gets the skinny on Bantock’s long-awaited follow-up, The Pharos Gate (p. 34). In another longawaited return, Richard Binder is back, in as fine form as the early self-fillers he writes about in this issue (p. 67). And like any good cornucopia, there’s more where that came from. Check out our Facebook page for even more coverage: an expanded version of our profile of Tim Cullen, complete with more pens and more history; and an expanded review of the Wahl-Eversharp Decoband by Barry Gabay that runs with our Decoband review in this issue (p. 64). So grab a fork and knife—or a fountain pen and a bottle of ink—and dig in. Don’t worry about the post-feast nap; this issue is tryptophan-free.
David Oscarson once again taps his Swedish roots to create a pen that celebrates light and ushers in the holiday season.
Out of Darkness,
Light
BY LAURA CHANDLER
L
ight. It’s the universal symbol for goodness, purity, intelligence, and even God himself. And what could be more precious than light in a country where it is in short supply for months out of the year? It is no wonder that when legends came to Scandinavia about Saint Lucy—the saint most closely associated with light and whose very name is derived from the Latin word for light—she was warmly embraced as Sankta Lucia. And it’s also no wonder that a Swede steeped in the Sankta Lucia traditions has brought her story to life in the form of a pen. The story of Saint Lucy begins in Sicily, where she is known as Santa Lucia. The historical Lucia was a Christian who was born in Syracuse during the late third century, when persecution of Christians was rampant. She was martyred for 52
her faith c. 304, and was honored with a feast day. By the sixth century, the feast was universally observed by the Catholic church. Stories about Lucy were carried to Scandinavia by missionaries, traders, or the Vikings. These few facts represent everything that is known about her. But a plethora of legends arose to fill in the blanks. According to these stories, Lucia was born into a wealthy family and had taken a vow of chastity in order to serve Christ more fully. She is credited with many brave and charitable acts, including bringing food to Christians who hid in the catacombs to escape persecution. To light her way in the dark tunnels, she wore a candlelit wreath on her head, leaving her arms and hands free to carry more supplies.
Oscarson uses hot enamel and guilloché engraving to bring the story of Sankta Lucia to life. Preceding page: The lights in Oscarson’s life, his children (from left) Grant, Alex, Anni, and Max.
Lucia’s mother, not a Christian herself and not aware of her daughter’s vow, arranged a marriage for her with a wealthy Roman who was an unbeliever. Lucia was able to delay the marriage successfully for three years. When her mother was miraculously healed from a serious illness, she converted to Christianity and released her daughter from the marriage pledge. In revenge, the spurned bridegroom reported Lucia as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse. Knowing of her vow of chastity, the governor tried to force her into a brothel, but miraculously, his guards could not move her, even when they hitched her to a team of oxen. On the spot, the guards attempted to burn her alive, but the wood they heaped up around her would not catch fire. They then used their swords to kill her. Swedes are partial to Lucia not only because of her connection with light, as symbolized in the candles she used to light her way, but because the legends hold that she appeared to Swedish farmers during a great famine: a ship on Sweden’s Lake Vänern was said to have carried a woman dressed in white who brought food to the starving people. This is similar to another story that, legends say, occurred in Syracuse. Both events, as well as her martyrdom, are supposed to have taken place on her feast day, December 13.
David Oscarson and his family have celebrated Sankta Lucia’s feast day since his boyhood in Sweden. After the family relocated to Saint Louis, Missouri, Oscarson’s father (and his father before him) was the Swedish consul in Saint Louis and presided over many Sankta Lucia celebrations. Now, Oscarson is the director of the annual celebration for the Swedish Council in St. Louis, Missouri, where he has spent much of his life and where his company is based. A couple of years ago, Oscarson’s daughter Alex was the Sankta Lucia; at age 12, Anni is still too young, but her turn is coming. “You’ll find Sankta Lucia celebrations anywhere there is a large Swedish population,” he adds. The holiday is celebrated not only in homes but by schools, churches, and community organizations. In-home celebrations involve the oldest girl dressing up as Lucia with a crown of lingonberry and candles. She wears a white robe with a red sash and leads an earlymorning procession of her younger siblings, both boys and girls, also dressed in white. The children sing “Sankta Lucia” and other seasonal songs, and wake their parents with a breakfast of Lussekatter (“Lucy buns”)—sweet saffron buns shaped like curled-up cats with raisins for eyes—and coffee. 53
Oscarson’s daughter, Alex, dressed as Sankta Lucia. The traditional outfit is reflected in the overall design of the Sankta Lucia fountain pen.
For more formal celebrations, such as those in church, a girl to represent Lucia is chosen. A national Lucia is elected, as are local Lucias from each town of any size. Lucia, wearing a crown of lingonberry and candles, leads a procession of other girls dressed in white, wearing wreaths or tinsel in their hair and carrying a single candle. (Oscarson says that it can be a point of pride for the Lucia to use real candles in the wreath on her head instead of battery operated ones: “When it was Alex’s turn, she said, ‘Light ‘em up, Dad!’“) Boys follow, dressed in white and coneshaped caps—they are the “star boys.” They sing “Sankta Lucia,” sacred songs, and Christmas carols. The scale of these processions, called Luciatågs, varies from modest affairs with piano accompaniment to extremely professional pageants with orchestra and more than 1,000 participants. While the proceedings may have festive elements, the overall tone is one of reverence and serenity. Anyone who understands the Sankta Lucia celebration will immediately see its most important elements in the new David Oscarson Sankta Lucia limited edition pen. It was three and a half years in the making, with most of the time spent figuring out how to portray Lucia. “I have such vivid memories about Lucia,” says Oscarson. “I thought about doing her face in maki-e or Russian miniature painting, but that’s not what we do.” The entire David Oscarson oeuvre comprises only precious metal pens with hot enamel over guilloché engraving, so a pen with a painted likeness of a person would be a striking anomaly in a collection that is diverse, yet so unified in style that an Oscarson piece is immediately identifiable. He also considered the idea of engraving one of his daughters’ faces on the pen to depict Lucia, or portraying Lucia and her processional winding around the barrel of the pen, but rejected those ideas as “too Hallmark-ish.” 54
So, in the manner of previous pens including the Jacques de Molay and the Alfred Nobel models, Oscarson chose the most meaningful images associated with Lucia and her celebration and created them in enamel. The white barrel with red sash represents Lucia’s traditional apparel: the white symbolizing Lucia’s purity, and the red, her martyrdom. Flames representing the light Lucia carried into the catacombs—and the Romans’ unsuccessful effort to burn her alive—are seen on a smoky background on the cap, and at the top of the cap is a lingonberry wreath—greenery and berries from an evergreen shrub native to Scandinavia. The clip is created in the likeness of a Roman sword, which was the instrument of Lucia’s death. Encircling the section is an engraved wreath and four candles to echo the advent wreath.
Although David Oscarson pens frequently come in a number of color variations, there is only one version of the Sankta Lucia because of the symbolism inherent in the colors used. So, is the Sankta Lucia celebration connected with Christmas? Yes and no. “It’s celebrated as the official kickoff for Christmas, but it’s not an American Christmas. It’s a secular celebration with Christian roots, and it’s as close as I dare go to Christmas without getting corny,” Oscarson says with a laugh. Growing more thoughtful, he adds, “I tear up every time I see the Sankta Lucia procession or hear the music. For better or for worse, this is another pen that is intensely personal for me.” Visit davidoscarson.com
Baby, It’s Dark Outside Saint Lucy’s Day is celebrated on December 13, the traditional date of her martyrdom and her miraculous appearances to the famished farmers of Sweden and an earlier, similar incident in Sicily. Also, December 13 was the date of the Winter Solstice under the old Julian calendar. Even though the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century changed the date of the solstice, Saint Lucy’s Day remains on December 13 to coincide with the date on which it has been observed for centuries. Public observances are usually held on the Saturday nearest December 13—this year, December 10. Just for perspective, there are only about six hours of sunlight in December in Stockholm— and in Kiruna, the northernmost town in Sweden, there is no light at all for more than 20 days in December and early January. It is no wonder that this particular Catholic saint resonates so powerfully in a predominantly Lutheran country: as the stories go, those who participate heartily in the Sankta Lucia festivities will have enough light to carry them through the dark winter.
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