The Universe of Writing Culture
CROWN is a jewel from TF Est. 1968 good medicine:
Sir Alexander Fleming by David Oscarson
paper picks for all your needs
AN ELEGANT EYE-CATCHER Each of the slender writing instruments of our series “Tamitio” is the expression of pure elegance and therefore both an eye-catcher and stylish accessory. The finely fluted barrel made of metal is lacquered in several elaborate working steps. An innovative lacquer ensures a long-lasting matte surface. Available in midnight blue, rose, taupe and black. Handmade in Germany
For more information please visit www.Graf-von-Faber-Castell.com • Faber-Castell USA, Inc. • 800-311-8684
724 263 2286 t 201 894 4710 info@totallyworthit.com t www.TotallyWorthIt.com
JUNE
34
VOLUME 28, NUMBER 4 ON OUR COVER: Crown by TF Est. 1968
24 see the results!
We unveil the winners of PW’s 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards.
34 letterpress to impress
48
See for yourself what letterpress printing can do for fine stationery.
39 paper review
39
Handmade, mould-made, or machine-made—we give you options to suit your taste.
44 Crown-ing achievement
The Swiss brand TF Est. 1968 finds a new, affordable price point.
48 mighty good medicine David Oscarson honors the discoverer of penicillin with a new limited edition.
52 life’s silver linings
52
RiKwill finds a new direction with the help of Conklin, Delta, and Stipula.
60 can you believe it?
Yes, Virginia, once upon a time, there were pens that made their own ink...
64 a nib master’s legacy
Remembering Nobuyoshi Nagahara.
44
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WHAT’S HOT NOW
06 view
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08 mail
our readers speak
10 news 12 show 14 now
people, places and events
30
Baltimore and Atlanta
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22 date 27 shop 30 strokes 55 nib
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Executive Essentials
Gilded Age Greetings
14
27
Cross
58 page 65 contributors
Collecting Old Writing Equipment
meet the writers
68 network
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70 source 72 imho
guide to products
58 14
2
My Mother’s Pen
Winner, Best Fine Art Pen PEN WORLD Readers’ Choice Awards
view
2014 Tropical Fishes • 2013 Storks
The Lynx and the Eagle
But Did You Put It in Writing?
A The Storks
Both one-of-a-kind magnum emperor Not only perfect writing instruments, but also your own museum that is always with you. One-of-a-kind & limited edition pens. Custom ordered pens and desk sets. Artus pens now available at Airline International, El Paso, TX P.W. Akkerman, Den Haag, Holland
www.artuspen.ru • artuspen@inbox.ru TEL: +7-4932-478-111
s one who makes her living primarily by putting words on paper and helping others do so, I’ve thought a lot about what it means to do that. There’s a reason why most agreements, to be legally enforceable, must be put in writing. It’s almost as if something isn’t really, well, real, until it takes the form of the written word. And I believe that the written words that will survive are much more likely to do so if they have been committed to actual paper. Ironic, isn’t it, since paper is so easy to destroy and cyber-missives are impossible to get rid of? But I don’t think I’m unusual in this: I can search my email fruitlessly for a message I know is there, yet put my hands immediately on a note I received six months ago. We always devote some extra attention to this miracle product, paper, in our June issue every year, and this time, we offer a survey of the three major categories of paper and practical advice on choices. Deborah Basel returns to Rosemary Buczek— previously a subject for an article in her series on the best of today’s calligraphers/lettering artists—to explore Buczek’s Gilded Age Greetings, which
takes the concept of greeting cards to a whole new level! Michelle Leung writes her first PW feature based on a visit to a letterpress print shop that, among other things, turns out beautifully personalized stationery. And yes, about instruments with which to write on that gorgeous paper, we’ve got the latest on TF Est. 1968, whose handsome Crown pen is seen on the cover, a pen from David Oscarson honoring a scientist who changed the world through the discovery of penicillin, and pens from RiKwill resulting from new collaborations with other brands, plus a host of other new pens in our Now section. Richard Binder begins a series we’re calling “Can You Believe This?” in which he will explore some of the pen products and episodes in pen history that leave us scratching our heads today. Sound intriguing? We thought so! There’s much more, including our unveiling of the winners of our 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards. See if your picks won on page 24!
editor@penworld.com
Crowning Glory BY JULIA DAVILA
The Swiss brand TF Est. 1968 finds an affordable new price point.
W
hen Alexis Sarkissian was growing up in Switzerland in the 1970s and ’80s, he and his classmates were allowed to use only one type of writing instrument—the fountain pen. Students were not allowed to use pencils…and especially not ballpoint pens. Sarkissian remembers using a fountain pen for writing every assignment and even for punishments. He recalls writing, over and over, “Je ne battrai pas en cours de recreation” (I will not fight during recess) and “Je n’ai pas le droit de jeter la nourriture” (I will not throw food). When taking notes during the courses he took at Penn State and Boston College, he used a fountain pen. Once he graduated and earned his degree, he continued writing with fountain pens as he found his way in the corporate world. “As I went on, I acquired pens for work that were gradually nicer and nicer,” he says, adding that he is attracted to shapes and color as well as the unique features of the pens of Japan, where he lived with his family for several years while working for the watch brand Piaget, and of India, where he has traveled extensively. Sarkissian established his own distribution company—Totally Worth It—in 2004, dedicated to brands that manufacture the kinds of products he likes himself. When his childhood friend Freddy Tschumi launched TF Est. 1968 in 2010 to make watches and watch-themed accessories and writing instruments, it was a perfect fit for Totally Worth It. Regular PW readers are already familiar with TF Est. 1968’s first pen offering, the Tourbillon, which features a functioning tourbillon-style balance mechanism at the top, visible through a transparent crystal. It was followed by the T-Mechanic, which holds an entire baguette watch movement with a working balance wheel, and then by the WheelWork and ClockWork, introduced a year and a half ago. “The WheelWork and ClockWork brought us great success,” Sarkissian says. “They are thinner, simpler, and range from $450 to $550.” The Tourbillon and the T-Mechanic are considerably more expensive, both with a list price in excess of $1,000. 44
New versions of the Tourbillon Open Side, MSRP: $800 Opposite—Crown in black and stainless steel
This time around, the company introduces a new pen that Sarkissian calls a revolution for the brand. “We came up with something super sexy, high-quality, and French-made, but at an incredible price,” he says. The new pen, called the Crown, comes in two finishes: sleek black, priced at $220, and steel engraved with a watch parts motif, priced at $250. Sarkissian points out that the basic design of the pen already existed in the form of the ClockWork. On that pen, the watch parts were depicted by an overlay of rose gold–plated metal or PVD; on the steel version of the Crown, the same basic design is engraved into the pen. The low price point is unprecedented for TF Est. 1968, which prides itself on the quality of its materials and workmanship. And there’s another new pen on the horizon (which will remain nameless for the time being because the launch date is unspecified) that incorporates genuine watch parts but at a more affordable price point than the previous watch-parts pens. The brand’s pens are produced in Switzerland or France, depending upon model.
Along with the new offerings, TF Est. 1968 also has created a new variation of the Open Side Tourbillon, a version of the Tourbillon pen that reveals the mechanism inside not only from the top of the pen but also from the side. The addition to the line features embossed crocodile
leather covering the upper portion of the pen. A French saddle maker stitches the leather by hand. TF Est. 1968 also makes watches, cuff links, and leather goods, but watches are the common denominator for nearly all of their products. In fact, among the latest new products from 45
Rotor belt; ClockWork pen, the design of which can be seen on the new Crown pen in steel.
TF Est. 1968 is the Rotor belt. The buckle is actually a large rotor from a mechanical watch, which spins with the wearer’s movements. The leather is reversible (brown/black), and the belt’s beige topstitching is reminiscent of a leather watchband. In spite of Alexis Sarkissian’s love of fountain pens, TF Est. 1968 has not produced one to date—all are ballpoints. But that could be changing in the not-so-distant future. Says Freddy Tschumi, “Alexis is pushing me to come up with a fountain pen. It is in the works for 2016. As anything we do, it has to be the best. We cannot deal with an average pen or something so-so. We’ll hopefully have something really great soon.” Visit tfest1968.ch and totallyworthit.com. 46
Boys (a
t o t Have F n a W t s u J ) s l r i un nd G
Rarely does a company and its products so accurately reflect the personality of the founder as does TF Est. 1968. Even the name of the brand TF Est. 1968 comes directly from its Swiss-born founder. The initials come from his name, Freddy Tschumi. And it’s not the company that was established in 1968 (that didn’t happen until 2010) but Tschumi himself: 1968 is the year of his birth. Underneath his name on his company website bio is the phrase “Swimming against the tide,” and we think that says it all. He answered a few questions for us by email while traveling in the Middle East. Your products seem to be aimed almost exclusively at men, although we’ve seen some beautiful women’s watches on your website. Do you have many female fans? If so, what draws them to the products of TF Est. 1968? A lot of the pens can be, and are, used by women. In Geneva, I see professional women buying the WheelWork to use for themselves. I have a friend, a judge in the canton of Zug, who uses a palladium and black ClockWork— imagine the convictions signed using my pens... According to our study last year, 44 percent of purchases of our products were made by women for gifts—whether mothers for graduation, wives for their husbands/partners, or women for business executives, etc. Do you have a personal interest in writing instruments? What attracts you to a particular pen? I have never been a great pen collector but a tremendous watch aficionado. This is the common denominator for all people involved in the TF Est. 1968 adventure: watches, cars, motorcycles, all things mechanical, beautiful things in general, and pens. On the other hand, I write a lot and when doing so, I like to have a pen that fits me well. It has to have body, substance, grip, presence, and above all, character. I don’t care for pens that are too weak and require too much involvement. In that sense, my pens are for people with a message and with a direction. Each pen we release fits this profile and is a true product of our desire to excel. For this reason, we design them in Switzerland and make them in France or Switzerland so we can closely, and daily, control the quality. We make no compromises and release products only when they are ready. The guarantee we provide is serious, as my name is on it. We are not a nameless multinational with offices in 50 cities. We are Geneva-based and my best childhood friends are my business partners in this crazy but lovely adventure.
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