Waterman Pen Company: a History

For more than 120 years, Waterman pens have been regarded as premier fashion accessories, aside from being very reliable pens used by people of style and refinement.

When it comes to quality writing, Waterman pens are indeed one of the most coveted pens in the industry. Add to the fact that these pens come with so much style, and you will surely understand why there are so many people in the market who prefer the company’s pens to other brands. The usage of the brand itself spells esteem and refinement for the user because of the French design and the prestigious quality that comes with all of their pens. When you give someone a Waterman pen for a gift, it would spell esteem for the recipient. The company was established way back in the year 1833, right in the heart of New York City, by Lewis Edson Waterman.

The company’s pens are actually one of the select brands that came from the first generation of fountain pen brands ever. The company has survived the rigorus in the industry to this very day, under the name of Waterman S.A. This was actually a French subsidiary of the company back in the day.

Waterman is credited with instigating innovation with the improvements that the company brought to the basic design of the fountain pen. When meshed with aggressive marketing, it did not take long for the pen to become a mass-market object coveted by so many people all over the world. You may have heard about the foundation of the company is associated with a loss of insurance sales on the part of L. E. Waterman. This is actually a fabricated story, but nonetheless, is something that is worth mentioning since so many people have heard many versions of the story over the years. It has been told that Waterman used to work for an insurance company, as a sales agent. But when it came to signing contracts and such, it failed to furnish the prospective client with a reliable fountain pen, thus, losing the insurance sales in the end. However, this story holds no ground at all, and remains one of the many urban legends about the history of the Waterman Pen company.

What holds true is that the savvy, canny, and innovative business sense of L. E. Waterman is the binding force that the company can truly boast of.

The death of the founder in 1901 brought forth the next generation leadership, in the name of Frank D. Waterman. Being the nephew of the late founder, Frank was also exposed to his late uncle’s innovative business sense. He did not waste time implementing even fiercer aggression, towards the expansion of the company in the world market. But the success did not last long because the company was forced to shut its doors in 1954. The company was revived by its original French subsidiary, now known as Waterman S.A.

Since this momentous revival, the Waterman pens have become more stable in the market, even garnering more sales than it used to. The following pens are considered trademarks of the brand: the Philias, the Edson, the Himisphhre, the Harmonie, the Expert, the Audace, the Liaison, and the Man 100. The Man 100 pen was released in 1983, to celebrate the 100th year of the company itself.

Hand-crafted Pens for Every Occasion

What can be a nicer gift for the college graduate than one of the many different types of hand-crafted pens made by Lanier Pens? Giving a college graduate a Lanier Pen has a special significance; it says so many things without you having to say a word. It says you acknowledge and appreciate the many years of hard work of the past and it a perfect symbol of an abundance of good wishes for the future.

Lanier Pens has been making top quality hand-crafted pens since 2005. There are many different types of hand-crafted pens made by Lanier. All of the Lanier pens are made of an assortment of exotic woods and are hand-crafted to perfection. They come with a variety of plating options including 24kt gold. The nibs are German made smooth flowing iridium plated. The wooden pens can be easily engraved with initials, further adding to their gift value.

Hand-Crafted Fountain Pens

The hand-crafted pens from Lanier pens include exquisite fountain pens. These are not like old fashioned fountain pens that dripped ink. The hand-crafted pens made by Lanier have ink cartridges in them. These fountain pens write like an old fashioned fountain pen, but without the messy ink wells and ink blots. If you want smooth, fine script like writing, you can choose a fountain pen. Lanier makes dozens of hand-crafted pens that have fountain head tips. Some of the tips are metal plated and some are made of gold. There is also a wide selection of woods and styles for these hand-crafted pens.

Hand-Crafted Rollerball Pens

Another option with Lanier hand-crafted pens is the rollerball pen. This is not a ball point pen, but a pen that has a very smooth ball at the tip made out of ceramic. This enables the ink to flow smoothly onto the paper. Rollerball pens are all the rage and many people are switching from ball point pens to this new style pen. They are almost a cross between the fine writing of a fountain pen and the more practical sturdy writing of a ball point pen.

Hand-Crafted Ball Point Pens

Of course, if you are committed to using a ball point pen, Lanier makes dozens of different hand-crafted pens designed to fit both your taste and budget. There are also pencils available as well as gift sets with a combination of pens and pencils. These Lanier pens and pencils and even the wooden case that they are encased in can be personalized by engraving the recipients name on them.

A Hand-Crafted Pen Is Forever

Anyone who has to give a college graduation gift, a wedding gift or even a corporate gift should consider purchasing one of the hand-crafted pens made by Lanier Pens. Once a person gets such a gift, they will never again want to write with an ordinary pen. These hand-crafted pens are made to last a lifetime and each come with refillable ink cartridges.

Whether you choose a fountain pen, rollerball pen, or simple ball point pen, the hand-crafted exotic wood pens made by Lanier Pens make an excellent and fine gift for just about anyone. While you are perusing the website, you may want to even pick up a special pen for yourself. Not only are Lanier pens among the finest writing instruments in the world, but they are also surprisingly affordable. You will pay a fraction of what you might expect to pay for precision hand-crafted pens of this quality when you purchase one of the many different Lanier pens that are on the market today. Lanier pens are made to last a lifetime. If you want the very best when it comes to high quality hand-crafted pens, choose one of the many different style offered by Lanier Pens.

New Bexley Fountain Pen at Hamilton and Brewer Fine Gifts

Since the birth of fountain pens, writers have sought the combination of pleasing design and superior performance. The BX701 Collection delivers on that promise.

The caps and barrels are made from colorful cast acrylic in vibrant new colors: Blue Shimmer (dark blue with a bronze swirl), Cappuccino (cream with a chestnut swirl), and Onyx (dark gray with caramel swirl).

The BX701 Collection offers fountain pens and roller ball pens with a sleek new shape and clip.

The fountain pens are equipped with high quality stainless steel nibs in a Fine, Medium, or Broad width. If you prefer, it can be ordered with our 18K gold two-tone nib, in a Fine, Medium, Broad, or Broad Stub width for an additional charge. They accept international size cartridges, or can be filled from a bottle with the provided converter.

The matching roller ball pens use a widely available refill.

Put A Personal Touch With Cross Fountain Pens

With the emergence of the computer age, online forms, chat rooms, instant messaging and e-mails have taken the place of the old-fashioned paper and pen. Now, instead of organizers, Blackberries, portable computers and mobile phones are being used by many executives and students in keeping track of their daily lives. With the convenience of tapping into keyboards and the ease of reading printed out information, finding a handwritten report or receipt has become a rare occurrence. It is amazing how Cross fountain pens have not lost their charm in the digital age. They still remain to be symbols of class and elegance in business meetings and other events.

The Art of Writing

In ancient China, writing was considered an art. In fact, during those times, each character has many forms. Even though computers have replaced the need for brush and ink, we still incorporate artsy Chinese characters in our fashion and home decorations. We can say the same thing for beautifully penned letters and journals that have been preserved by that our historians have preserved from our own past. In fact, there is something about our grandparents’ and parents’ journals and old, well-kept love letters that exude an aura of romance and beauty. Writing with your hand does leave an imprint of sweet labor and romanticism that should not be left out of the modern age. Perhaps penning a card or a letter for our sweethearts can be the best way to celebrate her birthday or Valentine’s Day. With the well-shaped nibs of Cross fountain pens and a skilled hand, writing a beautiful letter can be a snap!

Also, in some belief systems, a person’s writing is considered to be a reflection of his personality. Some people practice graphology, a system that allows a person to assess someone’s personality just by looking at his writing. It makes sense because one’s penmanship differs from one person to another. In fact, our own writing can differ according to our moods. We do have a tendency to put too much pressure on the paper when we are angry or frustrated. And, when we are overcome with emotions, our writing can lose its uniformity. So, it would be a good idea to put a personal touch on some of our letters by handwriting them. It would be the best way to give a piece of ourselves to someone who is far away.

If our writing is a reflection of our personality then we would want to be remembered as a person who is sophisticated and classy. Being a pen known for balance and durable nibs, Cross fountain pens can put a touch of elegance in our writing.

A Great Fashion Accessory

Not only does using a Cross fountain pen leave a good impression when we write our letters, it also serves as a wonderful addition to our business suits. Having a beautifully designed pen hooked on the lapel of our jacket or blazer can make us look smart and professional. With the variety of Cross fountain pens available in the market, we can easily find one that suits our style.

Montblanc George Bernard Shaw Writer Series - Limited Edition Pen - a Collectors Dream and an Appreciating Investment

Since the year 1992, Montblanc has dedicated one writing instrument a year to a great author in history who has been recognized world-wide for their literary genius. Not only are the pens dedicated to the author but they are artistically inspired by the life and works of the author giving each Writers Edition pen a unique story and personal history. When designing Writers Edition pens, Montblanc always goes one step farther to make each piece have a little more value. A finishing touch and final tribute to the author is their personal signature that is beautiful engraved into the side of each cap. In other words, each and every Writers Edition pen is autographed by the respective author to whom the pen is dedicated. This is indeed one way to make each pen even more valuable and worth collecting along side each and every pen being individually identified as 1 of the limited collection produced.

 

The most recent addition to the Montblanc Writers Edition pens is a beautifully marbleized dark green lacquer that is divided by platinum into a series of rings that progressively widen from the point to the cap. The pen is signed by and dedicated to George Bernard Shaw, an Irish born composer and literary critic but most importantly a dramatic playwright. Shaw spent most of his life in London and wrote more than sixty plays in his lifetime. Pygmalion is quite possibly one of Shaw’s greatest works and of highest recognition. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926 and an Oscar in 1938 after producing a screenplay for Pygmalion. A key symbol found on the George Bernard Shaw Writers Edition pen is the flower engraved on the nib of the fountain pen. This flower is the symbol for the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, one of the leading characters in Pygmalion.

 

The George Bernard Shaw Writers Edition pen is yet another beautiful homage to a great author by Montblanc. Shaw was a brilliant satirist in the 20th century when wit and playfulness were at a loss. Shaw was a conservative man and did not pay much attention to public greatness or recognition as he considered them a form of social-evil and inequality. However, his lovely wife was the influencing factor in bringing Shaw to accept his honors and awards in order to pay tribute to Ireland, his home. Still today, long after Shaw’s brilliant and witty life with us, we desire to pay tribute to him, his social beliefs and witty light-heartedness that helped many through hard times by creating a pen that honors him and his origin, Ireland. Let us take this pen and continue to honor Shaw by writing words of laughter and wit while simultaneously collecting one of the valuably limited 16,000 fountain pens, 18,000 ballpoint pens, or 4,000 sets produced by Montblanc marking the Writers Edition pen of 2008. Buy Montblanc from authorized dealers like PenBoutique.com for genuine Montblanc pen.

The Lost Art of Hand Writing

For a couple of years now I have used a computer for everything from writing articles, to communicate, to playing games and to printing addresses onto envelopes. My laptop is never far away, it is usually by my side or on my knees, and the furthest it ever gets from my side is when I am on the toilet or in the swimming pool. Recently though I had to write a personal letter to my mother, just to say hello sort of thing and I thought that a printed letter would not be quite the right thing for the occasion.

Upon making the decision to write I assumed that it would be a relatively simple task to accomplish but all was not as easy as I first thought! Finding paper and pen proved quite a hurdle to climb over. The only paper I could find in the house was reams of unlined printer paper and some flowery toilet paper, my old and once-trusted fountain pen had more ink on the outside than in and the pen with a ***** lady body just seemed so wrong to use!

I toddled off to the stationary shop to get the necessary and two hours later I repaired to the task in hand. I had my pens, I had my paper and I had a lovely cup of hot coffee to sip whilst jotting down my thoughts and life for my mother to read in due course!

Five minutes later I gave up! My hand was sore; it ached all the way up to the elbow and felt like I had just started to use it after six weeks in a cast!

My five minute foray into using a pen gave to me a lot to think about, apart from a sore hand that is. It brought fond memories flooding back of when I used to sit on planes, trains and buses with a notepad perched on my knees! I used to jot down notes about interesting things happening on my journeys; I used to let my thoughts wander whilst in motion and to later use these inane thought to make an article. I remembered how I used to build up ideas for future essays or articles by spending hours scribbling and dawdling, pondering and playing till hours, nay days later a finished product would surface out of the mess.

I remembered how I used to be a very relaxed person! I was often found curled up in front of the television or in a hammock in the garden, snuggled up under the covers or lying on the grass! I recalled how I used to turn my thoughts slowly and artfully into a product that I was happy with. And then two years ago that stopped like a bullet in the brain! My hobby turned, with a simple purchase of a laptop computer, into an automatic rush to develop and to produce without proper regard or actual knowledge that the finished product made any sense what-so-ever. Articles were started and finished quickly, without any searches for alternative discussion, pause or reflection and published without fanfare or enjoyment that I had once known. But I was so busy becoming a machine, just like the one that I had bought, that I did not realize and had no warning of what was going on. It was only this recent handwriting exercise that brought all that I had lost back to me like the flood from a damn broken!

Writing by hand has unfortunately become a lost art form that may never resurface! The computer and the keyboard, phones and mobile PDF devices have taken over from basic handwriting for anything longer than one sentence. For many the simple ability to correct mistakes, to alter and to expand documents with ease, the fact that most written notes have to be entered into a machine anyway and the fact that it is fashionable puts handwriting into the annals of history without second thought or hindrance! But what computers do is to take away the enjoyment, the fun and the relaxation that is synonymous with a pen and paper. Computers are machines that are so useful yet have taken the fun out of writing in one fell swoop.

I still put out the same number of articles, essays, pieces, etc. as I did before. Nobody has suggested since my laptop initiation that the quality of my works have diminished and certainly I now spend more time on other tasks or chores than I did pre-laptop times, but the pleasure has been removed.

I am now pondering a return to happier times. To write more by hand so that I may re-experience the leisure that was so much part of it all. But first I must strengthen up my right hand as five minutes is just not long enough!

Buying Your First Fountain Pen

With the integration of computers into today’s society, writing seems to be going out of fashion. However, more people are looking at getting back into the habit and are buying in to fountain pens. You have fallen in to this category and are looking for your first fountain pen. So which way to go?

There are ways to find your perfect first fountain pen, but generally this involves a more hands on approach. If you can, go to a pen shop and try out a number of different pens. If you are not able to do this, you could always buy 2-3 cheaper pens get some idea of what you want in a pen. You need to discover what suits you best in terms of the pens girth, its weight, nib size and so on.

An italic nib is a great way for a beginner to get used to using a fountain pen. Not wishing to put you off, but you will enjoy your fountain pen a lot more if you go for something that you actually like. You don’t want to buy a pen, find it doesn’t really work for you so that you hide it away in a draw, never to be seen again.

The other question of course is how much to spend on a fountain pen. As I previously mentioned, I would recommend that you start off with two or three cheaper pens. You should be able to pick these up for less than $10 each. When you are comfortable with the type of pen, nib size and barrel shape and size, you can maybe start looking for a three digit pen. But remember, don’t waste your money on a fountain pen because it looks nice. They are made to be used, so please pick wisely. Happy writing.