An interesting article.  It makes me want to go out and buy refills for my old cartridge pen. 

I enjoyed this piece!

I have a weakness for fountain pens, and I've got several on a pencil tray a foot away from the keyboard I'm using. They aren't anything special--they range from a cheap Sheaffer (probably a few dollars new, if even that), a German pen from a company I've otherwise never heard of, and a Cross. All use ink cartridges. Elsewhere I've got some slightly better pens...but all have issues IIRC. (They are more important to me for history than actual use now.)

But these days I seldom write by hand, and so they mostly collect dust.

I can't say for sure what advantages might exist with fountain pens, since it's been so long since I really wrote anything by hand. But one thing I definitely remember noting when I was in high school: it seemed like my absolutely horrible handwriting was a bit more legible when I wrote with a fountain pen. I can remember sometimes using a fountain pen for homework. But I never, ever took one to school--to much worry about something happening to it. (Not an unreasonable worry, given some of the realities at that school...)

My mother took classes at a local college, and I remember her telling me about someone in one of those classes that even had a Mont Blanc! Apparently, though, said pen was seldom used, for fear of something happening to it. Seems like a shame...

I later went to that same college, and German professor (I never had him, but I'd met him through my mother) had a fountain pen. He talked about how sad it was the decline of cursive (this was late 80s/early 90s era). Then, he told me about how when he was in Germany, his elementary school son was expected by the German schools to use IIRC fountain pens  with real ink, and cursive. Meanwhile, kids his age were told in America to print using a pencil...

I later on took a speech class when I was about 30. Long story, but the relevant part was that I got a fountain pen (which could use bottled ink). It was a decent pen. I could have gotten by with a cheap ballpoint, but I liked using the pen, even if I had to constantly refill it. We had to fill out evaluation slips on classmates' speeches, and so perhaps my slips were a bit more legible, thanks to the pen. I now wonder if anyone noticed and wondered: what sort of weird pen is that freak in the corner is using?

@ liamy:  Likewise, but over long periods the grip required for a ballpoint, rollerball or pencil leaves an impression in my fingertip and the side of my middle finger.  I think the point the author makes about fatigue is a valid one in this regard.

When I worked at MGM in the late '70s, one of my jobs involved cataloguing newly shot film for the negative vaults.  It was all done on paper by hand.  My co-worker and I went through boxes and boxes of Pentel Rolling Writers, which would eventually disintegrate from the intensive use.  I had to take protective measures for my fingers with all of that writing all day, every day.

@ LK:  Ironically, the school I attended through 3rd grade taught Palmer Method, yet we all used ballpoints.  The school I started attending in 4th grade taught Noble & Noble, but required everyone to use cartridge pens.  This had nothing to do with cursive.  It was all about not ruining the wooden tops on our desks.

A friend of mine taught ceramics at an elite nearby boys' college prep school for 25 years.  One of her students wanted to engrave something in cursive on a piece he was creating and asked for her help, so she wrote it out for him.  He told her three humps in the "m" didn't look right and she advised that yes, it has three humps.

Upon examining the piece after firing, she saw that he had written an "n" instead of an "m" and asked the kid why.  He said three humps just didn't look right.  Neither does the word he misspelled, which I've forgotten, but as I recall it lended the inscription a certain irony.

Sigh.

But from what I’ve been reading that trend may be ending. I’ve read that the current belief is that cursive writing is beneficial in that it promotes better thought processes in the young

I haven't fully read any articles, but I know I've seen articles that apparently talk about advantages. I think I saw one this week.

But I wonder if schools will spend much (if any) time on cursive, no matter what studies/evidence exists... There are so many demands in this era of things to be covered. It can also be argued that recess has value, and that has also gone bye-bye at many schools (at least the last I heard).

I at least recognize the name. Probably the result of too many hours reading old magazine ads... LOL

I remember seeing ads for Parker (and also Waterman and IIRC Mont Blanc) ca. 1990. One ad for Parker talked about the pens being a dual system--you could have either a cartridge, or use an ink reservoir. I remember seeing a Parker that had this system on display at the mall, and talking to the sales person. She obviously knew nothing of her products, and insisted you bought ink cartridges for that pen.

I think we were first required to have a pen in 5th or 6th grade. As the teacher said, we were learning penmanship. (Not sure if 5th was the official grade--I was in a split class, and that was one subject the teacher could teach both grades at once IIRC.)

At some point before that, pens could not be used on school work (although possession of a pen was OK). I'm not sure if there was a point where pens were tolerated, but not required (say, 4th grade? regular 5th grade classes?)

Then, come junior high, I had a teacher who banned the use of pens. He hated the look of errors crossed out IIRC.

Just to clarify, if needed: the Parker pens I mentioned above were undoubtedly some other model. They definitely could use either bottled ink or cartridges. They came along long after the 51 was apparently retired (1972, according to the Wikipedia piece).

I do have an old Parker pen that will only apparently work with bottled ink. It's one of those types that had a cap on a block intended to sit on a desk. I think it came from a yard sale when I was young. As I recall, it worked pretty well, although IIRC it needed refilling a lot. Then, I suppose it might have been intended for the businessman who didn't need a pen for anything more than signing important letters...

I'm now idly wondering when cartridges became an option... I'd have to guess that bottled ink was the only option during the fountain pen heyday, and I'd speculate that cartridges might have come along to try to make the pens more appealing in an era of more convenient ballpoint pens.

I personally preferred ink when I had the choice--one huge argument is that I think bottled ink was probably cheaper, and certainly less wasteful than plastic cartridges. I never minded filling a pen. The only issue was just making sure the pen got refilled often enough if one took the pen out of the house. But, of course, that was also an issue with cartridge fountain pens. One could, I suppose, carry an extra cartridge, but then with bottled ink, one can refill quickly just ensure one has enough ink.

I know I got one pen that could be used with either ink or cartridges new. It included a sampler cartridge or two, and I don't think I ever touched that cartridge, until I needed one for a pen that couldn't take bottled ink.

These days, though, I'm a cartridge user, because that's what the current collection of pens are intended for. That said, I write so little these days that a cartridge lasts...

I remember my father (who once liked fountain pens) talking about refilling cartridges with regular ink. It should be easily possible, but I never tried it.

My handwriting has never been something to brag about; it's probably better now than at any time before.  One thing that brings me compliments repeatedly is my signature.  I do strive to write each letter and I want it to be legible to a total stranger.  Most signatures disintegrate over time - people don't "have time" to write it out.  And the more frequently they are called on to sign documents the shorter their signature seems to be.

What really polished off my handwriting was deciding to go into architecture.  I started down that path in the fall of 1971, long before computers came along, and learning to letter was taught immediately after entering school.  As a result, I have printed/lettered most of my life.  My lettering has evolved into a hybrid of lettering and writing - some characters get joined, others remain distinctly separate.  It has been several decades since I used a fountain pen, not sure if switching back to one would help my penmanship or not.

lawrence

Thanks, Eddie, for your memories and the links!

I'm too young to remember the era when people might have had only pen, but I knew that was the case, once. I've have thought before that's interesting that people in the 50s might have had just one pen, but written more than a person of today who might easily have a hundred pens lying around house, office, and car. Of course, it can be argued that people with a good fountain pen really didn't need more than that pen.

I actually saw that "you only need one pen if you've got a good pen!" when I was in high school. One of my teachers had a modern (80s?) Sheaffer which was his primary pen. He always had it with him, and he kept a bottle of ink at school. His classroom was interesting in that unlike other teachers he didn't have a bunch of cheap, modern pens lying around. He had exactly ONE ballpoint, which he only used for carbonless multicopy forms like failure notices.

I honestly thought that pen was neat--but then I already had a fountain pen, fountain pen experience, and was interested in past decades...early training for AW.org membership, I guess!

Sadly, his pen broke--the barrel cracked. I think it was a flaw in those pens--I had one which, a year or so later, had the same thing happen. He came to school with some old pen for a day or two, and then rushed out and got a new Sheaffer. (You'd think he'd have thought of trying a new brand after the other Sheaffer cracked!)

Back in the heyday of fountain pens, before the ballpoint, running out of ink wasn’t too much of a problem, because everyone used them, and would have a bottle of ink on hand that they would kindly let you refill your pen from.

I think I even remember jokes on old time radio or TV about the cheapskate who is always careful to refill from the free supply of ink at the bank or wherever!

I remember seeing ads for various pens in the late 80s/early 90s. One that was memorable was Waterman, which had a theme of a woman talking about all the things she'd given up...and then indicated she still had her Waterman pen, because she needed something thrilling to use to record her boredom.

A photo of three of my pens. I have more, but these are the ones I've actually used in recent history.

The one on the far left is a Cross that I think came from a yard sale. It didn't work, but was easily fixed by rinsing. Apparently old ink had dried clogging it.

The one on the far right is also a yard sale find IIRC. I have no idea who made it. For some reason I'm thinking it came from Germany, but I can't find "Germany" on it.

The pen in the middle is a cheap, humble Sheaffer from the 1980s. A rock bottom product that I got new for reasons that escape me now. (I had a better pen--perhaps I was thinking of a second pen that I could use without worry? Or just an impulse buy? Who can say after 30+ years?) This pen was seldom used, and yet it has not aged terribly well--note the cracking on the barrel.

My handwriting is also a mixture of print and cursive.  Ever since I entered the wonderful world of healthcare, it's just easier to do it that way.  People can read what I write more easily.  When I write in all cursive, I tend to write extremely small.  Funny, now there are times when I'm writing I'll notice the way I make some of my letters, I can see my mother's writing in them.  My dad has chicken scratch.

Kate, your story is very encouraging! 

Preston, those are some nice looking pens.  A friend of mine had an extensive collection.  He'd sometimes mention one of them having a bad bladder.  Is that something that can be easily replaced or do they tend to be proprietary as opposed to a universal fit?

I'm still searching for my old Schaeffer cartridge pen.  I'm anxious to start using one again after reading the posts above.  We moved recently and it's buried somewhere.  If I really enjoy it, maybe I'll graduate to an actual fountain pen. 

I remember Wearever also made a cartridge pen.  The ones I was familiar with had a much smaller nib than the Schaeffer did, and I liked writing with a Wearever better.

Thanks John.  I'll keep looking for the old Schaeffer and will contact you if it doesn't turn up.

But remember you cannot print by hand, only a machine can print, you can however letter by hand.

John L.

I just this week differentiated between these two terms when sharing something with a friend.

My sister was up from L.A. this past weekend and brought me three limited edition vintage road maps, one of L.A. (a reprint from 1930), one of the "Rim of the World" route east of San Bernardino from 1915, and another of the Yosemite valley from 1916, neither of which had ever been published. 

The two older maps were hand lettered, although most people probably wouldn't even notice.  I'm considering framing the Yosemite map, as even the contours in the surrounding mountains and granite formations were drawn using tiny, short strokes.   I consider this an art, yet I see no credit given to the worker bee cartographer who spent so much time creating this map, other than what appear to be his initials and the date the map was completed.

This brings back memories of the old "Auto Album" renderings from Tad Burness that used to appear weekly in the local newspaper.

The maps I referenced above are a Historical Series available in limited quantities to AAA members of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

I don't know if other regional AAA offices have them or can get them.  There are, I think, four of these special maps in the set.

I cannot imagine negotiating the Rim of the World route's switchbacks, twists and turns while climbing several thousand feet in 1915 or older automotive technology. 

After looking high and low (literally -- I checked boxes in the basement) I glanced over to the crowded pen/pencil cup on my desk and noticed the shiny metal cap of the vintage Schaeffer in the mix.  I bought some cartridges and started playing with it.  I noticed that my hand seemed to be outpacing my brain and I was omitting letters, and my writing was less legible than it already is when I'm scribbling things down.

I also discovered that this particular pen has a fine point nib.  I like medium or bolder.  I was planning on using this pen (the one with the green barrel) for writing holiday cards.  I decided to buy a new Shaeffer cartridge pen with a medium point nib.  Due to the age difference, the nibs aren't interchangeable, so I used the new pen to do cards and I went slow so people could read what I wrote! 

Now that I've had some time to use both, the fine point doesn't seem to be as fine as it was after I had first cleaned the old pen and given it a new cartridge, so I'll be using both of these pens going forward.  I like that I can achieve the look of a roller ball with a pen that's not disposable.  It's a little more responsible to add a small empty cartridge to the landfill than an entire ball point pen!