Friday Night Favorite Reads

Letters Outside the Box at Letter Writers Alliance

Andrew Meyer, Capitol Hill Bar Goer, Stiffs Bartender, Leaves Rude Note, Gets World Wrecked by Internet at Seattle Weekly

Free Printable Postcards: Save America's Postal Service at Afternoon Pity Party

10,000 Lakes at Because I Really Felt It

Handmade Personalized Stationery

What do you do when you haven't any fancy stationery on which to write a letter to your pen pal? Why, if you're All My Hues, you create your own. Every letter I've received from her has given me a kick, and every letter has been kept. That's the power of personalized correspondence.

If They Can Find the Time...

I learn the darndest things in the most unusual places. Though I already knew Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a major philatelist from an exhibit at the National Postal Museum, it took me a trip to the Hummingbird Inn to discover how thoughtful the 32nd President of the United States and his wife really were.

During FDR's first term in office, following the textile workers' strike of 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt went to inspect conditions at the Stillwater Springs textile mill, nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, in the town of Goshen. A brief visitor, Mrs. Roosevelt spent only one night in Goshen, as guest of Pearl Teter-Wood and her husband, Joseph, proprietors of what is now the Hummingbird Inn.

Upon her departure, the Woods sent a basket with Mrs. Roosevelt as a gift for the President. A short time later, the Woods received a pair of notes.

It seems the basket found its way to the President, and he appreciated it.

From Mrs. Roosevelt's account, the President appreciated the basket a bit too much, as she was caused to "promptly take it away from him." In addition to kind letters of thanks, Mr. Wood received a call to lunch with the First Lady, and to meet the President.

If the First Family can find the time - in the midst of the great depression - to write thank you notes, surely any of us in the 21st century can do the same.

Friday Night Favorite Reads

Arco Light at Bleubug

Creative Inspiration at Rhodia Drive

Is the U.S. Postal Service Really in Trouble? at The Missive Maven

Advertising Cameos at Letter Writers Alliance

Zombie Stationery at Fountain Pen Geeks

Additional Resources* at ENG 101: American Letters

*Check out the link below "Diana Hacker Online"

Collection Inspiration: Wahl Ring Top

There are soooooo many fountain pens out there! And, like many collectors in many other hobbies, pen enthusiasts often choose to focus their collections around a common theme, whether it be a manufacturer, color scheme, material or era. For a couple years now, I have purchased pens without any single thread to tie my collection together [aside from the fact that each pen spoke to me at some point]. I never actually felt much of a need to focus the collection, I figured that as long as I appreciated all of my pieces that it didn't matter if they were a cohesive grouping. That changed when I purchased my first ring top.

When I first saw this 1920s all metal, sterling silver, hand engraved, lever filling Wahl, I knew that it belonged in my pen case... and that it needed company.

Ring top pens were originally advertised as vest pens for men. They were worn with a short chain that attached to a button hole in the man's vest and were kept in a vest pocket. Later, for reasons not 100% clear, these same pens were advertised to women as ladies' pens, worn on a chain around the neck. Same pens, just different target markets. I've had considerable trouble accurately dating my particular pen, so I'm not sure whether it was advertised as a vest pen or a ladies' pen.

I searched around the internet on multiple occasions, and while I found Wahl advertisements for very similar pens on the Pen Collectors of America website, I'm not totally comfortable saying that the pen I own and the pen advertised are the same.

When I went to the Raleigh Pen Show in June I made a special point of asking around to see if anyone could give me information on my little pen. Unfortunately, no one could really give me any specifics beyond general information on Wahl all metal ring tops. I did, however, find a vintage Waterman ring top with a strikingly similar floral pattern. The Waterman vendor, Alan Hirsch, posited that this particular pattern may have just been a popular trend in the 1920s, meaning that the engravers from Wahl and Waterman probably didn't copy the others' design, but that they were probably inspired by a common third party design. To Wahl's benefit, Alan volunteered that my pen was prettier than the Waterman he was selling. I wonder what species of flower inspired the pattern, any ideas?

I thought for sure that my quest to find out more about my pen had ended, when through our personal correspondence, I found out that Julie from Whatever that she, too, had a sterling Wahl ring top. I held my breath, until Julie posted about her pen on her blog, and it turns out that our pens are twins!

Julie found the same Wahl ad that I did, and she's a tad more inclined than I am to believe that our pens are the very same model as the pen advertised in the vintage catalog.

Historical ambiguities aside, this 4.5"-ish writer is one of my favorite pens. The all metal section is fitted with a Wahl No. 2, a very flexible 14k nib. When the pen arrived in my mailbox, the nib was a bit scratchy, even on the smoothest of papers. So, I had nibmeister Deb Kinney smooth my nib at the Raleigh Pen Show for a nominal fee, and it writes brilliantly.

I don't have a chain for this or any of my other ring top pens, yet, but I do plan on wearing them as vest pens in the future. Can you think of any places where I can get a deal on a sterling silver pen chain [or a double albert chain]?

I was so excited to purchase this ring top, and I look forward to acquiring [many?] more!