Fountain Pens: The Collector's Guide to Selecting, Buying, and Enjoying New and Vintage Fountain Pens

by Jonathan Steinberg

A guide to collecting fountain pens features advice on finding, assessing, and buying antique, classic, and intricately designed pens, including the 1920 Orange Parker Duofold and the 1934 Mont Blanc.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, History

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Jonathan Steinberg is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of European History and former Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his A. B. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Doc Kinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book nearly got 4 stars, but is simply not as large as it might have been.

Having said that, the photographs - nearly all full size - are top notch in this book, and the books valuable for that alone. If you want to see what pens looked like in their heyday, I can very much recommend this book along those lines.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Presented in a similar style to many Dorling Kindersley books, this is a lavishly illustrated offering, very pleasing to the eye. However, the written content is fleeting and not particularly thorough. The author is plainly well versed in the material and it’s unfortunate the format doesn’t allow more knowledge to be presented.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been good to have a bit more to read particularly about nibs and more modern pens, but the photos are fantastic.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

There cold have been a bit more about the history of fountain pens. The photography is pretty good though and does give you an idea of old designs of fountain pens