Fountain Pens : Past & Present

By Paul Erano

An identification and value guide for collectors of fountain pens includes a chronological and alphabetic listing, overviews of seven important manufacturers and their classic model pens, and tips on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574321102
• ISBN13: 9781574321104
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Collector Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

An excellent all around book for any pen collector.

This great book covers all the bases. It starts with a history of fountain pen development. This section is fairly brief but is thorough for its length. It gives a lot of interesting and necessary knowledge of how pens changed over the years. The book also covers how to collect, where to find them, storage and display, repairs, selecting a pen for use, inks, paper, and how to value pens. These sections are necessarily not encyclopedic but they do give all a person needs to get a good start with each of those subjects. Then there is a nice, in depth discussion of the Major Manufacturers & Their Classics. This section is an excellent article about 7 of the most well known pen makers and their most successful or notable developments and pen models. It's also another look at the history of fountain pens. Of course, some people would say there should be other makers included, but I don't think anyone would say that these 7 don't belong here.The rest and biggest part of the book is devoted to pictures of specific pens and a value for them. Most of the pictures are colored. The section is broken down into:Early Fountain PensThe Golden AgeThe Modern AgeContemporary Fountain PensThe pictures are EXCELLENT! There are some representative reproductions of old fountain pen ads that give a good feel of the older pen era and also are valuable in identifying some pen models. These ad pictures are sprinkled through the book but are not overdone.The pen prices, of course, go out of date fast but they do give an idea of the relative value of the pens. The prices are also given in retail, not street prices. This is a minor fault that is just about unavoidable in a book of this type. Prices would have to be issued at close intervals to remain current and street prices are nearly impossible to keep up with.In my opinion, this is a classic book and the best I've seen about fountain pens. I don't see a single major fault. The quality of binding and printing is excellent also. While not a coffee table book as such and much more valuable, it could double for that if opened to the fine color pictures.

Ideal beginners handbook

This book is not your usual coffee table book that elicits a sigh of possessiveness or, at best, a hope to one day procure the impossibly difficult to find pens, not to say unaffordable! I like Erano's book because it gives one the WORKS-- it tells us how to BECOME and flourish as fountain pen collectors. Of course, it does pay a good deal of attention to the zoological aspect of the hobby (or should I say passion), classifies pens and so forth, but to me the chief value of the book lies in its reality aspect, it gives us tips to be realistic collectors of any age or income group, and not just the snotty set looking for a psychological backup for their already rich and varied collection. In these days of online auctions (ebay and penbid come easily to mind), a book such as Erano's is not only a necessary tool (I have in mind the section on pen repair), but also a amply sufficient one. In particular, I would strongly urge you to not invest money in those highly regarded mindless "pretty pictures" books that cost about 5 to 8 times what this great book costs. I have them also, but i like Erano's the best!

A must book for collectors who love pens

I think I own every book ever written about vintage and modern fountain pen collecting. Without a doubt, Paul Erano has written the most enjoyable book I own.

Informative and a pleasure to read.

This gentleman knows pens and enjoys them. The picures and guides are perfect for the novice or professional collector.

Beautiful book that every pen collector should own !

Fascinating comprehensive pen book with over 1,200 full color sharp photos of every type of fountain pen. Includes many old ads and printed materials. Interesting articles cover important topics such as, development of the fountain pen, building a collection, where to find them, storage and display, refurbishing and repairing them, inks, major makers and much more. Pen values are provided. A delightful hardback book with colorful laminated covers. You don't have to be a pen collector to enjoy this book.