Fountain Pens: History and Design

Rating:
Summary: Broad in scope with great depth and excellent photography.
Review: This book comes has two distinct sections . The first deals with the pen , its history and design(Natch!). It starts with a history of pen technologies used down the ages and takes a look at the pen's role in art and design, and also at the inventors along the way who have brought us the modern fountain pen.

The second part is a selection of pens produced over the last one hundred years and all the major manufacturers as well as some of the long forgotten ones; Nettuno, Ercolessi and Pygmalion to name a few. The interesting thing here is that the pens mentioned are ones off the beaten track and the same old list of names is not replicated here, making this book quite unique. The selection is in chronological order and even a quick read gives a moving picture of pen design over the last century.

The images used in the book are first rate and are interspersed amongst the text , avoiding the boring visuals normally associated with such books.The graphics are also excellent and add to the quality of the book.

Quality is a by-word here , not only are the design and technological aspects of the pen discussed , there is also a wealth of information on pen production dates , company information and marketing and advertising by the different companies.

A technique used in the book to interrupt the narrative , mid-stream by using a different page design to focus on a particular topic discussed in the main narrative can become quite irritating and the book would have been better served by putting these pages at the end of each chapter.

This is a small gripe with what is essentially an excellent book. Eminently enjoyable , unique and with coffee-table quality , this is a must have for any pen collector.

Rating:
Summary: A very entertaining book with excellent pictures
Review: This book consists of two parts. The first part gives general information about the history and development of the fountain part, plus its side-effects (FP advertising, FP's in arts, influence of FP's on regular life). The second part gives information on 100 pens from the last 100 years. Apart from the excellent photographs, it is very interesting that a lot of Italian/European pens are covered. There are a few inconsistencies in the text, but overall a lot of useful info is given about the covered pens.

It is not a reference book, because of the choices and number of pens covered. However, it is a very beautiful and entertaining book that is very well worth reading. You could even spend an evening just dreaming away with the pictures ...