Ivano Ziggiotti was born in the province of Vicenza in 1962. By profession a craftsman, now retired, he approached calligraphy in 1996 when he enrolled in the Italian Calligraphic Association and attended numerous courses with teachers of high artistic value and high technical preparation, including Denis Brown, James Clough,
Pen Mahotsav – the first fountain pen show in the east is all set to set the high watermark, create the occasion penophiles were waiting for. Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune – after every pen show, we fountain pen lovers from the east vowed to hold the “mother of all pen
The Superite fountain pen is an enigma of sorts. For starters, there is so little information in the public domain about the brand or the pens they made. Surprising, a pity even, considering the fact that the fountain pens in question were of excellent quality, and their vintage is
John Culmer has been repairing and restoring fountain pens for over thirty years, having acquired the skill from his father Charlie. John’s skill is such that his services are recommended by Parker and Waterman. Today, although the Peel Pen Shop (London) retail store location has now closed, John still
Croxley Pens from Dickinson – as pucca as a sahib can be, stiff upper lip, understated elegance et all. British fountainpens do not, in general, stir the kind of excitement in stylophiles that German, Italian or even Japanese pens do. A pity, actually, considering the glorious legacy that British
Click President – the answer to all pen lover’s prayers for an affordable piston filler, Made in India from scratch, is here! A piston filler, simply put, is a fountain pen with a knob at the bottom that is twisted to fill the barrel with ink. The first piston
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly had written Frankenstein, or, The Modern Promethius (published 1818) in a summer spent in Switzerland. She would later go on to describe that period in her life as the moment, “when I first stepped out from childhood into life”. While Frankenstein continues to remain, a genre
It is, at first look, liable to be mistaken as a defender guarding the galaxies with its bold Art Deco silhouette, a comfortable balanced weight and a military styled clip inspired by the vintage Sheaffer Balance. It goes without saying that not every pen has in it the inner
PFM. Pen for Men. Introduced in 1959, it was the extension of Sheaffer’s hugely successful Snorkel line of fountain pens. It was a big, fat, phallic creation aimed at catering to the misplaced machismo of men – a tome built by the boys, for the boys. When later versions
Nandish Shah is a little-known name in the fountain pen community, but read my lips, he is destined for greater glories. He is destined for greater glories – not because he is as dedicated a fountain-pen lover as you and me, but because he has already unveiled India’s first
Yellow. It is the colour of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring. Yellow roses are supposed to symbolise friendship and are often given to loved ones as a way to bring joy and cheer. Religious iconography from around the world are full of yellow hued symbolism and
Kolkata has often been called the Cultural Capital of the Nation – killing fields for the Tagores and the Rays (and innumerable others) that have, and continue to dominate our perceptions. While the creative history of the city is mostly well-documented, what is less known is the story of
