We come to the most popularly collected fountain pen brand in the world, Montblanc. The Mont Blanc Fountain Pens have a distinctive appeal to them. Mont Blanc pens are handcrafted by Master Craftsmen with great care going into every pen created.

MontBlanc Meisterstuck LeGrand Fountain Pen

The Mont Blanc Meisterstuck is one of the most famous writing instruments of our time. The nib is hardcrafted and made from 18 K gold with a platinum inlay. Midway along the pen shaft are three gold-plated rings and the pen clip is also gold-plated. The pen barrel is a precious resin black.

Othe pens in the Monblanc Meisterstuck range include the Le Grand, Le Grand Traveller, and two tribute pens dedicated to the memories of Frederic Chopin and Mozart.

MontBlanc Boheme

The Boheme Royal Black and White fountain pen and the Boheme Royal fountain pen are both cartridge fountain pens with retractable platinum-plated 18 K gold nibs. The barrel of the fountain pen is covered in cut diamonds with a total weigh of approximately 15 carat. The barrel and cap is made from white gold and the pen clip is set with a paramount cut diamond.

MontBlanc Starwalker Resin

The MontBlanc Starwalker fountain pen is a cartridge pen that is made of black precious resin. The nib is a rhodium-plated 18 K gold nib. Working up the barrel, the rings and clip are platinum-plated. The pen is topped with a Montblanc floating star in a transparent cap.

The Starwalker range also features the Starwalker Cool Blue, the Starwalker Metal/Rubber and the Starwalker Doue.

Special Editions

Marlene Dietrich

The Montblanc Marlene Dietrich Special Edition fountain pen is a cartridge fountain pen that is characterised with a platinum-plated 18 K gold nib with a heartshaped hole. The pen’s barrel and cap is made from black precious resin and is inlaid with the Montblanc signet in a mother-of-pearl inlay. The pen also features platinum-plated rings and the pen clip is set with a deep blue sapphire. The Marlene Dietrich special edition was a release limited to 1,901 pens.

Greta Garbo

The Montblanc Greta Garbo Special Edition fountain pen was released to celebrate the 100th birthday of Greta Garbo. The fountain pen is made of black and cream colored precious resin. The body of the pen is shaped to resemble the female form in honor of the screen goddess and the pen clip is set with an Akoya pearl.

Anniversary Edition Fountain Pens

Mountblanc Meisterstuck Solitaire 100

The anniversary edition Montblanc Meisterstuck Solitaire 100 fountain pen was a release that was limited to just 100 pens. This beautiful pen is crafted in white gold and is structured with mammoth inlays. The handcrafted 18ct gold nib is inlaid with the Mont Blanc mountain massif. To top the pen off is a sparkling patented Top Wesselton diamond cut into a star shape.

Writers Limited Edition Fountain Pens

Every year since 1992 Montblanc have released a pen as a tribute to the great writers of world literature

Hemingway (1992)

 

Number made : 20,000 fountain pens
Pen Information
Coral red and dark brown precious resin with gold plated mountings and a rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib.

Agatha Christie (1993)

 

Released in two models, the Limited Edition and the Limited Edition 4810

Number made : Limited Edition - 23,000; Limited Edition 4810 - 4,810
Pen Information
Black precious resin with sterling silver and the snake’s eyes set with rubies. The nib is gold-plated 18-karat. The Limited Edition 4810 is gold-plated sterling silver and the snake’s head is set with sapphires.

Imperial Dragon (1993)

 

Released in two models, the Limited Edition and the Limited Edition 888.

Number made : Limited Edition - 3,500; Limited Edition 888 - 888
Pen Information
Made with a black resin barrel and features a solid gold dragon on the cap, the eyes are set with rubies on the Limited Edition and sapphires on the Limited Edition 888. The nib is rhodium-plated 18-karat gold.

Oscar Wilde (1994)

 

Number made : 20,000
Pen Information
The unconventionally decorated barrel and the many details hint at the passionate spirit of Oscar Wilde. Both the clip and the mountings are made of gold-plated 925 sterling silver. An engraved signature of the author decorates the cap of the pen.

Voltaire (1995)

 

Number made : 15,000
Pen Information
The barrel is black precious resin with gold 925 sterling silver mountings and an 18-karat gold nib.

Alexandre Dumas (1996)

 

Number made : 15,000
Pen Information
The barrel has a marbled precious resin finish with gold-plated mountings and inlays and a rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib.

Dostoevsky (1997)

 

Number made : 16,300
Pen Information
The black resin barrel is featured with a delicte ornamentation that carries on to the gold-plated rings and the nib. The clip is adorned with a domed sapphire-colored stone.

Edgar Allen Poe (1998)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
The cap and barrel features a midnight blue marbled finish with gold plated mountings and an 18-karat gold nib.

Marcel Proust (1999)

 

Number made : 17,000
Pen Information
The 8-sided barrel is adorned with delicate engravings and is made of 925 sterling silver as are the mountings. The rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib features an engraving of an hourglass.

Schiller (2000)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
The barrel is black resin while the cap is amber. Schiller’s signature is inscribed on the cap and the 18-karat gold nib is decorated with a small crossbow.

Charles Dickens (2001)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
The barrel is a green precious resin  with 925 sterling silver cap and mountings. The nib is rhodium-plated 18-karat gold.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (2002)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
The barrel is a shimmering white mother-of-pearl which contrasts to the black precious resin cap which is decorated with the signature of F Scott Fitzgerald. The 18-karat gold nib is engraved with a 1920s urban skyline.  

Jules Verne (2003)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
The barrel is made of bright blue lacquer with platinum-plated mountings and is surrounded by a guilloche consisting of evensized waves. The nib is rhodium-plated 18-karat gold.

Franz Kafka (2004)

 

Number made : 14,000
Pen Information
As tribute to Kafka’s work “The Moetamorphosis” the barrel of the pen transforms from round to square. The top, clip and rings are made from 925 sterling silver and the barrel is a dark, deep red.

Miguel De Cervantes (2005)

 

Number Made : 13,000
Pen Information
The body is made of brown marbled lacquer and is embellished with the writer’s signature. The 18-karat gold nib is engraved with the outline of a windmill.

Virginia Woolf (2006)

 

Number Made : 16,000
Pen Information
The barrel is jet-black precious resin with wave shaped guilloche on the barrel and cap. A faceted ruby is set on the clip and the nib is 18-karat gold engraved with two elm trees.

William Faulkner (2007)

 

Number made : 16,000
Pen Information
The barrel is black-brown shimmering precious resin that resolves into a platinum-plated upper body and cap with a subtle ring structure. The nib is hand-crafted 18-karat gold.

These are just a selection of the range of top quality Montblanc Fountain Pens available. For the opportunity to buy some of these fantastic pens, visit The Calligraphy Pen Store.

Lamy fountain pens have a strong reputation as sturdy, reliable pens that are comfortable to use. Lamy is one of the leading fountain pen manufacturers in Germany and the fountain pens are sought after the world over.

You can buy Lamy Fountain and Calligraphy Pens by visiting The Calligraphy Pen Store. 

The following is a selection of some of the most popular Lamy fountain pens on the market today. 

Lamy CP1 PTFountain Pen

This is the top of the line in the Lamy range and is a very sleek, cylindrical bodied pen made of solid stainless steel.

Lamy Accent Brilliant Finish Fountain Pen

This is a simply designed pen that is both durable and stylish. It includes a solid steel spring-mounted clip and the grip sections towards the end of the pen are interchangeable.

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen

The Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen has a classic design that has been in favor for decades. The pen is made of fiberglass reinforced Makloron with stainless steel accents. It’s a pen that is lightweight and easy to use. To refill this pen you must use an ink bottle rather than a changeable ink cartridge.

Lamy Joy Calligraphy Pen

The Lamy Joy is the company’s classic calligraphy pen. The holder is a smooth chiselled looking pen with a wire clip. The Lamy Joy Calligraphy Pen comes in three nib widths of 1.1, 1.5 or 1.9mm. This is an upscale lightweight shaped stem pen. The clip is flexible and made of spring brass wire and comes with a stainless steel nib of a varying chisel point.

Lamy Logo Fountain Pen

The Lamy Logo Fountain Pen is made of stainless steel with a cyclical matt finish and spring-mounted steel clip.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

The Lamy Safari pens are strikingly handsome looking pens that are incredibly durable. The Lamy Safari Italic fountain pen is contoured for a more comfortable grip and you can find them in a shiny black finish with a stainless steel nib which comes to a medium italic point. The Lamy Safari Fountain pens come in a range of colors such as black, white, charcoal, lime green, yellow, royal blue, bright red and blue and red. The available nib sizes are extra fine, fine, medium and broad.

Lamy Vista Fountain Pen

 

The Lamy Vista Fountain Pens come with a transparent casing that shows off the inner workings of the pen. The pen comes with the same Lamy pen clip that adorns the Lamy Safari. This pen comes with interchangeable ink cartridges.

Lamy AL Star Fountain Pen

The Lamy AL Star Faountain Pen takes its shape from the Safari range and is made from a lightweight durable aluminum with a comfortable grip. The pen comes with nibs in extra fine, fine, medium and broad.

These fountain pens are more on the Lamy page of The Calligraphy Pen Store.

This continues the presentation of scripts in which you can practice with your calligraphy pen. To date we have taken a look at Foundational Hand, Uncial Hand and Roman Capitals. This article is a presentation of one of the many Gothic Hands. Gothic script includes many variations such as Gothic Textura Quadrata, Gothic Quadrata Prescius, Pointed Quadrata Miniscule, and Modern Gothic Miniscule. Among the gothic majuscules are Modern Gothic Capitals, Gothic Capitals 1, Gothic Capitals 2 and Gothic Versal Capitals…the list goes on.

Gothic Hand

The defining characteristic of Gothic Hand is the extreme density that has also earned it the name ‘Black Letter”.

Scripts such as Gothic Textura Quadrata were named after the shape of the letters on the page. This script then refers to the square shape of the letters and the idea that the written page should look as though it has a woven texture.

When writing Gothic Hand try to remember that it is a dominant hand with letters to be grouped closely together. While constructing your letters try to keep the calligraphy pen at an angle of around 30 degrees. When drawing the hairlines, do so with the pen at a 90 degree or, for the letters ‘s’ and ‘x’, with the left hand point of the pen nib.

Medieval scribes had no official majuscule letters for their Gothic scripts so they tended to borrow from the Roman Capitals and Uncial Hand. Gothic majuscules should be used sparingly because, written in a block, the letters virtually become illegible.

Lettering Charts 

Gothic Majuscule

Gothic Miniscule

Your new calligraphy pen (or maybe even your old calligraphy pen) shouldn’t sit idly with nothing to do. So far we have explored two popular scripts, the Foundational Hand and the Uncial Hand. We will now add another alphabet to learn and practice.

Roman Capitals are a majuscule script. In other words the letters are only formed as capital letters.

A Roman Capitals alphabet sampler is supplied at the bottom of the page but first, here’s a brief history of the origins of Roman Capitals and some rules and tips to remember when forming the letters.

Origins of Roman Capitals

Going back over two thousand years to Ancient Rome and the letters inscribed in stone and marble by the master craftsmen of the time gives us the origins of this classic alphabet. Roman Capitals are probably the most important examples of letters that would come to greatly influence Western calligraphy.

The Roman Capital letterforms are based around the circle and the square and can be divided into four groups: circle within the square, three quarter width, half width and whole square.

Today’s Roman Capitals are not quite as opulent as the letters of ancient times with smaller, more elegant serifs now a feature.

Using Your Calligraphy Pen

When you form your Roman Capitals you need to ensure that your calligraphy pen maintains an angle of 30 degrees. When forming the diagonal strokes you alter the angle to 45 degrees and for elegance in the serifs go for an angle that is even flatter than 30 degrees.

The letters should be formed with some space around them so make sure you are conscious of not crowding them too closely together.

Roman Capitals rely on the geometric widths relative to the circle and square for their elegance. The widths are based on which groups the letters are formed. It is important to have a good understanding of how the letters are constructed before attempting to construct the whole alphabet.

The calligraphy pen nib you would be looking at using would be an edged or broad pen to write this script.

This is another entry in an ongoing series that presents some of the most common types of calligraphy alphabets. These alphabets are among the more popular, common and are used as a good starting point for beginner calligraphers. Other alphabets covered in this series include: Foundational hand, Roman Capitals, Gothic hand, Italic hand, Copperplate hand, Rustic hand, Carolingian hand, Batarde hand and Neuland hand.

Origins of Uncial Hand 

Uncial hand was developed around the 4th century AD or even earlier. It is composed of majuscules which have no corresponding miniscules to accompany them. The few letters that extend above the body of the letter - ‘D’, ‘H’ and ‘Q’ - are the first signs of ascenders and descenders that were to later come in miniscule script.

Uncial Form 

Uncial letters are very rounded and may not come naturally to anyone who normally writes compressed forms. All arches follow the round arches of the ‘O’. Ensure that you have your calligraphy pen at a flat angle to ensure that the marks are sufficiently thick and wide.

Letters that have slight ascenders or descenders should only be minimal in height, extending only between one or two nib widths. The letters are upright letters and should not be written with any slope. If you find that the letters begin to have a forward lean to them, you’re probably writing too quickly and need to slow down.

When composing this script you must be thinking ‘fat and flat’. When people run into problems with Uncials it is usually because the roundness of the characters is not being maintained. Uncial script is quite suitable for left-handers who should find writing uncial script very comfortable.