Things You'll Need:
- Fountain Pens
- Computer Access
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Step 1
Study resources on the Internet. There are many pen discussion boards and pen history sites available on the Internet, providing a wealth of information on virtually every type of fountain pen. See Resources.
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Step 2
Decide what type of pen you want to collect. If you are going to start a new collection, it is best to have a point of focus.Do you want antique pens, or new pens? If you want highly functional and reliable pens in your collection, you may want to collect more modern pens. Among antique pen collectors in the US, the Parker brand is very popular because of its relative availability, the high quality of old Parker pens and the high historical profile of Parkers.
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Step 3
Narrow you specialty even further. For example, some collect only the early Parker Duofolds while others prefer the later Parkers, such as the celebrated “51” series. Every pen brand has collector groups for the brand as a whole and often for specific models within the brand. Besides collecting brands, you may consider collecting an unusual shape or material of construction. Pre-ban ivory fountain pens are rare and desirable, as are some other exotic materials such as horn or rare woods. Precious metals are very expensive and desirable as well.
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Step 4
Get a storage cabinet for your pens. This may be an old pen sales display or a simple jewelry box or a pen display case. After you have scored that red hard-rubber 1921 Parker Senior Duofold in near mint condition, you don’t want your dachshund using it for a chew toy. Nor do you want your well-meaning daughter-in-law grabbing it to make a grocery list because she could not find a Bic Banana handy.
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Step 5
Shop the Internet carefully. There are many pens on eBay, sold by all sorts of vendors, many of whom are very good, responsible and respectable pen dealers, but many of whom are not. You can use eBay and other auction sites, but ask probing questions of the people selling the pens. Online I have seen many pens represented as things that they are not, such as a large red pen referred to as a Big Red, a common nickname for an early Parker Senior Duofold with a red barrel and cap. The pen being sold was a cheap, old pen from the 1950s and worth $10 in good condition. A real Big Red in similar condition would sell for around $150 or more. These vendors are attempting to prey upon inexperienced pen collectors. If you ask questions of a seller and they are not forthcoming, move on to the next seller.
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Step 6
Go to a pen show. There are numerous fountain pen collectors’ shows around the country where you will learn about antique and modern fountain pens. You may think that you want to collect Conway Stewarts when you go and end up discovering Pelikans while you are there. There is no greater learning opportunity for an aspiring pen collector than a pen show.
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Step 7
Visit pen shops. Sadly, these are few and far between now, but, again, they are great sources of information to the new pen collector.
Comments
msmiche said
on 3/20/2009 Hello,I couldn't agree with you more. I am 25 and begun collecting Parker pens a few years ago. However, if you are an aspiring collector who does not live in the US, fountainpennetwork.com is a great place to learn. There are four main benefits of this website.1.seasoned collectors readily answer the questions asked by newbies2.members regularly offer pens for sale especially when they have reached the point where they wish to collect a particular model3.the website is organised according to fora for specific brands, repairs and sales (Deal with buyers who take PayPal). Each forum is moderated by a seasoned collector who is well known within the pen collecting community. Veteran collectors offer pen repair services and also will walk you through your own repairs. 4.posts are searchable. Newbie collectors like I can see how much pens are worth and obtain photos of models and use this i