Happy Fountain Pen Day to all you pen enthusiasts out there. I'm on the road today, so I won't be able to post tomorrow. This is just a reminder that the Gentleman Stationer's Fountain Pen Day giveaway ends at Midnight on Friday, November 7 (tomorrow). I will announce a winner on Saturday, and the winner will have until Midnight, CST Monday to claim his or her prize. Here's a link to the post in case you missed it the first time around. The usual giveaway rules apply: leave a comment in the giveaway post, and I will number each comment received and randomly draw a winner. If the first winner doesn't claim the prize, I will draw another, and repeat until someone claims the pen!

So how will I be spending Fountain Pen Day? I'm in New York City all weekend, a great place for pen, stationery and book shopping. Granted, it's not as good as it used to be (R.I.P. Art Brown), and every day it seems that stores we used to think of as "institutions" are closing to make way for generic chains, but compared to what we have available here in the Nashville, Tennessee area, there are more than enough to keep me busy for two days. What's on my list?

Fountain Pen Hospital: Unfortunately the last independent brick and mortar dedicated pen store left in NYC. I'm going to try to make it down to FPH, but since I'm in a conference for most of the day on Friday, and they're closed on the weekend, it may not be in the cards this trip.
Kinokuniya Bookstore: THE place to go in NYC (if not the entire United States) to buy your Hi-Tec-C's, Signo DXs, Sharbo's, .5mm Jetstreams and Acroballs, Sarasas, Coletos, etc. Did I mention they stock the entire line of Midori Traveler's Notebook refills?
Sam Flax: Harry Marks reminded me of this one, which I had completely forgotten about. They have a great selection of paper and notebooks, including Quo Vadis and Rhodia.
Muji: This trip will be my first in which I'm going to try to visit Muji. They have a wide array of gel pens and paper, which I've seen reviewed favorably.

If I'm missing anything, give me a shout. I'm always looking for new places to visit and new products to try.

I won't rehash a review of Joe Rodgers' Office Supply in Cleveland, Tennessee (outside of Chattanooga), but if you're ever in the area, it's every bit as good as Bob from My Pen Needs Ink makes it out to be. (Link Here to his Review). They have a large fountain pen section at the front of the store that features Conklin, Delta, Visconti, Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer, Lamy, and well, lots of other brands. They also have a floor to ceiling ink cabinet that is packed full of ink, including THIS:

J.B.'s "in the wild" Montblanc Bordeaux find.

Don't go inundating them with phone calls, now, because I got the last bottle. However, they did have some late-1990's vintage bottles of Montblanc Black, Emerald Green, and Ruby Red. I picked up a bottle of Ruby Red as well but have not tried it out yet. The best part? This:

Apparently the owners became Montblanc dealers in the late 1990s, but are in the process of liquidating their stock because the pens did not sell well.  They had a few smaller pens remaining, priced very well, but nothing screamed at me and I w… — Apparently the owners became Montblanc dealers in the late 1990s, but are in the process of liquidating their stock because the pens did not sell well. They had a few smaller pens remaining, priced very well, but nothing screamed at me and I was saving my money for D.C.

Apologies for the blurry pic, but yes, they honored that price. $8.25 for a bottle of discontinued Montblanc Bordeaux, which I might add, is probably the best burgundy ink I have ever used. I compared it to the new Burgundy color at the DC Pen Show Ink testing station and the new ink is much lighter.

Unfortunately, I stopped by Joe Rodgers on a brief detour from a work trip, so I did not have time to seriously root around. Who knows what else you might find?