Pen Show Adventures: Dipping Back into Vintage, or Pursuing Vintage-Style Modern Pens?

March 25, 2023

Up front, I will admit that I’m neither a vintage collector nor even a vintage pen enthusiast, and my knowledge of most brands and specific models pale in comparison to others in this community. So take whatever I say regarding vintage pens and the vintage market with a (very) large grain of salt. That said, I attended both the Baltimore and Arkansas pen shows - and particularly Arkansas - looking to pick up a few vintage pens for my collection, mainly to replace certain models I wish I hadn’t let go during “catch and release” phases over the years.

Smaller shows like the Arkansas Pen Show make excellent opportunities to shop for vintage pens. Larger shows like D.C. can feel overwhelming, and because the shows are both crowded and geared towards higher-end collectors and sales between dealers, they can be difficult for the newbie or the casual buyer to navigate. Pens also tend to be more expensive because they are either more pristine collectors pieces, or outright overpriced. (I also advise people to adopt a “buyer beware” attitude at these larger shows. In my early days of collecting, I had more than one experience at D.C. where I purchased a vintage pen that later turned out to be “not as advertised,” to put it politely. More on this later, as I plan to update my vintage pen resources.)

My two vintage Parker 51 fountain pens, one of which includes a stub nib.

Vintage Pens Parker 51 Aurora 88 — I enjoy interesting vintage pens that I can still use on a daily basis, including both the Parker 51 and the Aurora 88.

Smaller shows - particularly shows run by a local pen club - are friendlier, with many of the “dealers” being club participants and collectors selling for “show money”, to rotate pens out of their own collection, and/or to help grow the hobby. Many are happy to talk with new enthusiasts, and will give you honest appraisals of pens, flaws and all. If you have to deal with the same show attendees and club members year after year, reputation matters. At the Arkansas Pen Show, I purchased two Parker 51s from Danny Fudge (aka “The Write Pen”), both of which are excellent “user grade” pens, expertly restored, with character. One had a broader nib that I had Matthew Chen shape to a semi-Naginata, and the other sports a hammered gold fill finish (“possibly by Ariel Kulloch”) with an excellent stub nib. The first pen cost me $100, and the second $175, which I consider to be very fair pricing for functional vintage pens restored by a reputable dealer.

The Tibaldi Bononia Vintage in Pomegranate (top) and Honeycomb (bottom). These are piston fillers with 18k gold nibs. The top is an oblique medium and the bottom a 1.1mm stub. Not sure if these two are going back to Vanness….

If You Don’t Want to Fiddle with Actual Vintage pens, the Current Market Has a TON of Vintage-Style Options

While vintage pens like the Parker 51 are fairly durable, easy to repair, and timeless, other models don’t translate as well to the experience sought by many modern users. For example, I’ve always admired the oversized Sheaffer Balance fountain pens, and have even owned a few over the years, but found the material prone to cracking and I’m not a huge fan of lever-fillers. Fortunately, these days you have a wide range of modern options in a similar “vintage” style, and I spent many hours next to the Vanness Pens table eyeing (1) the Tibaldi Bononia Limited Editions; (2) the modern Conway Stewart lineup in their classic materials; and (3) both the modern Onoto Magna and Scholar fountain pens, which have garnered rave reviews and which I’m in the process of reviewing. If you appreciate vintage design, but perhaps not the “adventurous” nature of writing with an actual vintage pen, you have plenty of options!

From left, the Tibaldi Bononia in Pomegranate, the Onoto Scholar in Mandarin, and the Tibaldi Bononia in Honeycomb

Lately, this trend has even started to extend beyond fountain pens. I wrote the entire first draft of this review on a series of airplane flights and in the back row at a work conference using an Anterique “Mach Ball” click pen. I love the aesthetics of vintage Bic Clic-style ballpoints, but generally can’t stand the refill. Anterique uses a .5mm low-viscosity hybrid gel-ballpoint ink refill that even fits some actual vintage ballpoints.

Stay tuned, because Anterique is doing some really fun stuff, and I just received a big box in the mail….

If you’re not a purist, you can sometimes find the best of both worlds: vintage-style design without the unpredictability of finicky filling systems or refills. As a user of fountain pens and other writing instruments, as opposed to a collector, I’m equally drawn to both vintage writing instruments and quality modern alternatives. It certainly offers a wider range of options to enjoy everyday writing!

This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links or advertising. Vanness Pens did loan me certain of the pens pictured in this review. I am not being compensated for content, and The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Baltimore has a wide selection of approachable vintage dealers, like my table-neighbor Harold!

2023 Baltimore Pen Show Recap: A Reliably Good Mid-Size Pen Show

March 15, 2023

Most pen shows fall into three categories: (1) crazy-big shows like the D.C. Pen Show, which often occupy multiple hotel ballrooms filled with vendors from around the world; (2) mid-size shows that host most major vendors but can fit into a single large event space or two smaller ballrooms at a hotel; and (3) smaller regional shows that are held in a single hotel ballroom or even a community space like a library or student center. The Baltimore Pen Show falls firmly into this middle category, and has remained one of the best mid-size shows on the circuit over the past five years.

Though this is a shot from the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show, this panorama gives a good idea of how the show is laid out. It hasn’t changed much.

What Makes the Baltimore Pen Show a Reliably Positive Experience?

In my opinion, several different factors combine to make the Baltimore Pen Show a success:

Location. Baltimore is centrally located on the East Coast, with its own major international airport and a show hotel that’s reachable via hotel shuttle or a short taxi/rideshare ride. The hotel itself isn’t luxurious, but it has ample event space for this show, a good bar layout for after-hours events, and pretty good food, as far as “airport Marriott” hotels go.
Vendor Mix. Baltimore has a near-perfect mix of modern pen retailers, vintage vendors, and independent makers. In fact, I would say it draws the best combination of exhibitors for a show this size, which, as discussed below is great because the show typically isn’t as crowded as other major pen shows.
Attendance Levels. While Baltimore tends to be a well-attended show (depending heavily on the unpredictable weather in early March), traffic is never as heavy as D.C. or San Francisco, the setup features spaced tables and wide aisles, and the show draws many of the same vendors as larger events. For example, if you have claustrophobic tendencies (like me) and don’t particularly enjoy elbowing your way to the front of a crowd for a chance to look at the Franklin-Christoph demonstrators in D.C., consider visiting the Baltimore Pen Show.

This year I did something different: Rather than photographing the show, I tried to take a few videos to give readers - particularly those who have never had the opportunity to visit a show - a sense of what it’s like to walk the floor. These were all posted to Instagram Reels, and since they received an overwhelmingly positive reaction, I’ll plan to take more of these this weekend in Arkansas.

Franklin-Christoph in Baltimore: Still crowded, but a bit less of a fight!

A Few Reflections on Attending Shows as a Vendor

This year’s Baltimore Pen Show was the second show I’ve attended as a vendor (as opposed to going as an attendee or working behind the table for someone else). With your own table, it’s definitely more difficult to break away to explore the show, since you have to worry about missing customers who might stop by looking for you, and theft is always a concern. (So far, I haven’t heard any horror stories, but it’s generally much harder to steal stuff when the show isn’t extremely crowded.) What doesn’t change is the opportunity to meet up and hang out with friends and attendees after-hours, including several Patreon supporters who stopped by the table and the bar to visit and swap pen show stories. While Vanness Pens and T.G.S. were supposed to have a meetup space available to use throughout the weekend for demonstrations and seminars, our tables ended up getting moved at the last minute and we lost our demonstration space. Show logistics can be tricky!

I sort of very much regret not bringing home this vintage Mr. Peanut mechanical pencil.

Vintage wares weren’t limited to fountain pens - a dealer near me had a wide array of vintage bullet pencils (in addition to several Mr. Peanuts).

Up Next: Come Visit T.G.S. at the 2023 Arkansas Pen Show!

After a brief trip home to get caught up on orders, pet my dogs, and repack the car, I’m off to Little Rock for the 2023 Arkansas Pen Show! I’ll be bringing a slightly different assortment of goods to this smaller show that tends to be highly local. Current plans include some of the Hightide Sandglasses, Folding Metal Book Stands, the T.G.S.-exclusive Penwell and other desk accessories; more Write Notepads paper, and of course favorites such as the Lochby Cases and Washi Tape. If you plan to attend the show and would like to make a specific request, either message me or place an order online using the coupon code “615PICKUP” at checkout to drop the shipping charge. Also, don’t forget that our Baltimore Pen Show online special runs through the end of the day today: claim 10% off your order using the code “PENSHOW10”!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not contain paid third-party advertising or affiliate links.

The Franklin-Christoph table open for business! Friday in Baltimore is much less crazy than the Friday rush at D.C.

Baltimore Pen Show: Day One Friday Recap

March 11, 2023

It’s always a bit different writing pen show recaps from a behind-the-table perspective, as opposed to walking the show and visiting with friends and vendors. It’s still fun to attend the show, in that you get to visit with show attendees and customers, but you’re more or less stuck in one place and have to rely on people coming to you, as opposed to being able to go seek out all that a given show has to offer. Either today or tomorrow, I’m going to look for a lull in show traffic to walk the floor and take more pictures so that I can give you a better reflection of what all was on display.

It was fun to be able to set up the shop in-person, which gives me plenty of ideas for the future.

Regardless, Baltimore is always a fun show! It’s traditionally been my first pen show of the year, and I always try to attend because it’s a LOOONG gap between San Francisco at the end of August and Baltimore at the beginning of March. There’s a lot of pent-up demand, and Baltimore presents an opportunity to browse in a calmer, less crowded environment than a larger show like D.C. or San Francisco.

Conway Steward Duro in Razorshell — This gorgeous Conway Stewart Duro in Razorshell acrylic is still available at the Vanness Pens table. If it doesn’t sell by Sunday, I can’t promise that it’s going back to Arkansas.

Friday in Baltimore tends to be an odd day. The show opens to the public at 11:00am, which is an awkward start time so things typically don’t pick up until mid-afternoon. If you’re attending this show from out-of-town, always try to attend on Friday (especially Friday morning) because the “Saturday Rush” is a real thing. Popular tables such as Franklin-Christoph, Kanilea Pen Company, and Edison Pens, among others, will still have most of their show-special stock, and popular regular-stock items will be available from the other vendors, including vintage traders.

Surprisingly, paper has been the smash hit of the show - not just for me but for many other vendors. Because it’s expensive to ship, especially if bought in quantity, you can sometimes save a significant amount of money by picking it up in person at shows.

What You Shouldn’t Miss if You’re Attending the Baltimore Pen Show

Our Own Table! As you can see from the photo above, we’ve had a lot of fun organizing our layout and displaying the eclectic selection of goods we brought with us. Though we’re limited by what we could fit into suitcases, we do have the full line of Lochby cases, a full Traveler’s Notebook setup that will allow you to build a notebook, and a selection of pens from Nahvalur, TWSBI, and Penco. If you can’t visit us in person at the show, be sure to take advantage of our Pen Show weekend discount, using the coupon code “PENSHOW10” at checkout to get 10% off your online order (excluding certain brands like TWSBI which cannot be discounted).
Vanness Pens. Our friends at Vanness are right next door to us, and they brought a selection of Vinta Inks, special release Midori Paper, and Conway Stewart and Onoto Pens. Like us, they are running a pen show weekend special sale on ink, so visit their site to take advantage if you can’t come to the show in person.
Dromgooles. Dromgoole’s from Houston, Texas brought a huge selection of ink, with Jessie from the Well-Appointed Desk doing ink consulting if you’re looking for that perfect shade.
Schon DSGN. Ian brought all the new finishes this year, in addition to a selection of Monoc nibs, I hear! I haven’t had a chance to peruse his table but I hope to make it over there today.
Franklin-Christoph. I expect to see a big crowd around the Franklin-Christoph table when they release their tray of prototypes on Saturday morning.
Edison Pens. Now that things are relatively back to normal on the pen show circuit, it’s great to see Edison attending shows again. I’m looking for one of their oversized Collier fountain pens with the No. 8 nib….
Kanilea Pen Company. Finally, be sure to visit Hugh and Karol at their home show! Kanilea always brings their full lineup of available standard releases, plus
Bespoke Makers. Baltimore always has a wide range of bespoke makers in attendance, and unfortunately I can’t give you the full roster but you can view it here on the Baltimore Pen Show website.

I hope you can make it! Look for a full recap early next week, with more pictures from the show.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not contain affiliate links or paid third-party advertising.

Pen Show Prep: What's Coming With Us to Baltimore?

March 7, 2023

It’s time for our first pen show of 2023! This coming weekend, we’re headed to the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show, and I wanted to take a brief moment to talk about how we’ll be set up and what we’ll be doing over the three days of the show.

There should be plenty of the new Lochby Quattro pen cases available!

Come Visit Us at Our Table

We currently plan to have a table alongside our friends at Vanness Pens! Because I’ll be flying to this show (and navigating bag weight limits, etc.), I’ll be somewhat limited in what I can carry with me, but I plan to have on site the full range of Lochby and Traveler’s Company products, so that those of you who visit the table will be able to assemble your own notebook and/or pick up accessories.

Those who want to try Midori MD and Midori MD Cotton paper in person will be in luck, as I’ll have testers at the table.

We will also have a limited selection of paper and accessories from Midori, Write Notepads, and Hightide, as well as pens from Penco, TWSBI, and Nahvalur! If what you're looking for isn’t available for purchase on-site, I will try to bring a sample of most items, and you’ll be able to place an order using a special coupon code available at the table which will give you a special discount as a thank-you for coming to see us in person.

If you’d like to pick up an order in person, go ahead and check out in the store using the coupon code “615PICKUP”. Certain things are in relatively low supply at the moment, like T.G.S. Penwells, so if you’ve had your eye on one of these it may be best to buy in advance. I will e-mail everyone who uses this code to confirm they will be picking up in person. That said, please exercise discretion. I will not be able to carry heavy items like 6 notebooks to the show, and if you place an order like this I will have to ship. If you have questions about what’s possible, please ask!

Seminars and Meetups

One of my favorite aspects of the pen show experience is hanging out with readers and friends after-hours, and also taking courses on pen collecting, pen repair, journaling, and more. I’ll be offering at least one session hosting a seminar on stationery for everyday writing, much as I did all the way back in 2020, and if there’s enough demand we’ll have a second session.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. This post does not include paid advertisements or third-party affiliate links.

2023 Pen Show Schedule: T.G.S. at the Baltimore and Arkansas Pen Shows!

February 17, 2023

Mark your calendars! Just a quick note to let you all know that we will be at both the Baltimore Washington International Pen Show and the Arkansas Pen Show next month! Stay tuned for details on exactly what we’ll be bringing with us, but you can look forward to plenty of notebooks and cases from Lochby and Traveler’s Company, including the ability to put together your own notebook cover + refills at the table. I’ll also be teaching a workshop at both shows, more details to come.

I will have some limited ability to bring shop orders for pickup. If you would like to place an order for pickup at the pen show, and it’s a smaller item (i.e., not a 30-min Sandglass), go ahead and check out and use the coupon code 615PICKUP at check out to drop the shipping charge. Send an e-mail to joe (at) gentlemanstationer.com, noting the order number and the show you will be attending. As always, if you have any questions, just reach out.