February 2, 2019

Despite the challenge, I enjoyed last year’s self-imposed schedule of writing here more regularly about the books, movies and music I had experienced that month. This year I have decided I will think and write about the objects that ‘spark joy’ in me whenever I use them. As anyone who has ever visited our house would testify, we do not follow the advice of Marie Kondo when it comes to Tidying Up™. These are a few objects from that domestic mess that give me pleasure whenever I use them and I want to explore why I have that relationship with each.

I thought I should start with the elephant in the room; fountain pens. I have many fountain pens, use them regularly and enjoy each one. I can’t include each one individually though.

Does this mean the pen above is my Desert Island Disc pen — the one I would rush into the waves to save? No, not necessarily, but it is a great favourite and one I always enjoy using. This pen is a Sailor King of Pen, a big fountain pen with a massive #9 broad nib. The body is made from a hard rubber called ‘ebonite’ that was originally glossy and highly polished. It turns out that the ultraviolet in sunlight is bad for pens and ebonite in particular. My pen sits in a Dudek block when not in use; on my desk, in a bay window, facing south! The boundary between gloss and matte sits just at the point where the pen sticks out of the silo in the block. I like to think it adds character, marking this pen as a workhorse.

For the size of it, it is a very light pen so it’s easy to use for long writing sessions. The nib puts down a very juicy broad line but can also (thanks to Mr John Sorowka) be flipped-over to be used as a fine pen. Juts zoom into that nib and look at all that gorgeous scrollwork, straight out of the 19th century!

Spark


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