What kind of pen did HPL use?

[Curt Chiarelli]

I remember reading a snippet where he wrote to a friend that he (Lovecraft) was getting married in order to make use of neglected Georgian architecture. It struck me as something you'd never read in any of his tales; very whimsical and ironic.

Regarding the way he talked, its a pity we have no recording of it. Like Orwell, he's one of those last great writers to remain silent to posterity.

I checked out Waterman pens, BTW. Very classy. No idea about the 'self-filling Conklin, though. Must have been a twenties thing.

Hi J-WO:

Yes, J.D. is correct. Waterman brand fountain pens were prefered by H.P.L. and, considering his conservative tastes, black was the colour of choice for the barrel as well as the ink. Although later drawing heavy criticism for accuracy, his friend Frank Belknap Long recalled in his memoirs how Lovecraft's selection process could be the despair of any pen salesman as it would last practically most of the day. (And it is here that we obtain some insight into another quality of the man which is less than commented upon by many scholars: his tendency towards obsessive/compulsive behaviour.)

I own a few Watermans (the Opera and the blue Patrician) and they represent the apex of the art of pen making - then as now. However that may be so, my hands-down favourite is a black Sailor 1911 International with a music nib - that's the warhorse which carries me through the day. (I can be as fussy as H.P.L. when it comes to the heft and feel of pens, brushes or any instrument used to create art. I guess it's an artist's prerogative.)

Concerning the Conklin brand: it was an American company that began manufacturing rubber bladder filled fountain pens in the late 1880s. No less a personage than Mark Twain publicly touted their performance. And at the time they were probably the best that late 19th century technology could produce, but they still had an annoying tendency for the bladders to rot and then leak due to the corrosive action of the ink. As I recall, the company - stubbornly refusing to change over to the superior piston filling technology developed by Pelikan in the late 1920s (as did Waterman and many other companies - in fact they were sued for patent infringment by Pelikan) - went out of business in the 1940s.

 

[J-WO]

Hi J-WO:


(I can be as fussy as H.P.L. when it comes to the heft and feel of pens, brushes or any instrument used to create art. I guess it's an artist's prerogative.)

Absolutely! Weight and balance is all! If a pen feels wrong it doesn't matter how classy it is--its just wrong.

Thanks for explaining the Conklin. I never knew pens used to have rubber bladders in them- handy knowledge if I ever want to set a story at the turn of the century.

Ever since reading the replies to this thread I keep spotting Waterman pens whenever I'm about town. I'm more of a Cross and/or Lamy kind of chap but I may have to broaden my horizons.

 

[j d worthington]

I'm afraid I'm not at all knowledgeable about fountain pens; but I have had a fair amount of dealing with Curt, and seen his artwork and penmanship and, based on both, I'd be willing to take his word about this without hesitation.

Long's memoir (Howard Phillips Lovecraft: Dreamer on the Nightside) is a peculiar thing -- it offers some wonderful insights, and a very warm portrait of the man; but is riddled with errors as well, and should be taken very cautiously. However, on this matter, it is in agreement with writings he did much closer to the event, as well as accounts by others who knew Lovecraft; so the accuracy here is likely to be quite high.

 

[J-WO]

Having read your post, JD, I took the opportunity to google Mr Chiarelli's artwork. Blumin' 'eck, that's some talent! Visionary stuff, whether in ink or sculpture.

As for Long's memoir, riddled with errors though it maybe (not that I've read it) I think the pen-quibbling anecdote would have to be true, even if no other accounts of it existed. Having to stand around for an hour or more while his friend ummed and arred over writing implements would be a hard memory for FBL to shift. Poor guy.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Absolutely! Weight and balance is all! If a pen feels wrong it doesn't matter how classy it is--its just wrong.

Thanks for explaining the Conklin. I never knew pens used to have rubber bladders in them- handy knowledge if I ever want to set a story at the turn of the century.

Ever since reading the replies to this thread I keep spotting Waterman pens whenever I'm about town. I'm more of a Cross and/or Lamy kind of chap but I may have to broaden my horizons.

Hi J-WO:

Yes, even fountain pens have a sort of evolutionary timeline! Piston filled are the best and no self respecting pen ever drinks from anything but a proper inkwell!

Okay, silliness aside, Cross produces an excellent fountain pen. That sense of heft and solidity that only brass can give you is very much in evidence. And (outside of the Waterman) Cross is the only pen on the market that has the cap snap - instead of screw - on top. Very expensive to machine and a neat extra feature. I can see why you favour it! The old style Watermans also had barrels fabricated out of solid, turned brass with a sheath of richly etched or tinted acrylic molded over it. Elegant and substantial - a tribute to an era where the concept of disposable was considered anathema.

And thank you for your kind comments regarding my work! Okay, back to my mudpies!

 

[kiskadee]

Wow! Who knew that pens were so important. very informative thread.

 

[Extollager]

Wouldn't it be something if one of HPL's recordings had survived? It would be interesting to hear that voice.

Most of the recordings of J. R. R. Tolkien's voice are amateur recordings. His friend George Sayer recorded him reading from The Hobbit and from Lord of the Rings when it was a manuscript that, it seemed, might never be published. There is also a home-made recording, with Tolkien not only doing the voices but the sound effects (e.g. squeaky wagon, as I recall), of his "Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son."

Algernon Blackwood was recorded for British television as the "ghost story man"! But apparently none of those recordings survive.

The lost recording that I wonder about most is the conversation about science fiction between Brian Aldiss (Frankenstein Unbound, Greybeard, Non-Stop, etc.), Kingsley Amis (The Alteration, the Spectrum anthologies, etc.), and C. S. Lewis (Perelandra etc). The transcript has been published in various places but I have been unable to find out where the recording ended up.

The thought of HPL recording on wax cylinders naturally recalls "The Whisperer in Darkness."

 

[J-WO]

In the internet age they'll be no more thing as a silent writer, I guess.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Wow! Who knew that pens were so important.

Very. In the age of e-mail and texting (and their attendant corruptions of the language), the idea of the individual expressiveness of analogue technology seems rather foreign. In this regard, the fountain pen remains the ne plus ultra of that kind of experience.

Back in Lovecraft's day, fountain pen nibs were generally made of a much softer gold alloy that simulated the highly flexible metal nibs found on dip pens in the late 19th Century. The strokes were correspondenly more expressive and personel, perfectly suited for the highly personal nature of written correspondence. The end result was the parallel development of Spencerian script and the metal dip pen nib.

With the advent of ball point technology (and its ink, which is actually a viscous paste), fountain pen nibs became more rigid to compensate because the public was now so much more accustomed to pressing down hard to make an impression. Thus the modern hand typically destroyed the softer, more pliant nibs of an older generation.

 

[j d worthington]

A very good response there, Curt; and it addresses the matter very informatively. As you know, Lovecraft himself was very aware of such matters, and even used this aspect in his tales, just as he did the subtle differences in each individual's manner of expressing themselves even when imitating others (cf. "The Whisperer in Darkness"), using it as a method of conveying subtleties of character and metamorphoses (as in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, "Cool Air", and the like). In fact, there has been more than one critical article on Lovecraft examining this particular motif and its meanings....

For those interested, Poe wrote a set of delightfully pointed sketches on "Autography" wherein he examined the writing and signatures of numerous literary figures of his day. While these can be found online, it is much better if you can find printings of them in such places as Mabbott's Tales and Sketches volumes, which include the original autographs; this proving rather helpful for following some of Poe's commentaries.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Thank you J.D. (Your humble servant now gives a heaving, nostalgic sigh for the power of a bygone era and its craftsmanship mentality.)

Along this line of inquiry, scientists are finding increasing evidence that handcrafting art the old fashioned way engages and stimulates more parts of the brain, whereas working on the computer does precisely the opposite. So, logically, may we draw the conclusion that digital tech is lowering the human intellect, in toto? In many regards it's corrupting human relations and standards of conduct. Yet, paradoxically, without the internet this site and many of the benefits and friendships derived from it as a matter of course would not exist.

As a thought experiment, what would H.P.L. do if he were alive today and had a laptop! Would he throw over his Waterman for a Samsung? He was a man who reached out to others for connection and the internet certainly does facilitate that, but not with any kind of depth or permanence. Without question, H.P.L. yearned for the richness that only depth of character and the interaction between intellectual equals could provide. And by extension, would he develop his intellect and literacy skills as highly amongst the distractions of the age of video games and texting?

 

[j d worthington]

It cannot be said with certainty, of course, but I think he would look at the laptop (and computers in general) rather askance (save, perhaps, when it comes to their enhancing our abilities where the sciences are concerned). He did write a few letters to people on a typewriter, but always abominated the things for such purposes, and I rather doubt this technology would be any different. As I understand it, he felt he knew a person much better by reading their letters, especially when hand-written; so that, too, would play a major part in such a decision, I think.

As for the other part of your question... I fear that, if he did get involved in such technologies, it might have had at least a slightly deleterious effect; but this, too, is impossible to say. Certainly, there are some wonderful literary sites available, things which offer books which were difficult to come by even in HPL's time, and which he would likely find of considerable use. (These might also have prevented him making certain blunders he committed in his fiction by relying on the very sort of "second-hand scholarship" for which he chided Poe.)

On the research you point to... that is one of the odd dichotomies of this technology, just as is the fact that so much of the internet is devoted to pornography, yet at the same time there is so much more information available through this medium on the sciences, literature, religious studies, the arts, and so many other things which enhance our lives. Not to mention that an increasing number of successful (as well as unsuccessful) relationships seem to be the result of encounters via this little tool, which allows for stepping outside the traditional methods of meeting, dating, and courtship. I think, personally, one of the major problems is the speed with which communication happens, which in turn allows for a certain laziness in attentive or critical reading/thinking which even the pulps or best-sellers did not quite reach. Yet, at the same time, as noted, the greatest thinkers around (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Neil deGrasse Tyson, etc.) are also often using this medium to get their ideas out there (and encouraging people to increase their learning, critical skills, and healthy skepticism. And even on something like YouTube, you can find a surprising number of very intelligent people holding dialogues on, or addressing philosophical, scientific, artistic, religious, or other intellectually-demanding topics. Without meaning to be trite, it at times makes me think of that too-oft-repeated opening of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities....

 

[dask]

The CBS Sunday Morning Show did a segment on fountain pens this morning, showing pens from the twenties such as the pen F. Scott Fitzgerald used. I didn't think such a thing would be interesting, but it was --- kinda.

 

[J-WO]

Any idea what brand of fountain?

 

[dask]

I've got it recorded. Will try to find it before I inadvertently record over it.

 

[J-WO]

Ta very much. Reason I ask is, all being well, I may get to do an article on famous people's choice of pens*. Long way off though.


*(As journalism goes its not exactly Watergate, I know...)

 

[dask]

Well, the guy didn't say much except the pens (a set of three) are from the twenties and are made of "ivory and black onyx." No brand name is mentioned. Not much help, sorry.

 

[J-WO]

Still interesting though. Thanks.

 

[dask]

Ta very much. Reason I ask is, all being well, I may get to do an article on famous people's choice of pens*. Long way off though.


*(As journalism goes its not exactly Watergate, I know...)

Journalism? Hmmm...maybe my response above is a little too sloppy to do any good at all. I rewatched that part of the report and the lady interviewing the pen collector said he had a whole section of pens "in honor of writers" and the word she used to describe that type of pen sounded for all the world like "monboric" and I listened to it at least a dozen times and that's as close as I can get. The camera panned several pen cases and I viewed it frame by frame but could not get a legible visual. The collector also said, in addition to being "ivory with black onyx" it was also a "1920 jazz-age pen", not a twenties pen. If he was being accurate and not just generalizing then this means the pen wasn't a twenties pen at all, as 1920 being the tenth year of the second decade would make it a teens pen. That's about all I can wring out of that particular piece of tape. Good luck with the article.

 

[J-WO]

Thanks, Dask, your info should give me some 'leads'. Wow. I got to use that term at last!