*Blows off the dust* I cannot believe that is been almost ten years since i penned this, and yet again it feels like a lifetime ago.
Merry Go Round Dreams
He came to me all in a day,
from a time and place so far way.
Want me he did ,
but from him I hid
afraid to face the offer he gave.
Fearful he'd steal me away from all that I knew.
By and by his overtures bludgeoning me,
tripping through my mind,
deliberately seeping into my heart
all day long.
Even as a lie down to bed
glided gently into Morpheus' grasp
he remained in my head.
Vivid,
alive
as the very stars,
scintillating in the pitch sky.
Wraith-like
his frail frame,
in the saddle atop is wooden steed.
Dark as night,
bounding across the recesses of my mind.
Spinning, whirling,
the closer he came
the stronger his beckonings were.
Eyes as brown and soft as old beach glass,
stared from between thickets of long lashes.
Very dark eyes,
windows
into an even darker soul.
Like pools of cool water
on a long summers day.
His smile,
full rose cupid's bow pout,
like warm sunshine playing through the
fresh spring foliage.
Sweet and shy.
As he neared
aware I became of his hair,
its beauty.
Tumbling over his shoulders,
like rivulets of nearly raven tigereye.
Spiraling, twisting
in loose curves and rings,
framing his face in all its soft glory.
A fine boyish face,
forlorn
smooth as ice cream,
with a slight nose.
In the saddle
embellished with tiny shards of mirror
his tenuous form rested.
Atop his grand steed
the tone of black satin,
its neck elegantly curved,
hair as untamed as its rider.
Graceful its body,
just like its rider.
His fine hands
resting on fine legs
dangling along powerful midnight flanks.
Above them his body,
lean and compact,
sitting in the saddle like that of a prince.
His cries now tearing at my heart,
invading my soul.
But still I do not wish to go,
to fall into that hole.
Want me he still does
from him I still hide.
Though when I awoke
a piece of my heart he did break,
and take
a ransom
to lure me back,
by and by,
day in and day out.
Here is it warts and all, about someone from my past who will remain unnamed for all eternity unless he comes here and reveals himself, which thankfully seems unlikely.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Harper vs. Harper
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| Raven digs the guy on the left |
Warm, living, breathing musician, or some comic book hero? Now you know where I stand, obviously in the minority if I were to go with what internet searches yield. Do yourself a favor and check out the Roy Harper on the left, he might just change the way you think.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Wilhelmina
Meet Wilhelmina, she's been living in my barn since May. Fate brought us together in a very unusual and unexpected way.
Some of you might be asking what this beastie is, and I'll tell you. She's a Heidelberg Original (better know as a Windmill) single color platen printing press. For awhile I had always, half seriously alluded to wanting to have my own printing press, yet I never thought it would happen.
Off and on I'd been doing a little research online about letterpress ownership and most of the time the cost of just acquiring a press was prohibitive, especially considering that I was a minimum wage factory girl at the time. Seeing that there were other people that had their own private press only pushed me harder to find one of my own. For those who don't know Raven has an extensive background in printing, beginning in trade school at age 16 (where letterpress was still taught) to a four year university degree. Many of the people who had their own presses came from a fine arts background instead of a technical one I found, so going into this I knew I had a leg up on them.
Wilhelmina (named so because she's German) came from a local auction that sells just about everything (mostly junk, like 1980s furniture), a place where most people wouldn't expect to find a printing press. This turned out to be a good thing for me, I now have my own press and it was affordable even with hiring a truck to have it dropped off at the barn. I the next couple of weeks I hope to have it moved into it's final position and off the skid. And although I was hoping to have it up and running before the holidays it didn't happen and probably won't until after the new year.
She runs and feeds paper excellently!
Please check in for further updates.
Some of you might be asking what this beastie is, and I'll tell you. She's a Heidelberg Original (better know as a Windmill) single color platen printing press. For awhile I had always, half seriously alluded to wanting to have my own printing press, yet I never thought it would happen.
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| Ink Cement: Very filthy on arrival, this is what years of neglect will do to a press. |
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| Some of the junk that was cleaned out from inside. |
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| All clean again. |
Please check in for further updates.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Fountain Pens For the Beginner
Where to start? This can be an overwhelming question when one considers the world of vintage fountain pens, or fountain pens in general. There is so much to choose from, so much to take into consideration and also so much to be learned. Believe it or not I was here once, over five years ago now, wondering what kind of pen I wanted and where I could even find that pen for a price I felt was fair. Before I even acquired my first fountain pen I remember looking at them locked up in cases at antique shops pondering how I was ever going to justify buying something so expensive and knowing so little about it. Knowing what I do now, I realize that all of those pens were way over priced for what they were and the condition they were in- dirty, unrestored, some of them inferiorly produced dime store models priced at $30.00 +. This is why it is best to start out doing some research on what you are looking for. I will admit that I didn't do that until I had my first pen in hand and again was washed over by that overwhelming feeling. Luckily I did pick out a decent pen, in easily repairable condition for a fair price- and looking back on it now I really do realize what dumb luck I had because there are a lot of bad pens out there and some while not bad are just not a good place for the beginner to begin. A word of wisdom to consider- just because it pen is vintage does not mean it is good pen, cheaply made pens were sold by the millions and although inferior in construction there are still many of them in existence today. Purchasing one of these and having a poor experience with it is not the way to start out with fountain pens.
My first ever fountain pen was this Parker Parkette pictured above, while nothing to write home about in terms of looks or condition it was a great place to start. I found it at a flea market for $8.00 and the person who sold it to me cautioned me I would have to have it sent out for repairs, which of course we know is not the case. That afternoon when I arrived home I started doing searches online about fountain pen repair and parts and I took it from there. Much to my surprise, this little pen once back in working order proved to be a wonderful writer with a slightly springy, buttery smooth 14K gold medium nib.
The Parker Pen Company produced Parker Parkettes as a lower end pen throughout the 1930s and offered several different models over the years, with the pen pictured above being the most common. It should be noted that some Parkettes came fitted with steel nibs, some of which are deceivingly plated with a gold-tone metal, in my experience these do not write as nicely as the gold nibs but don't let it stop you from buying the pen as they are still better than what comes fitted in other similarly priced models. Parkettes are lever fillers, which are simple to repair and take a size 20 straight sac, the furniture it gold plated and prone to wearing. Colors produced include green, burgundy, black, grey, grey with red swirls, copper and blue, with green, burgundy and black being the most common. Deluxe models were made and can be distinguished from the standard models by their faceted shape.
Common pricing- up to $50, depends on condition, color and whether the pen has been repaired.
My most commonly recommend pen for the vintage fountain pen neophyte is the Esterbrook J and there is a good reason for this. All members of the J family use a nib/feed assemblage that are called Re- New Points, which are interchangeable and just screw out. Most other fountain pens have friction fit nibs that have to be knocked out to change them and then different nib options are not always widely available and expensive. Re- New points, all made of steel come in many different thicknesses and variations some of which are still readily available as new old stock. So if you don't like the nib the pen came with you can always buy several others to try until you find one you like. One unintended consequence of these easily removable nibs is they also make cleaning your pen really fast and easy. Just screw out the nib feed assemblage and soak it in a glass of water, while flushing the pen without the nib.
Like the Parkette, Esterbrooks are all lever fillers making repair easy. The furniture is stainless steel and very resistant to wear and brassing. The pens themselves are made out of many different colors of celluloid- some of the most common colors are shown above excluding the pinstriped 'icicle' pattern, which much harder to find. As you might have noticed, the J family includes several different models. Introduced sometime around 1943 the Transitional model was the first, marking Esterbrook's transition from their earlier Dollar Pen to the J. Transitional Js can be distinguished by their flat barrel ends, unmarked clips and the three ribbed jewel on top of the cap. The standard J model came into being in 1948 and it features a jewel on the cap and a second on the end of the barrel. These usually, but not always have a clip that is marked 'Esterbrook' and a lever with a rounded spoon shaped end. Sometimes pens do come up featuring pieces usually associated with the earlier Transitional models, yet it nothing to worry about since it seems Esterbrook simply used up any remaining stock of old parts instead of throwing them out.
Js came in three different sizes, the standard model, the Short J and the Long J respectively know as SJs or LJs. The standard and SJ seem to be the most commonly encountered when shopping for pens in the wild. The SJ is slightly shorter and thinner than the standard model, while the LJ is longer than the standard it shares the same girth as the SJ- confusing right? Some other pen people have attempted to come up with methods of determining between the three visually, but I find these methods largely useless especially if you are new to pens. The best way of becoming familiar with the different sizes is by simply handling the pens- something that will come with time and experience. And to make things just a little more complicated there is a lady's J model that is shorter than the SJ, but these are easily distinguishable by color- they only came in flat pastel shades and are not as common as other J models. There are many other variations that can crop up from time to time but I'm going to leave all of these out for sake of simplicity.
Common pricing- up to $60- dependent on condition, color, model and restoration status. (I usually seem to be able to find Js in the wild for between $4.00 to $20.00 USD).
If these pens are not quite what you are looking for I have a couple of more suggestions, these include the Parker Challenger, Parker Duofold Jr., Sheaffer School Pen (good for kids and clumsy adults) or the Sheaffer Balance. The Parker Challenger is a mid range pen that Parker marketed in the 1930s falling in between the Duofold and the Parkette. It shares the same button filling system as the Parker Duofold, making it easy to repair. Same with most other pen the Challenger came in several different model variations with a standard, deluxe and royal model. Standard and deluxe pens came in green, burgundy, black, blue and black with pearl flecks.
Common pricing ranges from $20.00 upwards to $200.00 depending on model, color and condition.
Sheaffer School Pens were marketed in the late 1950s to mid 1960s to children or adults looking for an inexpensive fountain pen. They are cartridge filling pens that will require no repairs and take standard straight cartridges that are readily available in the US. These came in blue, green, red and clear with a chrome metal slip cap. Also they can be acquired very cheaply, sometimes at thrift shops and flea markets for as little as $1.00. Despite the low price school pens are excellent writers and very durable.
Parker Duofold Jr. models can also be inexpensive, especially in green (which tends to discolor with age) and red. To learn more about these see the Parker Duofold post.
Price can range from $20.00 up to $100.00 depending on condition, color and restoration status.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post there is a lot of information that needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing your first vintage fountain pen and it can sometimes be overwhelming. Doing your research before hand can save considerable grief and disappointment and remember when just starting out you do not need to know everything. Knowledge is something that will be gained with time and experience just like anything else.
Please feel free to ask questions or comment. Changes are I might have answer or know someone who does.
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| The Pen That Started it All- a Parker Parkette |
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| Some Parkettes come with 14K gold nibs that rival some of the finest produced by the competition, such as Sheaffer. |
Common pricing- up to $50, depends on condition, color and whether the pen has been repaired.
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| A Family of Esterbrook Js: T to B- Long J (LJ) in root beer colored icicle pattern, J in grey, J in green, Transitional J in black, Transitional J is red, Short J (SJ) in blue and SJ in copper. |
Like the Parkette, Esterbrooks are all lever fillers making repair easy. The furniture is stainless steel and very resistant to wear and brassing. The pens themselves are made out of many different colors of celluloid- some of the most common colors are shown above excluding the pinstriped 'icicle' pattern, which much harder to find. As you might have noticed, the J family includes several different models. Introduced sometime around 1943 the Transitional model was the first, marking Esterbrook's transition from their earlier Dollar Pen to the J. Transitional Js can be distinguished by their flat barrel ends, unmarked clips and the three ribbed jewel on top of the cap. The standard J model came into being in 1948 and it features a jewel on the cap and a second on the end of the barrel. These usually, but not always have a clip that is marked 'Esterbrook' and a lever with a rounded spoon shaped end. Sometimes pens do come up featuring pieces usually associated with the earlier Transitional models, yet it nothing to worry about since it seems Esterbrook simply used up any remaining stock of old parts instead of throwing them out.
Js came in three different sizes, the standard model, the Short J and the Long J respectively know as SJs or LJs. The standard and SJ seem to be the most commonly encountered when shopping for pens in the wild. The SJ is slightly shorter and thinner than the standard model, while the LJ is longer than the standard it shares the same girth as the SJ- confusing right? Some other pen people have attempted to come up with methods of determining between the three visually, but I find these methods largely useless especially if you are new to pens. The best way of becoming familiar with the different sizes is by simply handling the pens- something that will come with time and experience. And to make things just a little more complicated there is a lady's J model that is shorter than the SJ, but these are easily distinguishable by color- they only came in flat pastel shades and are not as common as other J models. There are many other variations that can crop up from time to time but I'm going to leave all of these out for sake of simplicity.
Common pricing- up to $60- dependent on condition, color, model and restoration status. (I usually seem to be able to find Js in the wild for between $4.00 to $20.00 USD).
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| Re-New Points removed from pens |
Common pricing ranges from $20.00 upwards to $200.00 depending on model, color and condition.
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| Parker Challenger Deluxe slim model, black with green/grey pearl flecks. |
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| Clear Sheaffer School Pen |
Price can range from $20.00 up to $100.00 depending on condition, color and restoration status.
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post there is a lot of information that needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing your first vintage fountain pen and it can sometimes be overwhelming. Doing your research before hand can save considerable grief and disappointment and remember when just starting out you do not need to know everything. Knowledge is something that will be gained with time and experience just like anything else.
Please feel free to ask questions or comment. Changes are I might have answer or know someone who does.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Good Riddance August and September- and Several Other Months
I wrote this post at the end of the September when things in my life were a bit different. Now they are a little better, I have found a different job that pays better and offers better hours, but still I'm not where I would like to be in life. After have been sitting in my drafts for a couple of months it's time to post it.
No new posts in August? Yes, August was a horrible month, a veritable circle jerk of stress and bad news. It all started on the 14th of August when I came close to having a nervous breakdown at work and went home ill after only being there for only three hours. Since then life has been full of continuous ups and downs, but hasn't been what I would consider pleasant. For every good day there is a bad one and the work related stress shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Right now I'm just going to come out and say I pretty much hate everything about my job, sure there are a few things that I like but the negatives outweigh the positives. Twelve hour shift nights and threats of working all weekend or mandatory overtime for little pay are not at all what I'm looking for in life- if I can even say I have a life as all I do is work and sleep. It is frustrating because I do hold a four year university degree yet I cannot find work that I am qualified for, at the moment I'm vastly underemployed. I know that maybe someday, if I can stick it out where I am now I might be able to get into the position I would like to be in because the job is in the field I went to school for, but I hate what I'm doing now and I really don't care all that much for my coworkers, who love what they are doing and all the overtime. It does not help when I get the feeling they are trying to cohearse me into working the extra hours (which at the moment are not mandatory) because they love what they do and they live to work and think I should be just like them (and I want to be nothing like most of them).
I've also come to the realization that factory work is rather frightening and demeaning. It's almost like being back in high school where there are people always watching you, waiting for you to slip up just so they can punish you for some minor infraction. You show up a minute late it counts against you even if you have car trouble, you get sick and call in or have to go home you're in more trouble. Do either more than three times in a single month and you get written up. Better forget about personal days, you don't get those and oh yes, if it's busy you might have to work on a holiday (sure you get paid extra, but is is really worth it?). If you sign up for vacation, receive it and then mandatory overtime comes up you work it or get fired (you're completely replaceable, they'll have a temp taking your place in less than an hour). You cannot leave the premises at break so it's soggy microwaved food or endless sandwiches, just writing this makes me gag. To add to all of this, it is also noisy and dirty, the dust sets off my allergies shortly after clocking in. As you read this you might be thinking I'm writing about a factory in some developing country, but I'm not, this is happening in US where already a hundred years before workers were trying to abolish these labor practices.
I know I could leave, but where I would go I don't know. Going to another factory would more than likely mean more of the same, retail or working in any kind of shop is out of the question. All of the good jobs require years of experience regardless of education, or there is little turn over, or are too far away (I can't afford to move to another city right now and I am not at all an apartment dweller anyway and renting is like throwing money away, foolish if you ask me).
No new posts in August? Yes, August was a horrible month, a veritable circle jerk of stress and bad news. It all started on the 14th of August when I came close to having a nervous breakdown at work and went home ill after only being there for only three hours. Since then life has been full of continuous ups and downs, but hasn't been what I would consider pleasant. For every good day there is a bad one and the work related stress shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Right now I'm just going to come out and say I pretty much hate everything about my job, sure there are a few things that I like but the negatives outweigh the positives. Twelve hour shift nights and threats of working all weekend or mandatory overtime for little pay are not at all what I'm looking for in life- if I can even say I have a life as all I do is work and sleep. It is frustrating because I do hold a four year university degree yet I cannot find work that I am qualified for, at the moment I'm vastly underemployed. I know that maybe someday, if I can stick it out where I am now I might be able to get into the position I would like to be in because the job is in the field I went to school for, but I hate what I'm doing now and I really don't care all that much for my coworkers, who love what they are doing and all the overtime. It does not help when I get the feeling they are trying to cohearse me into working the extra hours (which at the moment are not mandatory) because they love what they do and they live to work and think I should be just like them (and I want to be nothing like most of them).
I've also come to the realization that factory work is rather frightening and demeaning. It's almost like being back in high school where there are people always watching you, waiting for you to slip up just so they can punish you for some minor infraction. You show up a minute late it counts against you even if you have car trouble, you get sick and call in or have to go home you're in more trouble. Do either more than three times in a single month and you get written up. Better forget about personal days, you don't get those and oh yes, if it's busy you might have to work on a holiday (sure you get paid extra, but is is really worth it?). If you sign up for vacation, receive it and then mandatory overtime comes up you work it or get fired (you're completely replaceable, they'll have a temp taking your place in less than an hour). You cannot leave the premises at break so it's soggy microwaved food or endless sandwiches, just writing this makes me gag. To add to all of this, it is also noisy and dirty, the dust sets off my allergies shortly after clocking in. As you read this you might be thinking I'm writing about a factory in some developing country, but I'm not, this is happening in US where already a hundred years before workers were trying to abolish these labor practices.
I know I could leave, but where I would go I don't know. Going to another factory would more than likely mean more of the same, retail or working in any kind of shop is out of the question. All of the good jobs require years of experience regardless of education, or there is little turn over, or are too far away (I can't afford to move to another city right now and I am not at all an apartment dweller anyway and renting is like throwing money away, foolish if you ask me).
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