A new vintage treasure ... Calligraphy!

The pen is the tongue of the mind.

 Horace

I know that these days email, texting and social media are an everyday occurrence or for most of us but sometimes it is nice to stop and smell the roses!

I enjoy snail mail .... I really do.  There is nothing like making a warm drink and curling up in a chair and reading a letter.  Looking at someone's hand written words and with the letters I receive and send there is usually a little gift and lots of decorations such as stickers or some such and indeed sometimes a draw a little something.  I belong to a Happy Mail group and I look forward to reading letters from around the globe and replying.  I also love calligraphy and want to do more of it.  My Christmas cards to family and close friends are always hand written in this way.  I enjoy sitting down and writing them and also to some, letters as well.
I worry sometimes with all the texting and email, that there will be no proper history for future generations as everything is computerised and that is a crying shame.

 I have done the family tree on my fathers side and when I went to the Hampshire Record Office I looked through some original Parish Registers.  To my amazement I found out that my great grandmother played the organ in church in Old Alresford.  How do I know?  well the Vicar had put a comment in the margin of the register that day (after a baptism) and said, and I quote.  Ellen played beautifully today and raised the roof with beautiful notes!  .. that is the kind of details that will not be around any more, no personal thoughts.  Also he wrote a poem in there as well and there were observations about not only my family but others in margins and I learnt so much about my great grandmother pre 1900 that I could never learn if it was now.  So I am on a mission to leave a paper trail in my life for generations to come. Anyway back to the pen!!!!

Well what do you think happened, well let me tell you.  I was trolling through Ebay the other evening and I saw a beautiful old calligraphy pen with a mother of pearl handle and the rest is Silver and is hall marked.  The hall mark told me it was early 1920's and it had changeable nibs as well with a pockets for ink ...

I had been watching it silently and looking for a bidding war, but it did not happen.  I asked many questions of the seller and asked for a photo of the hall mark so that I could check and he was very helpful.  Well it did not sell and he got in touch with me and asked if I would like to buy it.  He even reduced it from the starting price..... I was undone so I bought it and it has arrived.  It is a thing of beauty and I can not believe that it is actually mine.(see picture above)

I am going to get my Sepia ink out and have a little dip in and test it out later.  I am so excited it is unreal. As you can see from the picture it is the real deal and I love my new/very old purchase.

Like everything I like to use the things I purchase and this stunning calligraphy pen will not just sit idly collecting dust you can bet on that ... so look out Donna P,  I am going to use this to write to you as I know you will appreciate it totally.

It is lovely in a mixed media piece of work with paper and fabric and I like to add a little piece of antique paper with my writing on it... history of me behind glass.  Then my family will have a little piece of me always and my writing too.  I keep a journal as well and they will be able to turn the pages and I will jump out at them and that not only pleases me but them as well.

Well that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed this read although not much about stitchery today.  I am away to my sewing room for an hour then we are off out to enjoy the sun.  Have a lovely day and as always Happy Stitching!

A Pen is to me as a

beak is to a hen.

J.R.R. Tolkien.