U. S. Postage Stamps Depicting Fountain Pens
Target:
Citizens Stamp Advisory Board of the U. S. Postal Service
Sponsored by:
The fountain pen represents an elegance in writing now largely lost. Yet for nearly a century fountain pens were a revolutionary instrument that made writing, particularly letter writing easier and faster. We believe that some examples of exceptional fountain pen designs should grace a series of U. S. Postage Stamps at some point in the near future.
The fountain pen represents an elegance in writing now largely lost. Yet for nearly a century fountain pens were a revolutionary instrument that made writing, particularly letter writing easier and faster. We believe that some examples of exceptional fountain pen designs should grace a series of U. S. Postage Stamps at some point in the near future.
We, the undersigned citizens of the United States are users of and collectors of fountain pens. The fountain pen was a revolutionary instrument of communications that had a profound impact on business and writing, particularly of letters. The fountain pen as we know it today is also a uniquely American invention. The coming year, 2008, is the 100th anniversary of the patent for the first Sheaffer lever filled pen. It is also the 101st anniversary of the Mabie, Todd Company, 125th anniversary of the founding of the L.E. Waterman Company and the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Parker Pen Company. Fountain pens are the medium in which some of America's foremost industrial designers including Henry Dreyfus, Raymond Loewy and Lazlo Maholy-Nagy have expressed their art. Indeed the Parker 51 fountain pen is the only writing instrument honored by inclusion in the collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. For their historic significance, artistic merit and for their significance in the history of writing, letter writing in particular, we respectfully request that the U.S. Postal Service commemorate the American fountain pen with a series of stamps depicting several significant examples of those those fountain pens and that you do so at your earliest convenience.
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We signed the "U. S. Postage Stamps Depicting Fountain Pens" petition!
# 577:
Fountain pens have played an important and iconic role in American (and World)history. They should be highlighted as a signficant communication tool from the late 1800s through the first half of the 1900s. They are still around today,of course, as a reminder of a time when human thought directly (and almost literally) flowed from brain to paper through this marevelous and artistic device!
# 576:
# 575:
# 574:
In this age of emails, fountain pens harkin back to an age of thoughtful writing with a personal touch. Fountain pens are not only beautiful objects, but they allow the user to add a personality to their writing not possible with a ballpoint pen. Fountain pens and the US Postal Service have a long history together. Please honor the connection with postage stamps.
# 573:
I grew up in India where only fountain pens were allowed till 10th grade or so. When I came to the United States 12 years back, I could still find fountain pens in the supermarket, but nowadays I do not see it anywhere. In Europe, you can still find a good variety in the Supermarkets meaning that they still emphasize on its use in early years of education. Handwriting is a reflection of one's individuality and fountain pens are, in my opinion, a better way to retain and enrich both. By releasing a stamp with fountain pens, the wider public will be attracted to it and hopefully will renew the market for them. They are indeed an important part of our collective cultural history. It is important to keep it in public memory and heritage.
# 572:
If the Pen is used the Stamp will also be used. We might get back to receiving more than bills and junkmail in the Mail box.
# 571:
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# 568:
# 567:
One of the single most important "tools" invented to move a people forward should be forever imortalized by the USPS. How many families were held together during wartime with this simple, yet elegant item??
# 566:
I would love to see pen history honoring our global leadership and innovation in manufacturing of fountain pens during the last and this century. Companies like Parker, Wahl, Sheaffer and others forged innovative tools that at the forefront, contributed to and documented our history. These were the instruments used to write the majority of the letters and documents that recorded the course of history in the United States. How fitting it would be to have a postage stamp to acknowledge that heritage.
# 565:
Writing instruments are tool to celebrate the American Humanities. Great American companies advanced the writing tool.
# 564:
Writing is the basis of the civilization we have today. The fountain pen provided national, business and military leaders a means to write quickly and to make a permanant record of what was written. Pens of all types have supported the arts, commerce and society for centuries. Computers have only been in general use for 30 years or so. Recognizing fountain pens acknowledges our gratitude to a foundation of our current world.
# 563:
American companies engineered the fountain pen to new heights never before seen, so let's honor that triumphant spirit of "a better pen" with a commemorative stamp series!
# 562:
# 561:
I start writing with pens during the fifties. I own several Parker, Sheaffer, MontBlanc, Pelikan, Cross, Conway Stuart, etc, most of them ready to write. Postage stamps would be a opportune homage to this wonderful instrument that have been present from the most simple moments to the most important of human history. Congratulations for your idea and goo luck. All the best, Carlos Duarte, Portugal
# 560:
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# 558:
Everyone should have the experience of using a well designed fountain pen. Those who do usually repeat the experience over and again. It is an experience that is unique in writing.
# 557:
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# 555:
Fountain pen's have been around for a long time.If it weren't for the pen writing letter's you wouldn't stamp's to deliver them.
# 554:
I personally have a almost complete U.S. stamp collection. I even have the first stamps the Ben Franklin and George Washington stamps. Yet, there is not one stamp devoted to the fountain pen. Why?
# 553:
The fountain pen was as significant an advancement in communications as the jet engine was to transportation and deserves to be honored in a series of stamps.
# 552:
# 551:
i would be especially interested to see a series of vintage fountain pens on the 'forever' stamp rolls
