Lee Chait Prepared this review for the Southeast Pen Collectors Club Newsletter "Pen Tracks". He has been kind enough to let us reprint it here.
LA was the first show of the year for me and it's always a treat to see old
friends. Among the club members present were Mike Conway; Carl Daniel; Jimmy
Dolive; Sam Elardo; Sam/Frank Fiorella; Scott/Tricia Franklin; Rick Horne;
John Mottishaw; Howard Newman; Susan Wirth and new members Lou and Howard
Kaplan.
The Show was held at the same tried and true location where the hotel
restaurant has excellent food. Sue and I had dinner with Lynn Sorgatz on
Sat. and it was excellent. There are many nice restaurants in easy walking
distance and we did hit McCormick & Schmick's Seafood which we frequent when
in DC and the Pacific NW with Allen and Lillian Gross.
I did not attend the auction. There were approximately 200 lots.
Seminars were given by Rick Horne and John Mottishaw.
Many pens were bought and sold during the show. I acquired some at
surprisingly good prices e.g. Parker 75 Sterling Australian FP with opal for
$150; Flat Top Godron and Diamante for $145 each. Some of the bargains were
reciprocated by myself in some of the stuff I sold. Being a hobbyist with
only Parker 75's and 1987-91 Duofolds I did a lot of business on Thurs. and
Friday with nothing sold on Sat but a good day on Sunday when the Show was
open to the public. I also managed to latch onto a nice watch which I've
already had offers on.
The one day open to the public Show is a dinosaur that should be made
extinct.
I did find two extra boxes of pens when I unpacked Sunday but they were
those damn junk vacs belonging to Dr. I. so I returned them.
There were many social events both formal and informal. Sue and some of the
other spouses took a break and went to see the Wheel of Fortune while we
tried to make ours in sales.
There were some reported thefts of pens although not to the same extent as
last year. Attendance once again seemed down for the Show but people were
there to buy and many dealers reported brisk business. The Show was sold
out as far as table space and the hotel. There were many persons from
outside the
US as early traders and dealers. All of the Club fliers I put out were
picked up.
I saw Pauline Russell, pen show publicity specialist, at the Show. She is
not involved with the Atlanta Show. The first day we were there the local TV
station had a piece on the Show.
Latest news is that there will be a San Francisco Show at the SF Airport
Marriott Oct. 18-21.
Overall the LA Show was a success by any standard.
Next on my schedule are Atlanta/Chi/Miami. See y'all in 2 weeks.
Lee Chait
First LA show for me, it was far better than I imagined. The people, the atmosphere, the weather. Trading room was huge, wide aisles and great lighting, and coffee right outside the door. Actually slept with my room windows wide open. From Thurs. pm on it was busy with dealers and collectors arriving, quickly dropping their bags and plunging right into it. By Friday it was close to 100 dealers, a good crowd so early, and by Saturday it was almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
Chris Thompson's display of replica Duofold Seniors was a show stopper, even his home-made display cases were magnificent. The array of Duofolds were grabbed by the handful, by those lucky to get to him as he was unpacking....and yes, he did have the look of a deer caught in headlights. he was very pleased with the show.
Bertram's Inkwell had one Conway Stewart Churchill in a new brilliant blue, and promises that shipments were coming soon.
Delta was the sponsor, the Theme pen was the Alolphe Sax pen, so a pretty young girl was strolling the show aisles softly playing tunes on a saxaphone to remind everyone who the sponsor was. Clever. Delta showed a new "mini" pen, barely one-inch long, and actually functional.
One collector was selling his "extras" of Waterman 58's, you would pale at the sight, seeing as many as 30 near-mint 58's at one time. At the auction a very rare Parker "51" with a 14K gold Heritage cap was sold for $3,500., possibly a new record for this pen.
Other memorable sights was Alan Gross' display case brimming with Michel Perchins, Gary Lehrer's pens perfectly restored and all arranged in rows, as if they were still in Catholic school, Maryann and Steve Zucker's Penstop display is a virtual time-warp of beautiful pens, and they were glowing because the NYC Pen Show is already a whopping success with so many early bookings. Sam and Frank at Pendemonium had tons of ink to dip, books, stationery, and oodles of things you just gotta have, and her ink table tablecloth is now a work of art, called stained neo-Iowa impressionism, not to be confused with Susan Wirth's tablecloth, called neo-Milwaukee impressionism. Dean Tweeddale and Bill Reipl were busy like a pair of squirrels taking pictures, non-stop interviewing and writing more stories for Stylophiles Magazine.
My replica Parker "51" Beechcraft airplane was a huge success, selling over 62 planes of the first 100 numbered in this issue. I was amazed. Perhaps it was the Benny Goodman Big Band music I had playing in the background to help set the mood. One collector, busy talking with a trader, misplaced two boxes of very rare and expensive Vacumatics, asking everyone to keep an eye out, as his knees were shaking. Next day a dealer found the two boxes on top of his own, right where he had placed them. He was very lucky. Sunday ended with 157 tables and almost 1,000 public visitors, the hum of the crowd is the best sound dealers like to hear on a Sunday. Not only busy, it was actually tough getting thru the aisles. Loved every minute, can hardly wait 'til next year.
Len Provisor
I went to my first pen show on Saturday. Made the trip up to Manhattan Beach fron San Diego.To say I was overwhelmed and dizzy and drooling and envious are all an understatement. I dropped two pens off for repair with Father Terry Koch. bought a couple of Esterbrok pens and a couple of Esterbrook pencils 2 nibs some ink and a Parker 51. I had a great time I think I learned a few things and also bought a couple of books Frank Dubiel's repair book and a book about Esterbrook pens. All i can say is it next year yet I am ready for another show. Frank was the helpfull person who took the time to explain the diferences between the parker 51 and 21 plus the differences in each. I bought my 51 from him all the pens and pencils I bought yesterday seem to work fine. Thanks to all I talked to and did business with.
Ron Meloche
Lately it takes me a few more days to recover from a pen show,not because I'm getting older, I'm just playing harder. LA show was intense, non-stop action and I was trying to go in several directions at one time. I sat with Andy Lambrou and Paul Rossi as we reviewed a series of stunning sterling overlays created by Paul, which incorporate more techniques of workmanship than ever seen on a single pen. Watch for this soon on Stylophiles. Sterling has always been a favorite with me, and Bill Weakley ("the guy in the Tux with the long grey hair") also has an LE that Paul is working on for him. He's calling it "Dozen Roses", his exclusive distribution, made by Bexley in pink 18K over a Mandarin Duofold/M600-size button filler. Bill's often quoted motto is "A pen is nothing more than a controlled leak." I bought a Bexley "51" barrel and section, in a delicious burgundy marbled material, I'm such a pushover for "51"s, especially Howard Levy's creations. Mauricio from Argentina and Ariel from Brazil brought some sterling engraved "51" caps, a few of Mauricio's with a brilliant cold enamel overlay featuring a micro-hand painted scenery with gardens and nudes. Rates a double "Wow" in my book. Mauricio is an antique dealer with a great talent, ask for him at most larger pen shows. Word is that the Michigan Pen Show is going to be sponsored by the local Montblanc Boutique, where Sean has contacts. About time MB drops some profits to support a pen show, this would be a first, and don't forget that Detroit is really Conklin country. (Can't wait to see what Rob "the guy in the suit behind the table" Rosenberg of the new Conklin Pen Co. will bring to cross swords with MB). I can't get over the beautiful mile-wide smiles from the PenFairy Maryann Zucker, such is the warm feeling when everyone says "you're crazy, it can't be done in NY", her NYC Show is going to be the event of the year. Finally, guess what? I can't believe I'm up to almost 70 of my 1946 Parker "51" Beechcraft airplane models already sold after the first 3 days. First 100 only will be numbered, all will be signed by Geoffrey Parker. if you want a #'d model...hurry. Visit inkblotters.com to see this model. Big thanks to Boris Rice, Chris Odgers and Stan Pfeiffer for an outstanding LA Pen Show.
Len Provisor