When Camillo Olivetti, the founder of a growing Italian typewriter company, sent his son, Adriano, to the U.S. in 1924 to study American industrialism, did he realize that he would be plotting an entirely new course for the future of his little endeavor?
Olivetti Valentine, 1969
The advent of Kindle may be a boon for techies and a fine way to carry around a library in your luggage – but it certainly takes some of the romance out of reading. What about the pleasure of turning a page, the dusty, nostalgic smell of old paper, the scattered notes and underlining left behind by past readers? If you’re like me, you like nothing better than the feel of a heavy hardcover or a tattered paperback and half the joy of reading is gazing triumphantly at the stacks of conquered pages against the wall. Book darts are another bit of class and old school style that come in handy, the perfect accessory for the avid reader.
Bronze Book Dart
The Swiss company Caran d’Ache sells writing utensils for the price you can buy a decent car. Their pens are made out of gold, diamonds, pearls and other fine materials. I’d be too worried running around with a pen like this, or even keeping it in my drawer. Caran d’Ache also makes this straightforward but fine ballpoint pen. It is made out of steel and has a replaceable ink cartridge. I bought it on my last trip to Europe for less then fifteen Euros.
Caran d'Ache Ballpoint Pen
I once suffered a ‘serious’ injury from a dysfunctional thumbtack. (Under pressure from my thumb, the needle lost its connection to the head and went out the other way). Since then I only use push-pins. They are easier to remove. The push-pin was invented around 1900 by Edwin Moore (1874 – 1916) in Newark, New Jersey. Moore worked at a photo lab and was missing a simple solution to hang up film to dry.
Moore Push-Pins
Fountain Pen
Several years ago during my poor college days, I found a Mont Blanc fountain pen. It was lodged between the cushions of a sofa at a cafe, amongst the muffin crumbs and paper clips. I did what any good student would do: I marched right up to the counter, asked for a coffee,… and put the pen in my pocket.
John F. Kennedy, April 1961, Courtesy of Life Magazine
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