Customer Reviews

The Incredible Ball Point Pen: A Comprehensive History & Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I was doing a research on the Ball Point Pen and this book was really insightful. It assembles a great deal of articles that have been written on this pen. It gives a good historical analysis from 1889 to 1960 but, on the negetative side, the history is fairly poor after the 1960s.

Furthermore, it has many photographs of old an collectible ball point pens.

As a new pen collector, I thought the pictures in this book were fantastic. I have no basis for the price references, but they seem to be fairly accurate.

An excellent reference book.

A great overview of the early ballpoint wars involving Reynolds, Eversharp, and others. It goes on to cover the decline and resurgence of the market with the emergence of market leaders such as Papermate & Parker. If you collect or are interested in any major ballpoint company before 1960, it is most likely covered in detail. I was especially interested in learning more about Sheaffer & Papermate which are both covered extensively. Parker is also covered in great detail. I am very happy with this book. With the age of the internet, it seems everything is on-line. However, this book has information I cannot find anywhere else. It definitely expands upon what one can learn about Eversharp, Parker, Papermate, and Sheaffer.

Very minor points: BIC is barely covered...the book mentions not covering cheap and European pens, but as BIC emerged in Europe as Papermate ascended the US market, a little more coverage (like a page) would have been in order it seems. Maybe a bit more on the Fisher space pen. Care & maintenance is not covered: many old ballpoints have failed cartridges with ink encrusted that affects functioning (I like to use my vintage ballpoints). I use a mild mix of water with dish soap to help free up parts. This seems to do the trick. Most pens seems to be of plastic, brass, and aluminum construction so the water doesn't pose a rust problem, but keep on the lookout for this. Refills: Fisher makes (or did) an "all for one" refill that is adjustable and fits just about all old pens. OLD Sheaffers can be used by buying an adaptor (pendemonium.com sells them...no connection), but the book doesn't mention this. Again, all minor points. If you like collecting old ballpoints, you must buy this book!!!

The book is an incredible resource for even the most knowledgeable pen expert. There is a great deal of information out there for the fountain pen collector but not much for others who prefer other writing instruments. This book does a great job of filling this glaring gap.

Good. Exelent. Amazing. Brilliant. Perfect. A++++. Great. Pens. I've never seen anything this great!! A real bargain for a good book!