Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Luring a Marlen

One of the things I love most about owning the Pear Tree Pen Company is being in a position to discover interesting pens from innovative companies the world over. Of course, there are so many great pens out there, both modern and vintage, I'll probably have to use a different fountain pen every day for the rest of my life before I'm able to try them all. But that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Several of the pens I've been hoping to add to the "tried that" list are from an Italian company called Marlen. While it is dangerous to generalize, Italian fountain pens have always been a favorite of mine, largely due to the the Italian's seemingly unmatched flair for design. Marlen is no exception, and they offer a plethora of interesting designs along with a range of filling systems sure to satisfy even the most discerning fountain pen afficianado.

Yet, it hasn't been easy to obtain a Marlen here in the U.S. market. While Aurora, Omas and Visconti have a solid foothold, other Italian brands like Ancora, Tibaldi, as well as Marlen, are often conspicuously absent from your local pen store.

Luckily, one of my distributors now imports Marlen pens. I therefore seized upon this opportunity to evaluate several of Marlen's fine writing instruments. I just placed an order for the Marlen E-Com, Basilea, HTF Geneve and the Odysseus. They haven't arrived yet, but I was so thrilled have the chance to write with these pens that I couldn't wait to blog about it. And, given the praises I've heard other fountain pen enthusiasts shower upon Marlen, I have very high expectations. But you can bet that when they do arrive, I will put them through the proverbial wringer myself. If I'm satisfied with the way they behave, I'll order more so you can experience them for yourself.

Thanks for stopping by.

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