When a vintage fountain pen collection goes supernova, it requires its own epic display. Leave it to Mike Dudek of Dudek Modern Goods to deliver the kind of display that makes me hum the opening to 2001: A Space Odyssey every time I put my pens away. I started collecting Lady Sheaffer Skripserts about a year ago and the collection exploded this year. Mike kindly masterminded the perfect way to keep my collection in check and displayed perfectly.
Mike modified his Display stand to fit the Lady Sheaffer Skripserts and it holds a ton of them too! The display holds a total of 22 pens (or pencils).
The initial plan was to use the block in reverse and have the pens currently in use in the solid part facing forward. I, however, have been keeping the pen and pencil sets in the open sections as there is a perfectly drilled hole at the bottom to rest the pencil tip into. I have four pen and pencil sets now so its almost filled in the “front” with matched sets!
I also have both of the leaf designs now – one in black and one in white – which occupy the last two slots in the “front”. A keen eye might notice that one of the pen and pencil sets is from the later “white dot” Lady Sheaffer line and not the original Skripsert line. It still has the netting etched design and opens to reveal a powder blue grip section and “fingernail” nib so its still a Lady Sheaffer in my book! The other “cheat” is my Sheaffer Imperial that I bought early on. It has a beautiful inset nib in 14K gold and a gold barrel so its still a pretty chic edition. It can stay until the Ladies run him out.
I have a couple pens away for nib tuning and one that seems to permanently live in my Story Supply Co. notebook cover in my bag (yes, it’s just a travelin’ Lady!) so I only have a few slots left. I can’t believe how quickly this collection grew!
If you are building a special pen collection you want to display, definitely drop Mike a line about making a custom display for you. I know he’s made several different pieces for folks over the years.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Dudek Modern Goods for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Gorgeous collection, congratulations Ana! I find that ones that are more difficult to get are those that sold over $20 when they were new, they aren’t nearly as common. I lucked out last year and snagged the second-most expensive one, Damask, at a bargain price as the seller had mis-identified it as another model. The White Dot clipped one is Lady Sheaffer, I think third generation from the ’70’s. The British Sheaffer Targa website has an excellent list of the Ladies, not all are shown but it’s handy. Congratulations again, and that display is perfect, your’e lucky!
Cheers,
Stuart DesBrisay
Beautiful! Here is a related ask the Desk sort of question, though: Do you worry about keeping your pens out of sunlight? Or is that a silly thing to worry about apart from: ebonite, celluloid, or demonstrators full of ink? (Am I right that it would be an issue for those three?)
That’s a good question. I’ll do some research. I suspect for long term storage for vintage collections there could be some risks. There might also be some issues with long-term direct sunlight exposure. But with a rotating collection of pens used regularly, a smaller display on a desk is probably not at great risk. I’ll deep dive and repost this as an Ask the Desk for sure!
Oh, wow. I am so sorry I’m not sorry.
Wow, so beautiful together like that! Now the question is — will you stop collecting when you run out of holes? 🙂
Tina
Now that Mike Dudek is taking some time off, does anyone else make something similar?