"B.V. Kram" is my E-Bay ID, and the name I started posting under at PenTrace. My real name is Mark Van Blargan, so the B.V. Kram is my first name and the initials of my last name, backwards. Yeah, I know, but it made sense at the time. Now that (happily) I have started to get more involved in pen collecting, it's time to ditch the B.V. Kram in favor of my real name. Since my last name is so long, however, and since there are already other Mark's on the board, from here one out, I'm "MarkVB."

Len Provisor took the picture at the 2003 DC pen show.

I live in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yes, that's the home of Hershey Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. In real life, I’m a father, husband, son, lawyer and dog owner.

I’ve used fountain pens for years, but only began collecting pens a few years ago. At first I was questing for fountain pen nirvana, aka the One True Pen. That resulted in a significant accumulation of pens, which I’m now paring down. For me, the pen closest to the One True Pen is the Pelikan M600.

Once I discovered that the M600 is as close as I’m going to get to the One True Pen, I started collect variations of the M600 and M620. From there, I moved to other series and models of Pelikan pens.

My collection is now split about evenly between vintage Pelikans and modern Pelikans, though I’ve pretty much stayed away from the pre-war Pelikans and most of the modern Limited Editions. I enjoy both the “cheapy” Pelikans and the medium high end stuff.

I also have an interest in recent and modern Japanese pens (mostly Pilot/Namiki), in Parker “51” aerometrics, and in pens that pass some thus far indefinable “that’s a really cool pen” test, e.g., Omas 360, Parker 50 Falcon, Pilot Murex, and Visconti Skeleton LE.

Of course, I also have some pens that I keep because they seem to fit naturally in my hand and are consistently great writers, such as an Aurora 88, DuPont Orpheo, Parker striped Duofold, Waterman #7, PFM, Lamy 2000 and a Hero 100.

Collecting pens has also rekindled my interest in photography. Although I have precious little talent at pen photography, I do have fun.

Thanks for letting me hang out here.

Mark VB