Don Lavin, one of the organizers of the Chicago Pen Show, provides some expert advise for the first time pen show attendee.

Don Lavin

DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE ARRIVING.
You should have some books to refer to for information and if you do not, you will have plenty of dealers who will be selling books during the show. Take advantage of this.; They may be big and heavy but they are invaluable for informational purposes. Try to find out the values of the pens you are interested in seeing or buying before arriving. For new pens check pen catalogs from various dealers to get an idea of the market. Go to internet web sites and check out values. Ask friends and other collectors for valuation information. The more prepared you are before spending your money the more likely it is that you will make the correct choices and you will be all the happier for it. Ask questions on internet pen sites (as if you haven't already) about favorite pens in various price ranges. See if there is a unanimity of opinion about quality, writing ability and durability. Zoss, Penlovers and Pentrace for instance, have numerous threads on this subject and they can provide very helpful information.

YOU WILL BE OVERWHELMED!
Do not underestimate this statement. You may have gone to 10, 20 or 100 flea markets and antique shops, but believe me, you will see more pens in your first 5 minutes and on the first 2 tables you approach then you saw during the previous year, or two or 10! Now multiply this by 100 and you get the picture. And at Chicago, different people can set up on Thursday, and Friday and Saturday on a first come, first served basis. The rooms keep changing so that at a ny time new collector/dealers will set up and then break down. This translates into new product being offered throughout the weekend. ; Then try to picture Sunday - over 16,000 sq. ft of ballroom, lobby and side corridor filled with over 180 tables full of merchandise. Everything you can imagine - pens, pencils, sets, inks, papers, desk sets, ads, and on and on. It could take you hours to make a complete pass! You will go brain dead. You will forget where you last saw that Parker 51 in black with the 14kt cap you were considering. You will forget which city you are in. Your eyes will glaze over and you may require assistance. But you will be happy. .

SET A BUDGET AND HAVE A SHOPPING LIST BEFORE ARRIVING.
Try to set a realistic budget and be prepared to exceed it - by a lot! It is inevitable and understandable. You will be faced with 1,000s of wonder ful objects and impulse buying can set upon you in a flash. Try to make up a wish list of what you would like to go home with and start your quest upon arrival. Try to prioritize the list with your most desired piece first and so on. Again, if you go home with just one pen but the one you coveted the most, you will go home a very happy person. (This will not happen because after you acquire #1 pen you will shamelessly grovel around for numbers 2 to 100) For newer collectors, you are probably in the gathering stage so go for a multitude of pens. Try different colors and makers and nib style s. Try new and old. Eventually you will become more focused and you will concentrate on certain manufacturers, or colors or sizes or whatever. When I started out, gathering was all we did - because we could! Every week end we could buy whatever we liked whenever we went out so we collected every manufacturer for the most part. And eventually our tastes changed and as prices dramatically increased, gathering slowed down considerably.

SHOP THE ENTIRE SHOW CAREFULLY.
A few years back an inexperienced collector attended the Washington Show and one pen he coveted was a red plastic Parker Duofold Senior. He found one quickly from an experienced dealer and he proceeded to buy it then and there. Afterwards, he took his new found treasure and showed it to some other dealers for comments. While the pen was in excellent condition the fact that he had paid around $350.00 for it was disappointing because that same pen was available throughout the show at prices ranging from $150 to $225. And in excellent and working condition! This collector had broken cardinal rule number 1 - he had failed to recognize that the pen he wanted was not rare or unique and that many examples were going to be made available to him over the weekend. It was incumbent on him to first see what other dealers had to offer before jumping in, so to speak.

Only with time and experience will a collector have a really good idea as to how rare or unavailable a pen or pens will be to acquire. The experience collectors try to get to a show as early as possible in the week so as to have the best opportunity to acquire the rarer pieces. Buying and selling on Wednesday and Thursday of a show week often involves some of the best pieces that will be brought to the show that weekend. These collectors, while not shunning a bargain, are prepared to pay top dollar to get the best. Bargains will often come later in the weekend.

So now that you have done your homework before leaving your home, and you have set a foolishly low budget, and you have prepared a shopping list that will expand like a mushroom cloud upon seeing the first few tables in a trade room, please take the time to get the lay of the land. Walk around, meet people, get a feel for which dealer(s) are known for being more reasonable in their pricing and which are not. Price out that which you are interested in and unless you are now sure that you are getting a good example, that the pen is in working condition (unless you want a project), and that the price is fair, move on. If the pen is what you are interested in and you want to write with it rather than just stare at it also note that nibs can be re-worked and improved and/or replaced so don’t make the nib the only factor in your pursuits if all else meets with your approval. THERE WILL BE MANY MORE EXAMPLES

FULLY INSPECT A PEN BEFORE BUYING IT - AND BE CAREFUL HOW YOU DO IT.
The following comments are primarily directed at the vintage collectors but still have some importance for new pen buyers. A pen shopping experience should be enjoyable and successful especially at a pen show where so many opportunities make themselves available. On the other hand, you can come away disappointed and discouraged upon discovering that hard-to-see crack once you get into the light of day, or worse yet, home and a week has now gone by. To insure that you have a better opportunity of succeeding here are some important words of advice: make sure you bring a nice magnifying glass with you along with a good light source or a magnifying glass with a light source. Also carry a ruler with you. There are dealers at pen shows such as the Great Parker (Howard and Louis Kaplan) who specialize in fine optical equipment and lights and there are dealers who sell specialized lighting devices reasonably. I know Bob Johnson usually carries lights. I always carry a high powered mini light attached to my key chain that can be used in a pinch.

The glass and light are used to carefully inspect pen parts for defects and the ruler is used to check out size differences in certain models in case you cannot tell the difference by sight and touch. Note that while organizers always fight with hotels to have all of the lights on and then some, in many areas of the rooms used, the lighting will vary and in some cases the lighting will be poor. Bad lighting along with extreme excitement over pending purchases can lead to big time mistakes. Also a pen that has not been cleaned makes it more difficult to locate problems. Try buying that “beautiful” mandarin yellow Parker Duofold, taking it home and then giving it a thorough cleaning - and then noticing the ink collecting in all those little hairline cracks in the cap - translate - sinking feeling!

Check cap lips very carefully for tight cracks that may not be noticeable in poor light. Note - a cracked cap severely reduces the value of a pen. Also check to see if a cap lip has been shaved down. This would indicate a previous chip that has been “hidden” by making the cap lip look right. In fact this cap may be worthless.

If you try to inspect a cap by taking a finger nail and rotating it around the cap be prepared to buy the pen should your nail get caught in the crack and then break off a chip. This happens more frequently than you can imagine. Check carefully around the tops of clips and the levers, if the pen is a lever filler. On mottled models check carefully areas where the colors change - often you may find splits in the plastic.

Study how a correct vintage pen is supposed to look - if the top of the cap has a single ring around it, in all likelihood the bottom of the barrel should mirror it. If the top of the cap is flat the bottom of the barrel should not be pointed or streamlined. These are called marriages and there are millions of such pens out there. And you could spend a lot of money on a pen only to find out that you bought parts! It has happened to all of us and more than once.

Finally, ask the dealer if he/she has restored the pen and whether there any internal problems. It never hurts to ask although you may not get a straight answer. By being careful, by using your tools and exercising caution you have a better chance of making an excellent purchase and in enjoying it!

Good luck. Don