Glenn's Pens

Pens of Note

Delta - Re-Discover Pompeii

This pen was a wedding anniversary gift from my wife. We had visited with Delta Pen, and spend the day touring their office and factory. During the visit we saw the celluloid rods used to make the pen body, cap and related parts. We saw the parts of the pen in various stages as the craftspeople worked on various pens. It was a pen that is distinctly different from my others. Now, years later, this pen remains one of my special pens.

When were we at Novelli Pen in Rome a few days later, Karen knew this was the pen for me and Marco Parascenzo looked after us as we tried the pen out and concluded this was just the right pen for me. Grazie, Marco and Karen.

As we learned when we visited with Ciro Matrone, Antonio di Maio and Salvatore Matrone, the pen reflects the rediscovery of Pompeii itself. Delta has previous created a Limited Edition Pompeii pen in 1996, in a brick red tone. It was an important pen for Delta as it was their first created in celluloid, and used a lateral level ink filling system. The red tone was chosen as the walls that still hold their colour at Pompeii are the deep brick red tone.

But now, some 2,000 years later, scientists have concluded that the real colour of the homes in Pompeii is not the red tone we see today, but infact a yellow.

Delta is faithful and respectful of the history and culture of Italy, and with this new aspect now know, the Delta Re-discover pen was created in the yellow tone used at Pompeii, before the devastation of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August 79 AD.

Pompeii RediscoverThe pen is made of celluloid, a material the results from the blending of cellulose with nitric acid, camphor and alcohol. The celluloid takes years to age and fully set. Once the material has been properly aged the resulting material has beautiful colours, is light in weight and resilient.

The cap and body are turned by hand from solid bars of celluloid.

The central ring near the base of the cap shows a tri-dimensional representation of the "greca" patterns that comes from the Pompeian period. The band is made from solid sterling silver plated with rhodium.

The clip of the pen has a classic style. It is simple in design, an appropriate size for the pen, and looks smart when clipped in a shirt pocket. The clip has a small wheel at the base that helps with the clipping of the pen to a shirt pocket.

I was taken with the colour the the yellow celluloid with streaks of black, however, the nib writes so smoothly that once I started to write with the pen, the nib drew me to the conclusion that this pen was truly be a Pen of Note for me. The nib is made of 14 carat gold with rhodium plating and has the Delta logo engraved on the top of the nib. I selected a broad nib and the line of ink the nib lays on the paper is perfect for my hand and writing.

Delta makes their own ebonite feeds, and the ink flow to the nib is very smooth and consistent.

The pen use a piston fill ink-filling system. Delta has made the piston fill process easy as when the piston has been pulled to the top of its cycle, a soft clicking tells you the cycle is complete. No danger of turning it too far and stripping the internal mechanism. The twisting mechanism for the piston fill is covered with a small cap made of celluloid, matching the pen and set apart by two subtle silver rings.

The body of the pen has engraved the Delta logo, DELTA, Italy, Re-discover Pompeii, Special Edition.

While I am familiar with Limited Edition pens being numbered with a unique serial number, I am very impressed how Delta spends the time and effort to add a similar personal touch to their numbered editions. Each Re-discover Pompeii pen is individually numbered, and I am so pleased to have pen 0167.

The packaging is very impressive. The pen comes in a large wood presentation box. On the inside is a bottle of ink, labeled Pompeii. What I particularly like about this box is that when the layer that holds the pen and ink bottled is lifted out, rather than finding an unfinished or uneven bottom, the box is perfectly line with soft cloth and can be used as a pen box.

Delta Pompeii Re Discover

 

Aurora Tantentum

 

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