MAIN SPONSORS OF LWES 2008

Proud to encourage interest in handwriting amongst young people

We take a look at some contemporary limited edition pens and for this issue we asked Tania Ferriera, Marketing Mangager at our sponsors Stone Marketing to give us some background on the Graf von Faber brand and their renowned 'Pen of the Year' Limited Edition series.

FABER-CASTELL - Historical Background
The Faber-Castell Group has a long history. In 1761, Kasbar Faber who was a cabinet-maker at the time, decided to make the first pencils and sell them at the Nuremberg market. In fact Faber-Castell is the oldest manufacturer of wood-cased pencils in the world. Kaspar Faber had a son, Anton Willem Faber who continued the business, which was then named after him and called A.W. Faber. Anton set about increasing pencil production and therefore growing the company, but it was Anton’s son George Leonhard Faber who found himself steering the company through what were very challenging economic times. When George Leonhard Faber’s son Lothar von Faber took over the reigns of A.W. Faber in 1839, the company grew stronger, as he made the wise decision to turn the simple pencil into a genuine quality product. This was to be the world’s first branded writing instrument. In 1843 the first A.W. Faber pencils were sold in America via a New York agency and by 1874, A.W. Faber had subsidiaries in London and Paris and two further agencies in Vienna and St. Petersburg. Lothar von Faber had only one child, Wilhelm who was involved in the company until his premature death at the age of 42. At this point Lothar von Faber had to take the reigns of the company again until his death in 1896, at which point control of the company was left to his widow and later his eldest daughter Baroness Ottilie von Faber. Prior to his death, Lothar arranged a testamentary disposition ensuring all future generations would have to use the name “Faber” in any new family name. In 1898 Wilhelm’s oldest daughter Baroness Ottilie von Faber, married Count Alexander zu Castell-Rüdenhausen and this results in the name we are familiar with today, Faber-Castell. After his marriage to Ottilie, Count Alexander continues the progress of the company and launches the famous green “CASTELL” range of pencils in 1905 and by 1920 he has greatly improved and extended the Stein factory. After his death in 1928, his Son Roland Count von Faber-Castell takes over the company. Moving again into International waters During the following years, Roland Count von Faber-Castell develops the Faber-Castell business even further with the introduction of various manufacturing plants in Ireland, Australia and Peru where Faber-Castell started producing ballpoint pens as well as wood cased pencils. The “TK Pencil”, a mechanical pencil used for drawing is also introduced. Early in his management of Faber-Castell, Roland acquires the “Johann Faber” pencil factory and an interest in its subsidiary in Sao Carlos, Brazil. By 1967 Faber-Castell acquires a majority share holding in the factory in Sao Carlos, which manufactures lead and coloured pencils and is today the largest pencil manufacturing plant in the world. Faber-Castell as we know it today Anton Wolfgang Count von Faber-Castell took over the company in 1978 after the death of his father Roland. Since then the company has branched out into fine writing instruments and also offers a range of writing related office products. In 1993 the company divided its product ranges into five fields of competence and Graf von Faber-Castell focussing on the premium end of the writing instrument market was born. Extending back eight generations, Faber-Castell is still a family owned business, which today enjoys international success largely due to the entrepreneurial approach of past and present family members. Today Faber-Castell has 16 factories worldwide, runs 19 sales units, employs approximately 5,500 employees and their large range of products can be found in over 100 countries.
'PEN OF THE YEAR' LIMITED EDITION SERIES
The Graf von Faber-Castell concept of introducing a Pen of the Year, each year and the collecting or purchasing of the “Pen of the Year” is fast becoming a passion for serious pen collector’s who are looking for something individual which is not going to appear in abundance worldwide. With the use of materials ranging from snakewood, amber, stingray leather, mammoth ivory, petrified wood and more recently Indian satinwood, each Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year is not only beautiful but also has as a story to tell. The first Pen of the Year was introduced in 2003 and since then, there has been an annual edition of this superior magnum-sized plunger-action fountain pen. Driven to by a passion to re-discover writing products from a past age Graf von Faber-Castell, part of the Faber-Castell group is the result of Anton Wolfgang Count von Faber-Castell’s passion to rediscover writing products of a past age and bring them into the present day with the use of modern technology, whilst maintaining their air of timeless design. This idea took shape in the form of the Graf von Faber-Castell “Collection”, which is based on writing instruments originally made by the Count’s ancestors and for him embodies harmony, luxury and simplicity by combining selective materials with aesthetic design and a high degree of functionality.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2003
Pen of the Year 2003 - snakewood The first Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year was introduced in 2003 with the barrel of the pen made from snakewood, one of the most expensive woods in the world. This wood has a brown background with black speckles making it look like the skin of a snake.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2004
Pen of the Year 2004 – fossilised tree resin The Pen of the Year 2004 had a barrel made from amber with platinized metal rings set at intervals along the pen. The master craftsman Boris Igdalove, who is the head of the workshop that spent 21 years reconstructing the St Petersburg Amber Room piece-by-piece and layer-by-layer personally, took on the task of creating this wonderful pen. Amber, a sticky resin that oozed from ancient pine trees, belongs to the Carboniferous and Pleistocene geological periods and deposits of amber have been found which it is estimated range between 360 and one million years old. Through the natural process of heat and pressure this substance fossilised over time to become what we know today as amber.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2005
Pen of the Year 2005 – the pearl mosaic of stingray leather In 2005, Graf von Faber-Castell introduced the Pen of the Year with a barrel made from stingray leather –some considered this a brave choice, especially in this day and age of animal rights, but stingrays are very abundant and apparently are not yet on the endangered species list. Stingray leather is becoming quite the trendsetter, as it is much more durable than other more “common” leathers found in retail stores. Apparently stingrays are not only killed for their pelts, but are regarded as a delicacy in some Asian countries. These countries have for years disposed of the stingray skin, so one could argue that manufacturers using this exotic stingray leather in some of their leather collections, are making good use of this discarded material. The 2005 Pen of the Year was produced in two distinctive colours “olive” and “anthracite”, each displaying a unique “pearl mosaic” pattern, making this version of the pen truly distinctive.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2006
Pen of the Year 2006 – ruler of the prehistoric savannah On the coast of the Arctic Ocean, the permafrost has preserved beautiful fossil mammoth ivory. To obtain mammoth ivory it is necessary to travel to Siberia, Canada or the remote Arctic tundra of Alaska. The woolly mammoth is known as the ruler of prehistoric savannah and some discoverd tusks have been measured up to 16 feet long. For the Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2005, this beautifully preserved mammoth ivory has been brought together with ebony, an expensive wood that predominantly comes from Africa. Some materials “just go together” and this is very true of “ebony and ivory” two contrasting colours, which enhance the beauty of each other.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2007
Pen of the Year 2007 – in remembrance of primeval forests The Pen of the year 2007 re-visits Graf von Faber-Castell’s core competency – the making of writing instruments with wood. The choice of wood for this pen is no ordinary wood, but petrified wood, a fossilised wood from primeval forests, which is the result of trees crystallising over a period of 360 million years in a silica-rich environment created by being buried in layers of water or volcanic ashes for this length of time. The result is a wood, which has developed into the primary stages of the semi-precious stones chalcedony or agate. The best quality petrified wood is from Brazil and is hard enough to produce a top quality gemstone finish. The barrel of the Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2007 has been designed with a platinum-plated metal frame which holds the eight stones showing off their beauty, making this pen a unique work of art.
PEN OF THE YEAR 2008
Pen of the year 2008 – the world’s smallest parquet surface The 2008 edition of the Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year is again made from wood but draws inspiration from closer to home, the Faber-Castell Castle. The private salon or drawing room of Countess Ottilie, which is now over 100 years old and designed by renowned architect of the time Bruno Paul, is panelled in beautiful Indian satinwood whilst the floor is made from the same wood in stylish parquet. Countess Ottilie was the granddaughter of Baron Lothar von Faber, who married Count Alexander zu Castell- Rudenhausen resulting in the forming of new surname - Faber-Castell. In the early 1900’s new fashion trends were emerging, one example being the herringbone pattern which can be seen in parquet flooring. To produce the Pen of the Year 2008 edition, 84 Satinwood rectangles have to be individually hand-made and are set onto the barrel of the pen by use of an unconventional technique, as usually a parquet pattern requires a flat surface. No two segments on the barrel are identical and have to be placed precisely next to the neighbouring segment to create even joints. The barrel is repeatedly polished and varnished creating the world’s smallest parquet surface. This stylish fountain pen is crowned by a chessboard faceted citrine gemstone, which is set in the platinum-plated end cap. Like all other Pen of the Year editions, this superior magnum-sized plunger-action fountain pen is individually numbered and presented in an exclusive wooden case with brochure and certificate.

The London Writing Equipment Show is organised by
THE WRITING EQUIPMENT SOCIETY

THE NORTHERN PEN SHOW
Sunday 26th. April 2009
Clifton Arms Hotel
Lytham, Lancashire