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Ross George Speedball pen personal tools ~ boy, do I have questions!



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 7th 10, 08:39 AM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
moreisbetter
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Posts: 1
Default Ross George Speedball pen personal tools ~ boy, do I have questions!

My apologies if this post is out of bounds, but I am new to this group
and landed here because... well, I have to start somewhere. I am
truely looking for advice, not trying to sell anything here and now,
although that is the end goal as I will get to. I think this has the
potential for an interesting discussion in the end.

I am helping a friend with the estate of her grandfather/mother. It
is the estate of Ross George ~ the inventor of the Speedball line of
calligraphy and professional signmaking pens as well as author of
numerous texts for the art of calligraphy and designer of numerous
text styles.

This estate is relatively modest but not meager and it appears
complete and mostly untouched since the death of Mr. George's widow
back in the 1980's. Itt has been boxed in storage and at this point
is completely disorganized Some of what has been uncovered includes
his personal pen 'toolbox' for the sale and marketing of his line and
is the kit that he carried all over the world to teach the techniques
and sell the pens. The toolbox is a thin 3x3 ft. box which contains
virtually every style of Speedball nib (attached to individual dip
pens) he and the company ever developed prior to the family selling
the operation to Hunt Pen Co. a couple decades ago and numbers some
250 dip pens along with several dozen boxes of Speedball nibs of
various styles... so far! It has literally sat untouched in the
basement of his Seattle, WA home since his death. Also present are
many examples of the artist proof mock-ups for his textbooks created
by his own hand. There is likely more to be found, but the
granddaughter is only beginning to sort thru everything as I write
this.

In a best-case scenario, the family naturally would like to see the
collection stay reasonably intact for historical reasons if practical,
but also have interest in converting it into padding for their meager
retirement nest-egg. We have discussed ebay, but do not really know
if that is the optimum way to deal with it. They have no idea of how
to go about marketing it or what aspects would be important to a
prospective purchaser, much less a value to put on such a unique
item. And frankly, neither do I except in the most general sense. I
collect a type of advertising floater pencil (made by Secretary Pen Co
back in the 1940-50's), but that is as far as my expertise goes in the
hobby.

I realize that in this computer age, Speedball pens have a certain
"buggy whip obsolescence" cachet to most people, but there is
obviously still a market among a devoted following.

If such an situation landed in your lap, how would you handle it?
What would be important to prospective clients? Is contacting high-
end pen dealers on ebay the place to start or are there better
options? Any guidance would be appreciated.

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  #2  
Old December 8th 10, 06:45 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
FPN
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Posts: 4
Default Ross George Speedball pen personal tools ~ boy, do I have questions!

On Dec 7, 8:39*am, moreisbetter wrote:
If such an situation landed in your lap, how would you handle it?
What would be important to prospective clients? *Is contacting high-
end pen dealers on ebay the place to start or are there better
options? *Any guidance would be appreciated.


This topic comes up fairly regularly over at www.fountainpennetwork.com
You'll want to peruse the Writing Instruments sub- forum, there are
several knowledgeable dealers who do deal with this sort of thing
routinely. Don't be put off by the name, there is a good sized
contingent of tech and dip pen users that post regularly. By
registering as a member, you'll gain a host of additional resources
including the ability to use the "Search" function. There are some
modest posting requirements before you can avail yourself of the sales
portion of the board, but you can certainly start your research and
begin connecting with the experts and dealers right away!

Hope to see you there!
  #3  
Old December 10th 10, 12:23 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Brian Ketterling
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Posts: 250
Default Ross George Speedball pen personal tools ~ boy, do I have questions!

I can't offer any expertise, but it seems a shame to trickle the collection
away on fleabay. Have you tried contacting any museums with graphic art
collections, or some of the better auction houses? This link might give you
some food for thought:

http://americanart.si.edu/research/tools/art/worth/

If no one mentioned there is directly interested, they might be able to
suggest someone appropriate.

Brian
--


 




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