Nibby Sunday – Dorn / College fountain pen factory

Nibby Sunday – Dorn / College fountain pen factory

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In December 1949, the newpaper Dagbladet announced that a Norwegian fountain pen factory would finally be established, and that it would be located in Ski. Local newspaper Østlandet’s Blad contradicted this rumour. They could confirm that a factory building was to be set up according to the New Deal principle, where several small businesses rented in the same building, but they had not heard anything about a fountain pen factory. A few months later, on 12 April 1950, they could,…

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Point to Paper – The Founders of the Norwegian Constitution have Living Descendants in the US. Are you maybe one of them?

Point to Paper – The Founders of the Norwegian Constitution have Living Descendants in the US. Are you maybe one of them?

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Written by Kjartan Skogly Kversøy and Sandi Lee Bohle Without a pen, paper and ink, there would have been no writing of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814. The 112 representatives brought the document to life by signing their names. Have you ever wondered who the signatures represented? One of them was my ancestor. He came from the County of Buskerud. He has living descendants both in Norway and in the US. Are you maybe one of them? My American 6th…

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Point to Paper – Norways most famous ghost once wrote a letter to a psychic priest

Point to Paper – Norways most famous ghost once wrote a letter to a psychic priest

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Written by Kjartan Skogly Kversøy and translation of Norwegian Gothic handwriting by Gina Dahl In today’s post, I will move into the supernatural. I will both have fun and be serious. Again, some really old Norwegian letters have turned up. They have piqued my curiosity. The letters were once sent and received locally in what is now called the village of Sande and the city of Drammen. I systematically hunt for old letters. I think letters written by people that…

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Nibby Sunday – Recently Inked – April 2024

Nibby Sunday – Recently Inked – April 2024

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It’s been two and a half months since I last cleaned and refilled some pens, so now it was well overdue now. Some of the pens I filled back then have lasted a long time! It was early February, and I took inspiration from the songs on Sleep Token’s album Take Me Back to Eden in my choice of pens and inks. This time I‘ve made it significantly easier for myself. The pen case I usually bring to work holds six pens, so…

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Nibby Sunday – State of my collection – April 2024

Nibby Sunday – State of my collection – April 2024

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It’s been a while since I last wrote a post where I went through my whole pen collection, and I figured it might be time for a little update. So here are some numbers, and a rough overview of fountain pens, inks and other relevant things in my collection. To do the inks first: I currently have 228 bottles of ink. This includes 100 small bottles (30 ml) of standard Diamine ink. I also have an almost complete collection of…

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Point to Paper – Grandpa Shaved with a Straight Razor and wrote with a pencil made of slate

Point to Paper – Grandpa Shaved with a Straight Razor and wrote with a pencil made of slate

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Grandpa Walther grew up in Eastern Norway. He shaved with a straight razor. For him, being able to sharpen a blade that could cut facial hair was the mark of a man. I often wonder about things that once were common in Norway and suddenly became alien. Many things that were in everyday use for decades, generations and centuries have become obsolete and strange. Many things that were common in my grandpa’s childhood and youth in the 1910s and 1920s are…

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Point to Paper – Armie Hammer’s Great-Grandfather and the Mystery of the Pencils from Oslo

Point to Paper – Armie Hammer’s Great-Grandfather and the Mystery of the Pencils from Oslo

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Did you know that Norway once had five pencil factories? My colleague Anders wrote a very good article about this in January (link to the article). Their history is unknown for most people even in Norway. Did you know that Norway’s pencil history probably started as early as in 1768? That is remarkably early if you also know that the first wooden pencil in the US was made in 1812. On the website Pencils.com it is stated: “Early settlers depended…

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Point to Paper – Grandma’s handwritten cookbook and her famous Norwegian meatballs

Point to Paper – Grandma’s handwritten cookbook and her famous Norwegian meatballs

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Old handwritten cookbooks can be wonderful treasures. Of course they have recipes, but they also carry history. They often give insight in to the family that used them and the era in which they were written. Cookbooks are tools. They are not intended to be decorative items. They tend to be rough around the edges. If they are not, they are either new or were never very interesting in the first place. Cookbooks can be written with a fountain pen, a pencil, a marker or…

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Nibby Sunday – In Search of the Childlike Joy of Drawing

Nibby Sunday – In Search of the Childlike Joy of Drawing

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When we were kids, most of us enjoyed drawing. We weren’t necessarily very good at it, but that didn’t matter, because the joy was in the drawing itself, using one’s imagination. We hadn’t yet developed a critical sense that would tell us that what we made wasn’t good. We just had fun with it. This is something that the vast majority of us lose as we grow up. The joy of creating something, instead of the joy (or possibly the frustration) of what you…

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Point to Paper – All he wanted was a good teacher for his sons

Point to Paper – All he wanted was a good teacher for his sons

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Written by Kjartan Skogly Kversøy and translation of Norwegian Gothic handwriting by Gina Dahl Baron Fredrik Wilhelm Wedel-Jarlsberg wrote a letter on Christmas Eve 1840. He was sitting in his office on his estate Brunlaug (or Brunla) just ouside the city of Stavern in Larvik municipality. He was looking for a tutor for his sons. His sons were named Oscar, Hermann and Wolfgang. He aimed high and tried to tempt Mr. Candidate Thue to take the job. Thue had just received the best…

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