Left to right: Montegrappa rollerball, Mont Blanc Oscar Wilde fountain pen, pencil and ballpoint, original Parker Duofold pencil, Swan fountain pen, Visconti Ragtime fountain pen, new Parker Duofold rollerball.

My first fountain pen was a cheap cartridge pen designed for calligraphy. It leaked everywhere and taught me to distrust everything but a ballpoint. Eventually I overcame that bad experience and discovered that fountain pens (and the more practical rollerball) are the most rewarding writing instruments in the world. First, I should say that I've never shared the popular fascination with the Mont Blanc pen. It has no heft and, except in its largest incarnations, no real style. I've always preferred flashy, decadent marble celluloid to simple black, as the examples on the left will attest. My first real fountain pen was a Pelikan I bought in Germany during college. Soon after, I was intrigued by the hard rubber pens of Recife. After that I was hooked entirely, and I've been collecting exotic pens ever since.

The Montegrappa rollerball at right is probably the best-made pen I've ever handled. It has weight and quality manufacture. The antique Swan, picked up in an Edinburgh shop in 1996, is one of the most beautiful -- a lever-filler with a very fine nib.

The green marble Oscar Wilde set is a Mont Blanc collector's edition from the late 90s. They were a gift from my father, and are the only Mont Blanc pens I really like. The ballpoint and pencil follow the classic lines of the Duofold pictured at top, and the fountain pen is nice and chunky with an oversized, slightly warped Mont Blanc logo on the cap. I've always thought the ballpoint would be the perfect pen to fill the loop in a Filofax, assuming you could find a Filofax loop big enough to hold it (I never have).

The black leather case the pens at left are displayed in came from Levenger, which has always provided interesting accessories for pen lovers, as well as pens.

The Visconti Ragtime, the second pen from the left, is one of my favorite fountain pens. I've always had a soft spot for Visconti pens, and the Ragtime, with its curious coloration and cigar-shaped cap, is a good representative of their early line. It isn't made anymore, apparently, which is a shame.

A few years ago, Parker resurrected the classic Duofold. I agonized over which pen from the series to buy, and ended up with the big rollerball. In retrospect, I should have gotten the fountain pen. But the black and white marble barrel of this classic is unmistakably fine.