Ohnishi Seisakusho x CK Blue Serpentine Acetate Ballpoint Pen
£95.00
Finally after much anticipation, discover our special edition collaborative colour ways - a cross cultural Franco-Japanese production bringing luxury spectacle acetate patterns to the stationery arena - a very good match overseen by yours truly for your delectation.
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Here are the last vestiges of a once booming industry of some 500 pen makers in Osaka, producing hand-turned celluloid pens from the 1920s onwards. We feel proud to present to our customers the pens of Mr Kato and his apprentice Mr Ohnishi, who have been safekeeping this craft single-handedly for the last few decades.
Legendary Mr Kato Kiyoshi, affectionately nicknamed in the trade "the Father of Pens", began producing pens at age 19, after his father, also a pen maker, passed away shortly before WWII. We are told Mr Kato kept a large quantity of celluloid rods buried in his back garden; when the war was over, he dug these out and established his own pen company, eponymously named the Kato Seisakusho Company.
The many colourful stories about his escapades selling pens around the globe and in particular in the Middle East - including anecdotes of camel-riding and bribing jail officers with Japanese fountain pens - would have us believe Mr Kato was as talented a salesman as he was a master pen maker! During the 80s onwards, as one of the few remaining expert celluloid hand-turners, he was called upon by luxury pen brands such as Visconti to produce small runs of celluloid special editions.
Details
Body material: Acetate cellulose
Mechanism: Twist
Refill type: Takes standard Parker-style cartridges
Dimensions: 14cm long
Included: one black ink cartridge, presentation box
View the gallery and article from our trip to visit Mr. Ohnishi in 2018!
