A hobby that lasts a lifetime and gives much joy and pleasure. Those memorable finds, the great people you meet, the new places you explore when searching. It is a truly engrossing pastime. Find an area, of collecting, that interests you get out there and enjoy. Garage sales, Markets, Antique Fairs, Grandmas cupboard, Second Hand Shops, Antique Shops and word of mouth tips, are all great places to start and continue a lifelong enthusiasm.
Have we had enough rain yet? After all those years of drought, water restrictions and failed crops it is still hard to say we have had enough. We must be getting close though. We surely are a country of droughts and flooding rains. A few years of in-between times would be wonderful!
A friend, Glenda, secretary of our Local Taree Collectors Club gave a report on one of her collecting activities and she has kindly allowed me to share it with you.
‘Collectors collect a variety of things, as we saw with Peter’s (our past Secretary) collection and his collecting habits.
When setting off on my first overseas travel, a friend asked me, or told me, to check all the public phones and collect used phone cards, for her husband.
We know Peter on his travels collected a lot of ephemera and collectables including the Coke/Cola cans which he displayed at our last Collectors Fair, (at Taree Police Citizens Youth Club – PCYC) then he sold the whole collection.
As a tourist I collect only what I can carry and use later on. When I was searching for a Permanent Ink Pen yesterday and going through several tins of old pens I thought, this is something I can bring for Show and Tell at our next meeting. All my old pens just got thrown into a container and forgotten.
I asked my grandson recently for a “Biro”. He said, “What is a Biro?”. Our aging members would have all grown up using pencils, then pens with a nib dipped into an ink well. Then we moved to Fountain pens – I really loved them, my first swimming trophy was a fountain pen (but didn’t keep it). Next came the BIRO aka Ballpoint pen which were produced under many names.
The creation of the ballpoint pen is usually credited to a Hungarian Argentine inventor Laszlo Biro, but an American, John J. Loud received the first patent for a ballpoint pen in 1888. It used a ball and socket to deliver sticky, quick drying ink. But it was too sticky, the ink was coarse and didn’t work well on paper, but it did find an industrial use for writing on leather and cloth.
Laszlo Biro saw an idea in the quick drying inks newspapers use. His brother George, a chemist, helped him. They used a tiny ball bearing to serve two functions. It distributed ink evenly from the cartridge to the paper and it held the rest of the ink inside the cartridge. They made improvements to the ballpoint so it could write smoothly like a fountain pen.
When WW2 started they fled Budapest to Paris, Madrid and then Argentina, where they applied for a patent.
One of their contacts was an English accountant, Harry Martin, who saw the ballpoint could solve the problem faced by Britain’s Air Force. Conventional pens leaked and were sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure, no good for writing aircraft logs. The pens went into commercial production in 1945 and were a sensation. In the US the Reynolds pen sold for $12.50 ($150 in today’s money). People lined up to be first to buy the new technology.
When today’s young people think they have all the technology, just remind them about the Ballpoint pen.
We take so much for granted. I have seen so many changes in my lifetime but have never given any thought to the history of the Biro or Ballpoint pen which are used by everyone, at school, work, home. We buy them as souvenirs, use them, then throw them in a container and forget them. They are great for fund-raising. They have many and varied uses eg. Calligraphy, fine point work, gifts, garden work and much more. Shorthand writers always used pencils, but probably now use Ballpoint pens or even computers.
Thanks to Glenda for her story and research.
Peter Williams, our Collectors Club Secretary, left for the trip of a lifetime, (at the start of Covid – March 2020) to cruise around South America, through the Suez Canal, visiting many ports along the way. Peter contracted Covid and was transferred to a Florida hospital where he passed away. Peter is remembered for his work, his collecting and his enthusiasm. Rest in peace, Peter! A reminder to enjoy every moment we can. Life is precious!
Don’t forget to visit our “best little Museum anywhere” in Wingham on the corner of Bent and Farquhar Streets, Anna, Rob and Adam at Clancy’s in High St, Taree, Barry at Isadora’s Antiques in Victoria St. Taree and Sue at Delinquent Funk in Isabella St, Wingham.
Dave (a good friend) and I have opened a shop (Antiques & Old Wares) at 12 Isabella St, Wingham. Call in and say hello.
I hope that collecting brings you the enjoyment that I have experienced over forty odd years!
If you have items that you are not sure of, I may be able to help with information, appraisals and/or sales. I love the history and stories of old and interesting treasures.
Phone Rex – 0427 880 546.
Take care and stay safe!
Photo; – A pen collection with purpose built display grooves.