Saturday, June 4, 2011

A World of Writing

Dear Lindsay,

Inspired by your reported dreams and successes in the strange-pen world, I went to that famousest internet auctions clearinghouse to see what they might have in the way of glass pens; and I've come accross something very strange!

WHY, do you suppose, are there so many venetian-made glass pens in East Asia?

That is all.

God bless,
much too tactile for six words

2 comments:

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

Venetian glass pens? In Asia? Mystery!

Belfry Bat said...

My *gut*instinct* reaction, which may be my stereo-typed reaction, is to remember [the urban legend? the tidbit?] that the Mandarin words for "study" and "copy" are indistinguishable --- a hold-over from the trans-dynastic era of government officials appointed by examination; and that at least one Chinese firm is essentially a "study" of the Rolex watch company.

On the other hand, it strikes me as just possible that there was, once upon a time, enthusiastic traffic between Venice and East Asia; and that there would have been much interest in the very calligraphic culture of the Far East for the Western take on writing tools.

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