The Santa Fe Connection

The Sketch

Inspired by The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi located in the heart of the historic -- and very lovely -- Santa Fe downtown area. I also tried to depict the beautiful big spruce tree in front of the cathedral.

The Pen

Simply a fountain pen, which was used to create the sketch, what's so special about it?

It's an old fountain pen made in the 1930s -- which means it's a nonagenarian today -- and yet, it is still beautiful due to its condition. As a vintage fountain pen restorer and collector, I appreciate it for its rarity (especially in this almost mint condition) and elegance.

The next two sections contain the photos which I took during the short trip.

The Film Photos

First up, photos from a roll of film that I took with my Leica M4-P. I haven't used that camera since I switched hobby from photography to fountain pens almost a decade ago. The Leica's small form is perfectly suited for walking around and Santa Fe + Taos area are rich with interesting photo subjects.

UPDATE: After waiting for 2 weeks, my roll of film -- a very expired and probably fogged Kodak 135 -- was developed and scanned by a local film lab. Part of me wish that I still have my chemicals and darkroom, but we can't have everything.

This absolutely scenic bend of the Rio Grande, visible right off the highway.

The iconic subject whenever we're in Santa Fe. The grain and even tonality of Kodak 135 really shines here. I had to boost the contrast a bit but not much.

Spotted a very rustic corner of a studio in Taos, perfect for the 35mm lens.

A Pontiac Star Chief cruising along the street in Taos. This is a lucky shot because there were many cars on the street and the street itself was under construction.

Inside a historic house in Taos.

The Digital Photos

These are the photos taken with my phone.

The big cross in a courtyard with a cloud "halo".

A section of the Rio Grande where we can actually step into the river. The clarity of the water is mind-boggling.

The window with weathered wood pattern makes this pueblo-styled church even more elegant.

The clouds, the random van, and the stones.

The little but busy cafe where lunch was served with Mexican ballad songs.

Roadside neighbors and a dramatic tree.

A lot going on in this photo. I'll let you pick your favorites. For me, the cloud and the roof sign.

Comments

The Garant Alkor

At First Glance Here's a good-looking fountain pen. The name is Garant Alkor. Garant was a pen manufacturer in the former East Germany (DDR) in the 1950s. Some of their pens were identified as late as the 1960s. Beyond that, sadly, very few pen factories survived globally, and among those who did, there are even fewer who still manufacture fountain pens. This "Alkor" is considered the top-of-the-line model. There are the Nilor and Silor models (and maybe others that I'm not aware of) which are smaller. It's quite a big vintage pen, clocking at 5-3/8 inches (or 136 mm) capped. The "girth" (barrel diameter) is about 13 mm, and the cap diameter is 14.6 mm at the widest part. Far from being small and skinny. Here it is with fellow German piston fillers from around the same era, the Montblanc 254 and the Pelikan 400: As you can see, it is quite big compared to the Pelikan, and the Montblanc. The material is plastic, but I can't say that it feels like cel

The Aurora 88

Restoring a classic model from Aurora Introduction This pen was designed, made and marketed to compete with the famous Parker 51. While there were many pens that were "inspired by" the 51, the Aurora 88 stands out as one of the better built ones. Even just holding the pen, you can feel that this pen was not a by-product, rather, a well designed one; made with enough material thickness that conveys the substantiality. Originally released in 1946 by Aurora in Italy, who enlisted a famous designer Marcello Nizzoli for this model. This 88 model is the first, followed by a few other varieties, including some which are not piston fillers. And because this pen is a piston filler, I slightly prefer it to my 51, plus the gold nib on these are sometimes flexible (in a crisp and nice way). As in the case of this particular sample. Before we start with the restoration story, here's a bit of glossary on the parts that make up a piston filling system: A dial (or knob). This is the par

The Camel Pen Restoration

The Brown Marble Beauty I got this beautifully preserved sample of the Camel pen late last year (2021). It was also one of the highlights for Redeem Pens if only because of the amount of time I spent restoring it. It is not an exaggeration when I said that it took me months to get this pen back to its original function. But it's all worth it because this pen is just amazing. Not only it looks good, but it is also a super nice pen to sketch / write with. Model-wise, this one does not have the ornate cap band, but it is equipped with the Camel 14K gold nib, which puts it near the top-of-the-line offering. The nib writes in a wet fine, and it is one of those vintage high-quality flex nib. It is absolutely one of those pens that I enjoy to sketch with. The History The Camel Pen Company was created by Joseph Wustman in the mid-1930s in New Jersey, USA. The star of the company's products is a fountain pen that uses dry ink pellets, stored in a compartment at the end of the barrel. Th

Redeemed Pens

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