Most likely you are familiar with Cross pens. They were founded in 1846 by a family of jewelers and have been used by Presidents since Ronald Reagan for signing bills into law and formalizing other important documents. Growing up, personalized Cross pens were a gift at milestones and from business partners. Back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s they were something of a status symbol. They claim to come with a lifetime manufacturer's warranty which it may be time to test out. We could be the recipients of a bounty of new, beautiful, working pens.
I still love a beautiful pen. My husband gave me a fancy fountain-style pen for our anniversary some 20 years ago. It travelled around the world with me on business trips and to board meetings. I was crushed when I lost it - maybe it was when my purse was stolen one day from my San Francisco corner office. I’ve had other nice pens but that one was special.
Fancy pens seem to have fallen out of favor as no one seems to write on paper much anymore. But don’t worry! We have plenty of inventory!
Recently as I was searching for something else, maybe a yellow sticky note in my mom’s desk, I came across a stash of them. Maybe 10 old gold-ish, silver-ish and matte black Cross pens and pencils. Many, maybe most, are almost unusable due to dried out nibs, old roller balls or broken graphite. If you are just looking for a free, taken-from-a-bank, working ballpoint pen, good luck finding one. If you want a fancy, 40-year old Cross pen, we’ve got you covered.
Another day, I came upon another box stashed in a drawer and guess what? Yep, more Cross pens.
Why aren’t we actually using these? I don’t know where to get roller refills but I am guessing it wouldn't take me long to find out. But no one (myself included) seems to prioritize this task enough to take it on, so we use crappy $.25 pens and let these nice ones take up space.
A quick trip down a Reddit rabbit hole tells me we are not alone in hoarding these trinkets, but I can’t tell if they are worth a dime to anyone else.
I also uncovered a jar of ink - probably also 20+ years old and if I am patient, I might find the pen that needs it.
Nearby I discovered a package of carbon paper that was moved all the way from the East Coast to California 25 years ago. If you are under 30, you have probably never used carbon paper. If you even know what it is. I used it to make copies of my papers in its purplish ink on our Smith-Corona Selectric typewriter in middle and high school.
Actually, my dad made these copies while he generously stayed up late many nights typing my papers for me as I scribbled edits. He graduated from journalism school and worked on newspapers in the Army and on the sports desk for his college newspaper and was probably a 120 Words Per Minute typist back in those days. Although his preferred medium was, and still is, a yellow legal pad and a sharp Fort Ticonderoga pencil, or better yet, a Cross pen.
If you’ve discovered a place that loves Cross pens or a way to get them fixed, let me know in the notes.
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