Make Your Mark: The Power Of Putting Pen To Paper

Discover the power of putting pen to paper at Montblanc Haus …

For me, handwriting is up there with scent when it comes to connecting you to a person. I came across an old letter from my grandmother recently, and it was as instantly emotive as a trail of her perfume. I still remember the impact of seeing scraps of scattergun lyrics at the V&A’s 2013 “David Bowie Is” exhibition (now part of the Bowie archive at V&A East).

This came to mind when I visited Montblanc Haus in Hamburg, where every one of the brand’s luxury writing instruments is made. The exhibition space (open to the public) is fascinating, and the final room takes your breath away: there’s a wall of letters and notes handwritten by writers and thinkers including Voltaire, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf. It’s powerfully emotional: you feel the presence of these incredible minds and personalities in a uniquely visceral way.

As we struggle to keep our heads above the tide of digital overload, putting pen to paper in a letter, a note, a journal is more precious than ever. It signals the luxury of taking time to do something thoughtful and considered. It’s about creating something permanent, giving visible shape to our thoughts. Patti Smith, for example, always writes by hand in a notebook: “Every notebook is a possibility … a new adventure,” she says.

It’s creating something permanent, giving visible shape to our thoughts.

Montblanc was founded in 1906 by a German engineer, inspired by the idea of a “safety pen” with a retractable nib, making it suitable for travel. His startup, originally called the Simplo Filler Pen Co, took the name Montblanc in 1910. Montblanc Haus traces the history of the brand, renowned for its Meisterstück (“masterpiece”) design, which first launched in 1924 with an 18ct gold nib and a lifelong certificate.

Since 1989, the manufacturing process has taken place on this site – even the tools to make the pens are made here. Particularly inspiring is the story of visionary marketing director Grete Grosse in the early 1900s, who designed a biplane, the Montblanc Doppeldecker, for aerial advertising, which caused a sensation when flown over the Leipzig Fair.

In the manufacturing part of the Hamburg site, we delve deeper. The nib is the “heart and soul” of every fountain pen. Each nib is unique and takes four weeks to create, demanding 35 separate steps. And every single nib is made from gold. It’s a necessary extravagance: gold won’t rust, and it’s soft enough to mould into shape. The tiny ball on the end of the nib, meanwhile, is made from iridium, one of the strongest metals in the world, making it durable.

At this time of year especially, the permanence of pen and paper appeals.

If you’ve ever wondered what makes Montblanc’s writing instruments so special, the nib testing room is one astonishing answer. In this soundproofed room, highly trained testers manipulate each and every nib, using a figure of eight shape, to ensure its perfection. They work in silence to hear and feel the nib – and they use invisible ink, so that the pen is not “used”.

Collectors have long vied for the limited edition High Artistry collections, testament to the immense research and storytelling they encapsulate. Special Editions – such as the current Queen collection – take several years to develop. “It’s the writing instrument as a canvas,” explains Martin Herd, Montblanc’s archive specialist. The Palace of Versailles, no less, recently collaborated on an extraordinary High Artistry collection.

It all comes down to the power of the pen. My father-in-law, a semi-retired orthopaedic surgeon, makes bespoke pens which he sells online, giving the proceeds to Pieta House – with the hope that writing a note to someone who’s struggling could make a difference (www.pensbyjames.eu).