Montegrappa Cult Collection Pirates Limited Edition Sterling Silver Fountain Pen ISCUP3SC, 2016

Among the limited edition series produced by Montegrappa is the Cult Collection, honouring individuals, artists and elements of popular culture. It is with a sense of both delight and mischief that the craftsmen and women at Montegrappa present to you the writing instruments commemorating those swashbuckling adventurers who terrorized those who traversed the Caribbean during the 16th through to the 19th centuries – and who, to this day, provide us with legendary exploits and larger-than-life figures to entertain us in books and films.

The Age of the Pirate
Immortalized by writers including Robert Louis Stevenson and Rafael Sabatini, in films including The Buccaneerand the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean series, and emulated by any child with a toy sword and an eye-patch, the pirate is one of villainy’s most appealing characters. Heroic, or likeable pirates have been exemplified on-screen by Johnny Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Errol Flynn’s Captain Blood.

Despite the undeniable criminality of the pirates, their wanderlust, independence and rebelliousness have combined to create a fabled period, encapsulated in the past through literature – both fact and fiction – and film. Their look has been emulated by popular performers, defining the style of Adam Ant in the 1970s and the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards long before he portrayed a pirate on-screen. And while piracy remains a real concern in the 21st century, there is no doubt that the buccaneer will forever fascinate lovers of adventure.

The Pirates Pens
Offered as piston-fed fountain and rollerball pens, the Pirates writing instrument is made in Charcoal Black celluloid and a die-cast precious metal barrel and cap. This impressive masterpiece has been produced in both Sterling Silver with yellow gold details, and solid 18k yellow gold, embellished with an array of symbols that have defined the buccaneer for six centuries.

Brimming with intricate details, the barrel and cap bear the grinning skulls and bones known as “the Jolly Roger”, with the crossed bones this corsair’s hat, and a sword serving as the pen’s pocket clip. Festooned with the ropes and chains essential to seafarers, the Pirate pens also feature ships in full sail and a representation of the mermaid Syrena, whose fate was interwoven with the notorious pirate, Blackbeard.

The silver fountain pen is limited to 399 pieces (same as the roller pen) as a precise reference to the 400-t gold that pirate William Kidd allegedly buried in different secret places around the world – among these, Gardiner island in New York and Sainte-Marie island in Madagascar, in the last decades of the 17th century.

Fitted to the Pirates fountain pen is a nib made of 18 k gold Medium nib. It is embellished with a Jolly Roger pattern. Each Pirates pen arrives in its own “treasure box” finished in red lacquered wood, with black interior.

The silver fountain pen is limited to 399 pieces (same as the roller pen) as a precise reference to the 400-t gold that pirate William Kidd allegedly buried in different secret places around the world – among these, Gardiner island in New York and Sainte-Marie island in Madagascar, in the last decades of the 17th century. This writing instrument is new, has never been used, and is accompanied by the original documentation proving authenticity. Although it has been stored in a climate-controlled vault, the outer cardboard box and the inside of the presentation box show marks due to age.