Friday, May 25, 2012 - 12:49:57PM
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- Visconti 2002 Limited Edition La Divina Commedia RoseGold Fountain Pan
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Visconti honours the Italian poet, Dante Alighieri,
and his masterwork, La Divina Commedia. The limited edition fountain pen is
crafted in vintage ivory celluloid with intricate scrimshaw. Depicting scenes of
Dante's visits to heaven and hell, the scrimshaw barrel is accented with 18K
solid pinkgold, including the angel-shaped clip.
Dante Alighieri was born in 1265, and served the
city state of Florence until 1301, when he was exiled from Florence as a result
of one of the Byzantine twists and turns of politics during those troubled
times. His most famous of works, the Divine Comedy, was begun around 1306, and
finished shortly before his death in 1321.
La Divina Commedia is a three part poem, detailing
the passage of Dante through Purgatory, Hell, and Heaven. Purgatorio, Inferno,
and Paradiso are each divided into thirty three cantos. This work is considered
to be a landmark in Western literature, and has been translated form the
original Italian into many other languages.
Visconti has chosen some great materials and
techniques for use with this pen, the result is very evocative of Dante's
writing. The Divina Commedia is made from a small stock of 1960s vintage
celluloid, in an ivory white color. It's a neat celluloid, almost a woodgrain
pattern of slightly lighter and darker shades of an off-white color. When viewed
from a distance, it does look like aged ivory.
The celluloid is further enhanced with a wonderful
scrimshawed illustration on both the cap and barrel, depicting scenes from the
Inferno in fine detail. The trim on this pen is solid gold, the very ornate clip
depicts an angle, and there is a heavy relief band that encircles the barrel at
the ink view window.
Aside from the material, and the decoration, the
Divina Commedia has a 18K nib with Double Reservoir system, which uses a plunger
vacuum style filler to fill the barrel with ink.
