Classic Pens LR Lighthouse 2001

by Jim Mamoulides, March 1, 2024

Classic Pens LR Lighthouse fountain pen 2001

A Coastal Scene

The Classic Pens LR Lighthouse is a one of a kind art pen following on the visual design of the LR series collaboration between Paul Rossi and Andreas Lambrou. It was custom made to be a gift, and the artwork on the pen is based on a stained glass panel.

The design is comprised of two views of the lighthouse as separate scenes on the cap and barrel overlay panels. The barrel panel shows a lighthouse with its attendant residence on a rocky peninsula or island. Nearby is a single large tree, and in the background is a mountainous coastline with billowing cumulous clouds overhead partially blocking the sun. The cap panel features a closeup of a seal sitting on a rock surrounded by choppy waves. A two masted schooner in full sail glides behind with the lighthouse in the background and clouds above. Each element in the design is highly detailed. Note the cliffs below the lighthouse, the seal’s fur, and the rock the seal sits on. The artwork includes cut outs that allow the Lapis Lazuli Blue of the Parker Duofold Centennial pen to become the sea and sky background.

Classic Pens LR Lighthouse fountain pen 2001

It's not known what lighthouse was the inspiration for the artwork on the pen, or the stained glass panel that inspired the design. It does bear some resemblance to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, located about 28 miles north of Santa Cruz, California, just off the very scenic California 1 coastal highway. It sits on a cliff at the end of a short peninsula that overlooks a part of the central California coast. At 115 feet tall, it's tied for the tallest lighthouse on the west coast of the United States. It was built in 1871 and went into operation the next year. If the lighthouse is on the U.S. west coast, then the seal on the rock is likely a Harbor Seal.

Although this pen is not part of the limited series Andreas Lambrou and Paul Rossi began developing in 2000 as the Classic Pens Lambrou Rossi LR collection, it shares the same look and feel. The cap and barrel overlays are hallmarked 925 in an oval, indicating sterling silver, on the front near where the cap and barrel meet, and below the clip on the cap. The barrel overlay has Paul Rossi’s initials on either side of the hallmark. The back side of the barrel overlay is engraved with the original owner’s initials.

Classic Pens LR Lighthouse fountain pen 2001

The base pen for LR Lighthouse is the Lapis Lazuli Blue Duofold Centennial, which was introduced in 1987 as a modern interpretation of the flattop Parker Duofold of the 1920s. Parker updated the pen in 1996 with several new design changes, favoring the streamlined Duofold design introduced in 1929. The changes included a new two tone 18 karat gold nib, a tapered cap top, a new cap top emblem, a single plated band on the nib section, two wide cap bands, a single plated barrel end trim band, and a shorter barrel end cap. Interestingly, this pen has the nib from the earlier Duofold Centennial, but I don’t know the story behind why. In addition to black, three new marbled cap and barrel colors were introduced, Jasper Red, Jade Green, and Lapis Lazuli Blue, made from acrylic resin.

This was made as a single, unique overlay pen and is in a private collection.

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References

Parker Duofold, by David Shepherd and Dan Zazove, 2006 Surrenden Pens Limited, Brighton, UK, pages 278, 316-319

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, Copyright © 2024 State of California