How Did That Name Get on My Pen?

The art and science of pen personalization through the years.

- TIM LAROS

It is not uncommon to find vintage writing instruments with personalizations added to establish ownership in case the pen or pencil was lost or borrowed. Often these personalizations are to commemorate a special event or anniversary. Pen shops often offered this service as a promotion or at little or no cost.

Personalizations were added by various methods including hand engraving, heat stamping, and mechanical pantograph type engraving.

Hand engraving was generally applied by jewelers skilled in the art. Many pens had blank panels on the barrel or cap just for this purpose.Hand stamping and mechanical engraving became routine by pen shops and department stores in the 1920s with the invention of easy to use heat embossers and pantograph engraving machines, making point of sale personalizations an easy selling aid.Pen dealers used a variety of devices for hot stamping plastic pen barrels. The most common of these were made by the Franklin Company of Norwood, Massachusetts, and the Lewis E. Kinsley Company of Hollywood, California.