Book excerpt: The fountain pen as we know it today developed over thousands of years, from the simple stylus used for cutting marks into clay tablets, to the brush, through the reed, the quill and the steel-nib dip pen, and finally to the self-contained fountain pen. The advent of electronic communication of the written word has failed to dim the appeal of the fountain pen, and names such as Parker, Waterman and Sheaffer remain household names. Fountain Pens covers the complete history of the fountain pen with useful advice on how to build a collection and where best to look for fountain pens, from car boot sales to the internet.