When the hammerless shotgun first appeared, it was thought to be the end for the hammergun. Similarly, the fountain pen was widely assumed to be obsolete with the advent of the ballpoint biro. Yet one gunmaker, James Purdey & Sons, continues to offer old and new iterations of both. In each case the new form has not replaced the older version but simply taken its place beside it.
Currently, in collaboration with Montblanc, a luxury-goods manufacturer in Hamburg, Germany, Purdey is offering pens that incorporate elements of a shotgun. Part of a larger collection that includes a notebook, a game register, a bottle of cigar-scented ink and cufflinks, the writing instruments are known as the Meisterstück (“Masterpiece”) Great Masters pens. They are largely identical in terms of appearance and overall design and differ by one being a fountain pen and the other a rollerball. Both feature a reservoir barrel made from fine Turkish walnut checkered in the style of a shotgun grip and metal parts and inlays with engraving that evokes the embellishment of a shotgun action.
The dovetailing of Purdey and Montblanc tradition and craftsmanship is no coincidence, since both share Richemont as their parent company and have 322 years of luxury experience between them.
The Meisterstück Great Masters fountain pen costs £2,615 ($3,570), while the rollerball is £2,530 ($3,460).
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