Visconti La Divina Commedia Vermeil Yellow Gold Fountain Pen

VISCONTILIMITED EDITION 2002 LA DIVINA COMMEDIA FOUNTAIN PEN

Visconti honors 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 vermeil, including the angel-shaped clip. Only 388 were produced.Dante Alighieri was born in 1265, and served the city state of Florence until 1301, when he was exiled form 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 vermeil, 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.

Total length with cap closed: 143 mm (5.6")

Total length with cap behind the barrel: 167 mm (6.6")

Diameter of the barrel: 14 mm  (0.6")

Pen is new and never been used. The fountain pen has never been dipped nor inked.