Welcome to the NIBsite!
Here at John Gwin's Nib Collecting Site you are welcome to...What's that you say? Oh, sorry. Guess I forgot that not everybody knows what a nib* is. We're talking here about the little metal pen points you slid into a pen holder or pen staff to make a dip pen. Then you dipped the point into a bottle or well of ink and wrote a few words or lines before having to redip. Surely you've seen them! And before they existed, people wrote with sharpened quills (feathers) which wore down quickly and had to be resharpened often. Remember now? Alright. Sure you do. :-)

Anyway, as I was saying, you're welcome here! This site is for you. I've had a wonderful time developing these various pages, and I couldn't seem to help skipping around from page to page, working on one for a while, then moving to another, creating and adding yet another, getting my son to take more pictures of this or that. I wish I had more time to work on them all, but life's other duties have constantly kept me on call, and with my newfound (May 1999) interest in tracing my children's genealogical history, I really haven't been putting much time into the NIBsite at all. However, if you have questions or comments about unfinished sections--or any part, for that matter, please feel free to write and ask.

I live in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and actively collected antique dip pen nibs, the boxes/tins in which they came, and other related antique articles--and researched the companies that made them--from the summer of 1995 to the summer of 1999. I ran a small calligraphy studio, La Mano Elegante, for several years, having had an interest in the art and its instruments most of my life. For now, though, I've put my collection away, my extracurricular interests having moved on to the field of researching my family's genealogy. Much of my nib collection is sold or committed to others. But I hope you can still use this site as an educational resource.

* nib \'nib\ n [prob. alter. of neb] 1 : BILL, BEAK ; 2 a : the sharpened point of a quill pen b : PEN POINT: also : each of the two divisions of a pen point (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Massachusetts U.S.A., 1981)

My purpose in having this site on the web is fivefold:

1. to introduce potential NIBblers to the world of NIBbling (my term for nib collecting);
2. to provide an educational resource to other collectors (use the menu buttons above);
3. to meet more of you wonderful people through a common interest;
4. to organize and share genealogical information with family members;
5. to share with anyone interested what I've discovered about what life is all about.

Again, please contact me at jmcdgwin@zianet.com if you have any questions. Please know that one is apt to find errors of many types herein. Thank you especially for contacting me when you find any! Oh, and please do sign the guestbook (below) if you haven't already. :-)

It's good to have you here! Thanks for coming over--hope you can return soon.:-)
 
 

Visitors Since July 1998

These first few links are for people who use and/or collect nibs:

1.--Need we say more?

3.--Callig--the Calligraphy Listserve (CyberScribes) with some pretty fantastic examples plus instructions for joining

4. and 5.--Dr. Joseph Vitolo's site is dedicated primarily to Spencerian and offhand flourishing examples--this friend is also webmaster for the I.A.M.P.E.T.H. site--(the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting).

6.--Other Nib Links --this link takes you to my "Brief History" page's list of historically-related nib links

7.--A fountain pen for your favorite nib! My friend Charles Ackerman has produced a marvel here--calliggers, you'd best get yourself over to his site and check this out: http://www.ackermanpens.com

8.--NIBblers (my term for nib collectors/dealers) with whom I've traded and/or from whom I've bought

9.--Jim Gaston's Pen Site--I'm honored to share a link with this gentleman.  He not only has one of if not THE best known fountain pen site, he also has a list of links to over fifty other premiere pen sites.  <http://www.jimgaston.com/sitelink.htm>

And here are a few of my "other" favorites!:

9.--www.Screenit.com--"But Mom, all the other kids' parents are letting THEM see it..." Tired of arguing with your teens and pre-teens about what they shouldn't see? Do your homework first! Here's a very detailed review of current and older movies/videos for discerning parents.

10.--CWRU's Introduction to HTML--Wanting to build your web page? Have some good how-to's!

11.--The Bridge--a concise, scriptural, step-by-step account of how to become a real Christian and know God personally on a day-to-day, minute-by-minute basis!

12.--Breakpoint with Chuck Colson--radio show of Nixon/Watergate "hatchet man", founder of Prison Fellowship

13.--eBay--largest on-line auction service--great place to buy/sell nibs (and all else, too, including the kitchen sink!)

14.--eBay Cafe--a great place for eBayers to kick back, have a cup of coffee, and visit with friendly people!

15.--http://www.keeney.com Calling all Keeneys and others! You can take I-64 to the Winfield, West Virginia, exit, and go south away from Winfield until you come to the Old Road, taking it east toward Scott Depot but turning north onto Cow Creek before you get there, following the creek out to the last house after the hardroad stops--or you can click here and enjoy the ride that cousin Daniel Adrian Keeney is preparing to take you to the "end of the creek"! It's an oncoming, ongoing, down-on-the-farm, online Keeney Reunion--and a whole lot more! So get yourself on down there, family! And hey, he has the cheapest domains around, everybody! Get yours now--and spread the word! :-) http://www.keeney.com/domains/references.htm

16.--A Columbine Challenge--excerpts from the text of an address before the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on Thursday, May 27, 1999, by Mr. Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School murders in Littleton, Colorado

17.--Must've Been the Guns--Paul Harvey's tongue-in-cheek segment on the Columbine killings...
 
 
 
 

I was directed to your site by a mutual acquaintance who said that you should receive my award for providing useful information for others on the Internet. I agree! I'm not a nib collector but it looks like a fun habit to dip into. Anyway, here's the award, and keep up the good work!

Barbara
http://www.barbara-rush.com

Main Page (Introduction, Purpose, Guestbook, Other Links, Award)

The Collection (List of all the different nibs I owned through March 1998)

The Nibs (Photos of many interesting nibs including others' collections, Ground or Grooved Essay, List of NIBblers--with Links)

The Boxes (photos of some of my nib boxes and tins)

A Brief History (Nib-producing countries & companies, A Tough Question: Maker, Distributor, or Advertiser?, Reference Sources, Some Fascinating Related Links,)

Personal Information (Meet My Family, Other Interests: Knowing God, Teaching School, Writing Poetry)

Genealogy Homepage (A list of over seventy surnames with many links to pages for different families)

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For questions or comments concerning this page, please contact me .
Images on this site © Jeremy Gwin, 1998.
Last Updated June 14, 2000.