In Memory of

 Dr. Philip Poole:  His Nibs

6 October 1909  --  23 February 1999


 

1990 Sunday Times Mag.  article (and photos)       Another Poole collection photo       The new Poole website

I  N     M  E  M  O  R  I  A  M


 
Meet Philip Poole, London businessman, delightful correspondent, and pen nib collector and historian extraordinaire.  OK, OK, so he wasn't a PhD. But did you know that the word doctor means "teacher" in Hebrew?  And if "His Nibs" didn't teach more people in his lifetime about nibs than did anyone else, I'll be most surprised!  At any rate, I call him Dr. Poole, and so it shall be, as far as I'm concerned.   :-)

The following article is from the May 27, 1990, issue of The Sunday Times Magazine, later reprinted in a 1994 issue of the magazine Scribe.  Text for the original article was written by Meriel McCooey; photographs are by Alastair Laidlaw  . 

Somewhat dated, then, it is nonetheless an excellent introduction to the man and legend--ladies and gentlemen:   D r .   P h i l i p   P o o l e .

PHILIP POOLE is a virtuoso of the stationery world.  At the age of 80, he can pinpoint without hesitation the date of production of almost every one of his vast collection of steel nibs, some of which date back to the 1850s.  Most of today's leading artists and illustrators patronised his Drury Lane shop, and cartoonists including Michael Heath, Ralph Steadman and Gerald Scarfe use his original fine steel nibs.

Those in the know can find Poole working daily from a small counter at the back of the artists' materials shop, Cornelissen, just by the British Museum.

Heath says before the Drury Lane shop closed he bought up about L60-worth of stock.  "His nibs are fine but tough.  It's the difference between a Rolls and a clapped-out jalopy.  The ones you buy today from a card are pretty duff, while a strong steel one can do anything for you.  I can draw without them, but I prefer the ones I bought from him.  I understand they are not made anymore."

Scarfe says: "It's difficult to buy steel nibs.  I now buy boxes of five dozen at a time; I think they are Geliot-Whitman 0365s.  On one drawing I can use up to six or seven, but the nibs today don't have the right resilience.  I like to etch my work across the page and draw blood.

"Modern nibs are not made from straight steel--they have all kinds of weird alloys in them.  The old ones are simple, strong, but not too pliable.  The line has a quality that makes the drawing become vivid and alive."

Poole, who started work in a shop selling artists' materials when he was 14 years old, opened a shop in Sicilian Avenue in his early twenties, then later moved to Drury Lane.  When the ballpoint pen was introduced by Miles Martin in 1945, the art of calligraphy went down the drain, while the art of doodling boomed.

"The first ballpoints cost around L2.50," said Poole, "a week's wages for some people.  In a few years they were fivepence or so and everyone had one."  Today, there is a real shift away from the Biro, and the art of handwriting is being revived.

 

And now, announcing:

Philip Poole--the Website!
Pen nibs, Reed pens and writing equipment
16, Brookfield Crescent, Kenton, Harrow, Middx. UK HA3 OUT
FAX: (44) 0 171 837 9122
Email: john@poolej.freeserve.co.uk

Web site: http://www.poolej.freeserve.co.uk/homepage.html

"We are pleased to announce our new web site and the possibility of ordering by mail order via fax, email, or even snail mail.   We stock a wide range of writing equipment and have a unique collection of pen nibs, many of which can only be obtained from us."       John Poole
 

 


You can click on this "thumbnail"
to see another beautiful, almost-full-size 
photograph of some more of the 
Poole collection's treasures.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In Memoriam

Philip Poole

(6 October 1909--23 February 1999)


 

                   Subject:        FWD: Philip Poole
                   Sent:             2/24/99 7:45 PM
                   Received:    2/25/99 11:47 AM
                   From:          PenLetters@aol.com
                   To:                john, jmcdgwin@zianet.com

                   Fellow calligraphers,

                   Today is indeed a very sad day.   I was just on the phone with John Poole, Philip 
                   Poole's son.   I guess by now you'll know what I have to say, so I'll just post the 
                   details.

                   Philip Poole died Tuesday night (I do not have the exact time).   Cremation ceremony 
                   is to be on Monday, 1st March, 1999, at 2:45 at Golder's Green (Golder's Green Station 
                   nearest tube stop).

                   Please do not send any cards or flowers.    If you'd like to make a donation, it can be 
                   made out to "St. John's Hospice" and forwarded to:

                             The Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth
                             St. John's Hospice
                             60 Grove End Road
                             London   NW8 9NH

                   I was shocked by this news, but after the second operation, he got better and then 
                   worse.    John's wife, Jane, said that he was happy up to the end with them telling 
                   him about nib orders and the like. 

                   He was at peace. 

                   We will all miss him.

                   Paul Antonio
 

 
For questions or comments concerning this page, please contact me.
Images on this site © Jeremy Gwin, 1998, with the exception of those 
on this page which belong to Scribe  , The Sunday Times Magazine ,
and/or John Poole.           Last updated March 11, 1999