These collectors' ancestors were hunters. They hunted to gather their daily rations of food or maybe just to survive. Now, as their daily food is guaranteed, they have diverted their instincts towards new hunting grounds. That is how collecting has replaced hunting in our modern societies, where nature and space have disappeared from our cities. Hunting to collect has opened new horizons to the man in the street. And indeed, experience shows that any prey will do if , deep inside, you feel the need for hunting. Telephone cards, boxes, bottles, cars, watches, pins or fountain pens, tc - in fact anything can be hunted - are the trophies to be brought home. Each of these categories requires different abilities. You do not hunt a Coca-Cola bottle in the same way as you hunt a fountain pen.

What are the numerous qualities requested for pen hunting ? Surely patience, an excellent sight, a good sense of observation and a touch of "feeling". You will sometimes have to step in a detective's shoes and inquire about the best hunting places. Reconnaissance can in some cases be necessary. And then comes the hunt itself.

You have been walking through the flea market for some time and , suddenly, you are not sure, you cannot believe it but you have seen somehing ... Is it a fountain pen or any other funny object that looks like one (and believe me there are many) ? It seems to be watching you, observing you, laughing at you . Your instinct makes you come to a standstill. After a few seconds, the moment has come to take a decision : speed or stratagem ? If you choose speed, you will have to hit your prey at once. One shot allowed like in deer hunting. If you miss it, another hunter could have a go at it and run away with it. Stratagem then ? 'Bargaining' is the technical word used here. In both cases the obstacle is the same: the price. Another technical word used to describe something standing between you and your prey. If you can remove it without too much harm for you, then you have hit your prey and you can slowly drop it in your pocket.

Some pens seem to hide. They surely know that you are after them. You also feel their presence, only a few meters away, there in that little woodden box maybe ... But where exactly ? You feel like calling them : Parker ! Waterman ! Sheaffer ! Are you here ? Answer if you can ! Come on, leave your hiding place !

And suddenly you bump into another hunter. Damn it ! He has just found one. The one you were precisely looking after. The one that had been sleeping in a drawer for so many years. A sleeping beauty that found her charming prince. He will give her the kiss that will bring her back to life for some time. And then, he will make a trophy of her and place her in a nice little box. She will be admired, praised, compared, priced and bargained. Maybe he was not an ordinary hunter but a sniper. This one is a true killer. For sure, the cap will be cracked or the clip lost in no time. He could also be a poacher. In that case, do not worry because the prey is in good hands. Its new master will take care of it. He will keep it warm in a nice place for some time, a sort of investment for the future, for fellow poachers or any other ordinary hunters to see in their so-called Pen Fairs.

"Hunters' Conventions" you might call them. Here, they meet regularly to show each other their trophies. Very easy ground for pen hunting. Much too easy actually. A bit like organized safaris. On the whole large bullets are indispensible here because the preys are big, colourful, precious and rare. In addition, they are all well behaved in their best clothes and ornaments, looking at you with that little smile in their eyes again, just waiting for you, their charming prince, to deliver them and have them become privileged members of your personal collection of trophies.