Jack Cunningham's extensive collection of fine pens runs the gamut of prestigious brand names: Montblanc, Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer, Pelikan, Bexley. Admittedly, he owns "more than a couple hundred" of these writing utensils, but he keeps the official tally under tight wraps.
"I never try to publish that, because I'm afraid my wife will see it," he laughed.
In contrast to other pen collectors, Cunningham, a lawyer with Frost Brown Todd LLC, is only interested in modern pens, not antique varieties --
and for good reason, he puts them to good use and appreciates the craftsmanship.
"It's really the personal side of it," Cunningham said. "And now, we've got some young lawyers here that probably have never seen a fountain pen -- for them it's a throw-away ball point. We're in such a fast-paced world. When I sit down and try to do some notes or outlines, I don't do it on a computer; I do it in handwriting," Cunningham said. "It just kind of clears my mind a little bit, gives me a chance to think."
Cunningham first became enamored with pens when he found a half-priced Montblanc while stationed in Japan, serving for the Marine Corps. Since that first acquisition, the collection has ballooned to fill dozens of pen portfolios -- each dedicated to a different brand.
"I may not use a pen in this portfolio for five years," Cunningham said. "I'll just decide where I want to go visit. Is it the Montblanc world? Is it the Parker pen world? That's kind of the fun of it."
For people hesitant to invest in a single fine pen,
given their notoriety for getting lost or disappearing, let alone begin a pen collection,
Cunningham assures that losing a valuable pen is an occurrence that will only happen once.
"Folks say, 'Gosh, I'd hate to have that nice pen, because I'd wind up losing it.' And I respond, 'You'll just lose one, trust me.'"