PRESERVING FOUNTAIN PEN HISTORY SINCE 1991
The Pen Collectors of America is a collector-run, registered nonprofit serving everyone interested in the history, collecting, and use of fountain pens — from lifelong specialists to people who just inked their first vintage Parker last week.
What Your Membership Supports
Our work is funded entirely by our members. Three illustrated issues of the Pennant® each year, an annual pen calendar, the Reference Library, the Pen Show Calendar, the Repair Directory, and our education programs all exist because collectors decided, in 1991, that this hobby was worth organizing around — and every year since, members have renewed that decision with their dues.
The PCA is a registered 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. Donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
From a Living Room in Southern California, 1986
The PCA’s origins date back to 1986, when Dr. Robert Tefft organized the first gathering of Southern California pen collectors at his home. Before long the group — then known as the Southern California Pen Collectors Club — was meeting at a member’s home every two months. A newsletter followed. So did a reference library of old advertisements, catalogs, repair manuals, and other pen-related material, all of it contributed by members.
The SCPCC never actively promoted itself. It didn’t need to. As word spread, membership applications began arriving from across the country. To cover the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter, nominal dues were adopted as membership approached one hundred.
The Reference Library Goes Online
The Reference Library continued to grow, originally offering members the chance to order photocopies of thousands of pages of rare and otherwise inaccessible reference material. Eventually the entire holdings of the Library were digitized by PCA volunteers and made available through the PCA’s website.
That effort hasn’t stopped. New documents are scanned and uploaded continually. In recent years our preservation mission has extended to archiving copies of pen-related websites and online forums — too many of which have already been irretrievably lost.
The Library Opens to the Public
Members voted to expand the PCA’s educational mission by opening the Reference Library to the general public, with the only exceptions being publications still under active copyright.
Three Categories of Work
Membership dues fund what members receive, what we keep free for everyone, and what we make possible for the broader community.
What Members Receive
Three illustrated issues of the Pennant® a year, mailed to your door, plus our full-color annual pen calendar. The Pennant is written by collectors, for collectors — covering history, design, use, and repair across more than thirty years of accumulated expertise.
Open to the Public
The Reference Library, with thousands of pages of digitized catalogs, advertisements, repair manuals, and ephemera. The Pen Show Calendar. The Repair Directory of trusted restoration experts. None of this requires membership — that’s deliberate, and it’s funded by the people who do join.
What We Make Possible
Pens for Kids®, which puts fountain pens in the hands of students and teachers and introduces a new generation to the craft of writing. Pen Show Panel Discussions, hosted by PCA volunteers at major shows around the country, where experienced collectors share what they know with anyone who wants to learn.
Collector-Run, Volunteer-Powered
The PCA has no paid staff. Every officer, board member, librarian, editor, contributor, and panelist is a volunteer doing this because they love the hobby and want it to outlast them. Officers serve elected three-year terms.
See the full list of current officers, board members, and the volunteers keeping every program running.
Officers & Board →Ways to Support the PCA
The simplest way to support the PCA is to become a member. If you’d like to do more, we always welcome contributions of expertise and time.
Join the PCA
$45/year in the USA · $70/year international. Every dollar goes back into the magazine, the Library, and the programs above.
Join PCA Today →