MONTBLANC 2022 Writers Edition Homage to Brothers Grimm Limited Edition 9800 Fountain Pen

Ref. 128362

Mod. M28355

Limited Edition: 2212/9800 (nice number)

18k – 750 Medium (M) Nib

Made in Germany

Where is literature truly alive if not there where it reaches the soul, where it cools and refreshes or where it warms and strengthens?

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, preface to Children's and Household Tales, second edition, Volume I, 1819

Dedicated to the German language - the Brothers Grimm

“Once upon a time ...” These four simple words conjure up images of magical creatures, enchanted forests and mysterious figures. 

Over 200 years ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their first collection of fairy tales - timeless, universal stories that have enthralled people of all ages down through the generations. 

In addition to this remarkable feat, the two scholars were passionate linguists on a mission to document and preserve historic sources. 

Due to the tremendous breadth and depth of their scholarly work, ranging from German grammar to the crowning achievement of their linguistic research, the German Dictionary, they are considered the founding fathers of modern German philology. 

Montblanc has created the Montblanc Writers Edition Homage to Brothers Grimm Limited Edition in honour of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, whose works have an impact beyond all regional and temporal boundaries.

In the fantasy world of fairy tales

'Sleeping Beauty', 'Hansel and Gretel', "Snow White', 'Rapunzel' and 'Cinderella' - they all appeared in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales) in 1812. 

The Brothers Grimm initially looked on their collection of fairy tales as part of a cultural history project. 

They travelled around, combed through libraries, evaluated various literary sources and wrote down the old proverbs, stories and sagas that women used to tell on long winter evenings spent spinning. 

Kinder- und Hausmärchen first became popular with the 'small edition' published in 1825 with illustrations by another brother, Ludwig Emil Grimm. Ever since, the Grimms' fairy tales have provided many children all over the world with their first literary experience. 

They open up a wonderous world in which animals speak and people can transform, where evil witches and handsome princes live in deep, dark forests - but where almost every story, no matter how gruesome, has a happy ending. 

The black precious resin of the cap and barrel, contrasting with ruthenium-coated fittings, reflects the sinister, enchanted atmosphere of fairy tale forests. The unusual silhouette of the writing instruments recalls a wooden walking stick like those frequently found in the woods. 

Wilhelm Grimm's signature is immortalised as an engraving on the barrel.

Always coming to a happy ending

Many of the more than 200 fairy tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm speak directly to the heart, especially when innocents are made to suffer, condemned to banishment or even killed: the beautiful Rapunzel, for example, with hair like spun gold, who is held captive inside a high tower without a door or stairs, or Snow White, whose extraordinary beauty drives her stepmother to such a jealous rage that she tries to have her stepdaughter killed by a huntsman.

These stories and their resolutions - how Snow White is saved by the seven dwarves and later by the love of a prince, and how Rapunzel happily unites with a king's son in the end - are now famous not only because the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales were translated into almost all the languages of the world, but also because of countless films, stage adaptations and musical interpretations. 

The image of Rapunzel letting down her magnificent locks from the tower inspired the wavy surface of the edition and the 'R' on the cap. 

The cone, which is shaped like a spindle, is embossed with Kinder- und Hausmärchen in old German script and the number 12 in reference to the twelfth fairy tale: the story of Rapunzel. 

The fountain pen is also embossed with the year 1812, when Kinder- und Hausmärchen was first published.

Of crackling firewood and crispy gingerbread

Brightly dancing fire, splashing water and pitch dark - the Grimm fairy tales are firmly rooted in the motifs of ancient myths and legends, which centre on the primitive elements of life. 

Fire, especially, which offers warmth and protection as well as danger, plays a pivotal role in countless fairy tales. 

There is Rumpelstiltskin dancing around the bonfire, Sleeping Beauty, whose hearth fire dies when she slips into a century-long slumber, and Hansel and Gretel: abandoned at their campfire, the siblings lose their way in the woods only to discover a gingerbread house belonging to a witch. 

True to her evil nature, she attempts to fatten Hansel and shove Gretel into a hot oven. 

The flames that consume not Gretel but ultimately the witch herself have the power to transform evil into good, thereby upholding the mythical meaning of fire as a symbol of transformation and renewal. 

This central motif of the Grimm fairy tales, stories people used to tell or read to children while gathered around the fire, inspired the engraving of a blazing fire on the handcrafted, rhodium- coated Au 750 solid gold nib.

Once-in-a-century linguistic research

What the Brothers Grimm achieved goes far beyond the world of fairy tales. 

In tribute to the courageous acts of the 'Göttinger Seven' and the brothers' contribution to society, the clip top is framed by an engraving of 'Göttinger 7°. In 1838 the Brothers Grimm resumed an old project idea. 

The German Dictionary was one of the most comprehensive works of linguistic research ever attempted. 

In it, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm set out to explain every German word that had been used in the previous 250 years, including etymological derivations and synonyms. 

The brothers could only partially complete this ambitious project during their lifetimes. 

When Wilhelm Grimm died in 1859 and the elder Jacob followed him four years later, they had only reached the letter F. 

The platinum-coated clip resembles gnarled roots in token of how the two scholars worked to trace the roots of language back to their origins.

When viewed from the side and turned, the clip's shape reveals the profiles of both Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. 

The cap top is decorated with the Montblanc emblem in precious resin. 

The final volume was published, with sources, 133 years after work on the dictionary had begun.

The years during which this colossal work was in progress, 1838-1971, are engraved on the cap top, while an engraving of Jacob Grimm's signature decorates the cap. 

Despite the extent of the Grimms' linguistic research, what remains in the minds of many people all over the world are the four famous words that signal the beginning of almost every fairy tale and which also adorn the cap ring of the writing instrument: ‘Once upon a time…’

All original boxes and papers (blank): full set configuration. 

The matching Montblanc Homage to Brothers Grimm Limited Edition Forest Green ink (50ml, ref. 129483, Made in Austria) is included as well.

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