Pens that Signed Treaties

New Zealand Tablet, 20 September 1906, Page 12

Pens that Signed Treaties

The great historic interest attaching to the pens used -in signing fche peace treaty between, I . Russia and Japan at Portsmouth, U.S.A., was * evidenced by - the" extraordinary^keenness ■of makers in all , parts of the world to gain the distinction of supplying them Fens poured in from dozens of different manufacturers ; and, ,to avoid disappointing any of these enterprising firms, it .was decided that the . treaty' should -be signed with quill pens. This was quite in accord with precedent as well as the eternal fitness of things ; for, as a" matter of-fact, such momentous documents as peace ' and other treaties have more often than -not been sighed with the good" old-fashioned quills. If the newspaper reports can be believed, "however quill pens were, notwithstanding the announcement preA viously made, not used at the signing of the treaty The two Russian representatives are said- to have subscribed their signatures with pens brought from -the Foreign Office at SI. Petersburg. The holders . are described as being of brown-colored wood, tipped with black horn. - : ' r • 4 P M L two J apanese envoys likewise came equipped hSJJL f£- ° W - U P ?u s ' Jl hou sn they are reported to -have bought theirs m the United States. If- this is-actual-ly the case, American -manufacturers ' will leave '• no fnroH Un r rned J° discover the identity of the make for advertisement purposes. ■ 7»+JL} S "'^"tood that on each side the signatories shm \ -f hCir ens , after the siEnin 'S of the treaty, nrlA WoUi 'd, Perhaps, have been" a graceful act io gethe? President who brought them toThough their intrinsic value is practically nil, these pens always command high prices when offered for ■sale by public auction. Nat long ago there was of'pari* a i«SA c ln - Vi * nna the P e » -which was used at St£ a +,»r- ♦* ninety-one years a-go by the high In hJSnS S J£ c t re f tv A1 embodying, what is known lo history as the -Holy Alliance. They were the Czar Alexander I. of Russia, the wXamSTW?^ L -° f \ UStria ' and Xin S Frederick •lv m , IIIv of Russia, who on September, 26 1815 Zm * ?? + S - Pc? ? ubs <pbed their signatures to the treatvr which it is interesting to recall was actually drawn up ay the first- named. nrfin T i fi * st * id t fo + r Jh« Precious relic, which was the property of the late Count Palkenhayn, was 125fr but it was ultimately knocked down to Consul General von Lmdheim for 800fr., or something under £32 of the current coin of this realm sen* nf ft?™ 7 well^ known that the ex-Empress Eugenic of France is the proud possessor of the historic pen wrth which the Treaty of Paris was signed by all In Sf 11 Ptenipotentiaries who were parties there--reiain Q tr vr^HK""* 1 had - a P arti^lar desire to fS v m I himself the Pen with which he signed, but wfth ftl SS WaS so a ? xious * hat thcv should all sign with the same, and tbaj, she would be allowed to Keep it, that none of ' them could deny her mvi :+u fourteen signatures were .accordingly appended with the one pen, which was afterwards handed over to the Empress It, too, was a quill, but, quite anpropnately it had been plucked from the wing of a S? I '^ /agle and was richly mounted with gSld and sioSSly. 8 ' PCn ex-Empress still uses oc} a - . Another pen with which a famous treaty was' lo^Thi/i^Ti! 00111 \^ famil F of Viscount 7 B^ngor. This is the pen that was used, on the occasion of the signing of the peace treaty between France and Austiia in October, 1809, and whiclT 12 knowa as the Treaty, of Vienna! By' it the lastnamed country was bereft of more than 42,000 miles of her finest territory and of some three and a fi Scr n pow OcrO ers h€r Pe ° Pie ; Wh ° beCame **%>&*« The pen came into 'the possession of its nresent owner through an^ ancestor, who occupied the tELt^of secretary to -a former Viscount Castle^eagh It Tsstil S3 s «- but of a happie? kind thin that whach made it famous. . When any member of the Bangor family marries it is with this nen that ■the marriage register is signed/ - P -at