Dietmar Geyer's book 'Schreibgeräte sammeln — Vom Faustkeil zum Griffel, vom Federhalter zum Füllfederhalter und Faserschreiber' traces the history of writing and its tools from the hand axe to the modern fibre-tip pen. Geyer covers, among others, so-called agent pens — James Bond, played by Roger Moore, is said to have used a solid-gold Montblanc as a life-saving weapon in 'Octopussy' — as well as fountain-pen materials such as hard rubber, galalith and bakelite. The book recalls historically vanished and still existing fountain-pen makers along with their famous brands and describes, in a short industry report with numerous colour photos, how a fountain pen comes into being.
Separate chapters are devoted to ballpoints, quill pens, pencils, steel nibs, inks and fibre tips; shaping, idiosyncrasies, design, decoration, accessories and two collector stories supplement the volume. It is illustrated with carefully selected photos and pictures from old original advertising. The book appeared in 1989 from Verlag Laterna Magica (ISBN 3-87467-391-X).