Hornbeam  is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to the southern of the UK, but widely planted elsewhere. The name hornbeam comes from the hardness of its timber - ‘horn’ means ‘hard’ and ‘beam’ was the name for a tree in old English. The European Hornbeam is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree, for planting in gardens and parks in the UK, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.  The wood of the Hornbeam is a pale creamy white with a flecked grain. It is extremely hard and strong, and so is mainly used for furniture and flooring.

Historic uses for the wood included ox-yokes, butchers' chopping blocks and cogs for windmills and water mills. A tonic made from hornbeam is said to relieve tiredness and exhaustion, and in the past its leaves were used to stop bleeding and heal wounds.

The English Yew  is a conifer tree native to the British Isles and Europe. The leaves, bark and seeds of the yew  were employed in olden days to make a poison. Today, the yew is used to produce Taxol, a cancer fighting drug.

The wood of the yew was widely used by early native Britons. The oldest known wooden implement discovered to date, has been a spear made of yew wood. About 50,000 years old, it is from Clacton-on-Sea in  England. In the Middle Ages, yew became the preferred wood for bows. Yew wood was also one of the "nine sacred woods" used in the ritual fires of the Celts, and was said to have magical properties to protect the soul.

The yew is a long-lived species. The oldest tree in Europe is said to be the Fortingall Yew of Fortingall, Scotland, near Loch Tay. It is estimated to be somewhere between 2,000 -3,000 years old.

MONTICELLO RYE WHISKEY DISTILLERY

These pen blanks were cut from boards from the Monticello Rye Whiskey Distillery in Maryland.  This distillery was established in Baltimore, Maryland in 1789 and was originally called The Monticello Distilling Company and was the first commercial distillery built in Maryland.  The distillery was built from virgin long-leaf yellow pine.  The best estimate is that these trees were approximately 400 years old when they were harvested when the distillery was built.

We have been fortunate to obtain some of this historic lumber (re-sawn from beams that were reclaimed from the distillery) and are offering it for our pens.  This is very old heart pine that is extremely dense. 

Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

Route 66   

U.S. Highway 66, popularly known as "Route 66," is significant as the nation's first all-weather highway linking Chicago to Los Angeles. When contrasted with transcontinental corridors such as the Lincoln Highway and U.S. Highway 40, Route 66 does not stand out as America's oldest or longest road. Nevertheless, what sets this segment of national highway apart from its contemporaries is that it remains the shortest, year-round route between the Midwest and the Pacific Coast. U.S. Highway 66 reduced the distance between Chicago and Los Angeles by more than 200 miles, which made Route 66 popular among thousands of motorists who drove west in subsequent decades.

Perhaps more than any other American highway, Route 66 symbolized the new optimism that pervaded the Nation’s postwar economic recovery. For thousands of returning American servicemen and their families, Route 66 represented more than just another highway. "It became," according to one contemporary admirer, "an icon of free-spirited independence linking the United States across the Rocky Mountain divide to the Pacific Ocean." In recent years Route 66 imaginatively documented in prose, song, film, and television has come to represent the essence of the American highway culture to countless motorists who traversed its course during the more than fifty years of its lifetime.

The Route 66 Motel is located on historic Route 66, with round beds and a collection of vintage cars. The Route 66 Motel offers guests a fun blast of nostalgia along with modern.  Although it's classic Route 66 on the outside — down to the neon sign — this two-story motel is updated on the inside. Route 66 aficionados get a thrill from the motel's collection of antique cars and other memorabilia from the glory days of America's Mother Road. 

The oldest buildings in San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square were already standing in 1893 when Domingo Ghirardelli’s sons purchased the entire block of property to use as the headquarters for their father’s successful chocolate business. From 1899 to 1915 the Ghirardelli family continued to add four more buildings; the Chocolate Building, the Cocoa Building, the Clock Tower, and the Power House. In the 1960’s when the Chocolate Company was sold, the prominent Mrs. William P. Roth and her son bought the factory property and restored many of the original buildings to create the tourist attraction that we recognize today. As the Square has undergone more changes in the past few years to make way for such things as seismic upgrades, luxury time-share apartments, and a wine tasting area, In 1982 Ghirardelli Square was inducted to the National Register of Historic Places. Tuscany Pens has been fortunate to receive some of the original beams from the restoration.

Please fill out the form below to get a quotation for your custom Ghirardelli Square pen - a useable work of art.

Beginning operations in 1904, the “House of Cribari,” winery is nationally known for a large variety of quality table wines, sparkling; aperitif and dessert wines; alter wines and vermouths.

Benjamin Cribari, the founder, first immigrated to America in 1899 from Cosenza, Italy. In 1903 the family moved from Colorado to California and the next year acquired forty acres of land in Paradise Valley, in the foothills of southern Santa Clara County where the first vines were planted.

During Prohibition the family business expanded through the sale of sacramental and medicinal wines; and the selling of grapes to individuals making their own wine. Expansion lead to acquiring, among other holdings, a Fresno winery: the famed, “Las Palmas Vineyard,” originally founded in the early eighteen nineties by Benjamin R. Woodworth.

In 2005, demolition of the Las Palmas building began and we have acquired some choice pen blanks from lumber from structures dating back almost 100 years.

The perfect gift for the wine connoisseur or history buff!

Please fill out the form below to receive a quotation for your Cribari pen.

We have some pen blanks that were cut from large timbers that were being sailed from Washington to England in 1909.  These timbers were to be used to build ships for the Queen’s navy. The timbers are stamped HRM, (Her Royal Majesty).

A storm hit off Grays Harbor, Washington and ship and cargo went down. These timbers were underwater for 90 years before they broke free, floated to the surface and washed ashore. Some farmers pulled them to safety with tractors.

The material is straight and grayed. Knots are small and far between. It is very heavy due to the fact that the already green wet timber in 1909 was underwater for 90 years.  This is awesome material.

Please fill out the form below to receive a quotation for your historic ship's pen.

USS CALIFORNIA

USS California (BB-44), one of two Tennessee-class battleships completed shortly afterWorld War I, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 31st state. She was the last American battleship built on the West Coast, and the only one to be a dreadnought type. She served in the Pacific her entire career, and for twenty years was the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. She was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor at her moorings in Battlehsip Row, but was salvaged and reconstructed. She served again for the remainder of World War II before being decommissioned in 1947.

USS MASSACHUSETTS

USS Massachusetts (BB-59), known as "Big Mamie" to her crewmembers during World War III, was a battleship of the second South Dakota class. She was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the sixth state, and one of two ships of her class (along with her sister  Alabama) to be donated for use as a museum ship. Massachusetts has the distinction of having fired the US Navy's first and last 16-in (406 mm) shells of the war. 

We have enough wood for just one pen.

USS HAYLER

USS Hayler (DD-997), the last Spruance-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Vice Admiral Robert W. Hayler.  The ship was launched on 2 March 1982 and commissioned on 5 March 1983.  It saw deployments in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, the North Atlantic and the Persian Gulf. It was later decommissioned on 25 August 2003.  This wood survives from a Plank Owner’s piece of the ship.  “The Plank Owner” is a title given to the first crew to serve aboard a ship and is a special honor in the eyes of those involved in maritime activities.

We have sufficient wood to make 6 pens. 

Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

NAVAL AIR STATION ALAMEDA

The Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda has a remarkable history. It was one of the largest, most complete Naval Air Stations in the world and was located on San Francisco Bay in California. It was commissioned on November 1, 1940, just in time for World War II.  Carriers based at Naval Air Station Alameda included USS Ranger, USS Midway, USS Coral Sea and USS Hancock. All called Alameda home.  NAS Alameda had two 8,000 ft. runways, three seaplane ramps and a lighted seadrome. The air station had 300 buildings and 30 miles of roads.  The base was closed in 1997. 

Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

Shittim (pronounced Shi-teem) Acacia wood from the Sinai Desert was the wood that was commanded to Moses in the construction of the Ark of the Covenant:

 Exodus 25:22 "It was made of acacia or shittim wood, a cubit and a half broad and high and two cubits long, and covered all over with the purest gold. Its upper surface or lid, the mercy-seat, was surrounded with a rim of gold; and on each of the two sides were two gold rings, in which were placed two gold-covered poles by which the ark could be carried."

This wood has been legally harvested from the Sinai Desert in Israel. We have sufficient wood to make 2 pens.  The pens will come with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

While living at his farm in Derry, New Hampshire, famed American poet Robert Frost was inspired by a maple tree outside his window to write the following poem:

TREE AT MY WINDOW

We have obtained some of this historic wood from the Maple Tree Event in 2007 and have sufficient wood to make 6 pens.  This is the perfect gift for Robert Frost fans, English and literature teachers, or anyone that appreciates historic wood.

Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

GENEVA STEEL

The Geneva Steel mill was constructed from November 1941 to December 1944 by Columbia Steel Company and United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel).  Vineyard, Utah was chosen as the location because of the material needed for steel production was close at hand. In addition, Utah Valley was far inland, away from the possible Japanese attack on the West Coast.  It operated as a U.S. government facility until June 1946, when it was sold.

The plant was shut down in November 2002.

This is a great gift for history buffs! Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.

University of Michigan Crisler Center

Crisler Arena -- now known as Crisler Center with the addition of the William Davidson Player Development Center -- has been the location for Michigan athletic events for 45 years. The men's basketball team has called Crisler its home since the arena opened in December 1967, and the women's basketball team has used the arena since its inaugural season as a varsity sport in 1973-74. U-M wrestling and gymnastics have also called it home, while a multitude of campus events and concerts have been held at the facility over the years.

Please contact us with your requirements for a quotation.

Paris, Missouri Covered Bridge

We were lucky to get some of the original wood from the covered bridge at Paris, Missouri.  The Covered Bridge was built in 1857 over Middle Fork of Salt River.  The builders were Joseph C. Elliot and son William B. Elliot.  The bridge was a narrow Burr Arch structure, 100 feet long.  Roy Power restored the bridge in June 1952, and a strict weight and vehicle restriction was placed on it.  In August 1958 the bridge was swept away by floodwaters.  Present bridge rests partly on stone foundation of the old bridge. 

There is sufficient wood to make one pen.  Please contact us with your pen requirements and we will be happy to provide a quotation.