Meet the pen Obama uses to sign bills
President Obama signed his — ahem — signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act, five years ago this week. And he had a fancy pen to do it, too.
More like 11 pens, actually, one for each letter of his name. Note the box to his left.
Like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him, President Obama uses a Townsend pen for signings. That said, Obama hasn’t affirmed much legislation lately — no word on whether he uses the Townsend for vetoes.
Its manufacturer, A.T. Cross, supplies lots of pens to the White House
“The second thing is, the White House gives out mementos to people who come and visit — important people — and we participate in both those categories,” says Cross CEO Chad Mellen.
While Mellen says it’s a privilege to be the Presidential pen provider, Cross does sell the custom pens to the White House. Not so to the general public, if you want to get Obama’s pen, you can find a Townsend like it for about $150 retail. Otherwise, your best bet is Ebay.
American Presidents aren’t the only notables wielding Cross Pens. Queen Elizabeth signed a bill with one, and former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a big fan, often photographed with the silver Century pen glinting from a pocket.
And the Cross pen isn’t a recent phenomenon.
“We’ve got a letter in our archives … John Steinbeck sent a note back to his editor saying that he’s going to have stop writing unless he can get some new Cross pens and refills,” Mellen says.
Looking to the future, is Cross worried by the explosion of tablets, stylus and keyboard?
“The idea that handwriting is going the way of the buggy whip is not accurate,” he says.
Instead, Mellen thinks digital handwriting — stylus or finger on screen — could soon merge with old-school writing on paper.
“That’s where we really see writing instruments and handwriting going.”
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