Whether you are a fan of steampunk culture or Universal Pictures’ classic monsters, I am sure you will dig this new luxury writing instrument from Italian writing instrument maker, Montegrappa. Introducing the Montegrappa Frankenstein L.E. The Monster Within Pen.
While it is Frankenstein-themed, it also has a very steampunk-ish vibe. The generous use of brass elements, leather-esque features, and a handwheel-operated curio chamber built into the design exudes a steampunk vibe.
This pen is Montegrappa’s first-ever Universal Monsters creation and it is quite an extravagant and playful one. It marries classic horror aesthetics with the allure of vintage mechanical and electrical inventiveness, highlighted by lightning charges on the pen and laser engravings on the cap.
Frankenstein’s monster’s head can be found engraved on the fountain nib, and it has a miniature handwheel designed to offer an old-school theatrical experience by revealing one of cinema’s most epic character’s heads. Of course, it has the monster’s head. How else would be called a Frankenstein pen?
In case you haven’t noticed, the writing instrument resembles one of a mad scientist’s electrical devices that sends currents to animate the monster. The Frankenstein L.E. is handcrafted in Italy from antiqued brass, emulating Victorian laboratory equipment with dark ruthenium electroplating, and features tiny rivets and sutures as nods to both the machine and the monster.
This edition also pays homage to the movie industry with special effects. Well, maybe not movie-style FX, but it does include a spring-loaded capacitor clip, a cap release lock, a gyro fidget mechanism, and the aforementioned handwheel-operated curio chamber that reveals the head of the Frankenstein’s Monster embedded in the cap.
The Montegrappa Universal Monsters Frankenstein L.E. is available in both fountain and rollerball models, with the fountain pen equipped with Montegrappa’s supercharged Power-Push.
But the real draw here is not just the pen itself; it’s the entire setup which includes packaging that opens up to a diorama of the mad scientist’s lab. This lab features equipment on one wall, an operating table that also serves as the pen’s placeholder—complete with a leather pad and leather restraints—and a special ink bottle holder that suspends the ink in the air.
Rounding up the package is a wooden-colored base and a metal nameplate. Did we mention that it also comes with a straitjacket pouch for the writing instrument? It sure does and it’s a lovely touch. The writing instrument and the packaging are very impressive and highly collectible.
So impressive and uber-collectible that I almost clicked “ADD TO CART”—that is until I saw the price. This pen also embodies a monstrosity in its pricing: the rollerball sells for an eye-watering €8,795 (about US$9,374), and the power-push fountain pen commands an even more monstrous sticker price of €9,495 (around US$10,119).
Images: Montegrappa.
