Pens and Feathers

Plumista Morelli. Barcelona, 2013

“Pluma” is actually the word for feather in Castellano but also came to refer to the writing instrument made from such plumage (ostrich being highly sought, I understand). Thus a “plumista” was one who sold pens.

I suppose that means the plumista sold what could be sort of a dual use item…by day, a solid tool of documentation and work…by night, a flexible tool of seduction. Today, “bolígrafo”, or “boli” for short, is now a more common term for the ubiquitous ball point pen–much less romantic, no?

Just one of a million shards of the Barcelona of old you can find as you wander the city.