Botany Bay – L’Artisan Pastellier

L’Artisan Pastellier is french ink / calligraphy materials producers. They offer two lines of inks suitable for fountain pens: Callifolio (inks made for fountain pens, neutral PH and so on) and Encres Classiques.

L’Artisan Pastellier inks don’t get much love or attention here. I understand this as they’re not easily obtainable. You may buy them directly from the producer’s on-line/stationery boutique.

L’Artisan Pastellier inks cab be bought in nice triangular glass bottles (40 ml), packs alu (60 ml) and small bottles (30 ml). The 36 colors are:

1. Anahuac
2. Andrinople
3. Aurora
4. Bleu Atlantique
5. Bleu Azur
6. Bleu Equinoxe 5
7. Bleu Equinoxe 6
8. Bleu Mediterrannee
9. Bleu Pacifique
10. Bleu Ultramarine
11. Baikal
12. Bonne Esperance
13. Bordeaux
14. Bosphore
15. Botany bay
16. Bourgogne
17. Byzance
18. Cannelle
19. Cassis
20. Grenat
21. Gris de Payne
22. Havane
23. Heure Doree
24. Inca Sol
25. Inti
26. Itzamna
27. Noir
28. Oconto
29. Ohlanga
30. Olifants
31. Olivastre
32. Omi Osun
33. Sepia
34. Teodora
35. Violet
36. Yalumba

Here’s long re-review of the ink. Actually new review. I had a bottle I didn’t use since writing review above. I’ve been writing with this ink for a week in three pens. Papers I used are different.

Let’s start with a name. I really enjoy geographical and mythological references Callifolio line makes via the names of the inks.

Botany Bay, discovered on 29 April 1770 by Captain Cook, who first named it Stingray Bay, later Botanists’ (Harbour and Bay), and finally Botany Bay in his journal, probably to honour the botanists aboard HMS Endeavour led by Sir Joseph Banks as well as to mark its floral novelties. Banks later (1786) advocated Botany Bay as an ideal place for a penal colony on account of its supposed fertility. The first fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip landed there on 20 January 1788 and, finding Banks’s account much exaggerated, moved on to Port Jackson, landing there at Sydney Cove. Nevertheless, the name Botany Bay became synonymous with Australia, first as a convict settlement, and later as a generic name for fine-quality Australian yarn. Today much of the shores of Botany Bay are taken up with Sydney‘s southern suburban residential development.

On pictures the site looks pittoresque. What Callifolio made with this ink is a little disappointing. If you tend to use very wet nibs (take a look at last picture) result will be satisfying. However in two other pens I filled with it the ink felt dry and was weakly saturated. After one day of not using Faber-Castell e-Motion I experienced some hard start. The color is supposed to be deep blue/black. It isn’t. It’s washed out greyish thing. Not really exciting, and it behaves decently only in some pens. Maybe some properties changed during two years I wasn’t using it?

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Color range

TOmoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Leuchtturm1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Copy paper, Faber-Castell e-Motion, fine nib

Lyreco Budget, Faber-Castell e-motion, fine nib

Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy 2000, OB