Editor: I have recently developed an interest in fountain pens and was wondering if anybody knew what brand of fountain pen Foucault used? He may have used a biro (like Ian Fleming) but most writers at the time he was writing would have used fountain pens.
From the biographies and from those currently working in the archives we know he wrote by hand and that his writing is no easy matter to decypher. He had a secretary who was expert in decyphering his writing and typing up his work for publication.
For those of you curious about the writing instruments used by other philosophers and Martin Heidegger in particular, there is an interesting discussion on the Fountain Pen Network concerning Heidegger’s writing instruments and a most informative article by Richard Polt titled ‘Heidegger’s Typewriter’ published in 2022. (With thanks to Stuart Elden for both these references.)
If you have any information, feel free to leave a comment on this post or to email me directly.
Foucault News 
“Most writers at the time he was writing would have used fountain pens?” He was writing in the 60s-80s, long after the introduction of the ballpoint. Fountain pens would have been a preference, no?
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Although available biros weren’t widely used until the 1970s and fountain pens were generally used in schools until then as being better for handwriting and there was quite a strong fountain pen industry up until the early 1970s at least. It will be interesting to see whether anybody knows what Foucault’s preferences were on this front. We know that he didn’t compose on the typewriter.
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