Pitman gold pen sold for hundreds

The purchaser of the pen said he would use it for shorthand writing

The gold-nibbed pen used by shorthand pioneer Sir Isaac Pitman has been sold at auction in Bath for more than £700.

The pen belonging to Sir Isaac, who lived in city, was valued at between £80 and £120 by Bonhams auctioneers.

It was part of a sale of items from his home in Bath's Royal Crescent and the Pitman family home of Eastcourt House near Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

A Bonhams spokeswoman said: "The sale was well attended and we had phone bids from as far afield as Singapore."

The pen was bought by Commander Peter Duppa-Miller, who lives in the city.

"He said he would most probably try to use the pen to write in shorthand - and longhand," the Bonhams spokeswoman said.

Sir Isaac, who lived from 1813 to 1897, developed a form of phonographic shorthand, which has since been adapted for languages around the world.

It has been widely used by secretaries and journalists.

A rare first edition of Sir Isaac Pitman's Stenographic Shorthand, from 1837, fetched £763 at the auction.

A portrait of Sir Isaac in a 19cm gilt brass frame, sold for £2,115.

A manuscript volume containing copies of personal and business letters written by Sir Isaac in "phonography" between 1839 and 1843 was bought by archivists at the University of Bath for £2,115.

The items were among 300 lots of furniture, rugs, ceramics, works of art and other collectables, sold by Sir Isaac's four great-granddaughters.

"We expected a great deal of interest, particularly as he was such a well-known local figure, but I have to say the sale exceeded our expectations," the Bonhams spokeswoman said.