The Valhalla Collection is the ninth in the David Oscarson™ series of Limited Edition writing instruments.
From the Bronze Age to medieval times, Viking mythology was the religion of Scandinavia. Today, legends of the Vikings are present in all cultures as a result of their ability to travel and plunder, leaving their marks across the face of Europe and the known world. Known for their ‘longships’ and crude weaponry, the Vikings also developed a crude runic alphabet, seen chiseled into huge granite rocks, called rune stones; they can be seen across most of modern-day Europe.
Valhalla (Valhöll) literally translated means ‘Hall of the Slain” and is in essence a Viking heaven, or ‘Otherworld’ into which Viking warriors pass upon leaving this life. It is a great structure – much like a Roman Coliseum – with 640 doorways, through each of which 960 champions can march shoulder to shoulder. Its rafters are spear shafts and its tiles are shields of gold. Here, fallen champions spend all day gaming and fighting one another in battle. At the end of the day, the dead and wounded are all healed, so they can spend the night feasting on the flesh of a boar whose flesh never diminishes and drinking from the udders of a magic goat.
In Valhalla, three Viking gods prevail: the Nordic Trinity, Odin, Thor and Frey.
Odin, ‘God of the Slain’ and ‘All-Father’ lives throughout all ages ruling his kingdom absolutely, governing all things great and small. He fashioned Heaven and Earth and is also credited for creating Man and giving him an immortal spirit ‘which shall never perish though the body crumble to dust or burn to ashes’. Odin is also the patron god of poetry and one of his poems slithers in the form of a serpent in high relief on the cap of the Valhalla Collection. Literally translated from runic script, the poem reads ‘he who would read the sacred runes is wise to waste no words’. Odin’s name is the basis for our modern day Wednesday (Odinsdag).
Thor is of course the God of Thunder. He is the guardian of the world – both of gods and men. His mighty hammer Mjöllnir is a short-handled weapon (the dwarf who forged it was interrupted in his work by a gnat stinging him on the eyelid). Named after lightning, or literally ‘ a thunderbolt’ it can be swung or thrown, and will always return to his hand like a boomerang. It is with this weapon that Thor maintains the stability of the world and keeps forces of chaos in check. Thor’s name is the basis for our modern day Thursday (Thorsdag).
Frey is the god of fertility. He is the noblest of gods. He controls the rain and sunshine and therefore the natural increase of the earth and it is good to call upon him for fruitful seasons and for peace; he also controls the good fortunes of men. Frey was the paramount god of the Swedes and revered as the divine ancestor of their kings. Frey is said to have built the great temple at Uppsala (just north of Stockholm) when he made it his chief seat and the Swedes made sacrifices to him at weddings: ‘He bestows peace and pleasure on mortals’. In Norse mythology, Frey is remembered as a symbol of the divine marriage between the sky and the earth that produces Spring. (His twin sister, Freyja, is the most excellent of the goddesses and was the mistress of Odin for a time. Her name is the basis for our modern-day Friday.)
In contrast to the crude art of the Viking era, the Valhalla Collection is portrayed in the technical expertise of Guilloché engraving and the artistic mastery of Hard Enamel. The Collection incorporates three levels of Guilloché and three colors of translucent and opaque hard enamel on each Collection piece.
The Medieval design of this Limited Edition requires three separate stages of engraving. The entire body of the pen is first cut down to the level of the background, leaving the outlines of the rune stone and longship in high relief. The wave and granite patterns are then engraved onto the surface of the body of the pen. The third stage of engraving applies the smaller serpent motif to the surface of the granite; the larger serpent remaining raised in high relief.
Each David Oscarson Writing Instrument is available as a Fountain Pen in Fine, Medium, or Broad. It is also available as a Rollerball Pen or can be purchased as a convertible set to switch between the two writing modes.
This special edition of 8 pieces is in opaque black and translucent white and mint green.
Domestic Shipping
The Pleasure of Writing is happy to offer free domestic standard shipping for orders over $150. Orders below $150 will be charged the carrier rate calculated at the checkout. Most orders are shipped within 1 business day. Once your order ships, we will e-mail you a tracking number so you may track it at UPS.com or USPS.com. Please note transit times do not include weekends and holidays and deliveries only occur on business days.
We do offer express shipping. Please note express orders will be shipped out within 1 business day. Transit time begins when the order ships and does not include holidays and weekends. Some products are not able to ship express.
For special shipping or delivery requests please write your request in the comment section or contact us by email or phone.
International Shipping
International shipping is available. We offer DHL standard shipping options at the carrier's rate calculated at the checkout. Once your order ships, we will e-mail you a tracking number so you may track it at DHL.com. Please note transit times do not include weekends and holidays and deliveries only occur on business days.
The recipient will be responsible to pay any duties or taxes.
If you need to update your shipping address please email (info@ThePleasureOfWriting.com) or call us at +1 831-626-8828. We will do our best to update the shipping address if your order has not shipped. If your order has already shipped we will not be able to change the shipping address. If the order is returned to us we can re-ship for an additional shipping charge.
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At The Pleasure of Writing, we hope that you love what you ordered. In the event that you are not satisfied, however, we have policies in places for returns, refunds, and repairs.
Upon receiving your order, be sure to carefully handle and inspect merchandise for any damage or defects; should there be a physical problem with the order, let us know as soon as possible by either calling us at 831-626-8828 or via email at info@thepleasureofwriting.com. The window for notifying us is within 30 days of receipt your order. Return requests received following day will be judged on case-by-case basis and may incur a restocking fee.
At The Pleasure of Writing, we hope that you love what you ordered, but if something is amiss with your order, let us know right away. Upon receiving your shipment, be sure to carefully handle and inspect pens for damage or defect.
Should there be a defect, we will work with you on a solution. In certain cases we can work with the distributor or manufacturer to replace the merchandise, in which case all shipping and handling will be covered. In the event that a refund is wanted for defective items, we will refund 100% of the sale to the payment method.
If the reason for return is based on preference, i.e. you received the item and didn’t like some aspect of it though it is fully functional, we will work with customers on a case-by-case basis to determine the best options. In some cases we may offer either store credit or refunds to payment method less a 15% handling fee (to cover the fees we incur from such returns); either way, we are always happy to work with our clients to help them find exactly the right writing instrument.
Once the necessity of a return has been determined, we will issue a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number, which you should write clearly on the outer box. Return shipping charges will be the responsibility of the customer (except in the case of damage/defect); we recommend shipping via insured ground service with a tracking number.
Returns must be received in their original state, and include all original packaging (warranty papers, cartridges and converters, etc.), and of course if you need to return a product because it is damaged or defective, we will apologize for the inconvenience and make it right.
Note that all returns are at the discretion of The Pleasure of Writing.
Once your return is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item and the status of your refund; if approved, your agreed-upon refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment within 10 days. Note that some refunds can take time to process depending on banks and credit card companies; if you haven’t received an expected refund, contact your financial institution first.
Note that we are unable to accept returns on any item that came free with another product or was purchased on sale, closeout, or other discounts; additionally, we cannot accept returns on any special-order products that can take many months to prepare, or on pens or nibs that have been modified in any way. Neither can we accept returns on used ink, paper, journals, sealing wax, or other supplies.
Note that we accept inked or dipped fountain pens for return or refund with the 30-day window, but these will incur a 15% fee as we can no longer sell them as new merchandise.
