The smiley face is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the Italy-based Montegrappa pen company is taking note of this important bit of cultural history. The recently introduced Smiley® 50th Anniversary pen collection comprises a fountain pen, rollerball and ballpoint, and it is making a bit of history of its own.
A variety of individuals have claimed credit for the smiley-face design, but many attribute its global recognition to France-Soir, the newspaper in which it appeared on January 1, 1972. Smiley has since spread around the world as a symbol of positivity and “good vibes,” causing all who encounter it to smile, too.
But historians may be interested to learn that a much older representation of the smiley face was uncovered in 2017, when archaeologist Nicolo Marchetti found a pot with a smile etched on it—two dots and a curved line—which he dated to around 1700 BCE, from the Hittite civilization. And thus began the lineage of a symbol that would branch, eventually, into the ubiquitous smiling-face emoji of the 21st century, introducing a whole new generation to the power of a smile.
More recent history points to the symbol’s association with music.
“By the ’80s, the Smiley was adopted by an unexpected, underground subculture — electronic house music,” according to hypebeast.com. “It tore through the airwaves in Detroit and was soon picked up by British youths across the pond. In a period known as ‘The Second Summer of Love’ the rave scene, which popularized the sound, propelled the symbol to new heights. This connection has really stood the test of time, and in some parts of the world Smiley is very much associated with music.”
Montegrappa collaborated with Swedish graffiti artist, André Saraiva, and his take on the pens and packaging—like all his artwork—is joyous, captivating and free of constraints.
Pens and their happy packaging.
The new pens, which use the profile of Montegrappa’s ZERO as their canvas, point to the inherent optimism the smiley symbol engenders, and each black resin barrel is decorated with “Take time to smile!” in yellow block-style lettering. The pen’s cap, also in black resin, features a clip that says “Smiley & André” in script; all trim is in palladium. The cartridge- or converter-filled fountain pen’s 14-karat nib is engraved with the well-known dotted eyes and upturned mouth, looking straight up at you when it is poised to write. And the cap crown, as you might guess, is fitted with a yellow smiley.
The fountain pen weighs 32 g, is 143 mm long, and is 18.3 m in diameter, while the rollerball weighs 40 grams, is 143 mm long and is 14 mm in diameter. The ballpoint pen weighs 30 g, is 143 mm long and is smaller in diameter, at 12.7 mm. Just 365 pieces are available in each mode, celebrating a year’s worth of smiles.
The pens are sold is special Smiley Anniversary packaging, which is bright yellow and decorated with additional iconography designed to spread happiness; the number 50 is boldly evident. The fountain pen box includes a smiley-decorated bottle of ink.