September 1st came and went without much fanfare, but it was a rather notable day for me as it marked the seventh anniversary of the official launch of The Pelikan’s Perch blog. When I started this endeavor back in 2014, I never thought that it would grow into what it has become today. I was simply a guy who wanted to share my enthusiasm for the Pelikan brand with the community at large. The warmth of the response from my fellow enthusiasts continues to amaze and sustain me. I’ve gotten to interact with and help countless budding fountain pen enthusiasts along the way as well as contribute to broadening the knowledge base surrounding the brand. The Perch has always been my refuge, my outlet to relieve the stresses imposed by a very demanding day job, made all the worse since the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. While I can no longer publish quite as often as I did in previous years due to the increased demands placed upon my free time, I do hope that you have continued to find the site informative and enriching. I have always striven to bring you the latest developments surrounding the Pelikan brand in a timely manner and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Everywhere we turn these days, there seems to be new tragedy vying for our attention. It is easy to get disheartened by the current state of global affairs. With seemingly little to celebrate these days, I wanted to take a moment and reflect upon the last year and thank new and old readers alike for their ongoing support.  I have appreciated the interactions from within the comments section of the blog as well as via e-mail because it is precisely that level of engagement that makes this labor of love so worthwhile.  It remains my goal to shore up the foundations of Pelikan knowledge and break new ground where I’m able.  I plan to continue to forbid advertising, refuse solicitation, and not accept gifted products of any type for review thereby allowing me to bring you as clean and bias free an experience as possible since there is nothing more important to me than the integrity of the blog.  As such, contests are far and few in between here at The Perch but the last few years have seen very successful giveaways in honor of the blog’s birthday which is my way of thanking you for your support. This year will be no different and I would like to present you with The Perch’s fourth annual anniversary giveaway.  Rather than a pen as has been the custom of year’s past, I have decided to gift one lucky reader a whole book full of them. I have secured a brand new copy of Michael Silbermann’s recent book, Pelikan Limited and Special Editions 1993-2020, that I offer up to the community with sincerest thanks. Read on to discover all of the details about how you might enter for a chance to win.