The inspiration behind the new Literary Collection: Pride and Prejudice

“𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐧-𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞d 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝟓𝟏’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐄𝐫𝐚.”

(Yes, a Bridgerton fan here)

The Inspiration

My love for the Regency era began in 2020 when I first watched Pride and Prejudice (2005), starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. Both actors portrayed their characters so well, I was deeply moved, and Mr. Darcy was simply chef's kiss. Since then, I’ve devoured every film and TV adaptation of Jane Austen’s works, as well as other Regency and Victorian-era stories. As a late '90s kid, anything vintage gives me a comforting, nostalgic feeling. When I discovered the Regency era, it felt like the kind of nostalgia that made me wish I could travel back in time and experience it. In 2022, my friends and I even hosted a tea party inspired by the era*.

  
*A tea party inspired by the Regency era in February of 2022

Ironically, I’ve never actually read any of Austen’s books (including Pride and Prejudice, which I own a copy of!) laughs, but I’ve watched the 2005 adaptation more than five times. (One of the best films to watch during the fall season in my opinion)

The Design Process

During my internship at Retro in 2023, I proposed the idea of creating a Jane Austen pen as part of either the Vintage Metalsmith or Literary Collection. Since Pride and Prejudice is my favorite of her works, we decided it would be part of the Literary Collection since it’ll be based on her novel. A fountain pen with a gold-colored nib felt like the perfect choice because it complements the era. Before starting the design process, I started with some rough sketches—most of my sketches are literal chicken scratch* nervous laugh, but they help me get my ideas down. For inspiration, I browsed Pinterest in searching for the mood, color palettes, and illustrations.

*Sketch of Pride and Prejudice pen design

The hardest part was drawing up the intricate patterns onto the pen. It was challenging not only to come up with a unique design but also to ensure that the fine details wouldn't be lost during production, especially since I wanted it to be acid-etched. I knew I wanted to include some flowers, and when I sketched one, I didn’t realize at first that it was a peony—a flower symbolizing romance and abundance, which worked out perfectly!

The most time-consuming part was hand-lettering the “Pride and Prejudice” text on the packaging. After trying to look for the right fonts for who-knows-how-long-not-going-to-lie-it-was-frustrating hands twitching I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I decided to draw it up with my own personal touch. It took quite some time, but the end result was really satisfying. The packaging, with its printed gold foil, also came together beautifully. With finishing the pens and packaging, I felt like it needed something more. I’ve always enjoyed illustrating characters, so I thought why not bring Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to life in my art style, which led me to create a postcard featuring the two main characters. I incorporated elements from the pen design and suggested using gold foil on the postcards as well.

The Finale

Now for the fun part: prop shopping and photography! Using what I could find at the store and the equipment at the office, I did my best to capture the pen's details while evoking the essence of the Regency era. During my little shopping spree (not really, I bought like five things), I got a few strange looks while filming myself in stores laughs, but hey, a girl’s got to get that content! The final touch was editing everything in Photoshop and voilà!

Cue Regency-era music

This passion project is something I’m incredibly proud of! The long hours spent drawing, designing, filming, and editing were absolutely worth it, and I hope the pen does well throughout the year at Retro. I’m excited to vlog more of our design process, so stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes content from the design team!

Check out the Behind-the-scenes video here

About the Author: Angel P. is a creative designer and social media coordinator at Retro51, collaborating and working with the entire Creative department. She tries her best to be a well-rounded artist that includes designing, illustrating, and anything that is a creative hands-on project. Additionally, she is a romance and thriller/horror book lover.

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