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United Under the King and Linguistic Culture:

When Jean Armand richelieu proclaimed the founding of the Academie Francaise on February 22, 1635, he had already reached the zenith of his power. By diplomatic skill and ambition he rose from the position of an insignificant provincial priest to become Cardinal and First Minister to Louis XIII. He succeeded in preventing the fragmentaion of France and uniting the nation under the authority of the King. In order to extend this policy of unification to the language and culture, Richelieu created the Academie Francaise as an official body insitutionalized by the King. Even today the Academie enjoys the personal protection of the French head of state.

Out of Passion for the Written and Spoken Language.

With the same passion as displayed by Cardinal Richelieu in protecting and promoting the French language, Montblanc has developed a pen which pays tribute to the founder of the Academie Francaise. A filigree pattern of the olive groves entwines itself around the 750 solid gold barrel.  The Montblanc star, made of mother of pearl, is embedded in a masterfully worked cone.  A portrait of Cardinal Richelieu is 750 solid gold inlaid with 30 diamonds is artistically set into the cap made of highly polished black onyx. The engraving of his coat of arms on the 18-carat gold nib completes this exceptional pen which is devoted to an immortal patron of the French language.

Pioneering and immortal: the Academic francaise: Since the day it was founded the mission of the Academie Francaise had been to create a clearly defined solid foundation for the french language in all its richness and to protect the language as French cultural heritage.  With its "Dictionnaire" published in 1694 the Academie Francaise introduced the first comprehensive set of rules for the French language. Over the centuries the dictionary has been carefully revised and - now in its ninth edition - is the academie elected for the reference work for the French language. The 40 "immortels," the members of the Academie elected for life, have however, always been regarded not only as protectors of the written and spoken language, but also as its patrons: in this role they promote talented authors with literary awards, support associations of authors and honor special achievements in the preservation of the French language with "Frand Prix de la Francophonie." Against the background of this noble tradition Monblanc is paying respect to the spiritual father of the Academie Francaise with an edition of exquisite pens: the limited Edition Cardinal Richelieu 40, of which no more than 40 will number of the "immortels."