Cardiologist Turns Promotional Pens Into an Art Form

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Ethan Thomas Member

5 minutes ago

Cardiologist Turns Promotional Pens Into an Art Form Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 29 June 2018 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Cardiologist Turns Promotional Pens Into an Art Form Jeff Caran, MD, with his pen collection. Photo by Cedars-Sinai.

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Zoe Mueller 3 minutes ago

By Cedars-Sinai The pen is said to be mightier than the sword. That may be, but pens are certainly e...

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Joseph Kim 5 minutes ago

Over a six-year period, he amassed a vast and unrivaled collection of branded pharmaceutical company...

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Nathan Chen Member

10 minutes ago

By Cedars-Sinai The pen is said to be mightier than the sword. That may be, but pens are certainly easier to collect and display. Jeffrey Caren, MD, a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai, knows all about that.

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Sofia Garcia 8 minutes ago

Over a six-year period, he amassed a vast and unrivaled collection of branded pharmaceutical company...

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Liam Wilson Member

6 minutes ago

Over a six-year period, he amassed a vast and unrivaled collection of branded pharmaceutical company pens. Patients who visit his West Tower office can marvel at the display of hundreds of the one-time promotional writing gifts, which tout everything from Viagra to Lexapro. Over the years, Caren's unusual collection has garnered national attention from major media outlets including The New York Times and ABC World News Tonight.

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Nathan Chen Member

20 minutes ago

Last summer, a portion of the collection was shipped to Oakland where it was showcased in a temporary exhibit at the Museum of Capitalism. An estimated 10,000 visitors beheld the mighty pen spectacle. "We chose Dr.

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Ryan Garcia 17 minutes ago

Caren's pens because they help tell the story of capitalism," said Timothy Furstnau, curat...

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Ella Rodriguez Member

5 minutes ago

Caren's pens because they help tell the story of capitalism," said Timothy Furstnau, curator of the Museum of Capitalism. Furstnau explained the pens represent a specific historical period and American cultural practice that demonstrate the "outsized" influence on human health and healthcare. "They are a great example of an ordinary person living within capitalism having the foresight to collect something that many of us see every day, but don't recognize the value of – which is how many of our collections are assembled," added Furstnau.

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Ethan Thomas 2 minutes ago

  Physician Jeff Caran's pen collection. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. By Cedars-Sinai Ac...

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Henry Schmidt 4 minutes ago

True, he has enjoyed numerous hobbies including photography and model ship building, as well as asse...

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Sebastian Silva Member

12 minutes ago

  Physician Jeff Caran's pen collection. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. By Cedars-Sinai Accumulating a massive pile of pharmaceutical pens was hardly an endeavor Caren ever saw himself pursuing.

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Aria Nguyen 2 minutes ago

True, he has enjoyed numerous hobbies including photography and model ship building, as well as asse...

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Nathan Chen 11 minutes ago

Caren noticed that each pen was dramatically different in design. "I decided to make a little f...

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Isaac Schmidt Member

21 minutes ago

True, he has enjoyed numerous hobbies including photography and model ship building, as well as assembling other collections of U.S. stamps, wine corks and police and firefighter coffee mugs. But his pen collection grew out of the common practice more than a decade ago of pharmaceutical companies giving away free pens and other branded items to help encourage sales for their products.

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Henry Schmidt 21 minutes ago

Caren noticed that each pen was dramatically different in design. "I decided to make a little f...

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Grace Liu 21 minutes ago

The representatives complied so much so Caren soon had to modify that rule. Now, they had to bring i...

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Sophie Martin Member

24 minutes ago

Caren noticed that each pen was dramatically different in design. "I decided to make a little fun of the process," said Caren. Caren soon made it clear to pharmaceutical representatives that he wouldn't talk to them unless they brought in a pen first.

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Joseph Kim 21 minutes ago

The representatives complied so much so Caren soon had to modify that rule. Now, they had to bring i...

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Grace Liu Member

18 minutes ago

The representatives complied so much so Caren soon had to modify that rule. Now, they had to bring in a pen Caren didn't already have.

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Ella Rodriguez 1 minutes ago

"They started scrambling," he said. "They knew they couldn't come in here withou...

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Emma Wilson 15 minutes ago

The writing implements, he proudly notes, are all in mint condition. "They've never been w...

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Thomas Anderson Member

10 minutes ago

"They started scrambling," he said. "They knew they couldn't come in here without a fresh pen." In all, Caren estimates he took in more than 1,200 pens.

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Sebastian Silva Member

22 minutes ago

The writing implements, he proudly notes, are all in mint condition. "They've never been written with by human hands," he said. "At least, not in my custody." Their pristine beauty is on permanent exhibit in his office.

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Scarlett Brown Member

48 minutes ago

About 600 pens are in a transparent case affixed to an office pillar. He and his wife spent about $600 on the display and devoted a weekend to carefully gluing each pen inside the case.

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Julia Zhang 8 minutes ago

Now, he can't imagine his office without his pen pillar. "It's pretty ugly without th...

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Dylan Patel 33 minutes ago

"This is what they call industrial art." His pen collection would certainly be bigger toda...

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Noah Davis Member

26 minutes ago

Now, he can't imagine his office without his pen pillar. "It's pretty ugly without the pens," he said.

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Zoe Mueller 6 minutes ago

"This is what they call industrial art." His pen collection would certainly be bigger toda...

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Sophia Chen 17 minutes ago

  Photos by Cedars-Sinai  Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected]...

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Dylan Patel Member

70 minutes ago

"This is what they call industrial art." His pen collection would certainly be bigger today if the giveaways weren't discontinued. In 2009, the pharmaceutical industry imposed a voluntary ban on distributing the branded items to physicians. "I would have gone on collecting those pens forever," he said.

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Luna Park 1 minutes ago

  Photos by Cedars-Sinai  Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected]...

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Scarlett Brown 41 minutes ago

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Amelia Singh Moderator

60 minutes ago

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Zoe Mueller 15 minutes ago

Cardiologist Turns Promotional Pens Into an Art Form Skip to main content Close Select your prefer...

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David Cohen 22 minutes ago

By Cedars-Sinai The pen is said to be mightier than the sword. That may be, but pens are certainly e...

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