Nobel Laureate Pens by Cleto Munari

These five pens were "inspired by" hand-written letters from five Nobel laureates. Those letters, each about the power of the written word, were passed onto five architects, who designed the pens. Each are available for $550 and include an accompanying "Book of the Five Pens," a collection of the original letters from the authors, who include Nagib Mahfouz, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, José Saramago and Saul Bellow.

It's a cute idea, but look at the list of writers above, then try to match them with their pen. Something is lost in translation from word back to instrument. Would you ask an architect to design a saxiphone by listening to Charlie Parker? (Okay, bad example—that might actually be awesome.)

pens inspired by nobel laureates [DesignBoom.com via Cool Hunting]