Van Dieman's Explorers Dame Freya Stark - 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample

Hue: Van Dieman's describe a desert beige base that dries to shades of blue, green and pink; one retailer lists it as pale brown. On my swatches it reads as a dusty rose-pink, with beige-tan only at the thin edges of the swab bar and a dusty rose-brown in handwriting. Olive-green separates out at the edges of heavier swabs. I didn't see any blue.

Shading: Moderate. It shows a clear light-to-dark variation in handwriting, and the swab bar shifts between pink and tan.

Sheen: None observed.

Shimmer: Yes, fine and evenly spread. Officially it's a dusty rose, though in my photos it catches as champagne-gold to rose-gold depending on the light.

Flow: Dry

The interesting bit: Freya Stark (1893–1993) was a British explorer and travel writer who crossed parts of the Middle East few Westerners had reached, including the Hadhramaut in southern Arabia. She was made a Dame in 1972 and lived to 100. The dusty rose shimmer was chosen to evoke roses blooming in the harshest deserts. The ink is part of Van Dieman's Explorers collection alongside Livingstone, Sacagawea and Marco Polo, and is made by a small family business in Launceston, Tasmania.

This is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.
Photos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.
I'm a collector and I'm always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.