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Happy New Year 2015
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my new Organics Studio inks...
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night impressions
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2015
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Organics Studio Masters of Science volume # 4 Gregor Mendel Pigmented Pea Green
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First new pen for 2015: Montblanc Meisterstück 35 Safety
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New Organics Studio inks
In addition to my previous shipments another 13 additional Organics Studio inks arrived this week:![]()
In addition it might be worth to share the following announcement: "we will be bringing back Organics Studio (at least partially)"!
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vintage certificates of guarantee
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1930's Montblanc Meisterstück 124 G
This nice little ebonite Montblanc Meisterstück 124 G from the 1930's still needs a little bit of work since the white Montblanc star on-top of the cap is missing and the cap lip needs to be replaced as well. Otherwise a fresh ink sac is already installed but the surface needs a little polish.
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January 2015
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Organics Studio Masters of Writing volume no. 9 Ernest's vintage writing Fluid "Blue Merle"
Blue Merle is a recreation of a vintage Carter's ink. The color is somewhere in between a dark grey and dark blue. It has more blue tones compared to a typical gray ink but also it is less blue compared to most blue-black inks. So far this ink has proven to write very well with good ink flow and has a nice antique look.
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| Comparison with other dark blue-black and gray inks |
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2012 Montblanc Writers Edition: Jonathan Swift
Montblanc's 2012 Writers Edition was limited to 12,800 fountain pens, 8,000 rollerballs, 14,600 ball pens and 1,000 sets consisting of fountain pen, ball pen and mechanical pencil. ![]()
The signature of the British-Irish author born in Dublin on November 30, 1667 is engraved on the cap.
The broad nib is rhodium-plated and shows the imperial army of Lilliput marching between Gulliver's legs.
While the cap is made from black resin the barrel is lacquered with platinum plated inlays.
The clip depicts the staircase the major of Liliput hat to climb to be able to talk to Guliver and the cap top is shaped like Guliver's tricorn.
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c. 1931 - 1934 Montblanc Meisterstück 30
Montblanc Meisterstück 30 with aged hard rubber found in original condition.
All parts are complete and original but need to undergo restoration.
Back to original beauty after some basic restoration work like removing surface oxidation, installing a new ink sac, nib straightening and repair of a cap crack done by Horst Max Schrage from www.maxpens.de and me.
With a length of 14,1 cm this is a fairly large pen but also very light weight. The nib is a flexible OB/OM 235 nib.
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Octopus fountain pen inks
Just recently the German company Octopus Concept GmbH in Dresden started to offer inks for fountain pens besides their selection of printing inks.
"What started out as a good product is now becoming a passion of mine." That's what their chemist Dr. Kai-Oliver Schäfer said when he was developing this high-quality ink. "It's no longer about writing something beautiful - it's about beauty itself!"
The parameters he used to assess the quality go beyond colour and saturation. With every lab-scale batch and every writing test, his requirements regarding shades, a low degree of fraying, optimum drying time, writing and smooth gliding increased.Therefore, we can wholeheartedly recommend our Octopus Fluids writing ink to anyone who loves writing with a fountain pen. You can choose from nine different colours - discover just how beautiful writing by hand can be!
10 different ink colors are available in standard 30 ml and 250 ml bottles and can be ordered directly from the manufacturer's web-site. Their web-site also offers some interesting bits on the history of ink in German language.
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c. 1930-1932 Montblanc Meisterstück 25 in Malachite Green celluloid
The Malachite Green celluloid Montblanc Meisterstück 25 was produced between 1929 and 1934 before it was replaced in 1934 - 1935 by the 124 which still had the same shape as the 25. The background is a reprint from a c. 1932 catalog, showing that the Meisterstük 25 was sold for 22.50 RM (Reichsmark).
This flea market find Meisterstück has the original fine nib - as marked on the push knob - which was produced from 1930 to 1935. The nib shows a fair amount of flex like it was typical for Montblanc pens form that period of time.
The overall condition of the pen is good but the celluloid shows clear signs of aging. The barrel discolored to an al most uniform dark green color, only showing its marbled pattern in bright light. The cap still shows more bright green parts which are more true to the original color. Both barrel and cap imprint are still visible.
These pens can be found with a variety of clips and this one was fitted with the older style ball clip while later models came the teardrop or even with tie clip famous from the later 12x and 13x series of pens. In case all parts are original, the pen can be dated to 1930-1932.
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1930's Montblanc Meisterstück 126S and 104S
Besides a selection of materials and range of different colors, Montblanc offered differently decorated surfaces for the black hard rubber Meisterstück line of pens during the later 1930s. A corresponding letter was added to the model number around 1935 or 1936.
- G = glatt (smooth)
- S = schraffiert (hatched)
- E = Extraklasse (rose pattern)
Other patterns are known as well (e.g. a wavy pattern) but no catalog documentation is known.
Pens with decorated surfaces are highly sought after today. Unfortunately the delicate engraving is now worn on many pens after many, many years of use or due to surface restoration.
The following pens were available with the hatched or rose pattern:
- 102S, 104S, 106S and 108S
- 104E
- 122S, 124S, 126S and 128S
During the 1930s Montblanc already offered piston filler and pushknob filler pens but Meisterstück safety pens remained available for the conservative customer until c. 1939.
The shown Meisterstück 104S safety and 126S pushknob filler are nice examples to show the differences of both model lines. The 1939 catalog lists the Meisterstück 136 is for 27 RM (Reichsmark), the Meisterstück 126 for 24.30 RM and the Meisterstück 104 for 20.25 RM. The safety pen appears much bigger, even the 104 was less expensive compared to the 136 or 126.
Due to the safety's construction the size of the retractable nib was limited by the barrels opening. So the impression of the pens' sizes is different without the cap.
Even it is still fully visable on both pens, the hatched pattern shows some overall wear.
The safety filler is easy to distinguish by the different shape of the less streamlined barrel end and filling knob.
While the safety pens have no separate gripping section, the pushknob and later piston fillers have a curved gripping section which were used on many Montblanc pens until the 1950s.
The safety's filling knob shows the typical knurling, engraving of the model number and hole in the back.
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c. 1938 - 1941 Montblanc Meisterstück L 139
Presentation box with a winter motif wishing a Merry Christmas.
Box shows no signs of being originally Montblanc; a sticker shows the name of a stationary and leather wholesale in Leipzig, Germany.
The Montblanc Meisterstück L 139 fountain pen was the top of the line model at that period of time. This one shows features of the first series like like a long ink window, hard rubber cap and filling knob while the ink feed is flat and smooth.
The background is a 1939 catalog reprint showing a range of Montblanc Meisterstück pens. The L 139 was offered for 45 Reichsmark (RM). The Meisterstück 138 which was the second largest piston filler was sold for 31.50 RM.
The cap top shows an imprinted line or rim around the star which is very unusual on this line of pens. It remains unclear if it came this way from the factory or if this is a sign of another repair performed many years ago.
The filling knob is engraved L 139, OB and D. R. P. 652405. However the cap and cap top does not show signs of any imprints.
The long ink window does not show too much ambering and black lines are mostly intact.
The pen's flexible nib is an alloy non-gold 250 nib with oblique tipping. According to today's western standards this is a OF or OM nib but might have been sold originally as a broad oblique.
While a Montblanc Meisterstück 136 (also from the the first series) is not a small pen, this comparison shows the impressive measurements of the 139 model.
While the pen appears to be in magnificent condition now, it had to rise like phoenix from ashes! It came to me in less good condition than expected and some serious work was necessary to bring it back to former glory:
The clip of the pen was not original Montblanc and it came with a smaller #6 nib which must have been a later replacement. Also the seat for the cork see was broken and needed repair.
The cap lip and lower silver ring are obvious replacements; repair was functional but visually less appealing due to wrong proportions and rough workmanship. This was also true for a replacement sleeve added to the end of the barrel with a very porous surface making it impossible to polish. Again, proportions were not original so the pen was c. 2 mm shorter compared to the original dimensions.
All of this was excusable given the history of this pen. It was purchased from a lady who inherited the pen from her grandfather's pen collection which included pens from his father as well. This collection was kept during GDR times and I suppose that all mentioned repairs had been done many, many years ago (the collection remained untouched since c. 1995). It is nice to see that the pen was kept running - maybe even during GDR times with very limited resources.
Now the pen was completely restored by Max from www.maxpens.de and returned to me this week. A new clip and original nib were fitted, the core seal seat was repaired, a new silver ring and cap lip were fitted and even more important the repaired barrel end replacement was again replaced by a more original celluloid sleeve. This was a truly amazing and remarkable repair leaving almost no part untouched. Max, many thanks for using your skills on this pen! Remembering the state this pen came into my possession it is fantastic to see the result today: a true Meisterstück.
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c. 1929 - 1934 Montblanc Meisterstück 20 in Azurite Blue
This Meisterstück 20 was the smallest of the Meisterstück series at that time and was available c. 1929 to 1934 in azurite blue celluloid. This is the dark blue version (blue on blue) while a lighter version was available as well (white on blue).
The nib of this model indicates a production period as this design was used on pens starting in 1930. The arrow clip was usually used on later non-Meisterstück models so it might be a replacement.
Imprints on barrel and cap are still fully readable; also the cap shows the imprint G.SAX & Co. WIEN from a staionary store which still exists.
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27th international fountain pen collectors meeting in Cologne, 2015
The Leoanardo Royal Hotel in Cologne, Germany was chosen for the 27th international fountain pen collectors meeting on Saturday, March 21st 2015.
Again Stefan Wallrafen invited collectors from all over the world to attend this important and popular Pen Show in Europe.
Public admittance was at 1 p.m. when collectors who booked tables already traded, chatted, bought and sold pens vividly.
Montblanc advertisement from the 1930s.
Tom Westerich from www.penboard.de.
Myrna and Gary Lehrer (r) from the US (www.gopens.com) and Jos Kamps from the Netherlands (l).
Sarj Minhas with a wonderful selection of colorful pens of which some are rarely seen in Europe...
...including Oldwin, Nakaya and older Tibaldi pens!
Pen Show regular Miroslav Tischler (eBay seller: penkalapens) with a nice selection of modern and vintage pens.
Vintage inks and ephemera.
Collector Dirk Barmeyer inspecting a potential purchase.
Paul Tiesinga from Denmark...
Ulrich Krüner from Berlin with a huge selection of vintage pens.
A happy Jan Schubert (eBay seller: berlin-collectible).
Organizer of the show: Stefan Wallrafen - thank you for making this happen! Make sure to check his Montblanc database at: http://www.collectiblestars.de.
Hand made pens from Switzerland; real Urushi-art.
Belgium pen manufacturer Conid (http://www.conidpen.com) showed their latest innovations...
...Werner Helsen...
...selection of hand ground nibs...
...Slimline, Minimalistica, Regular, Kingsize...
...and even Giraffe (6ml ink volume!).
New variations of the classic trim.
The innovator behind Conid pens: Francis Goossens (fountainbel).
Conid's museum of prototypes.
Dirk Barmeyer selling his Lamy collections to make room for a different collection focus.
Marco Schrage (Pen Marco on www.penboard.de) showing and selling his superb collection of his must have pen tools to maintain your vintage and modern Montblanc pens.
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Modern Astoria cartridge fillers made by Horst Max Schrage.
A "few" grail pens on Horst Max's table including a Montblanc 35 in black & pearl, a no. 12 safety, a black and white striped prototype pencil and many more...
...like a Montblanc Unicef Edition Signature for Good, solid gold SET, # 1 / 15...
...or a few Meisterstück demonstrator pens and a brand new green striped celluloid 146 Meisterstück (KOBB nib!).
One stop shop: Horst Max fitting a sterling silver snake clip to my Montblanc Meisterstück 35 Safety at the show.
Rolf Thiel from www.missing-pen.de.
TomWesterich.
Jürgen Kuhse's tabel (r) and Jeanne van Putten-van Sprundel (l) who organizes the Tilburg Pen Show (last Saturday in September).
'Hope to see you at the Cologne Pen Show one day!
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My finds from the Cologne Pen Show 2015
- Montblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Doué 146 Black & White; normally this type of pen should have 18K nib but this one came with a 14K nib which writes like a fine nib (even the sticker says "M").
- Sterling silver snake clip for my Meisterstück 35 Safety.
- Montblanc Writers Edition F. Scott Fitzgerald which shows some discolorations but has a wonderful OB nib with lots of character and great ink flow. This will make a perfect daily writer.
- Tool to unscrew the nut which holds the cork on vintage piston fillers (from Pen Marco at www.penboard.de).
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