Anyone Heard Of Elysee Fountain Pens

[EclecticCollector]

  On 1/6/2017 at 4:43 PM, Dib said:

Hi

it is a nice pen of the 1980s, I like the clip!

It is called "80 line" 5538 Laque Lapis and sold with gold or steel nib.

Regards

Dirk

Thank you! Yes the clip is very interesting, when you open it the little piece on the top retracts, so it's clearly part of the mechanism. Edited January 9, 2017 by EclecticCollector

[Dib]

[EclecticCollector]

  On 1/28/2017 at 6:12 PM, Dib said:

Dummert Patent 1981 Hebel clip

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this!

[Dib]

In 1981 there were three different types:

Serie 60, slim ballpoint pens:

 

Serie 70:

 

Serie 80:

[SwissSpirit]

  On 2/2/2017 at 10:59 AM, Dib said:

In 1981 there were three different types:

Serie 60, slim ballpoint pens:

P2023431.JPG

 

Serie 70:

P2023430.JPG

 

Serie 80:

P2023432.JPG

Guten Abend, Dib! May I ask you to take close look at my cry for help in respect of a set of 24 Elysee writing instruments found in our inherited attic?

[Dib]

  On 2/3/2017 at 10:53 PM, SwissSpirit said:

Guten Abend, Dib! May I ask you to take close look at my cry for help in respect of a set of 24 Elysee writing instruments found in our inherited attic?

 

Hi,

great idea!

But I don't write ebay descriptions for other people.

Regards

[SwissSpirit]

  On 2/4/2017 at 8:14 AM, Dib said:

Hi,

great idea!

But I don't write ebay descriptions for other people.

Regards

Thanks and sorry, Dirk, it's, of course, not my intention to ask for an ebay description, but just for a feedback on the Elysee models shown in my post (correct name and year)! I'm an absolut dummy concerning this subject and that's why I am looking for help! But vielen Dank, anyway, Conrad

[Dib]

Today, let's go back to the year 1992.

 

 

For a short period elysee the Parthenon was the top line, only for some expensive surfaces. The cheaper line called Finesse and En Vogue. Some years later the Finesse and En Vogue surfaces were part ot the Parthenon.

In 1992 there are two differences between the Partheonon and the Finesse/En Vogue: The clip and the crown.

The marked ring was also later produced in the more expensive surfaces of the Parthenon.

 

 

 

[elysee]

  On 2/6/2017 at 10:47 AM, Dib said:

Today, let's go back to the year 1992.

 

 

For a short period elysee the Parthenon was the top line, only for some expensive surfaces. The cheaper line called Finesse and En Vogue. Some years later the Finesse and En Vogue surfaces were part ot the Parthenon.

In 1992 there are two differences between the Partheonon and the Finesse/En Vogue: The clip and the crown.

The marked ring was also later produced in the more expensive surfaces of the Parthenon.

 

P2063476.JPG

 

Actually, both of your pens are Elysee Barleycorn. The pen with the open-top pen clip is from 1990's near the time when the company closed and the bottom pen is from the mid-to-late 1980's. Elysee changed its pen clip from the closed pen clip in the bottom picture to the open-top pen clip in your top picture around 1990 or so. I cannot pinpoint the year of the change as I was in graduate school, busy with my studies. But, it suffices to say that with the change from the double gold rings at the middle of the pen to the single gold ring (for the mid-range pen) at the middle of the pen, the quality of the pens changed, the low-end pens such as the Streamline were introduced and, within a few years, Elysee pens were no longer made. It was not until 1998 when I could afford to buy my first Elysee pen, a lovely mid-1980's Lacque Lapis En Vogue ballpoint pen that I found while presenting at a conference in Toronto; there is a nice story that goes with that but I will not include it here.

 

Below I included a picture of your pen from a 1990's Elysee catalog. Look carefully and you can see the engraving area on the side of the cap.

 

 

With the change in pen clip came the low-end pens such as the Caprice, the Dynamic, and the Streamline; these series were below the Lacque Color in the Elysee line. In addition, Elysee changed the midrange En Vogue line from having the double gold rings in the middle that you highlighted in your second picture to the single gold ring of your first picture as well as changed the pen clip; the quality of the lacquer for the En Vogue was not as nice for the 1990's En Vogue as that used in the 1980's version, and when the change in pen clip style was made, the double gold rings were no longer used on the midrange pens like the En Vogue but rather only on the Parthenon and Finesse series as well as on the special edition pens such as the Impressions No 1 (which can be seen in a picture that I posted earlier in this thread).

 

When the pen clip was changed, the Parthenon series was introduced: the Parthenon series came in Bi-Colour (gold and platinum), GoldPlated, Lacque Clasic (Black, Blue, and Red), and Lacque Trajan (Black, Blue, and Red -- the cross-hatched lacquer and gold that you may have seen). One step below that and still with the two gold rings at the center was the Finesse series which came in Bi-Colour, Goldplated, Platinum Plated, and Lacque Fine Line (Black, Blue, and Green -- I included my green Fine Line in an earlier post on this thread) finishes. The En Vogue (you can view my mid-1980's version En Vogue pens in Cobra and Lacque Lapis in an earlier post on this thread) came in Lacque Lapis, Cobra, Brown (Tortoise), and in the 1980's Black and was a step below the Finesse. After that came the Epoque (Art Deco and Empire), the Globetrotter (Damascene and Corona Gold), and the Sports (Tennis and Golf) followed by the Lacque Leather (Black, Blue, Green, and Burgundy), the Barleycorn, and the Lacque Color (Black, Blue, Green, and Bordeux) in the Elysee Line.

Edited February 28, 2017 by elysee

[Dib]

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.
Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

[Cornishmaid]

  On 8/15/2015 at 9:03 AM, Dib said:

Hi

the pen is a Serie 50 Barleycorn Gold Electroplated 9/51 (69 1030)

 

P1020799.JPG

 

Thank you for providing that informative for me. It is much appreciated!

[pablorey]

i just bought this one (waiting for arrival)

i had payed aprox $75

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/gHnvlHT.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/NKO3iOw.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/x5ycHX6.jpg

 

any idea?

 

there is another one (outside mu budget around $225)

 

 

and this one around $280

 

and

 

and then

 

for the actual prices divede by 16...

 

all outside my possibilites... just if there are some curiosity here.

 

 

BTW, hello everybody my first post, new in the forum, new in FP... and forgive my english

Edited June 2, 2017 by pablorey

[Dib]

Hello to Argentinia,

this is a 90 line barleycorn 4501 99, also made in fine lines, line d'or and line de platine.

Nice pens but the plating tends to wear at the rough places.
I think I have some matching ballpens and pencils.

Regards from the hometown of your pen

Dirk

 

P.S.: I would sell the green set at around 60 EUR/USD plus shipping, some elysee prices are funny.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Dib

[pablorey]

This one I was (or should I say “am”) close to this one, this was the pen that put my eyes to Elysee...

 

Argentinian prices are funny, if you live in another country... I am thinking in making a thread in the differences in prices between trademarks in countries, i.e. a Cross here is many times (4 x !) expensive than a Parker with the same “international price” I think the red one is nice... but too much “jewel that writes”... I am more the kind of “writing instrument that is nice”.

 

Absolute rookie BTW....

Edited June 2, 2017 by pablorey

[elysee]

  On 3/3/2017 at 1:32 PM, Dib said:

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.

Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

Dirk, I must correct you on several points; I will do this with a series of posts starting with this one. I will begin with the pen clips, and I will use the image that you uploaded. The pen clip at the top of your image was not the first pen clip used by Elysee, the second pen clip was. The first pen clip in your image was introduced with the Edition 90; the Edition 90 was the first of Elysee's special edition pen series and this special edition series was not numbered. Prior to the introduction of the Edition 90, the top-of-the-line Elysee pens used the double middle rings and had the pen clip in the second image -- closed-top pen clip. The other pre-redesign Elysee pen lines had completely different/unique pen clips (you may view some of these in my last post in this series); only the top-of-the-line pre-redesign Elysee pens had the closed-top pen clip with the double middle rings.

 

After the introduction of the Edition 90 (around 1990), Elysee redesigned their lines, changing the pen clip to that in your top picture and changing the middle ring for the mid-range pens to that in your first picture; the top-of-the-line pens continued to have the double middle ring. It was at this time that the En Vogue series became a mid-range model.

 

Edited July 9, 2017 by elysee

[elysee]

  On 3/3/2017 at 1:32 PM, Dib said:

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.

Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

The Parthenon series which included the Bi-Color, Laque Classique, and Laque Trajan, was introduced after Elysee redesigned its line, changing the pen clip on the top-of-the-line and mid-range models. Each of the Parthenon series models had the open-top pen clip at the top of your image. It is important that I mention that the Parthenon Bi-Color was not Elysee's only Bi-Color: Elysee's other Bi-Color was the Finess Bi-Color. I have included pictures from one of Elysee's last catalogs below for your viewing pleasure.

 

Parthenon Bi-Color

 

 

Parthenon Laque Classic (I own this in Rouge.)

 

 

Parthenon Laque Trajan (I own this in Rouge.)

 

[elysee]

  On 3/3/2017 at 1:32 PM, Dib said:

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.

Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

Now, for the Finesse Series. The Finesse series came in Bi-Color (one of which was goldplated rather than having two colors) and Laque Fine Line. This series never had the closed-top pen clip (the second in your image).

 

Finesse Bi-Color

 

 

Finesse Laque Fine Line (I own this in Green, Blue, and Black. The Green was the last to be added to the Finesse Laque Fine Line Series.)

 

 

Two of my Green Finesse Laque Fine Line pens (I own a full set, fountain pen, Rollerball pen, pencil, and ballpoint pen.)

 

[elysee]

  On 3/3/2017 at 1:32 PM, Dib said:

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.

Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

Now, the En Vogue series. Prior to the introduction of the Edition 90, the En Vogue series was the top-of-the-line for Elysee pens. At that time, the pen clip had the closed top (the second in your image) and had the double middle ring. However, after the redesign of Elysee pens around 1990, the En Vogue series was changed to be mid-range with the open-top pen clip (the first in your image) and the single middle ring. Prior to 1990, the En Vogue series can in four laquer finishes -- Lapis, Cobra, Brown (frequently referred to as Tortoise), and Black. I own full sets (fountain pen, rollerball pen, ballpoint pen, and pencil) of the Lapis, Cobra, and Brown as well as a partial set (rollerball [convertible as all Elysee pens to a fountain pen when desired], ballpoint pen, and pencil) of the Black with the closed-top pen clip and the double middle ring. I have never purchased any of the mid-range (post-redesign) En Vogue series pens as they were cheaper in construction than the original top-of-the-line original En Vogue series.

 

En Vogue Lapis with closed-top pen clip and double middle ring

 

 

En Vogue Lapis with closed-top pen clip and double middle ring

 

 

En Vogue Lapis after Elysee redesign with open-top pen clip and single middle ring (from eBay)

 

 

En Vogue Brown after Elysee redesign with open-top pen clip and single middle ring (from eBay)

 

 

En Vogue Black after Elysee redesign with open-top pen clip and single middle ring (from eBay)

 

 

Elysee Catalog pictures of En Vogue Series after redesigned to have the open-top pen clip and single middle ring

 

 

The above picture provides documentation regarding the time period for this catalog. I obtained this catalog at the beginning of August 1998 while presenting a paper at a conference in Toronto, Canada. While waiting to pick up my take-out dinner order one night during the conference, I had found an Elysee sign in a store window. Of course, I went into the store to see what Elysee pens might be in stock; the store was a smoke shop. I spoke at length with the owner while I looked at the only remaining Elysee pen: I purchased this pen, an Elysee En Vogue (original series, closed-top pen clip, double middle rinig) Lapis ballpoint pen at this smoke shop. The very kind owner gave me a discounted price of approximately $75 (which enabled me to purchase my first Elysee pen) as well as gave me the pencil insert and this catalog. Upon my return home, I called various pen stores (here, Joon Pens in New York City on August 27, 1998 from my note on this page) to try to obtain pieces of the ORIGINAL (closed-top pen clip, double middle ring) En Vogue series in August 1998; sadly, Joon Pens did not have any of the original style En Vogue Elysee pens.

Edited July 9, 2017 by elysee

[elysee]

  On 3/3/2017 at 1:32 PM, Dib said:

Hi elysee,

unfortunately I have to partly contradict you.

Elysee often changes the type names. In the catalog of 1992, there was

The top line Parthenon (#10): Bi colour, fine line, laque classique, laque trajan and the edition 90. All with the first clip.

The finesse (#20) and en vogue line (#30): Bi-colour, goldplated, platinum plated, laque intarsia and laque. All with the second showed clip.

And the cheaper lines with the "old" slim nib.

Best regards

Dirk

There were several cheaper lines of Elysee pens. Even the mid-range Elysee pens had line levels such as the Epoque Corona Gold (Art Deco and Empire), Globe Trotter, Sports, Laque Leather (blue, green, black, and burgundy), Barleycorn (a finish used in multiple lines including a pre-redesign series with the closed-top pen clip and double middle rings; there were gold electroplated and platinum plated with gold accents models at different price-points with the Barleycorn finish pre-redesign and post-redesign), and Laque Color (came in red, green, and blue). The Lyric was a mid-range post-redesign model as well, and the Laque Color was the cheapest of the lacquer mid-range Elysee pens (I have this in red and green ballpoint pen as well as green fountain pen). The mid-range post-redesign pens had the open-top pen clip and the single middle ring. Going down the lines toward the cheapest of the end-of-company Elysee pen lines, there were the Caprice (grey, green, red, and blue), Dynamic, and streamline. The cheaper lines of Elysee pens before redesign were much nicer than those available prior to the closing of the company; I include examples below, the first from Mercado Libre and the others from eBay.

 

From Mercado Libre (pre-redesign - notice the cobra lacquer like the En Vogue series)

 

 

From eBay (pre-redesign - notice the rich red lacquer)

 

 

From eBay (pre-redesign - notice the lapis lacquer)

 

 

From eBay (pre-redesign - notice the sparkly finish; this is not a laquer finish; I own a set of these [purchased on eBay] in this blue sparkly finish; I believe that this may have been the pre-redesign bottom of the line in the mid-to-late 1980's; the red and lapis pens pictured above were a step above this)

 

 

It is worth mentioning that I first saw Elysee pens in the late 1980's while in graduate school. I only had eyes for the En Vogue series, top-of-the-line prior to the introduction of the Edition 90, but I could not afford them. Actually, I could not afford even the low-end Elysee pens at that time. But, I "visited" Elysee pens and gazed through the case at the En Vogue series (closed-top pen clip and double middle ring) until the redesign. After the redesign, I would gaze at the Special edition Elysee pens and some of the top-of-the-line pens, all of which I have purchased over the years since then. I will close this post with a picture of some of my Elysee pens (in pairs).

 

Left to right: En Vogue Lapis (pre-redesign), En Vogue Cobra (pre-redesign), Finesse Laque Fine Line in Green, Edition No. 1, Edition No. 2, and Impressions No. 1

 

Edited July 9, 2017 by elysee

[elysee]

  On 1/28/2017 at 6:12 PM, Dib said:

Dummert Patent 1981 Hebelclip.png

I figured that you might like this (see below).