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Hello dear members of FPN, I would like to know whether there are any ways to identify when the particular bottle of J Herbin has been manufactured. Also is there a shelf life to their inks (non-shimmer one, I am looking at Poussiere De Lune with interest). This is assuming that the ink itself was not sun-bathing on a window display or the bottle otherwise tampered with. I am also looking at PR Ebony Purple, but am wary of catching a bad sample, now that their inks are manufactured after the passing of the original owner (who presumably knew the secret sauce to make these colors tick). Read enough to know that I may also get one sample with slime/sludge/mold etc. Thanks in anticipation,

Hi there, I have two other Montblanc pens. A 149 I bought from the local Montblanc counter, and a 146 I previously bought online. I was able to use the information here to satisfy myself that it was genuine (it's a W Germany monotone nib) and the man at the Montblanc counter agreed with no hesitation. I received a second 146 yesterday that both he and I are a little less sure of. It's to be a present for a friend and I wouldn't like to be gifting a copy, so I would really appreciate some help. The man at the Montblanc counter originally said he thought it wasn't genuine, but was only basing this on it saying "Germany" on the clip ring and having no serial number or anything written under the clip. Then I mentioned that I had seen (on this forum) that vintage Montblanc pens have many combinations of all/some/none of these features and he then said that it probably was real, but the forum could probably tell me better than he could, so here I am. The eBay listing said it was from the 90's, and it came in a hard black plastic box (it says "gift box made in holland" on the underside. From looking on the forums here I wonder if it may actually be from the 70's ( or again, quite possibly, just not real). It is a hair shorter than my other 146 (which, like I say, is 80's-early 90's, pre serial numbers). My main concern is the engraving around the cap band, which is sharp, but quite a bit smaller (in the band) than my more modern pens. I see this is something more common in the older pens though. I'll attach some pictures, sorry about their poor quality, doing my best with the iPad. It has a decidedly blue (no bars) ink window, but there is definitely some dried ink in there. Thanks all. Robert

Hello there, I have just restored this 1st generation Parker Vacumatic Junior in Mottled Silver Pearl Celluloid with the Gold trim rather than the usual Silver trim. The pen is in extra fine condition with no brassing and excellent transparency... This reverse trim Vacumatics are pretty rare but this one seems a bit odd. This is because the imprint seems to date the pen to the first quarter of 1940 – as 0 and the three dots indicate. But as far as I know the 1st generation Junior was made only until 1938… Under extreme magnification the 0 might be possibly interpreted as a squashed 6 but this would make even less sense as Parker introduced the dot dating system only in the second quarter of 1938. Perhaps the 0 is a squashed 8. But this would mean that it still predates the introduction of the dot dating system or that this pen is one of the first Vacumatics with the new dating system in place… According to Richard Binder’s page concerned with Parker’s Date Coding Systems “the earliest pens with three dots should be from 1939. However, some pens made before the changeover exist with both dots and two-digit dates. Some of these pens have patterns of dots that match the first (quarter) digit, while others have patterns that do not match.” Unfortunately, the nib this pen came to me with is a Parker replacement nib (as I believe the R and the hole in the base of the nib indicate) from the third quarter of 1946. Still an excellent nib as you can see bellow… I would be very interested in hearing your opinions! Thanks beforehand, Zed

I was wondering when the first dip nibs with a modern, Speedball-type ink reservoir on the top of the nib appeared. (I spotted one in a TV production of Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Watson writes to Holmes and I said, 'Hey! I have that nib!') Would these have been in common use in Victorian England? Thanks!

I purchased another 146 for what I would describe as an absolute bargain. I have taken a look at some dating charts and information, but I cannot definitively pinpoint the production span of this particular pen. Plastic piston threadsGermany on clipNo "Pix" anywhereSlitted ink windowMonotone 14K nibPlastic feedI believe it to be from the early 90's (1991-1992). Then again, some parts may have been swapped or replaced.

Hello. I am wondering if a true Parker barrel could be without a stamp? In short: I have a dove grey barrel with a nib dated to 1946, US; it also happens to be a black band. I can post photos tomorrow when I have daylight, if needed? Thank you kindly in advance, Jay