Dating Montblanc 149s

[jslallar]

it may sound stupid but then we all learn from one another

 

can anybody tell me the diff between a single piece body (149) and a double piece just by looking at a pen

 

also, did the 146 have a similar one / two piece barrel history?

[zaddick]

On the two piece bodied 149s there is a seam that is visible just past the ink window when heading towards the piston ring.

[jslallar]

On the two piece bodied 149s there is a seam that is visible just past the ink window when heading towards the piston ring.

thanls

[RayCornett]

So, I have been doing more reading and if I am correct "W. GERMANY" was last used in 1989 and serial numbers began in 1991. So, my 149 with brass threads, "GERMANY" on the clip, and no serial number would date it to 1990.

[Kalessin]

When there is a parts change, it takes some time to use up the parts that they have on hand, so probably not strictly 1989.

[RayCornett]

When there is a parts change, it takes some time to use up the parts that they have on hand, so probably not strictly 1989.

So would this make it what some call a transitional 149?

[ak47]

Fantastic, thanks for this

[RayCornett]

It seems my plastic feed is not shown on the chart. Should I shoot a clean picture of it for it to be added?

Mine is a transitional 149 from 1990 right after they changed to GERMANY on the cap and before they changed to using serial numbers on the pen, and a 14k nib. Early plastic feed but most likely not used for long.

[zaddick]

Show me a photo please. There are not that many plastic feeds. You sure you don't have an ebonite feed?

[RayCornett]

Show me a photo please. There are not that many plastic feeds. You sure you don't have an ebonite feed?

I will get the picture asap. I have posted it before and many in these forums, including this one, have told me it is early plastic.Here is the picture the previous owner sent me. It IS simillar to the 1st generation plastic feed on page 4 of this thread but there is an actual round hole there in the fins area. The nib is a bit flexy, seems more than just soft. Is it possible that is a hole to help ink flow moe to keep up with the nib? It is a really wet nib.

Edited November 25, 2018 by RayCornett

[RayCornett]

I happened upon another 149 thread discussing transitionals and someone mentioned "In 1990, in the US the 149 was selling with a 14K nib and ebonite feed. The next year, only the feed had changed, and the first-generation plastic feed appeared on the 149.". As mentioned, I have a 1990 149. 14k bi-nib but Germany on the clip ring instead of West Germany, and no serial number yet I have been told by many that the feed, shown in my last comment above, is plastic, not ebonite.

[zaddick]

Ray - what makes you feel the pen is from 1990? You could have a 14K nib from the mid 1980s before the clip switched to W. GERMANY where the feed was later replaced in a service.

 

I know we have gone back and forth across a few threads but I have forgotten where the 1990 came from. Is there a receipt or paperwork?

[RayCornett]

Ray - what makes you feel the pen is from 1990? You could have a 14K nib from the mid 1980s before the clip switched to W. GERMANY where the feed was later replaced in a service.

 

I know we have gone back and forth across a few threads but I have forgotten where the 1990 came from. Is there a receipt or paperwork?

You are correct. That is what I could have.

 

I was mainly going off of the assumption that everything is factory original. If the information I have read is correct they switched from W. GERMANY to GERMANY in 1990 and then either later in 1990 or sometime in 1991 started using serial numbers and 18k nibs. I figured that since mine has a 14k nib, no serial, and GERMANY it was after 89 and before 91. But again, that is assuming everything is original. The reason I feel it is original is the previous owner obtained it from an estate sale in the early 1990s, used it a couple of times and put it away because it was too big and he preferred the Starwalker. So, if the original owner didn't get it serviced and neither did the man I got it from, it is likely to be all original.

[dustb0wl]

Does anyone know when the black plastic clamshell display case was introduced? I have a new (to me) 149 that has an 18c nib, but with the barrel / feed / piston replaced in the early to mid 90s (judging by the early plastic feed) that I am trying to pin down. Since most of the pen is non-original, I'm grasping at straws a bit

[Michael R.]

Oh ... I wanted to start a list of the different generations of cases since a long time!

 

But no time so far to list them or take pictures...

[dustb0wl]

Oh ... I wanted to start a list of the different generations of cases since a long time!

 

But no time so far to list them or take pictures...

 

I would love to do this too - I think it would be pretty interesting. I don't think I have enough eras to be a good representation on my own, but I would be happy to set up a google form for people to submit photos of cases / time frame and then collate the results. Would anyone else be interested in something like this?

[entertainment]

Just to get the ball rolling, here are photos of three plastic cases in what I am pretty sure is chronological order from left to right.

 

The more rectangular brown case has a pen with a 14C nib, a one-piece barrel, and split-ebonite feed. I would date the case to ca. 1980.

 

The slightly curved brown case has a pen with a 14C nib, two-piece barrel, and split-ebonite feed. It has a receipt and papers dated 1985.

 

The slightly curved black case is for a 146, but I assume the 149 case was the same. It has an "The Art of Writing" slogan which I think was introduced in the late 1980s. Nib is 14K, split-ebonite feed, "GERMANY" on clip but no serial number, plastic threads on piston.

 

[Michael R.]

Great start :-)

[siamackz]

I have this case that was sold to me with my 149 that has plastic piston threads and the solid ebonite feed and tri colour 14c nib. Do you think the case is correct for the pen?

[entertainment]

That case is definitely later than the pen. The one giveaway is the "Art of Writing" slogan. I would guess it is from the 1990s or later, whereas the pen is probably from the 1960s or 1970s.

Edited December 15, 2018 by entertainment