Vintage Model To Identify

[nuria]

Hello,

My mother give me my grandfather's fountain pen and now I would like to know what model and what year it is.

I've been searching in forums but I didn't find this model.

It has MASTERPIECE name in the cap and two small round holes. The number 26 at the bottom and the number 14C in the pen nib in addition to the tipical 1840 M marc.

Can anyone give me some information?

Thank you.

[fountainpende]

This pen is definitely a mixture of different pens ...

 

- the cap and nib are from a masterpiece (well, that was easy)

 

- the body seems to be a 234 1/2 ...

 

- the blind cap ... well probably not Montblanc, and definitely not from a 234 1/2 (by the way,Masterpiece fountain pens never had a blind cap )

[chunya]

I agree that it seems to be a combination, but I can't work out why that blind cap is not a Montblanc one (I'm not disputing what you say at all). Looking at my 234 1/2 (which has a clear 234 1/2 imprint on the blind cap) , the body seems to be the same (other than mine has a geeen window) ... although it is hard to tell the blind cap 'looks similar' , but a little more rounded? The cap definitely does not go with the barrel.

[Opooh]

This pen is definitely a mixture of different pens ...

 

- the cap and nib are from a masterpiece (well, that was easy)

 

- the body seems to be a 234 1/2 ...

 

- the blind cap ... well probably not Montblanc, and definitely not from a 234 1/2 (by the way,Masterpiece fountain pens never had a blind cap )

Seems indeed a frankenpen, a Meisterstück with a blind cap never existed.

[nuria]

And what do you think about the 26 number at the bottom?

[Keyless Works]

It seems like everything fits together nicely but it does appear to be made from different pens.

[piscov]

The proportions of the cap, the nib and section make me believe it´s a #6 size pen .

So I would say the cap is from a later version of a MB 136 ( transitional model).

The barrel is from a MB 236 and the blind cap is a mystery...the blind cap looks to have the shape of a 256 but I really don´t get the 26 engraving.

 

If it´s not a #6 size it could be a 134 cap, 234 1/2 barrel and 254 or 344 blind cap.. but the 26 engraving would be a mystery either...

 

If you could tell us the diameter of the cap just above the rings and a picture of the 26 engraving may help to definitely tell you if it´s a #6 size or a #4 size

Edited April 6, 2015 by piscov

[Keyless Works]

Is it clearly a "26" or could it be a 256 blind cap where the 6 has worn away and it's difficult to read the 5? I suppose that's grasping at straws.

[coolguy684]

I believe 26 was a button filling Spanish Wiesel model. I'm guessing that the threading was interchangeable, for cost reasons, between blind caps of both piston and button fillers

 

See Montblanc 26

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161665051381

Edited April 6, 2015 by coolguy684

[HermetiC]

I believe 26 was a button filling Spanish Wiesel model. I'm guessing that the threading was interchangeable, for cost reasons, between blind caps of both piston and button fillers

 

See Montblanc 26

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161665051381

 

That's correct. 26 is a spanish Montblanc.

 

I tried to interchange the caps between my 134 and 234-1/2 and they fit perfectly.

 

Curious "frankenpen". In Spain we call this kind of fountain pens "una boda" (that means a wedding)

[nuria]

I'm from Spain so it must be a 26 Montblanc but I don't understand why they mixed models because my grandfather bought the pen all together.

Do you know what year it is?

Can you please translate "frankepen" in Spanish? I do no get the meaning.

I'm going to take more photos and and measurements.

[piscov]

Frankenpen is a pen made with a mixture of parts from different pens. Its an analogy with Frankenstein, that was made of body parts from different donors.

Edited April 7, 2015 by piscov

[nuria]

so shops used to mix pieces to sell a cheaper pen?

[piscov]

Don´t believe so, it´s most probable a later repair.

 

Your Grandfather may have bought a complete MB 134 and broke the barrel at a later moment in time, so he took the pen for repair. Those days pens where common used objects for everyday use and not a collectable as vintage pens are now. Also client support was probably not so easy to get from the brands so people used repair services fro the stationary shops. Pens would only have to write and not to be historical correct like we like them now.

 

At that moment the repair man probably only had a MB 234 1/2 barrel and he used it to make the pen write again.

Off course this is just a conjecture, but it was very usual back then.

 

Any chance you can still ask you grandfather about that?

Edited April 7, 2015 by piscov

[nuria]

No, he died years ago and no one in my family can give me information.
It is for sentimental reasons I'm interested to know what year is the fountainpen.

[piscov]

Th cap is probably around 1948-1950, the barrel can be a bit earlier from the beginning of the 40´s till around early 50´s.

 

With a complete pen is already very hard to pin point a certain year, with a pen that is made of mixed pens I would say it´s impossible.

 

Saludos

[fountainpende]

I would say that the pen is made after WWII ...

 

... as noted above ... such frankenpens are not uncommon. Many people simply used the parts available to repair their pens ...

[FredRydr]

No, he died years ago and no one in my family can give me information.

It is for sentimental reasons I'm interested to know what year is the fountainpen.

If it was my ancestor, I'd keep it the way it is. Your grandfather valued it and wrote with it, an aspect you would lose if you made it factory correct.

 

Besides, it'd be fun pulling it out at pen shows.

 

Fred

Edited April 7, 2015 by FredRydr

[chunya]

The fact that it is a marriage will only impact on the sale value, but not the sentimental value. As piscov says, it was probably a working pen that your grandfather used and used and used, and when it needed a repair then someone was quite enterprising in making it useable again.

 

Cherish it, use it and enjoy it.

[sd10521]

I would keep it exactly as it is.