That Little Black Dress/

June 3, 2015

Das Kleine Schwarze ...

Right away you will notice that this head bears no resemblance to this head and the previous post:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/289695-20-german-pens-from-the-50s-60s-that-show-the-pervasiveness-of-pelikan-style/

As you may remember (or may catch up at the reference above), "pervasiveness of the Pelikan style" is a non-starter as a premise for the reasons Christof has written. There is a great deal of very solid data and experience shared by the real experts on Pelikan and other German pens. I thank Christoff and Sarge and BoBo and Ernst and others for taking the time to even discuss what I was proposing and adding real value and information to my poor premise!

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj157/dick168/Screen%20Shot%202015-06-02%20at%207.10.08%20PM_zps0v9xawkf.png[/

URL]

I had noticed that there were an incredible number of German pen manufacturers. I thought that because there were so many and that black was a very common color, it would be fun to try to have a show of 20 - 25 brands, all dressed in black. The Little Black Dress … not an unknown classic in Germany. At this point I knew my premise didn't hold water, but the idea tickled my funny bone. I guess the quest became a private joke.

Here is what is in the picture above … 30 pens arranged by height with flat tops mostly on the left and pointy guys on the right. At the center are three black Pelikans: a 140, a 120, and a 200. Flanking them on either side are 23 other known brands and an Isis and a Rappen holding down the ends of the chorus line.

The mathematically inclined will notice this adds up to 28, not thirty. That is because the 29th pen is an unknown from the stash found in the suitcase in Germany with the newspapers from 1942. Number 30 is a second Montblanc to make the photo work. Sharp-eyed pen aficionados will also see that one of the pens has its clip on upside down. This is my inclusion of a Sonnecken. An unrestored version of a beautiful original, but at least it adds to the count. I have a green Sonnecken school pen, but that doesn't count.

Ergo, 30 pens, 24 brands and an unknown but deserving inclusion.

I'll start writing down the names tomorrow and post a list soon. Thanks to you readers for suggestions of brand names.

And the other two Pelikans outside the chorus line are from the '90s. I added them for some color to the basic black and to bump up the composition.

Best,

Dick

June 3, 2015

<I'll start writing down the names tomorrow and post a list soon>

Make sure you do, Dick -- or you'll be sitting in detention after class! ;^)

Very impressive line-up, I might say!

June 3, 2015

A very nice collection. I like the arrangement and especially the splash of color that you threw in there.

June 5, 2015

Dear observers of this chorus line of girls in their little black dresses,

I was going to take closer shots of each tray, together with a L-R id of the girls themselves, inspite of their similarity. The similarity ... well, thats what we go for when we put together the Rockettes. This will have no meaning except for those located in or around the NY area. Not that I am now in the NY area. But I was.

For the nonce, until my main frame IMac is returned with a new brain ('Abbe Normal' as an inside joke to Mel Brooks fans), I simple list the names of the stars to tempt you for the actual photos and ids by tray:

Ibis, Joh. Faber, Kaweko, Tropen, Tintenkuli, Ero, Rapidograph, Matador, Artus, Brause, Montblanc, Reform, Pelikan, Senator, Lamy, Merropol, Osmia, Luxor, Garant, Monopol, Geha, Goldfink, Soennecken, and Rappen.

"There maybe many others, but they haven't come to Harvard" ... a Tom Lehrer reference for really old guys.

Dr Frankenstein swears he will have my monster back by early next week. I do wonder about his aide, Igor ...

June 8, 2015

Dick

I recently got a pen of which I think it could match to your collection. It's a Osmia Faber Castell form the 50's. The pen shows strong similarity to Pelikan 140's, in contsruction and design.

Osmia Faber Castell 663 by c_m_z, auf Flickr

BTW, Johann Faber pens are rather uncommon. I don't have seen a lot of them... only this:

Johann Faber by c_m_z, auf Flickr

...really a strange pen: metal body and barrel, lever filler and slip cap.

Looking forward to your pictures.

C.

PS: let me know if you're interested in the Faber Castell.