My Vintage Mb Collection

[siamackz]

INTRODUCTION

My first vintage pen was a Montblanc 342-D from the 1950s. I bought it off a seller and very helpful member here on FPN - Vasco. It was an impulse buy! When I got the pen it didn't write like I wanted and so I attempted tuning it myself. Over a few days I tried this and that and read and read and experimented. Finally... success! It was the humble 342D that made me fall in love with vintage Montblancs (MBs) and also the art of pen restoration.

Over the subsequent two years I curated a collection that included sets of Watermans, Sheaffers, Pelikan, Kaweco, MB, and other brands. Many were wonderful writers from the day I got them, and some were tuned by me to write the way I prefer. I had collected close to 100 pens. This is not very much in comparison to serious collectors, but it is far more pens than I could ever imagine myself having.

Over time, I found myself drawn to the MBs. If I had two pens inked, one would be an MB. Then, as my collection grew, I found myself only inking the MBs. Also, I realised that I was re-inking pens only after a period of 4-5 months because I had too many pens and wrote too little. I didn't feel good about this, I felt like I was hoarding. So, in September 2018, I decided to sell all my non-MB pens and focus on building an all-MB collection. Also, I decided that I would buy less pens but more desirable ones. This would keep my collection relatively small and allow me to ink pens more often. It would also better preserve the value of my collection over time.

I have successfully sold about 60 pens till date, and now I am left with almost only MBs. It is this humble collection that I would like to share with you.

My MB curation is driven by the intent of possessing:

• Every mainstream filling mechanism MB produced
• Every major colour in celluloid and ebonite
• Representation from every major series and design change across series
• Every nib tip type and nib material
• Representation from every major manufacturing country that created unique design

A few self-imposed rules for this collection:
a. I have a very few modern pens made in the 1960s till present day, but from here on its only MBs from the 1950s and earlier
b. I do not want to collect all sizes and every design variation within each series - just a little representation is enough (to avoid my collection from growing too large)
c. All pens must write and work

Before I present my collection, I want to warn you that these pens do not look perfect. They have weathered the test of time and have stories of use (and even abuse) and thats what makes them historical pieces to me. I dont take off surface material by over polishing them, and I dont remove personalised inscriptions. I will only re-plate parts to protect the materials or if their plating wear is so bad that it is interfering with my ability to appreciate the pen!

There are many ways to organise a collection. I decided to arrange mine not by date, but rather themed by design. The kinds of materials, shapes, sizes, and filling mechanisms that MB made changed over time, and so I have tried to create sets of pens based on these design elements. The top shelf hosts the 13x and 14x Meisterstuck series. They are quite different from each other but closely related, so they sit together. The middle shelf displays Spanish (left) and Danish (right) models, and there are a few German sets from the 1930s to 1970s in the centre. The bottom shelf has safety fillers (left). Ignore the pens on the right of the bottom shelf for the purpose of this article (they are Haro glass nibbed pens and a Nakaya).

OK, lets begin a tour of the collection. First, a snapshot of the entire display.

Lets look at the pens shelf by shelf...


From left to right - 134, L139. Standing up L to R - 142, 144, 146, 149 celluloids. Laid down L to R - 149 (1960s), 149 (1990s), 147 (2000s), 146 (1970s), 144 (2000s)


From left to right - Two Spanish 44s, 342D, 264, 34, 622 Junior, 72, 644, 244, 324, 3341/2, 432, 422, Danish collection of Skribent sub brand, two 244s, a 224, and No. 1 button filler.


From left to right - Rouge et Noir No. 1, Heritage 1912

I have tried as much as possible to base my information related to dating and pen history on a triangulation of data from books, catalogues, and internet resources. But this is not always possible and sometimes I only have one source of information - books, which I consider relatively authoritative. However, if the info is only from a blog or FPN post then I will not present it as an assertion, but rather as a wonder with a question mark >(?).
The books I have referred to are:

• Collectible Stars I, Wallrafen & Rosler
• Montblanc in Denmark, Holten & Lund
• Collectible Stars 1946-79, Wallrafen & Rosler
• Montblanc Pens Made in Spain, Guillen

I will share my collection here in a series of 4-5 posts every few days, each one focusing on a section of my display. I will begin with a post on the top shelf in a few days. I know its a modest collection, but I curated it with great thought and so Id love to share it with you. Thanks for reading! Edited December 17, 2018 by siamackz

[prashant.tikekar]

Lovely collection. Well focused and arranged too. Will be waiting for coming posts.

[Doug1426]

Congratulations. What you have done is outstanding. What a wonderful collection and way to organize and display it.

Thank you for sharing it with all of us. I look forward to your upcoming posts.

[Toll]

What an impressive and ambitious undertaking; carefully curated, indeed. Thanks for sharing your collection to date!

[fountainbel]

Beautiful collection Sia, and nicely displayed, thanks for shearing !

Even more Impressive is the speed in which you succeeded to get all these beauties !

Enjoy them in good health!

Regards,

Francis

[alfredop]

Beatiful collection, I like all of your Montblanc, in particular the red ones.

 

Having said that, I see that there is at least one intruder. Send me that Nakaya and I will make you free from its inopportune presence

 

Alfredo

Edited December 16, 2018 by alfredop

[da vinci]

An excellent wonderfully curated collection. Thank you for sharing not just the pens, but your own thought processes. These insights make the pens all the more interesting. I am looking forward to your next post

[Tom Kellie]

~ siamackz:

 

Thank you for the outstanding images of your collection.

Your attention to detail and clarity of composition are such a delight to the eyes.

It's also pleasing to see the inks you use.

Your thoughtfulness in sharing these high quality images is highly appreciated.

Tom K.

[farmdogfan]

Impressive collection, and beautifully presented.

[kandarp]

Wow that's spectacular!

[rossy]

Wow, what a great work! I really envy you...

[BillH]

Oh, well done!! Thanks so much for sharing this.

[siamackz]

Thank you everyone, for your kind and encouraging words!

 

I hope you enjoy the follow up posts which will focus on specific sections of the collection. Coming soon

[Michael R.]

Very nice

I really like the focus and arrangement and picking significant models from different periods.

 

Many thanks for allowing us to take a look at your collection.

Cheers

 

Michael

[meiers]

Beautiful!!! What a nice Sunday morning treat!

Which pen is your favourite writer?

Edited December 16, 2018 by meiers

[specialk0449]

A beautiful collection!! Very nice and unique way to display your collection siamackz. I am looking forward to your follow up posts. Vintage Montblanc and Pelikan pens are my main focus.

[penparadise]

Not bad

And I like your art of display!

[Pointyscratchy]

Brilliant collection Siamckz. I find the whole idea interesting.

 

I wanted that one perfect pen and started buying Cross's, then after internet research I decided Lamy2k was the one, except the medium nib needed to be a fine.Next I wanted a 149 and thought I was being clever when I bought a JFK at the airport.I was convinced it was a 149.(It's not).At another airport I bought the GBS set, and regret that.

 

The pen I really wanted was a 149 ef and i went to a boutique in Birmingham (uk) to get one.They don't sell them.The assistant thought I was naive in expecting them to actually stock anything but an f or an m.I could buy an m and send it to Hamburg.I went home and ordered one off the internet.I'm surprised the boutiques sell anything.

 

Anyway I got the 149ef and it was love at first sight, and only then did I realise that the huge nib was nothing like the JFK nib.So now I think I'm happy, a little buyers remorse over the GBS.

 

I think the allure for me is owning that one perfect item that transcends all it's peers- a samurai who owns the perfect sword honed with metals taken from a meteorite that a master craftsman put his lifetimes knowledge into forming.......(I'm not saying this is true, but wouldn't it have been much more noble and a better ruler if Arthur had pulled excaliber the fountain pen from the stone)

 

There is a writer called Robert Block (I'm talking about collections and what drives us to collect), anyway this Block has written a lot of books, mainly thrillers, and is a pretty good writer.One of his series of books is about a man called Keller who is a hit man.But the thing about Keller is that he is also an avid stamp collector.When he can he often contrives to go to a stamp fair when he visits a city to make a hit.Sometimes he seeks out work so that he can buy a stamp that he wants but can't afford.His collection is quite specific, and his extreme knowledge and mundane interaction with other collectors counterpoints what he does for a living.I'm taking a wild guess but I bet `Block is a collector in real life too {as opposed to a hitman in real life) because of his depth of knowledge.Like us he started with a mild interest-he'd had some stamps when he was a boy and lost them- so started a collection that gradually became more and more important in his life.He finds nothing more satisfying than after he has just closed a job that may have been particularly difficult- very often his targets are almost Impossible and that's why he is given the job in the first place and that's also the structure of the story that he figures out how to do it usually by getting close to the target and making it look like an accident- than to buy a really expansive stamp, or better still another persons entire collection where he will keep what he wants and sell off the rest.He waxes philosophical on such things as these other stamp collectors becoming older and dying off and no young people coming in to start the hobby.

 

Apologies if this is off topic, it's just that our/my obsession to collect, and the how's and why's associated interests me greatly- probably as much as the pens themselves.

[iancorben]

Thank you very much for sharing what is, and will be a great resource for all of us to refer to. Well displayed and I look forward to seeing future posts showcasing your collection.

 

Thanks again.

[tinta]

This looks like a work of love.

Enjoy!

I only own one second-tier MB 254 from the late 50s (with no hairline cracks in the cap).

Cheers, tinta