Adding To The Flock

[carola]

1 hour ago, Carrau said:

I picked up this Green /Green Striped Pelikan 140C recently.  When purchased, it was advertised as a 400, which it resembled in the pictures, although the cap dome and piston knob didn’t fit for a 400 or 400NN.  Once I had it in hand and had a chance to inspect it more carefully, I found engraving on the barrel that confirmed it as a 140C.  Slightly smaller than my 400’s, the condition is mint, with beautiful color.

 

That´s a strange pen... I have never seen anything like it.

What exactly is a Pelikan 140C? As opposed to a Pelikan 140? Because it is clearly not a regular 140 and I have never even heard of a 140C?

[mana]

Looks like a 140 with a 400NN cap? The cap and filling knob look green? Yowzah… really neat… To the OP, what was the source/reference that you used to identify it as a 140C?

[jungkind]

Looking at the photos, the imprint is not very clear, but it looks more like 400 then 140?

 

[carola]

8 hours ago, mana said:

Looks like a 140 with a 400NN cap? The cap and filling knob look green?

 

No, it´s definitely not a 400NN cap. Look at the next to last picture with the capped 400NN and 400 Tortoise above the green one - it´s a 400 cap (or an M400 old style, but as there is no engraving to be seen, it is probably an old 400). The body on the other hand is indeed a lot shorter than those of the 400/400NN and to me the engraving does look like "140".

 

Which brings me to two questions:

1) Are 140 and 400 caps interchangeable? (I don´t own a 140, which means I don´t know and I can´t try swapping the caps.)

2) I don´t know of a 140 with a green piston knob. Are the piston knobs of the 140 and the 400NN interchangeable?

 

If the answers to both questions above are "Yes", what do we have here?

A green striped 140 body (from 1952 - 1954 because of the engraving), with a (rather later, starting at 1954) fir tree nib, a green 400NN piston knob and a green 400 cap?

 

But even if someone had parts of two rare green/green-striped pens (the cap and the piston knob) and worked them into a Frankenpen with a 140 body - the green parts of the green/green-striped pens are described as "slightly greyish-green" whereas these green parts look VERY green. Unfortunately, I have never held one of the green/green-striped specimens in my hand, I can only refer to pictures and descriptions, but neither the pictures I have seen nor the descriptions match the pictures of those green parts.

 

The pen looks pretty cool, but I am still at a complete loss as to what it actually is.

[purplecloud]

the green piston knob may come from a solid green 140

[carola]

1 hour ago, purplecloud said:

the green piston knob may come from a solid green 140

 

Oh, yes... you are right. I´ve had my head so full of the striped 140 and the green/green-striped 400s I completely forgot about the solid green 140.

 

Which leaves the question of the solid green 400 cap open.

[mana]

13 hours ago, carola said:

No, it´s definitely not a 400NN cap.

Ah, my eyes… 🤦‍♂️ Yes, it is a cap for a 400.

[ruby.monkey]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:04 AM, carola said:

 

No, it´s definitely not a 400NN cap. Look at the next to last picture with the capped 400NN and 400 Tortoise above the green one - it´s a 400 cap (or an M400 old style, but as there is no engraving to be seen, it is probably an old 400). The body on the other hand is indeed a lot shorter than those of the 400/400NN and to me the engraving does look like "140".

 

Which brings me to two questions:

1) Are 140 and 400 caps interchangeable? (I don´t own a 140, which means I don´t know and I can´t try swapping the caps.)

2) I don´t know of a 140 with a green piston knob. Are the piston knobs of the 140 and the 400NN interchangeable?

 

If the answers to both questions above are "Yes", what do we have here?

A green striped 140 body (from 1952 - 1954 because of the engraving), with a (rather later, starting at 1954) fir tree nib, a green 400NN piston knob and a green 400 cap?

 

But even if someone had parts of two rare green/green-striped pens (the cap and the piston knob) and worked them into a Frankenpen with a 140 body - the green parts of the green/green-striped pens are described as "slightly greyish-green" whereas these green parts look VERY green. Unfortunately, I have never held one of the green/green-striped specimens in my hand, I can only refer to pictures and descriptions, but neither the pictures I have seen nor the descriptions match the pictures of those green parts.

 

The pen looks pretty cool, but I am still at a complete loss as to what it actually is.

400NN and M400 caps will fit a 140, so I presume a 400 cap would too.

 

And now I have to unscramble my pens. 

[Carrau]

I apologize for the delay in getting back to the thread, as I have been traveling.  I heard back from the retailer, who agreed it had been listed incorrectly.  The representative explained it had come from a group of Pelikan 400s they had either acquired or been consigned to them from the large collection of G.L., and he had assumed it was the 400 Green / Green Striated without examining it carefully or spotting the mismatched cap/barrel, or the 140 engraving.  Given the relative rarity of spotting a 400 Green/Green Striated, and the variety of caps, piston knobs, and engraving of Pelikan in this vintage, I wasn’t sure what it was.  On the chance it was some one off unusual Pelikan,  I didn’t want to lose the opportunity of nabbing it.  Given the reputations of the retailer and the collector whose collection it came from, I felt reasonably safe buying it until it could be examined more closely by me and the more knowledgeable and sharp eyes here. Even as a hybrid, its a lovely looking pen in remarkable condition.

[carola]

I agree, it looks pretty nice. But I wouldn´t want to pay the amount of money the green/green-striated pens go for when in fact I buy a Frankenpen. If you paid a lot of money for a green/green-striated Pelikan, I would have a stern word with the seller, if I were you, and ask for a not so small refund. If you paid an amount of money you deem reasonable for a (lovely) Frankenpen made up of 3 or 4 different vintage Pelikans and you like it, well, have fun with your new pen.

 

I am still puzzled by that cap. There is one modern M200, the Fir green, that might match that cap colourwise. The crown could probably be swapped quite easily for that of a 400. But those have an engraved cap ring and yours hasn´t.

Is the cap really as green as in your pictures?

[Carrau]

15 hours ago, carola said:

I agree, it looks pretty nice. But I wouldn´t want to pay the amount of money the green/green-striated pens go for when in fact I buy a Frankenpen. If you paid a lot of money for a green/green-striated Pelikan, I would have a stern word with the seller, if I were you, and ask for a not so small refund. If you paid an amount of money you deem reasonable for a (lovely) Frankenpen made up of 3 or 4 different vintage Pelikans and you like it, well, have fun with your new pen.

 

I am still puzzled by that cap. There is one modern M200, the Fir green, that might match that cap colourwise. The crown could probably be swapped quite easily for that of a 400. But those have an engraved cap ring and yours hasn´t.

Is the cap really as green as in your pictures?

Yes, it really is a nice medium-dark green, the pictures having been taken in indirect daylight near a window. In most pictures of  400 Green/Green pens I’ve seen, the green is readily identified.  I’ve never seen a 140 in green until I searched for pictures of them after picking up this pen.  The cap I believe belonged to a Green 400. 
 

I did contact the retailer, who initially offered to take back the pen with no questions asked and full refund.  I suggested as an alternate plan, that he consider offering me a discount (I proposed the amount), thereby saving the shipping cost back to him and the difficulty of selling a Frankenpen of uncertain value.  He accepted Plan B, refunding the money with a very generous discount (he had refunded the money even before he emailed me that he was agreeable to do so!).  I’ve also contacted the collector for any additional information.

 

So now I have this lovely green pen that works well, and caught not only my eye, but also the eye of a respected collector at some point, so I could hardly be more pleased, especially given the price. And if you think about it, the 400 series, in a way, is a group of Frankenpens, with changes in cap, piston knob shape, nib logo, feed, but essentially the same pens.  In the end, I’m in it for the beauty and functionality of the pen, not to complete a collection. I know this isn’t everyone’s view, but it works for  me, and brings me joy to use.

[carola]

7 hours ago, Carrau said:

Yes, it really is a nice medium-dark green, the pictures having been taken in indirect daylight near a window. In most pictures of  400 Green/Green pens I’ve seen, the green is readily identified.  I’ve never seen a 140 in green until I searched for pictures of them after picking up this pen.  The cap I believe belonged to a Green 400. 
 

I did contact the retailer, who initially offered to take back the pen with no questions asked and full refund.  I suggested as an alternate plan, that he consider offering me a discount (I proposed the amount), thereby saving the shipping cost back to him and the difficulty of selling a Frankenpen of uncertain value.  He accepted Plan B, refunding the money with a very generous discount (he had refunded the money even before he emailed me that he was agreeable to do so!).  I’ve also contacted the collector for any additional information.

 

So now I have this lovely green pen that works well, and caught not only my eye, but also the eye of a respected collector at some point, so I could hardly be more pleased, especially given the price. And if you think about it, the 400 series, in a way, is a group of Frankenpens, with changes in cap, piston knob shape, nib logo, feed, but essentially the same pens.  In the end, I’m in it for the beauty and functionality of the pen, not to complete a collection. I know this isn’t everyone’s view, but it works for  me, and brings me joy to use.

 

I firmly believe you have made a very nice deal there. I am not at all into Frankenpens myself, but I can thoroughly appreciate the loveliness of this pen in itself, the joy you are drawing from it and your satisfaction with the deal. This is exactly how things need to be. 😃

[amberleadavis]

7 hours ago, Carrau said:

it works for  me, and brings me joy to use.

 

To me, that sounds like perfection.

[mana]

Frankenpens can be great! I have a 500NN the cap of which crapped out, and a Gimborn 150 (Dutch cousin of the Pelikan 300) the barrel of which crapped out... joining the two made one of my favorite pens ever, kind of like a fantasy black striped 400NN...

[carola]

6 hours ago, mana said:

Frankenpens can be great! I have a 500NN the cap of which crapped out, and a Gimborn 150 (Dutch cousin of the Pelikan 300) the barrel of which crapped out... joining the two made one of my favorite pens ever, kind of like a fantasy black striped 400NN...

 

Pictures, please?

[Frank C]

1 hour ago, carola said:

 

Pictures, please?

+1

 

[mana]

Sorry for the unedited image, this one was the only one available from this computer. Anyway... it just works so well, everything in balance, feeling like an object designed with intent, whole instead of just pieces thrown together.

The teardrop clip which is the same as in earlier Pelikans (100, 100N, Rappen) just feels so classic. I do like the beak clip but that one... feels more simple, unadorned and authentic.

[Frank C]

25 minutes ago, mana said:

Sorry for the unedited image, this one was the only one available from this computer. Anyway... it just works so well, everything in balance, feeling like an object designed with intent, whole instead of just pieces thrown together.

The teardrop clip which is the same as in earlier Pelikans (100, 100N, Rappen) just feels so classic. I do like the beak clip but that one... feels more simple, unadorned and authentic.

Thanks for posting this image. I like that pen. 

[carola]

10 hours ago, mana said:

Sorry for the unedited image, this one was the only one available from this computer. Anyway... it just works so well, everything in balance, feeling like an object designed with intent, whole instead of just pieces thrown together.

The teardrop clip which is the same as in earlier Pelikans (100, 100N, Rappen) just feels so classic. I do like the beak clip but that one... feels more simple, unadorned and authentic.

 

Very nice and pretty! 👍

[Switala]

Mana, great combination!
Congratulations on your Frankenpen, it's a gem!
Best Regards