What's Up At Christof's

[christof]

13. to be or not to be...

 

All started with this very nice pencil. It’s a gray „Auch-Pelikan“ pencil, matching to Pelikan 100 and 100N. But the remarkably thing is the silver or nickel trim on this. I never have seen that before.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8024/7562335264_fca6e882da_c.jpg

I already had this pen. A gray Pelikan 100N from 1938. With gold trim of course. Not really matching. Unfortunately.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7562334890_8457f383e2_c.jpg

So, I did a little research about silber trims on Pelikan 100 and 100N. The only catalogued pens with chrome trim are wartime Pelikan 100 and lizard Pelikan 100N. The opinion of the most experts was: if it’s not found in a catalogue, it’s fake. Or even worse, it doesen’t exist.

Now, you can imagine the surprise when I found this some weeks ago.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7562309948_b6a337e0e5_c.jpg

I’m not an expert, but I would say, there’s no better proof for the existance of a pen than finding one. Well, that’s just me…

…but what really bothers me now, is the question if there has been a gray/nickel trim pen also of Pelikan 100???

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7562389120_cd7071bc68_c.jpg

…and now…

Edited July 20, 2012 by christof

[Soot]

Christof, I think those nickel trim 100N are fakes! It's better you send them over so they be out of your sight.

 

Enjoy your vacation!

[dcpritch]

Christof, that Waterman's 100 year pen is quite stunning, thanks for showing us. And if you figure out a good way to photograph the all-gold Parker 61, would you please share with us your secrets? I have such a hard time with glare and reflections on photos of all metal pens.

 

The nickel trimmed 100N is truly remarkable. If it doesn't exist according to the experts, and you purport to have in your hand an example of something that doesn't exist, wouldn't that create for you an existentialist dilemma or, at even worse, call into question your own existence? Good things to ponder while on vacation, I'm sure. Have a great time away!

[christof]

...wouldn't that create for you an existentialist dilemma or, at even worse, call into question your own existence? Good things to ponder while on vacation, I'm sure...

 

No way while travelling with the four kids!

[christof]

Okay, I'm back from holidays and fighting with my completely and thoroughly filled mailbox ... well, that is the other side of the picture I think.

 

Of course I didn't travel without a fountain pen. And I took the time to do a few sketches. Here are some of them:

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7773873860_10c3720879_c.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7773873502_bcb09929c8_c.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7773872930_ae76c064da_c.jpg

 

I love historical cities and buildings and this are also my mostly prefered objects for sketching, but I also sketch other things like this little green anolis while the kids had a look to all the varans, lizards reptiles and so on ... the descendants of dinosours you know (unfortunately, it wasn't allowd to fondle the giant tarantulas, how boring...)

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7773874098_5b34db0b22_c.jpg

 

Usually I had only a few minutes left to sketch the main lines. The details, I had to do from my memory, later in the evening in the hotel. Same with the shades which I have done with a felt tip pen. On the left arm the baby and in the right hand the pen ... while my wife has been watching Olympic games.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/7773873168_bcac0a7c75_c.jpg

 

Well, not a bad choice I think, holding the baby and sketching a bit, instead of watching Olympic games ... (yawn).

 

Here, two of my favourite sites about sketching on holidays: wetink.com

and sketching with fountain pens in general: mattiasink

 

...and now, back to my mailbox, sigh...

Edited August 13, 2012 by christof

[Soot]

Welcome back! The upside of a vacation is the vacation itself; the downside-- the pile of work that awaits you.

[peterpen53]

Welcome back! The upside of a vacation is the vacation itself; the downside-- the pile of work that awaits you.

 

Oh, how familiar that sounds! I was trying to recognise the Fribourg buildings, but...hélas!

Your sketches do convey the general atmosphere of that city, though.

[ethernautrix]

I love the sketches! Thanks for sharing them!

[georges zaslavsky]

outstanding work christof

[christof]

14. Pelikan 100 variants

 

Here I am again, with some nice and freshly restored pens. My Pelikan 100 collection has grown and I had the oportunity to ad some very nice variants. In my opinion, the Pelikan 100 is one of the most iconic german pens from the past. A pen that wrote (pen-)history and that has been the first piston filler of the world. The remarkable thing about Pelikan piston fillers is, that they are that good designed, that Pelikan never didn't had to change a major thing on the mechanism until the late 60's. Also today, I think it's one of the best piston mechanism I ever have seen and worked on. Every part is made of hard rubber. This makes the pen light and the mechanism maintenance-less. No needless metal parts which will corrode in contact of ink and every part can be disassembled by hand without any tools. I have seen lot's of Pelikan 100 with broken caps, broken barrels or defect bindes, but I seldom have seen one with broken piston filler. I think this says a lot.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/7795817572_236ceb9e39_c.jpg

For a bigger view, click H E R E

 

There are some interesting pens. For example this late 1930's model with "EXPORT" imprint on the green binde. No one (of the persons I've asked) has seen this before, except Rick Propas remembers once to have seen one.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7779427516_4d8c97215f_c.jpg

 

There is also a gray pen with "Emege" imprint on the binde, made for the Portuguese market.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/7838144602_111173cd97_c.jpg

 

But the star of all these is this early pen with jade green striated binde. Not often seen on a Pelikan 100! According to Martin Lehman's site "Pelikan-Guide" it can be dated exactly to june 1931 when Pelikan stopped producing these bindes and started to produce celluloid barrels with hard rubber sections. The cap with double vent holes is matching as well. A very cool detail is the nib which is stamped with a symbol like a compass card. No idea what this is meaning...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7829852608_a8b3f9c39e_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7829852130_dd9d61e62d_c.jpg

 

Oh, what I forgot to mention is: the all green jade Pelikan in the picture is not an original Pelikan 101 from 1935. It's one of these nice LE pens called "originals of their time" made by Pelikan in 1998. Here's a comparison of the piston mechanism with an original one.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6112/6389622601_d78e68a0d0_z.jpg

 

Last year, I did a more detailed comparison here: My Older Post

 

Edited August 23, 2012 by christof

[dannyboy]

The jade green binde on a Pelikan 100 just staggers the imagination!!!!!! Fabulous! Your postings are always a pleasure and a delight to behold! Thank you!!!!!!

[pavoni]

Christof, you spoil us. Such a fabulous series you are treating us to. :clap1:

 

Yours is certainly the most eagerly anticipated post to look out for. Thank you for sharing your fantastic collection of pens, supplemented with excellent commentary, super photography and drawings. You deserve a forum all of your own!

 

Pavoni.

[ethernautrix]

I agree with Pavoni.

[markiv]

Christof, thank you for treating us with such wonderful pens. That striated green is something else.

[christof]

Thanks a lot for your nice comments, my friends. I am happy that you are pleased.

 

There is just another pen in the Pelikan 100 tray which is sort of special. It's this black wartime pen, without any capbands. Somewhere else (unfortunately I forgot where), I have read about the existance of such caps as a kind of prototype for the caps with milled bands. During wartime, Pelikan had to do caps without metal cap bands. Instead of these, they did enrave the bands for a more decorative appearance of their pens. But before, some of the caps leave the factory without any cap bands.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7838143406_f9fd43bdaa_c.jpg

 

I like this pen very much. It's a late celluloid model with 2-part barrel but with a celluloid section instead of hardrubber. I really like the humble apperance of this all black pen without any decorative elements. It reminds me to a first year Pelikan from 1929 (which still is missing in my collection, sigh...). Of course, this pen should also have a CN (stainless steel) or Pd (palladium) nib instead of gold. But it has not. The pen came to me with a very early 1930's nib which is quite flexible and a pleasure to write with. So far, there's no reason to change that. Perhaps, the lack of originality (and of course the possibility of reversibility) did encourage me to do another step to customization.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7797665786_2a9c423bb9_c.jpg

I used an old and completely brassed clip, which has been sandblasted (is this a correct term??) and coated with black 2-compound epoxy. Now, it's a true monochrome pen, kind of a "stealth" Pelikan 100. I like that.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/7842910744_812bf19589_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7842911412_a4c2b84115_c.jpg

 

...hope you don't think this is kind of a sacrilege.

 

PS: just another picture for comparison. Same period same appearance...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7797665786_2a9c423bb9_z.jpg

 

PPS: To make one thing clear:

All my admiration refers to criteria of design.

I have no sympathy to political circumstances in Germany during this period.

Edited August 23, 2012 by christof

[raging.dragon]

...hope you don't think this is kind of a sacrilege.

 

The changes are reversible, so I wouldn't call it sacrilege.

[pavoni]

Whilst I absolutely adored the pictures of your fabulous Pelikan collection Christof, I too admire the wartime variation. It isn't just the simplicity of the pen, giving it an understated elegance, that I admire but what the variation actual represents in terms of the Company's determination to continue with their product despite the political and economic uncertainty of the time.

 

Thank you as always for sharing.

 

Pavoni.

[Susan3141]

This is a simply fantastic collection. And the "stealth" Pelikan is icing on the cake. Wow! Just wow!

[stefanv]

I love the stealth pen! (Well, I like all of the originals too.)

 

I wonder how feasible it would be to make a modern Pelikan (say an M200) in all-black.

[Soot]

Christof, I love the comparison picture that you used, the two matches very well together!

 

Now-- stealth 100...hmm...where can I find one of those?