From my collection: the Diplomat Bruyére

[DvdRiet]

16 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I have just now written Diplomat to see if only Platinum cartridges has be used, in the guy on Ebay said that cartridge only, and if they have a modern converter that fits that pen. Just in case.

 

Hi Bo Bo, 

I have a brand new Platinum converter in mine that fits and works perfectly.  

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thanks, good to know, if I ever have any problems.

I can't really expect Diplomat to answer the very next day about a pen they made fifty years ago.

 

It really took the efforts of a couple posters here to make me really look at that Diplomat as a wooden pen, and not a nice plastic fake. I just wasn't expecting it.

[DvdRiet]

2 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I can't really expect Diplomat to answer the very next day about a pen they made fifty years ago.

 

They just might, actually. I sent a photo of all the pens in my collection not long ago (after their reply to another question) and the response was, 'wow, I see you even have a Bruyére, very nice!'  

 

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

23 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

blue one with the Maltese Crosses that use to be the Diplomat brand mark, is semi-flex.

 

@DvdRiet, @Bo Bo Olson, or anyone else for that matter: Does any of you know what kind or model of Diplomat this is? Thank you. 

[DvdRiet]

16 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

@DvdRiet, @Bo Bo Olson, or anyone else for that matter: Does any of you know what kind or model of Diplomat this is? Thank you. 

 

I would have to see the rest of the pen, and especially the ink window, and know whether the nib is steel or gold, but this style could be anything from a 16 to a 30, but is most likely a 16 (steel) / 17 (gold) or a 20 (steel) / 21 (gold). It doesn't appear to be marked on the cap but may have the number on the barrel. My best guestimate is that this style of pens is from the 50s.

[OldTravelingShoe]

20 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

 

I would have to see the rest of the pen, and especially the ink window, and know whether the nib is steel or gold, but this style could be anything from a 16 to a 30, but is most likely a 16 (steel) / 17 (gold) or a 20 (steel) / 21 (gold). It doesn't appear to be marked on the cap but may have the number on the barrel. My best guestimate is that this style of pens is from the 50s.

Many thanks! (I'll be the first reader of your book on Diplomats 😉

[Bo Bo Olson]

Blue plastic Diplomat semi-flex. Maltese Cross on clip blurred due to taking lousy pictures....(camera trash canned finally), but the final's shape is clear.

Steel nib, marked with

Diplomat,

Maltese Cross,

Iridium

Point.

No nib size marked, eyeballed to a F.

 

Clear ink window.

Maltese Cross on the top of the clip, the top of the finial, and some around the cap band.

On the cap Maltese Cross is a bit wider than the printed Diplomat.

 

Barrel, faintly ....20 near the blind cap.

Therefore early-mid '50s because of the blind cap. 50's because of the small finial form.

[DvdRiet]

44 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Barrel, faintly ....20 near the blind cap.

Therefore early-mid '50s because of the blind cap. 50's because of the small finial form.

Ah, yes, when I read ‘clear ink window’ and steel nib, I knew it had to be a 20. In my opinion one of the best models from around that time. And quite popular at the time, I believe. (I have one with a FK nib that was sprung and your advice helped me unspring it! Great nib!!)

 

And I’m very pleased to hear from someone more familiar with German pens that these are indeed (mid)1950s pens, so thank you for that confirmation, Bo Bo!

 

Edit to add that the nib size on mine is clearly marked on the underside of the feed. You may be able to find it there on yours.

[Bo Bo Olson]

No size on the underside of the feed.

 

It is a very light and nimble pen for a large one.

One has too many pens, when fine pens get no playing time. I've only used it once.

[fountainbel]

What a beauty, congratulations DvdRiet ! 

Francis

[DvdRiet]

3 hours ago, fountainbel said:

What a beauty, congratulations DvdRiet ! 

Francis

 

Thank you very much! I'm starting to get a few too many Diplomats in my collection for it to make it into the rotation as often as it probably should, but it's certainly a very nice one! (Sometimes a reminder is good though. I think I'll get this one in again next.)

[Bo Bo Olson]

My Briar is inked, it's the blue one that isn't and Francis just put inking that blue one, down the list, in he just repaired a fist full of mine.

 

I went through phases....not wise ones....greedy buy all sorts of pens. Fall into the ink pools.....finally find papers..............should be done, buy a ream or box of good to better papers every three inks.

 

Should repair pens...........but repairing pens prevented my weekly adrenaline rush of the bidding in the last 15 seconds on a pen.

 

Now I have a couple dither parties to attend.

One the pens back from repair....the other using some of my pens, when reminded by reading here.

 

 

Often in the past I had 17 pens inked......so there were often inked pens that got very use.

I've already fallen............I had sworn not to ink more than 7 pens so I could use up more ink. I have 12 inked......

Between getting 4 new inks from India, and pens back from repair.........the 7 have been added too.

This is at fault of course....

That plastic rotating 'shelf' has a pen section....so the pens in there don't get counted like the pens in the pen cup......got a brand new pen cup....Meissen from 1745-75. A mustard jar, with out it's top. The saucer is attached to the mustard pot. (Wife often has great ideas)

 

The Diplomat Briar is one of the inked pens.  Regular flex/Japanese soft.

A major repair by Francis is the no name semi-flex brass overlay one with black top between the two Pelikans (Ruby Star -regular flex) and 400NN with a semi-flex FK nib, (not a stub)  and the Geha 790 (semi flex).

In the cup also semi-flex Geha 725, P-75 semi-nail, , and the dark one hidden behind my dip pen with feed, is a medium-small which was a popular size in Germany in the '50's; an Osmia-Faber-Castel early '50's  model 52, BB semi-flex.

The pen laying on the Miessen inkwell and pen holder is a Pelikan 200 amethyst. It though is not one of my now inked pens, having just run out....It goes in the to clean cup.

Hell of an upgrade from a Christmas cup.

The marbled Osmia 222 pushbutton on the Herbin bottle, was just repaired by Francis. My favorite ink is the Lie De The`.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

@Bo Bo Olson, this is an amazing collection, thanks for sharing. (Must resist the urge to acquire an Osmia (222) now.)

 

I also like the inks very much... Lie de Thé is constantly in one of my pens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

3 minutes ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Must resist the urge to acquire an Osmia (222) now.)

...Has a real nice maxi-semi-flex nib. #2 nib, F.

I only have 7-8 Osmias until this one. I had made an assumption, the nibs with a small diamond mostly with a nib size number in it were semi-flex and those with the large diamond and or Supra were maxi-semi-flex. Two posters one with well over 60 Osmia's and another with over 30 If I remember correctly told me....not always. They had small diamond maxie's and big diamond/Supra nibs that were only semi-flex. The nib of this Osmia 222 is a small diamond, maxi-semi-flex.

I just won this recently, then Francis repaired it.

Looks so much better than the live auction lot. Francis does such good work.

Also in the lot was a '34-36 Auch Pelikan (Also Pelikan) MP from '34-36. The 100 has a broken tipped CN nib, that I happened to have a spare of. Neither of the two CN nibs were more than regular flex...........some lucky folks claimed semi-flex and superflex in CN nibs.

Wife ended up with the 400 blue stripped roller ball....and my Cd'A one too that I won as part of another more impressive live auction lot.

 

Until the last couple of years, pre-telephone and pre-computer, a live auction was cheaper than Ebay, in all I had to do was beat a dealer, not crazy addicted pen buyers like me.

 

Now...I have to hope the pen collectors from around the world don't go to 'my' two auction houses.

 

The price of inkwells has more than doubled even trippled....part from telephone and computer bids, part from pre-inflation no interest in the bank, where to hide the money buying.

I was an ink well fool from before that.....but eventually one reaches a level, where there are sigh cubed prices.

[OldTravelingShoe]

6 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

...Has a real nice maxi-semi-flex nib. #2 nib, F.

I only have 7-8 Osmias until this one. I had made an assumption, the nibs with a small diamond mostly with a nib size number in it were semi-flex and those with the large diamond and or Supra were maxi-semi-flex. Two posters one with well over 60 Osmia's and another with over 30 If I remember correctly told me....not always. They had small diamond maxie's and big diamond/Supra nibs that were only semi-flex. The nib of this Osmia 222 is a small diamond, maxi-semi-flex.

I just won this recently, then Francis repaired it.

Looks so much better than the live auction lot. Francis does such good work.

Also in the lot was a '34-36 Auch Pelikan (Also Pelikan) MP from '34-36. The 100 has a broken tipped CN nib, that I happened to have a spare of. Neither of the two CN nibs were more than regular flex...........some lucky folks claimed semi-flex and superflex in CN nibs.

Wife ended up with the 400 blue stripped roller ball....and my Cd'A one too that I won as part of another more impressive live auction lot.

 

Until the last couple of years, pre-telephone and pre-computer, a live auction was cheaper than Ebay, in all I had to do was beat a dealer, not crazy addicted pen buyers like me.

 

Now...I have to hope the pen collectors from around the world don't go to 'my' two auction houses.

 

The price of inkwells has more than doubled even trippled....part from telephone and computer bids, part from pre-inflation no interest in the bank, where to hide the money buying.

I was an ink well fool from before that.....but eventually one reaches a level, where there are sigh cubed prices.

Great story, @Bo Bo Olson, thanks for sharing. The good thing is there are better chances there won't be many pen lovers joining at your two auction houses, not when compared with eBay 😁

[OldTravelingShoe]

6 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

part of another more impressive live auction lot

Great lot, love these pens 😃

[Bo Bo Olson]

This was this spring and put me on candle light Dining Out at McDonald budget for quite a while.

 

This was the $$$$ lot. The Diplomat Briar,

Pelikan Hunter Toledo, a W.Germany 800 OM.

MB Nobliese, Waterman Mann 200

Cd"A RB and FP .... MB 149.

All 18K nibs, the MB Nobliese and the Cd'A are nails the rest are regular flex/(Japanese soft).

 

At the time, I only looked at the two Pelikans.

 

The '90's Waterman F is narrower than my marbled brown Pelikan 200's EF.

The 149 is still too big for me.....it only took me much of 15 years to get comfortable with large pens like the 146/800/Persona. I grew up in standard and medium-large pen era.

 

This and the other half the original owner's pens were in a plastic bag. (All I can remember from the other bag was the man really likeed black and gold 800's in he had an OB and an OF in it.)  Had there been pen boxes, I could never have afforded them...

I had a bee in my bonnet about only buying a W.Germany 800....because the W.Germany nibs are a slight tad more springy than the '91-97 Germany era. In W. Germany, I have a small 600 OBB, a couple 200's and that 800.....but you have to have both era's to feel the difference.

 

I assume due to the dating of many of the pens, the original owner died in the very early '90's, and his widow just late last year; and either he or she tossed the boxes.

In '71/2 I tossed the box of my P-75 so fast it took me 40 years to find out it took cartridges also (hidden in the bottom of the box with the instructions were I found out a bit late two free cartridges.....per-converter era.

 

Some nice posters really, really had to twist my arm to make me see the Diplomat was Briar wood and not a fancy plastic..some times one sees what one wants to see and is blind to reality.