MB 149 - Special Editions

[jamesgibby]

Hi All,

As the years have gone by I have found my interest in MB comes and goes as the years pass; I'm currently experiencing a little bit of a revival at the moment for reasons I will come to. 

 

When I started 'collecting' I was a little scattergun, I went for the usual 146's and 149 then solitaires and got into some PoA and WE pens. As time has gone on I have lost interest in the WE mainly because I think the quality of this line of pen has gone down especially with the introduction of the various editions for each year. When I started it was just the single pen for the year at a good price point and the design was subtle and the pens weren’t ‘gimmicky’. Equally the PoA had only 2 subsets the 4810 and the 888. I have found that MB have commercialised to the extent that the WE and PoA have lost their ways and there are just too many variations with the basic edition not really being good value or in line with the the older versions were.

 

Therefore, I swapped my collection focus to the 149 especially ones which have specialised nibs. Because I understand that they do some country specific releases I thought it would be an idea to generate a list of all known special releases which I can then compile into a single thread and pin for everyone’s reference (who know may encourage more reviews and we can link those too!).

To start these are the ones I know of:

 

149 75^th Anniversary LE (Rose Gold)

149 75^th Anniversary

149 90^th Anniversary

149 Kingsman (UK) release

149 Calligraphy Flex Nib

149 Calligraphy Curved Nib

149 Orient Express 1883

149 Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf - Edge Italic Nib

149 Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf - Expressive Nib

149 Mauerfall Special Edition

149 Taipei 101

[Arcadian]

That's a good idea! 

 

There are two 149 Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf: The Expressive and Italic Edge. 

 

Although they don't have special nibs, there are also:

149 Doué Solid Gold 

I think there was also a 149 made with a triangle instead of a star, for the Islamic market. 

 

 - P. 

 

[jamesgibby]

2 hours ago, Arcadian said:

That's a good idea! 

 

There are two 149 Montblanc x Fritz Schimpf: The Expressive and Italic Edge. 

 

Although they don't have special nibs, there are also:

149 Doué Solid Gold 

I think there was also a 149 made with a triangle instead of a star, for the Islamic market. 

 

 - P. 

 

Thanks, have amended. I also discovered (by buying one today and being disappointed) that the Calligraphy 149 have 2 nibs one a flex nib (which i was after) and another very stiff curved nib (which was the one i ended up buying)

[Uncial]

Normal nib line up, but a special edition of the 149 was produced to commemorate the huge refurbishment of the La Scala opera house in Milan with a gold etched insignia of the opera house on the cap. It came in a black lacquered fancy box with a brass numbered plate and a bottle of sepia ink (in the old shoe shaped bottles with rounded edges). Not sure if this qualifies for your list (also not sure what year it actually came out, but the renovation in question was the one around 2002, after which critics said the famous acoustic had been damaged).

[Michael R.]

yes, the Teatro alla Scala!

 

Some others which come to my mind:


Montblanc Meisterstück Special Edition Elbphilharmonie

Montblanc Meisterstück Special Edition Platinum Hamburg 

Unicef Tom Sachs (2004)

Unicef Andrée Putman (2004)

Unicef Helmut Jahn (2004)

Barack Obama "yes we can" edition

 

 

...and a few solid metal (gold, two-tone gold, a gold plated brass window display pen mimicking the solid gold model, solid platinum) and many LE skeleton variations as well as boutique demonstrator editions!

Some are LE, others a SE.

Let's see if we can think of a few more!

 

 

 

 

 

[Uncial]

Removed post ( Michael mentioned the Elb above)

[jamesgibby]

Not sure what you think so opening to discussion, do we count ones like the Tom Sachs etc that only have a Cap Engraving (which there will be very many) or only ones where the edition has a non standard nib? my thinking was non standard nib as otherwise you can just swap the cap with a normal 149 for example or add it to a special box.

 

also, do we count for example the John Harrison as a 149 edition or a pen on its own?

[zaddick]

Michael took all the good ones. That's what I get for coming a little late to this thread!

 

I think we should include the UNICEF pens as they come with numbered kit. I agree the pens are not special at all, but the packaging is and they are limited.

 

I am not sure about including the artisan skeletons as these are a whole different price point and to me a different beast. I would also lump the lower end skeletons in (90th, Blue Hour, and UNICEF) as they were 10 or more times the cost of a regular 149 when new. There is also the BMW skeleton that only came with a fancy car. 

 

There is one I can add. It is a Helmut Newton release of 75 (I think) that came with a photo book and had his signature engraved.

 

I am guessing there are other local editions that may exist that I have not seen.

 

Also the Orient Express is 1883 not 183. Guessing that was a typo. 

[fireant]

Fritz Schrimp also had an "Sonderedition Italic 100"

[zaddick]

47 minutes ago, fireant said:

Fritz Schrimp also had an "Sonderedition Italic 100"

That is a 146 pen

[Uncial]

Wasn't there an aeroplane 'skeleton'? Maybe it was also just a 146

[zaddick]

11 hours ago, Uncial said:

Wasn't there an aeroplane 'skeleton'? Maybe it was also just a 146

Yes I think it was ro commemorate the Airbus 380. It had a #9 nib thst was partially hooded. 

[zaddick]

I just saw a Great Wall 149 with a special nib on IG. Let's add it to the list...

 

[Michael R.]

I believe this is a "regular" 149 with the nib added from the Great Wall LE Demonstrator, no?

Michael (who posted those pictures) likes to add LE nib to regular pens. I could not find any reference to a resin 149 SE like that. But maybe I missed that one?!

 

[zaddick]

15 hours ago, Michael R. said:

I believe this is a "regular" 149 with the nib added from the Great Wall LE Demonstrator, no?

Michael (who posted those pictures) likes to add LE nib to regular pens. I could not find any reference to a resin 149 SE like that. But maybe I missed that one?!

 

Thanks for chiming in. I just saw the photo out of context. Seems odd to add a nib from a much more expensive pen to a plain resin 149 but is the most likely as I had not heard of it otherwise.

[Arcadian]

All in all, I'd say this thread reveals a great void for Montblanc to fill with special 149's! I, for one, can't wait 🤩

 

 - P.  

[jamesgibby]

1 hour ago, Arcadian said:

All in all, I'd say this thread reveals a great void for Montblanc to fill with special 149's! I, for one, can't wait 🤩

 

 - P.  

Amen!!!

[Pen Nut]

On 5/27/2023 at 9:37 PM, zaddick said:

Yes I think it was ro commemorate the Airbus 380. It had a #9 nib thst was partially hooded. 

 

That pen quite closely resembled a Waterman Edson LE in silver if I recall correctly, I compared my Edson to one at a Northern pen show some years ago. They were not that similar that the owner of the MB didn't notice my attempt to swap pens !   😊

[elton7033]

the new Oriental Express 149 1883, should be list up.

 

[jamesgibby]

On 7/10/2023 at 8:13 AM, elton7033 said:

the new Oriental Express 149 1883, should be list up.

 

it already is!