Webmaster's Corner
I'm one of those people who draft new HTML pages, code and all, in Waterman blue-black, with a 1937-ish Pelikan 100. Okay, scratch that. I'm probably not one of those people. I dare say I'm the only one. But it seems perfectly appropriate for a site like The PENguin.
I'm Gillian Hart, I'm 26 27 and probably should have begun lying about my age by now, I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and I am currently 'in recovery' after receiving my MA in English literature. I took over day to day maintenance of the site in 2005.
I'm fairly new to the hobby. Although I'd been using and acquiring fountain pens for a decade or so, I'd date the arrival of the pen collecting bug (which replaced the record collecting bug, but couldn't completely supersede the shoe collecting bug), and the interest in vintage pens, to late 2004. The only current focus of my collection is vintage Pelikans (my Parker 51s seem to be breeding, but that isn't planned). Trying to fill out a 140 collection has been fun, but I'd say I've now got all the variants I can reasonably expect to be able to acquire without several strokes of luck combined with a sudden availability of cash. I am currently in love with a 1932-ish black Pelikan 100. And a grey 400. And a 1930... My current wishlist has only eight items on it. Should I be concerned for my health? Am I developing a dangerous grasp of pen priorities? Er, let's hope not.
Since this is to be my own little corner of the PENguin site, I'm planning to use it from time to time to recommend a pen or two--my picks of the site (see below). Such recommendations will be purely my own opinion. Since I have not handled these pens in person (with the occasional exception of pens I supplied to Rick in the first place, usually duplicate coloured 140s from my collection), readers must rely on Rick's description on pens' own pages for details of condition, nib smoothness, any flaws, and so forth.
Well, that's about it from me for now. If anyone would like to contact me, perhaps with comments about the structure of the site, offers of employment or marriage (kidding), gentle grammatical corrections, reports of broken links, or sarcastic remarks about my collecting goals, you may email thegilly@yahoo.com. If you have a Pelikan-related question you suspect might be stupid and you're afraid Rick will laugh at you for asking (he won't), you can email me about that too. It took me a very long time to work out how to tell the difference between 100s and 100Ns, and later between tortoise 100s and tortoise 101s, but I did and I'm now spotting mislabelled pens in the Pelikan book. Please don't email me if you're after more information on a particular pen listed on this site which you're thinking of buying, or if you want to buy one or two or several. That type of email should be directed to Rick.
Please, enjoy the site. It's not the flashiest pen site out there, but it is a labour of love, and we who work on it like to think that there's rather a lot here for you to see and learn. And buy, of course; that would be nice. <grin>
My picks of the site
May 2008
Back to Basics
I have a lot of pens. Really. It's a small and "narrow" collection, as collections go, but when it comes to grabbing a pen to use for some particular task, I have a great deal of choice. And I keep on coming back periodically to a nothing-special Pelikan 100, the pen with which I wrote good portions of my MA thesis, the pen I hated on sight, the pen that, once repaired and polished up by The PENguin, ensured I wasn't likely to recover from the Pelikan collecting bug. It's green. It's 1937-ish but hard to say because the parts are a bit of a mix which could be the result of wartime necessity and could be the result of some dealer who didn't regard minor anachronism in a pen as a problem assembling one good pen from several unrepairable ones. The nib is earlier, in that way that interests Pelikan collectors, early enough that it was probably made for Pelikan by Mont Blanc, before Pelikan had the facilities to make its own nibs. (Rick asked if he could keep this nib for himself, and I agreed, but he forgot to do the swap and so I got the earlyish nib back.) It's not a breath-takingly beautiful pen or even an uncommon one. But it writes beautifully, fits my hand perfectly, and has been a dependable writer for several years now.
We have quite a range of green 100s in stock, and a couple of black ones. A rather interesting array of nibs they have, too (I'm a firm believer that the nib maketh the pen. It's the most important part, and I don't grumble on those occasions where I have to pay a premium to get a 'desirable' nib, in my case usually a flexible one.) I'm curious about the "N" nib on the last pen in the green tray. Almost--but not quite--curious enough to buy it. These will all be wonderful pens for the right people. Have a look, you might see a pen there that's just begging for you to adopt it.
A word on price. Yes, you can certainly get Pelikan 100s cheaper on eBay, especially if you have some German and a fair idea what you're looking for. As long as you stick to the common colours, you won't be in any real danger of coming across a fake (don't buy a blue 100 on eBay unless you understand that it's a gamble in that many of these pens--even the ones with the Portugese Emegê marking--appear to be fake, ie they've been dyed or stained or had their colour 'adjusted' from ordinary green in some other way. I recommend you ask an expert's opinion before bidding, if you really must bid on such a specimen). But if the pen you buy needs repair, chances are it's no longer going to be a cheap buy. There aren't many people doing Pelikan repairs, and the good ones--the ones who have sources for real, long-lasting cork seals, for instance--tend to charge a pretty penny (getting a Pelikan fixed is always going to be more expensive than getting a lever-filler re-sacked) and have a long turnaround time owing to too much demand for their services. When you buy from The PENguin, you can be confident that the pen is correct for the year it's from (unless the description says otherwise), and that it's in good working condition. Furthermore, its continuing to work well is guaranteed for the medium-term (usually two years, but sometimes longer), and all you have to do to keep from voiding that guarantee is, well, basically not do anything stupid with it, and also avoid using the two ink brands Rick distrusts (Private Reserve, Noodler's) in it. (Rick's guarantee is described here, and his views on the safety of various inks can be seen here. Details of the repair services he offers--very limited now owing to time constraints--are here.)
Have a look around. If the Pelikan 100 of your dreams isn't here, it might yet be in the stock cupboard waiting to go up on the site, or Rick may have a bunch of pens coming in next week one of which sounds just like what you want. So it's worth emailing to ask if you don't see what you want here.
I won't bore you with any more praise for the Pelikan 100. If you've not tried one, do try to get your hands on one--I think a short test-write will easily convince you of its merits.
One last thing: Rick has just set up his own blog. You can check it out right here.March 2008
I can't rave enough about our new tortoise selection. I honestly don't think I've ever seen such a selection of early tortoise Pelikans for sale anywhere!
The tray full of tortoises has everything from the ridiculously scarce tortoise 100 through to tortoise 100Ns and 101Ns (tortoise 100Ns have red caps; tortoise 101Ns have tortoise caps) and a tortoise 200 pencil to match one of the fountain pens.
Particularly juicy in this batch is the 100 (far left). "Tortoise 100" means red cap and turning knob, tortoise Binde--no matter what all these guys on eBay claim, I simply cannot believe that a 100 with a tortoise Binde but black cap and turning knob is anything but a later construction--otherwise we would find it in catalogues, and therefore in the Pelikan book. The pen we have for sale is unquestionably the genuine article. This pen isn't perfect, but I've never seen one of these for sale that is perfect. It is spectacular. (And now SOLD! Someone is going to be very pleased with that pen, IMHO. Still a few tortoise beauties left, though.)
The other really exceptional gem in this group is the short captop 101N (second from the right). As if the short captop didn't make it interesting and rare enough, it also has "Pelican" rather than "Pelikan" markings, suggesting, despite claims that short captop models were only made for export to Switzerland, that this one was made for the British. (As I might have expected this pen, first of the group, has SOLD.)
I'm sure I don't need to convince anyone of the appeal of these tortoise-patterned beauties, and I won't reiterate my remarks below about one of my absolute favourites in my collection, a tortoise 100N. What I will say is that I am not unaware of the difficult choices one has to make when faced with such a range. But I can't honestly imagine anyone being unhappy with any of these lovelies. (Late April: a single pen remains from this lot.)
October 2007
Set PieceFor some reason, despite the fact that I often greatly admire sets when I see them for sale or when people post pictures from their own collections on PenTrace, I'm not drawn to collect matching sets myself. If I recall correctly, I have precisely two mechanical pencils in my collection: one came with my tortoise Pelikan M400 when I bought it a few years ago (it's safely tucked away somewhere, and I've not seen it since we moved house around Hallowe'en of 2006), and one I bought to match the first of many forest green 140s some time back. I've used each just enough to establish that I don't like using mechanical pencils--at least not the lovely, and typically heavy, vintage kind. Pencils in my collection will, I fear, only ever be there for show. But I'm well aware that others love their pencils and adore their sets. My fearless feathered leader, the PENguin, for instance, says:
Speaking personally, I prefer to carry sets, a fountain pen and mechanical pencil. I find it handy to have an extra writing instrument along should my pen run out of ink during a class or meeting, and sometimes it is nice to be able to make light notes that can later be removed. In addition, I just think they look cool in the pocket. One pen looks elegant, to be sure, but two, especially matching, says that I take care of business. More than three, however, and you are in need of a white plastic pocket protector.
(I'm not sure whether the fact that I just had to look up 'pocket protector' on Wikipedia says more about my age or my nationality.)
Anyway, sets aren't usually for me. However, there are a couple to tempt me on the PENguin just at present. PE1615 is a truly spectacular blue 140 set--the first time I can recall even seeing a pencil of this type outside the pages of the Pelikan book.
As usual with coloured 140s, I'm disappointed with the photography; these coloured 140s just don't seem keen to co-operate with cameras, quite determined to look better in person than they ever do on a computer screen. Make no mistake, this is a stunning set, rare (Rick may be determined to reserve that word for steak, but I'm a medium steak kinda girl and not afraid to call a rare pen rare), and pretty near perfect. If it weren't for the fact that I know I would never actually use that lovely matching pencil, I would have been dangerously tempted to buy this set as soon as it went up on the site (if not before--privilege of working here).(Update: sold at Columbus show.)
There is one other such temptation for me on the site at present.
PE1566 is an exceedingly uncommon thing: a 400N (not common) in green (tortoises predominate) with the matching pencil (and I'm sure Rick will be happy to lecture at some length on captops and clip shapes if you'd like to know why, exactly, he can say that this pencil belongs with a 400N rather than a measly old 400). One could wish it were in better condition, but all in all this is one sweet set. (Update: sold at Columbus show.)
Update: this has just (October 27th) gone up on the site:
(Edit: Now sold.)
If you're looking for a pencil to match a 1950s Pelikan, you'll find we have several--try the brand new under $200 price category. There are also a couple of pencils to match your tortoise 400s, listed on the tortoise 400 page. (Edit: both pencils have sold now, but that doesn't mean there aren't more elsewhere on the site--have a look, or email Rick if you're after one.)
Whether sets are your thing or not, I'm sure you'll agree with me that there are some wonderful sets out there, and that by some synergistic process a matching pencil enhances its fountain pen.
March 2007
Tortoises I have known and loved...I've been using a pair of forest green Parker 51s for the last couple of weeks, a weakness occasioned by the return to university and the preference for putting non-beloved pens in danger rather than worrying about how precious pens are faring in my bag/in my pocket/clipped to my t-shirt. So it was a very nice change yesterday to select a tortoise 100N from my pen case, fill it with Waterman Florida Blue (NZ $16.95 a bottle, yikes! I guess FP users are considered a small and captive market here), and curl up on the couch to make first-impression notes for a poetry analysis assignment. I'd forgotten how nice the softness of a flexible nib can be, even for careless scribbles all over a photocopy. I'd forgottten how stunning my tortoise 100N is, even though it's something of a wounded puppy.
This is a lovely pen with a lovely nib, and I don't feel at all silly for having 'adopted' it rather than waiting (and saving) for one without so obvious a flaw (though perhaps it isn't obvious with the photo cropped this small?). I love the red cap of the 100N (it would be a 101N if it had a tortoise cap), though I dare say there is a tortoise 101N in my future somewhere. Currently in stock at The PENguin, we've a good tortoise 101N. Also--and I'm really surprised this hasn't sold yet--we've an interesting and rare tortoise 100 set (ie RHR cap), which isn't in ideal condition but is darling enough to have made me question my "need" for a shiny new iMac. (The iMac won. I'm still not sure it should have.) (Edit: now sold.)
Clearly, the term 'tortoise' covers a variety of materials/patterns when it comes to vintage Pelikans. Somewhere around the place I have the obligatory tortoise-striped 400--these sell so fast here at The PENguin that we find it almost impossible to keep them in stock and the listing for them uptodate--and I must be one of the few people who doesn't think that much of the tortoise 400 beast. Our tortoise 400s live here, but, predictably, they're out of stock at the moment--maybe email Rick if you'd like one, or just keep an eye on the site (be warned, they go quickly)(Edit: these are in and out of stock too rapidly for me to keep this reference up to date. Check the page.). I have a tortoise 500N, and I love it for its N-ness (see below about the scarce 400N family) and its gold-cappedness and, I'll admit, its scarceness, rather than for its tortoiseness. Now, a light tortoise 400, that's something. One of my first meetings with vintage Pelikans involved my acquisition of these for an obscenely low bid on a local New Zealand auction site:
(that's Rick's pic--I think the colours are rather truer in my pic, though, of course, otherwise my pic is awful:)
That's a light tortoise 400N set, the sort of thing one REALLY does not come across often. I had this in my possession for about a week, and hardly ever dared so much as touch it. The material is spectacularly beautiful, and although the pen's cap has been irreversibly discoloured by ink, I still rank this set among the most beautiful I've ever seen. (The set's now part of Rick's PENguin colony.) Light tortoise 400-family pens come up very, very seldom. If you'd like one, you might consider taking the light tortoise 400 listed here; it is far from perfect, but would make a good placeholder in your collection, and perhaps a user.
We also have a tortoise 500NN:
(no 500s at the moment--enquire if you'd like one), and, as I write this, a number of tortoise 400NNs. These don't sell as quickly as the 400s, but they do go fast. At present, there are a couple with interesting nibs, KEF (that's a nice ballpointed nib, good for lefties as well as us righties), OB.
I suppose I should also mention (sigh) moderns. There are still a few of the special, super-limited, slightly-mysterious, last-of-the-modern-Pelikan-tortoises tortoise M400 sets in stock. Better grab one if you like 'em, 'cause once they're gone they're gone.
I've chosen too broad a topic for this update to be able to point at one particular pen as the best value on the site. How appealing you find most of the above is probably gonna depend on how important condition is to you, and that's a very personal thing. I suspect I'd always rather have a 'user' than a mint or nearly example of any given pen, because I want to be able to write with it and not worry. As ever, your mileage may vary. I trust that this entry hasn't been too long and rambling, or that, if it has, you at least enjoyed the pretty pictures. :-)
September 2006
Okay, I admit it: Pelikan devotee that I am, I'm not a big fan of green stripes. I tolerate green stripes. My green-striped 140 has a wonderful nib and suits my hand very well, but I find myself kinda wishing it didn't have stripes. Fortunately, although Pelikan seems to have made millions upon millions of these green-striped beasties, 140s were also produced in a few other colours. Two of my current most-used pens are black 140s, one with a fine nib and the other with a wonderful, wonderful EEF. They have an elegance, a simplicity of design that greatly appeals to me, and they're tough enough that I can take them anywhere and not worry about them (and I feel only moderately anxious if I'm obliged to lend them). If you'd like something a bit more special, there are black 140s with silver-tone trim (none available here at present, sorry, but they do pop up from time to time. I think they're awesome with CN rather than gold nibs), and then there are colours: forest green, burgundy, blue. (There are other varieties, but scarce ones.) I have so far been unable to decide whether I like the blue or the forest green better. Some days I even consider the burgundy the best, though I think the burgundies look strange empty, with that bright green ink window set in the red barrel.I think there's something special about the cap of a Pelikan matching the body. You should see for yourself. Ask Rick about putting a nib style of your choice on a beautiful, sleek, coloured 140. I don't see how you could possibly regret it. Though perhaps I am just the tiniest bit biased...
In stock at present, a handful of black 140s (Edit: Back in stock!), two forest green (which are darn cool-looking pens; the pics on the site at present simply do not do justice to this model!), and a pair of burgundy 140s. One of the burgundies has a KM nib (Edit: this one now sold; another burgundy available.). In my experience, Ks are lovely, smooth, forgiving nibs which work just as well for the several left-handers in my circle as they do for boring, right-handed me. One of the greens has an OM nib, which I--despite being boringly right-handed--would be quite unable to use fluently, but which is bound to suit many of you down to the ground. Please feel free to enquire about a blue 140 if you'd like one, as the PENguin has one in his lair which will be released for sale in due course. (Edit: Apparently the PENguin does not have a lair. Apparently I am thinking of the wrong bird. This one lives in a colony somewhere near Scott Base. So where he works on pens, or which non-Noodler's ink he uses in them at below zero with a double-digit wind chill I'm sure I don't know. Perhaps he commutes to Christchurch on weekends. During the Southern Hemisphere summer, of course, when there's daylight on the ice shelf and the planes are flyin'.) (Edit: Blue 140s are now up on the site. Enjoy. Edit: one available.)
My 140 collection is currently split between two continents, so I am unable to furnish a complete picture. (Since I am a terrible photographer, I am also unable to furnish a good picture, alas.) There is, however, this--
If you'd like to browse the 140s available here at The PENguin, they may be found on the Pelikans page, between the 100Ns and the 400s. Don't underestimate 'em, they're cool pens.
July 2006
So here it is, my first ever Webmaster's Pick. Well, okay, my second--I would be recommending the 400N if I didn't think it would be snapped up long before I finished work on this page and got it uploaded and linked into the site. (Yup, it sold.)
I'm not one of those people who agrees with Pelikan that the 400NN sports an improved shape. I think on the whole I like the 400N best, which is awkward since it's the hardest to find and consequently the most expensive.
When it comes to the gold-capped models, though, I only really like the ones in the 400 shape, most commonly seen in the familiar tortoise 500; this is because the matching gold turning knobs do not appear on the 500N or 500NN. However, for the 500NN in black I make an exception.
I love the look of this pen, and expect I shall not be able to resist buying one for much longer. Rick doesn't use the word "rare"--ever, as far as I can tell--but black 500NNs are certainly not easy to find. (October 2007: We've sold three since I wrote this entry, so I'm cutting out the links to them. None available at present. Email Rick if you want him to watch out for one for you.)