183 replies to this topic

[david i]

Rick, nice Lever-fill Chiltons 1930's style. Not so common...

 

Wonder how many readers appreciate how difficult #8-size early (~1920 ish) flat-top Sheaffers are to find.

 

regards

 

d

[Rick Krantz]

over two years of looking, I found three...

[Christof Z]

Don't worry too much about "complete". It is the pursuit that makes this interesting, not having every last pen.

regards

david

After some thinking and searching in my archive, here comes a selection of pictures of sub-collections. most of them are not complete and will never be...


Time line of Green Pelikan



Range of all Black Pelikan (a topic of special interest to me)



Pelikan from the 400 series



Pelikan from the 400NN series (including a 500NN)



Early Pelikan 140 in solid colors (Gray is missing, and the chrome trim came later)



very small but complete group of Pelikan 400/N/NN in uncommon color variant "Green/Green"



Pelikan from the 100 series (also including a first year pen, a 101 and a 111)



already shown here, but my favourite Vac color is...



one of my favourite groups - and complete! Waterman's 52V in all different colors and surfaces



nothing for hard core vintage collectors, but I really like the design. early (including the first two) Lamy Safari colors.



Different Lamy of similar design and same period



most of my pen pictures can also be found on my Flickr account here



http://www.flickr.co...169694@N08/sets

Hope you liked this.

Christof

Edited by Christof Z, 30 December 2013 - 09:36 AM.

[Fred H]

My ray pattern celluloid collection includes pens such as the ubiquitous Waterman's InkVue, Waterman's No. 7, Wearever, Montblanc, Soennecken, Bohler-Glorex, Aurora, Zemax, Fasvar and more.  Alas, my Zemax silver ray was lost despite registered mail after a repair in Italy.  I have refrained from collecting all the variants of the ray pattern InkVues in favor of seeking variation in manufacturers.  I even added a Pens-of-DistINKtion ballpoint by having Carl Seidl convert a Waterman InkVue pencil (right in photo), which is used regularly.

 

 

I am always looking for others.

 

Fred

Edited by Fred H, 30 December 2013 - 10:19 AM.

[BMG]

@Vasco – what can I say, those striated MBs are simply magnificent! It's almost cruel of you to post those pics.

 

@Christof – your collection, and your photos of it, have been very inspirational to me. Beyond enjoying them, I have learned so much from them and envy your skill in repairing and documenting vintage pens. My thanks for sharing them with us.

 

As for the distinction between collectors and users, I agree with the premise of the essay: it is difficult, perhaps impossible to distinguish one from the other. I have definitely come to pens from a user's point of view, but I cannot help being attracted to certain brands, models, periods, etc., and drift toward them when it comes to acquiring another pen. At best I have a couple of micro-collections as defined here, but they are so small at present (no pun intended) that they are hardly worth mentioning; nonetheless I will do so: for the moment, I am hunting out...

 

1. 1950s-era MBs of the 2XX line (and do have a 234 1/2, 244, 246);

2. 1950s-era Pelikan 400s (my initial idea was to get one color of each of the 400 series, and thus far have a tortoise 400NN, a black striated 400, and am hunting for a gray 400N (I may need divine assistance with that one) but would "settle" for a green one...); I am also keeping my eyes open for a similar range of 140s;

3. vac-filling Sheaffer Lifetime Balances, standard size or oversized with the "radius" clip (I have one for now: a golden brown one).

 

For me, what would distinguish a collector from a user would be the former's purposeful acquisition of certain pens for certain reasons beyond merely writing with them. Though my goal is primarily to write with the pens I have, I do recognize in myself what I would define as a collector's approach to acquiring them.

 

Sorry for the long-winded reply!

[piscov]

Montblanc #6 size pens.

 

 

 

1 - MB 136 

2 - MB 236 ( no rings)

3 - MB 236

4 - MB 246 German production - 40'ies

5 - MB 246 German production long inkwindow

6 - MB 246 Red Danish production Push button

7 - MB 216 Red Danish production Push button

8 - MB 206 Danish production Push button

9 - MB 246 German production 50´s

10 - MB 246 Striated grey or PL

11 - MB 246 Striated brown or Tiger eye

12 - MB 146 Long inkwindow

13 - MB 146 Short inkwindow

14 - MB 146 Striated green

15 - MB 256 already from the 60´s

[piscov]

MB 64X and 74 series. All colors and sizes except striated grey.

 

 

1 - MB 642 with silvexa cap

2 - MB 644 with silvexa cap

3 - MB 642

4 - MB 644

5 - MB 642 Striated green

6 - MB 644 Striated green

7 - MB 742

8 - MB 744

Edited by piscov, 30 December 2013 - 01:08 PM.

[david i]

I am rather humbled by the scope of some of the MB, Pelikan and Waterman collections shown here.

 

Nice stuff, gents.

 

 

regards

 

David

[Procyon]

Waterman's Hard Rubber Exotic-Color Ripples

 

 

Waterman, being slow to change to plastic, came up with some different color schemes to go along with their popular red ripple.  They applied these in their 94 and 52V lines of pens.  There were three color patterns added to the red ripple.  I have not really tried to get the 52V in any color besides the rose ripple.  94's are an area of interest for both the hard rubber and the later plastic versions.

 

 

 

L to R:  94's in Olive Ripple, Blu-Green Ripple, and Rose Ripple,  52V's in Rose Ripple

[David Nishimura]

Some great selections -- but I'm not sure if they all qualify as "mini"!

[david i]

Some great selections -- but I'm not sure if they all qualify as "mini"!

 

Good point. Not sure of answer.  Mini collections tend to be... focused. But, is every focused collection necessarily mini?

 

Damned if I know. perhaps we  can propose a size limit for the potential collection if complete.  Not sure how to count a potentially complete Roseglow balance collection, given the number of special cap-band variants, itself not well defined.

 

Alternatively, perhaps the revelation is that this thread should be renamed, "Ode to the Focused Collection"

 

regards

 

david

[Procyon]

Waterman's  #7  Red Ripple

 

The color-coded Red Ripple #7 pens offer a nice target for a mini-collection.  There are nine colors, indicating nine different types of nib. Some are much harder to find than others.  The black, a very flexible nib, is the most difficult to find - and I still am looking for one of those.  Here are all the other 8 colors:

 

 

L to R:  Red, Grey, Purple, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Brown

[piscov]

How many can fit in a mini?? Here looks they went up to 28!!

 

[BMG]

Some great selections -- but I'm not sure if they all qualify as "mini"!

 

I've already posted this picture in another thread, but here is my MB mini-collection, such as it is today:

 

 

With apologies to David, it does merit the label "mini." (Though perhaps "sub-collection" would be more appropriate for what we're discussing here.)

 

Now, to come to the #6 size MBs that Vasco brought up above (and thank you for that photo of your #6s – wonderful!), the German-made '50s 246 is for me almost an archetype of the "classic" fountain pen.

Edited by BMG, 30 December 2013 - 06:06 PM.

[philm]

A small part of my Kraker collection, giving a "mini" look at some variants and locations.

 

 

Phil

[Idazle]

SHEAFFER'S IMPERIAL FAMILY IN BLUE

 

In Sheaffer's taxonomy, Imperials were the pens produced in the 1960s and early 1970s with a design inspired by the famous 1959 PFM and its inlaid nib.

 

Pics have been  taken with an i-Phone this afternoon and I've used original Sheaffer's advertisements from the 1963 series "What will it be like the 21st Century" as a background. They predicted 50 years ago that on 21st century Christmas we will receive such presents as a device for instant mail delivery and camera glasses !!! 

 

With the exception of the blue PFM III, all pens came to my hands NOS and with chalkmarks,

 

 

From left to right:

 

1. 1959 PFM III snorkel pen with gold nib. This was the first model to sport the famous Sheaffer's inlaid nib.

2. 1960 Compact II, Sheaffer's first premium line of cartridge pens sporting a gold inlaid nib which sold at $10, the same price as the PFM I

3. 1961 Imperial IV, the proper Imperial, a pen which was modelled on the PFM III but was slender and with the simpler touchdown filling system. It was sold at $12.50

4. 1963 1250 Lifetime, a cartridge pen with gold inlaid nib which was launched to mark Sheaffer's 50th anniversary 50 years ago. It was shaped like the Imperial IV and sold at the same price tag but used cartridges only. I find it amazing the advertising campaing that accompanied this pen, which forecasted that 50 years later -that is, in 2013- we would still be using the pen ... as I actually am 

 

 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 1973 Sheaffer Triumph. In this pic I have included this small pen with inlaid steel nib that uses both cartridges and a squeeze converter.

Edited by Idazle, 30 December 2013 - 07:39 PM.

[Idazle]

SHEAFFER'S IMPERIAL FAMILY IN BLACK

 

All pens shown below came to me with their original chalkmarks. The first one, the PFM I, has lost them as I use it as a frequent writer.

 

 

From left to right:

 

1. 1959 PFM I snorkel pen with palladium nib.

2. 1959 PFM IIII snorkel pen with gold nib.

3. 1960 Compact II. By contrast with the blue model shown in the previous post, this doesn't come with the visulated barrel. Both types were part of Sheaffer's regular production at the time.

3. 1961 Imperial IV. This particular exemplar here has a chalkmark indicating a price of $13.50, which suggests that it is probably a later production as the pen was originally priced at $12.50 in 1961.

4. 1963 1250 Lifetime

 

I've thought it interesting to show the original cases too:

 

Edited by Idazle, 30 December 2013 - 07:38 PM.

[soot]

Here's my mini collection of Pelikan 500/500NN~

 

 

I just love these Pelikan 400/500 series!

[Jim B]

Lever fillers made by Chilton for Retailers Rick, or other wholesalers?

[AZuniga]

Maybe these two images correspond more to "Focused" than to "Mini", nevertheless they are really Mini

 

Kaweco prototypes never inked, with the exception of one I could not resist to ink and write with.

 

 

German Turbo Matador from which I am still looking for some...