4 replies to this topic

[djohannsen]

I've been carrying a modern Kaweco Sport for a while now (so easy to toss into trouser pocket or backpack).  Well, I'm finding that I would like ot know more about Kaweco - don't they date from the 1920s?  So, can anyone point me to any books or web resources where I could get a basic appreciation of Kaweco and learn something of the company's history?  I realize that their pens are not Pelikan, but think that they might have some collectability?  Right now, I'm a completely blank slate, having always collected American makers, so anything would be a help.  Thanks for any pointers.

 

 

Dave

[AZuniga]

I've been carrying a modern Kaweco Sport for a while now (so easy to toss into trouser pocket or backpack).  Well, I'm finding that I would like ot know more about Kaweco - don't they date from the 1920s?  So, can anyone point me to any books or web resources where I could get a basic appreciation of Kaweco and learn something of the company's history?  I realize that their pens are not Pelikan, but think that they might have some collectability?  Right now, I'm a completely blank slate, having always collected American makers, so anything would be a help.  Thanks for any pointers.

 

 

Dave

 

Dave.

 

Kaweco is a great pen, an everyday pen, it dates from earlier than the 1920s... We are all missing a book on German pens other than Montblanc and Pelikan, I mean Soennecken, Kaweco, Osmia and many others. It will be there one of these days. Since "anything would be a help" I show you some from different periods, from the safeties, a lever filler (the largest in the image) some PBF and some Piston fillers... At least one of them clearly influenced by the Parker models... In the thread "Ode to mini collections", early, around page 3 or 4 I showed some rare prototypes with nice light colors. Hope this is at least a minimal introduction

Most probably the new Kaweco company has a history page in their web site (I have not checked), but most books, specially the Lambrou Fountain Pens of the World is a good beginning.

 

[djohannsen]

Some lovely pens there - you don't seem to burden your collection with too many "user-grade" pens.      Though I don't have many, I am especially fond of safety pens (an old Waterman's 42 was my "daily carry" pen for years), so this might be a nice entry point/initial focus. 

 

I was poking around eBay and looking at some Kaweco Helios Transparent pens that seemed to be of nice quality, while still quite reasonably priced - this is what led me to believe that these pens are not all that highly sought after.  I wonder why Kaweco has not caught on with collectors?  I guess that except for Pelikan and MontBlanc, US pens have much higher desireabilty for US collectors than European brands.

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to show some of your wonderful collection!

 

 

Dave

[djohannsen]

Dave.

 

Kaweco is a great pen, an everyday pen, it dates from earlier than the 1920s...

 

 

 

I just poked around the current company website.  There is only an extremely brief historical sketch, but they claim that their origin is as a maker of dip pens in Heidelberg in 1883.  So, that's certainly "earlier than the 1920s."

[Newriter]

Hello Dave

Surely, Kaweco has one of the most interesting histories. You mentioned the Kaweco Sport, the pic below left side shows the earliest Sports from the 20th, very small safeties in black hard rubber, in the middle piston fillers, facetted and chased or slim and plain in celluloid. The green set right is the last historic Sport made for the Olympic Games 1972 in München (Munich)

Kind Regards

Thomas