Writing Vintage II

Part II of a Four-part Series

By Michael Hudon
All rights reserved by author

"A fountain pen! I haven't seen one of those in years!" In today's computer dominated world the above statement is not uncommon to those of us who persist in using these somewhat antiquated instruments of communication. The fountain pens offered by most of the manufacturers as their upper end models are truly more in the "Power Jewelry" vein, as opposed to being considered a practical writing tool such as those made in the post-war period between the years 1946 - 1965.

With this in mind, the four pens reviewed here are exquisite examples of the type of useable "Power Jewelry" available at that time. With the end of World War II, pen manufacturers quickly made use of the refinements of materials and manufacturing techniques brought about by the making of war material. The quality and diversity of fountain pens was amazing, particularly in post-war Europe. Having previously focused on the products of the Hannover firm of Pelikan, we will step back a bit in time and cross the Atlantic to Janesville, Wisconsin and then back across the Atlantic to Europe.

The Hidden Nib

In 1938, in Janesville, Wisconsin, Kenneth Parker is said to have told his chief research engineer, Marlin Baker, and the American designer, Joseph Platt (who was responsible for Parker's trademark arrow clip used on the Vacumatic of the 1930's), to come up with a new pen to mark the firm's upcoming 50th anniversary. In today's vernacular, they were to come up with something that would blow the socks off the competition! This was done, and the final product appeared on the American market in 1941. It was the Parker "51", probably the most singularly influential fountain pen ever designed or manufactured in the history of fountain pens. It was like no other pen seen before. No shining, wide, flared piece of solid gold to put to paper; just a sleek, tapered "hood" in the same color and material as its barrel, punctuated with a gold/silver "clutch" ring which engaged a clutch in the slip-fit metal cap. At the end of the "hood" was a small ball of 14k gold, tipped in iridium, which was all one noticed touching the paper. However, when it touched down, it wrote instantly and smoothly, no half-inked first few strokes as with many others at that time. The cap was of gleaming gold-filled metal or sterling silver or Lustraloy chrome, the design of which was taken from the Imperial Vacumatic of 1940 with its soon-to-become famous "Blue Diamond" arrow clip as designed by Joseph Platt.

The pen reviewed here is one of those first-year (1941) "51"s,

with its double tassies tipped with aluminum "jewels." It has the "Insignia" style of 14k gold-filled cap and the characteristic firm, tubular M nib. Its filling system was the third revision of the dependable Vacumatic pump filler, used by Parker since 1932. As with all of Parker's pens that used this filler, the "51" held an enormous amount of ink as the barrel was its "sac." Like all "51"s, it writes the moment it's put to paper and with its smooth firm nib gives a line of consistent thickness. When the cap is posted, the pen rests comfortably in the hand. Contributing to the natural feel of the pen is the shape of the hood, which allows the fingers to find the right "spot", and, because of its taper, it fits a variety of finger sizes.

There is a definite "vintage" look to the Blue Diamond clip models (1941 through 1950/51), which is a large part of their appeal in today's market. If you desire a more contemporary looking "51", the Aero-metric filler models with their plain arrow clips, especially those with the brushed finish "Lustraloy" steel caps with contrasting high luster chrome clips, should fill the bill. These were made from 1948 through 1974, although in Britain, Parker continued production up through 1980. Surprisingly, these look more like the original arrow clip as designed by Joseph Platt back in 1932 for the Vacumatic. Although early (1941) double aluminum jeweled "51"s such as this one are at the highest end of the price range in the vintage market, the later steel capped Aero-fillers are extremely affordable everyday "users", especially suited to those who like their even, consistent line width. This is truly a "classic" in every sense of the word.

Back across the Atlantic Ocean, in post-war Turin, the firm founded by Isaia Levi in 1919 as Fabrica Italiana di Penne a Serbatoio (Aurora) was rebuilding its plant just outside Turin. Engaging the design services of the famed Italian architect Marcello Nizzoli, they presented their newest model, the "Glorious 88", as its top of the line model in 1947. It was introduced to compete, on Italian terms, with the "modern" looking "51" of Parker's. Like the "51", the "88" had a hooded nib; but its nib extends much further from its hood, giving it a "hooked" appearance. It was initially offered in two versions, both with black barrels and metal caps.

The top model had a gold-filled cap, the next a nickel/silver alloy called "Nikargenta." Both caps had the same style: closely spaced vertical lines around the cap with a domed top inset with a silver disc à la the aluminum "jewel" of the 1941 "51". These were average length pens with a slightly larger diameter than their competition, and all had a very smooth piston-filler with a long ink-view window in clear/black striped pattern. The first series had black hard rubber hood/sections and turning knobs with the Aurora 88 logo on the top of the hood with a serial number stamped on its bottom. They had two "clutch rings," one above the hood, the other at the base of the turning knob. These were not really a true clutch ring as on the Parkers; the fit of the metal caps was so exact that they merely provided the needed friction to hold the caps in place. They are beautifully made, elegant looking, well proportioned pens that write as well, if not better, than they appear. The first series pen shown here has a gold-filled cap and a very soft BB nib of 14k gold typical of all the "88"s of that time. Its feed design ensured an even and consistent ink flow such as that found on the "51" and Pelikans of that time. This, along with its marvelous nib, assured its nickname: "the Glorious 88". And a more glorious pen you will be hard pressed to find in today's market, new or vintage. To hold this stunning piece of design, Marcello Nizzoli also designed a semi-oval aluminum two-piece case in either a clear, blue or gold anodized finish, all with a yellow/red flannel polishing cloth with the Aurora 88 logo in red on it. This is truly "the 88", contrary to the new iteration brought out by Aurora recently.

Across the Alps from Italy, over in Hamburg, Germany, the firm of Montblanc decided in 1958 to re-design their entire line of pens to make them more modern in appearance and function. In 1959 the new line was on the market and it included the much-vaunted Meisterstück line. In fact, the current #149 Meisterstück was known as the "Diplomat" and was in the line only for the more traditional/conservative buyer. Remember that this was 1959, and even Mercedes-Benz was putting fins on its cars.

These pens were totally different looking than the previous year's models. No more typical post-war German torpedo shape with rounded trim and line engraving. They now had straight sides slightly tapering from end to middle to end. The famous White Star now appeared at both ends of the pens with the clip nut star being larger than the one on the turning knob. In fact, the former 3 digit numbering system was trimmed down to 2 digits. All pens came in only two sizes now, with #12 and 14 being the Meisterstück series, #14 being the largest. The other two price ranges were the #22,24 and then the #32,34 being the lower priced series. All of these pens were now made from a new thermoplastic material, injection molded, with black hard rubber now only being used for the feed. All price levels were offered in the standard Black, along with a Burgundy Red, a dark Blue, Grey, and Green. The Meisterstücks and the #s 22 and 24 had the "winged nib" as brought out in 1958 and used in the #250 series of that year, the Meisterstücks having an 18k nib and the #22 and the #24 a 14k gold nib. The #32 was offered with what they called an "intarsa" nib, a small inlaid nib similar in appearance and size to the nib found on the Moore "Fingertip" pen of the early 1940's. By 1960, two of the #30's pens had the semi-hooded winged nib of the rest of the series. All of these pens were piston-fillers, the Meisterstücks having the brass mechanism, the others plastic.

The pen shown here was the bottom of the high end of the Meisterstück line. This is a #74, which corresponded in size to a #14 (the #72 was the size of a #12, etc.), which had a gold-filled slip fit cap with an engraved line pattern similar to the "Heritage" pattern of the "51". There also was a #82, 84, both in all gold-filled metal and a #92, 94 in solid 14k gold. The construction of this pen was of the usual pre-Dunhill level, that is to say, excellent: all parts fitting and finished impeccably, as was the norm for Montblanc at that time. This is a heavy pen for a plastic barreled one, much of its weight coming from the filler mechanism and the metal cap. However, it balances well in the hand and with its smooth tapered "shell", allows the user to position the pen to suit one's grip. It has a soft, flexible BBB nib that is a real joy to use, giving a very broad line with a pronounced thick/thin line when writing. It is a very contemporary-looking pen, not at all "vintage" in appearance, and an extremely impressive looking one at that. This pen truly lives up to its designation of "Masterpiece" and is a fine example of the products upon which today's firm relies for its mystique and sales.

In Paris, France, at 31 Rue Des Cordelierés, one year prior to the major model change that took place in Hamburg, the venerable firm of Stylo Bayard brought out its answer to the past 18 years of influence of the "51" and the market pressure of the ballpoint pen, then becoming firmly entrenched after only 6 years of intense marketing worldwide. Bayard, along with Stylomine, dominated the French pen industry, both having gained their respective fame in the period between the two World Wars. In 1930, Stylomine introduced a vacuum-pump-filling pen called the "303." After four more years of development, the 303V was introduced, having a glass tube at the end of the barrel connected to an accordion shaped rubber sac. The pen was filled by removing its rather long blind cap and depressing the glass tube about 6 times. This glass tube/button did double duty by serving as the "ink view" area for the pen. It was an extremely efficient and good filling system and as such was used, as its patent expired, by many of the other French firms including Bayard. It was this filling system which was used on the new model made by Bayard in 1958, the "Souverain deLuxe." It came in an all-plastic version, a very long and sharply tapered torpedo shaped pen, and in the metal capped version as shown here. This pen has a slip fit gold filled cap which "snaps" sharply in place with an audible click when closing it. The cap has a guilloched pattern of wavy/straight lines running the length of the cap. These pens were very slim and tapered to small, squared-off ends. They had a spring-loaded clip used on the PFM of Sheaffer. The most interesting aspect of this pen is its partially hooded nib or, more correctly, shrouded nib. As can be seen in the illustration, the shell extends more below and to the sides of its nicely flexible long tapered 14k nib. In use, when the cap is posted, these are long, slim, elegant pens. They are very lightweight and well-balanced pens, falling readily "to hand" so to speak, and with the long shell/section allow the pen to naturally find its perfect "spot" in a wide variety of hand sizes. This pen has an F nib (which I normally don't like), whose shape and flexibility allow even a B nib user like me to use it pleasantly and for long periods of writing. Because of its shape it gives a very nice variance of thick/thin to one's strokes in writing. Those former Cross ballpoint users would find this a "natural" to use because of its slimness. All in all, a very unique and French pen.