Starting My Vintage Mb Collection

[idazle]

1.The origins

 

It all began not long ago after a frustrating experience with a brand-new Meisterstück 146 which I bought from the local Montblanc boutique in San Sebastian, in northern Spain. Precisely when I was in the shop finalising my return of that pen with the extremely friendly and helpful MB dealer, a young lady stepped in with what looked like a very small vintage MB pen.

 

She had had it repaired in the MB service in Germany and came to complain because she was not happy with the results. The lady let me try the pen and I was greatly surprised at how well the fine nib wrote. So I made a pic of the pen with my i-Phone, came back home and set out to find out more about MB vintage pens.

 

 

 

 

2.First purchases

 

After a preliminary research, I spotted a nice MB on e-Bay which looked very much like the one I had seen in the shop that afternoon. It happened to be a small 11 cm long 332 pen from about 1940. I tracked the pen for a few days and finally bid and won the auction. When I finally received the pen at home and inked it up, I was stunned at the way it wrote. Never ever before had I felt such smoothness and nice subtle paper feedback when writting. The fine point was semiflexible, juicy and a real pleasure to write with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly after my first acquisition, a nice opportunity came up to buy a beautiful series II pen from a well-known Spanish vintage pen vendor, Álvaro Romillo, at a superb price. It's a rare and sought-afterTiger's Eye 242 pen from the early 1950s. The pen is rather small as it was thought of as the ladies' version of the 24x series, but again, I was positively surprised by the smoothness of the 14C gold fine nib.

 

 

 

 

You can see the 242 in its black version featured in this 1952-54 Montblanc leaflet as the ladies' pen (für die dame) of the so-called Hanseatic series:

 

 

I wish I could buy the 246 Tiger's Eye, but I'm afraid is completely beyond my budget, particularly taking into account my next target, which is the Meisterstück series. I have already bought a 136, although it has not arrived to my hands yet. I'll post some pics when I've got it.

 

 

3. Next steps

 

Now that I am infected with the virus I can't stop and am already thinking of a 138 and even of a 139. Prices of the 139 have rocketed, and I've seen a couple of them -from well known sellers- offered at prices above USD 5,000. However a few days ago a very nice one was put out for auction on e-Bay with a "buy-it-now" price of USD 2,500. Of course the ads was only there for an hour before a hungry freek got hold of the pen. So I guess the USD 5,000 tag is too high and with a little patience the ONE will come up at a more sensible price.

 

All in all, I think I'll follow a fellow FPNer's advice and will not rush. Let's see first how the 136 that I'm still waiting comes off.

 

Cheers

 

Carlos

Edited July 21, 2013 by idazle

[specialk0449]

Great pictures of your collection. You are off to a very nice start in collecting vintage MB's. I lenjoyed hearing how you got started collecting these beautiful pens.

[fountainbel]

Hi Carlos,

Nice start of your collection, congratulations!

Your tigereye is surely a beauty.....

I was in the same situation as you, started collecting modern Montblanc's, which are very nice.

But when comparing their nibs with the vintage Montblanc's I was hooked immediately.

Consequently I actually don't have any modern Montblanc's anymore, being spoiled with the superb flexible nibs of the vintage ones....

Luckily I've started collection these 7 years ago, the prices being still reasonable at that time.

As you stated , don't rush it, look around and I'm sure you will find more beauties for a reasonable price

Wishing you lots of success in gradually expanding your collection!

Francis

[idazle]

Many thanks to both of you.

 

Francis, I'd love to see that collection of yours ;-)

[georges zaslavsky]

congrats on a nice collection You will certainly widen your collection and add new pens in the nearest future I am sure

Edited July 21, 2013 by georges zaslavsky

[fountainbel]

 

Many thanks to both of you.

 

Francis, I'd love to see that collection of yours ;-)

 

Hi Carlos,

The picture of my collection is shown approximately 10 posts below yours...

See: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/249028-my-personal-vintage-montblanc-collection/

 

Regards, Francis

[oregano]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful story about how you got started collecting vintage Montblancs. It was a pleasure to read, and refreshing. Felicidades! This has reminded me how much I'm dying to try a vintage Montblanc nib, hopefully at a pen show...it sounds like pure writing joy!

[idazle]

Hi folks, I thought I'd share with you the lattest addition to my small collection: a Montblanc Meisterstück 136, bought to Lutz Fiebig (Penboard.de).

 

The pen was sold to me as a "wartime" c.a.1941 pen. True that it sports a steel nib, but steel nibs were also used in post-war pens. The flute clip, typical of 2nd tier MBs, was produced between 1934-1941, which is coherent with the seller's datation, but it is also true that after the war frankenpens were assembled by the same MB by using older spare parts. I would also contend that nowadays such MB frankenpens could be easily made from old parts. In addition, I believe true wartime pens did not sport gold filled cap bands. So, it's difficult to say if it is really a wartime pen, but it is beautiful anyway and it writes very much to my taste, laying a fine-medium juicy line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2013 by idazle

[farmdogfan]

Beautiful pens you have got there.

[orfew]

Wow. very nice start to what I sure will be a growing collection. Enjoy them for many years to come.

[logantrky]

I love that Tiger's Eye 242!

 

You have a beautiful start, idazle!

[idazle]

Thanks to you all for your encouraging words!

 

Carlos

[pavoni]

Gosh! I cannot believe I had missed this fabulous thread. but what a lovely treat!

 

You have an excellent eye Carlos and the way you have told your story....... Love the pictures of your new pens, super use of reference catalogues together with writing AND drawing sample

 

Many congratulations and thank you for sharing so generously. Can't wait to see this MB vintage collection grow further.

 

Pavoni.

[idazle]

Thanks Pavoni. You perhaps had missed this thread but I haven't missed yours though. They are a priceless source of information for new MB collectors like me, really. In a way as useful or more than Rossler's MB Diary and Collector's Guide.

 

All the best

 

Carlos

Edited August 10, 2013 by idazle

[da vinci]

Fabulous collection, and an interesting story, thanks for posting.

[xianyen]

Congratulations Carlos on your lovely pens.

You may have been lucky not to have purchased the 139 as this pen sounds like the pen mentioned on EBay scams thread where a genuine Ebays site has been hijacked & then the seller requires payment by wire & will not accept payment by Paypal.This scheme has appeared at least 6 times in recent months so please be careful but don't give up the search for the beautiful 139

Richard

[camoandconcrete]

Nice start Carlos! I love that 332, its really nice.

 

I have seen quite a few 139s on eBay lately that have sold anywhere from 900 USD to 2800 USD. Always seem to miss out on them. But, I think for such a rare and valuable pen it would probably be better to buy from a dealer or in person at a show as opposed to eBay.

[idazle]

Congratulations Carlos on your lovely pens.

You may have been lucky not to have purchased the 139 as this pen sounds like the pen mentioned on EBay scams thread where a genuine Ebays site has been hijacked & then the seller requires payment by wire & will not accept payment by Paypal.This scheme has appeared at least 6 times in recent months so please be careful but don't give up the search for the beautiful 139

Richard

 

Thanks for warning Richard. That reminds me of a saying I think attributed to Milton Friedman: there is no such thing as a free lunch ;-)

 

Nice start Carlos! I love that 332, its really nice.

 

I have seen quite a few 139s on eBay lately that have sold anywhere from 900 USD to 2800 USD. Always seem to miss out on them. But, I think for such a rare and valuable pen it would probably be better to buy from a dealer or in person at a show as opposed to eBay.

 

Kevin, I think you're right. To see the pen on the flesh and test it is the best option, and to buy from a well known dealer with a no quibble return guarantee, the second best option. As you know I've just returned a 138 bought from a well known dealer since on testing I didn't quite like the way its OM nib wrote ... and there was no problem at all. It's a bit clumsier than testing in the shop or in a Penshow and you lose the shipping fees, but it works fine.

[xianyen]

I speak from experience as I agreed to pay the $2500 for the 139 only to find that although the EBay seller with good feedback was in the US & the method of payment was by Paypal but when I replied to the email address I received an invoice supposedly from EBay requesting payment be made to an account in London as the seller was not prepared to accept Paypal.When I refused the pen was advertised again within hours & I have gathered by other posts that this was a scam.I have since purchased a pen from a reputable well know EBay seller so good luck in your search.

[pavoni]

I have certainly no wish to hijack idazle's excellent, 'must read' thread but for those looking to looking to add THE Montblanc vintage pen to their collection, I would like to include my experience to those sensible comments above on acquiring a MB L139. My advice.....buy from a known reputable dealer. Please, please do not be seduced by an apparent bargain on e-bay.

 

I am a fan of e-bay and have bought many a pen from there but.....(big BUT), when looking to acquire either the L139 or the 138 or indeed any other such flagship pen, do yourself a favour and buy the best you can. Unless you have a really good relationship with a particular e-bay Seller, always look to buy from a known dealer, preferably one recommended from this sub-forum.

 

The best dealers in Europe are well known, the majority of which can be found on the Penboard.de. site. (sorry but I have no knowledge or experience of the USA scene). For those of you who can afford to buy and for those who can't but are going to anyway , you know you deserve better than to try for that 'too good to be true bargain.' Go for a known dealer with the comfort of buying properly the first time around. This is how I bought both of my L139s and it was well worth the extra money. Remember, you deserve better

 

Essentially there are two L139s, a long-window version and a short-window version, with the long-window being the more attractive and higher regarded pen. Prices vary and will depend on the length and clarity of the window (including the strength of the black stripes), the nib (you ideally want 14 C 250 or steel 250), the clarity of the markings on the piston turning knob which should read 'L139' or 'L139 G' ,and ideally tell you the type of nib carried ('F', 'M', 'B' or 'OB', etc) as well as the overall condition of the pen. Buy from a known dealer, you will know that the pen will have had its cork seal replaced and as such, all you will need to do is fill it with your favourite ink and enjoy

 

If you spot a pen you think you ought to go for but are a little unsure, don't be shy in asking someone on the MB forum first All that will be expected in return is for you to share the pictures of your new acquisition

 

Pavoni.

Edited August 11, 2013 by pavoni