20 German Pens From The 50S-60S That Show The Pervasiveness Of Pelikan Style

[christof]

No need to apologize Dick. I did not wanted to hijack your post/topic or spread any boring theories of mine.
I just wanted to understand your question and to help answering it. May be I could help, but probably not.
You wanted to hear some names of German pen brands of the 50's which produced pens in similar shape and color as black Pelikan 140's. So here comes my humble list:

Geha, Soennecken (333, 444), Brause, Montblanc/MonteRosa...

 

and may be some Kaweco?

Pens by c_m_z, on Flickr

C.

Edited May 5, 2015 by christof

[Christopher Godfrey]

Bo Bo, I have just been on eBay and came across some brands not mentioned anywhere in this topic, so...<perhaps> they might be of interest to you?

 

Aristokrat

Boehler (dunno where to find the umlaut on my keypad!)

Hansa (like the beer)

Rodur? and, finally, not to forget that common one I keep seeing on eBay, called "Unbranded"! ;^)

 

Perhaps Christof will jump in here and tell us something about these? They may be rubbish, for all I know...?

[Dickkooty2]

Just got a great Goldfink. Goldrings seem hard to find. Soenneckens out of my price range except for the school pen that i have, but not in black.

 

Osmia Supra (needs work, but the price is right) will occur. Luxor and Rotring may happen.

 

I realize that this project "The Little Black Dress" is rather a private joke for myself. Although seeing pens like the Goldfink may start a particular interest. But I continue shooting for twenty before i run out of the ready.

 

Das Kleine Schwarze continues

https://www.zalando.de/das-kleine-schwarze/

 

Kind of like this … well … sorta ...

[Dickkooty2]

… and still continues. Five brands in various states of repair but all Schwarzes are in various states of delivery by various postal systems.

 

And on one of the various days of mid-June, the line-up may appear!

https://www.lecouture.de/2013/06/fashion-essential-das-kleine-schwarze-noch-immer-ein-trend/

[christof]

Looking forward!

c.

[Dickkooty2]

Just a post here for sake of completion of this project:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/292467-identified-the-girls-in-their-little-black-dresses/

[Bo Bo Olson]

Not being German....I some times look out side their box.The Germans have superstitions, against ice cubes and fans and colored pens..

 

The Germans are against ice cubes....at least the older ones. I never notice ice cube trays for sale when shopping. (Rubbermaid is best...I still have some unopened ones stuck away....just in case.)

 

I, an American of course has an ice cube making refrigerator, and they are sold over here now too. So the younger German who touristed the world when the Euro was high, knows the value of a Caribbean/American ice cube or two.

 

One of the reasons the Germans are against ice cubes, was traditionally they had Chicken for Sunday dinner, and put it in the 9" ice cube....freezer. So couldn't make ice cubes as was.

The basic refrigerator of the '50-70-even into the 80's was a meter tall. They shop daily, or did. Chicken for Sunday was expensive.....back in the real out door (free range) chicken days. It's not that way now....but was.

What is learned from the parents, remains.

 

Of course they love ice cream....and considering their view that ice cubes are bad for you, they still like it cold.....how odd. They do look at me strange when I bring up they don't eat warm ice cream.

 

You don't get any ice in your Coke when you order it at a Gasthaus...and is more expensive than beer.

 

Fans are bad for you according to older Germans.

The Germans were so ill paid in the days of 4DM-$1, that the companies had to give them Summer Vacation money....1/2 a months' wage so they can go on vacation and Christmas money; a months pay; so they could buy presents. Good companies still do that.

The pay is much better now, but taxes and health care take a huge cut. Vacation and Christmas money is still needed....and the taxes on that is real bad.

 

Electricity was expensive...still is. The German fans were priced for the well to do. As an American who survived the South before AC; was always at the high cost of a German fan. Wise Germans had an American friend who could buy a cheap well made American fan from the PX.

 

Then the Turks started exporting very nice not quite so 100 year built fans of the Germans, fans that any can afford.

Nope. To many.... Fans are bad for your neck, making them stiff....bad for your health. Causes all sorts of problems.....that should have killed off most of the Americans....in the South and Northern Summers. NY is on the same latitude as Rome.

They still don't listen that you can bounce the moving air off a wall. In-laws and many others I spoke too. Sweating is good for you.

 

It's never this hot....and they use a folded up newspaper instead of buying a folding hand fan. It's always that hot....for 5-6 weeks of the summer. Turn on your fan I bought you.....nope.

Superstition wins.

 

Out side of Pelikan....and the '50-60's and '80-90's were not quite as colorful on the whole as the Pelikans of the '30's.

Pens with color are rare, costing 1/3-1/2 more than the same pen in black and gold.

I know the pen companies made a few in color....many I think were for export.

 

IMO the Germans were once very conservative in business; business dress....No American ties.

Some one using a colorful pen, could have other bad habits, like thinking. Off with his head.

The Osmia-OFC pens brought me to that conclusion.

 

Using the same pen bodies and nibs, Osmia had three jewel caps...perhaps four. Only one had the Osmia Diamond on it. In it's day as famous as the MB snowflake.

Osmia had a angaber/show off clip with Osmia on it. One similar with out the name and one or two generic looking clips.

 

If the boss had an Osmia with diamond and the show off clip, a wise worker took the same pen in vanilla. He did not buy a rare colored Osmia....which were sold in Holland often.

The meek who know their places are not fired.

A fancy colored pen, showed character weaknesses, by standing out in the crowd.

I'm sure there are still bosses, who frown at lower workers using the same MB as he.

 

That's the only logical explanation I can come up with why there are so many black and gold pens made by the Germans.

True it was still back in the day of One Man, One Pen.

IMO bosses don't like seeing even an imagined wave...unless it was a Pelikan. With it's black cap.

 

I have some Boehler pens. Böhler( Alt-0246) I have a sheet of paper with the German letters and some Spanish.The Böhler brothers split Osmia up in 1938...Faber Castell started buying in, in 1936. Finished buy up 1951....read somewhere else right after the war.

 

Böhler did go a bit more fancy than the regular Osmia. He managed to survive making school pens or second tier until the '70's. By the end of the '50's, Faber Castell erased the Osmia trade marks from 'their' pen....stupid, in Osmia was a top 5-6 make in Germany. It had a name for quality.

 

Böhler called some of his pens Gold.....used the same model numbers as the Osmia, so this is a Böhler Gold 54.Tortoise. When I buy a pen, I take the pictures too.I think that's fair. Other wise I ask permission.. OK...I didn't for the grail pen....

The 'jewel' is one of the four normal Osmia jewels that I mentioned.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/3peCUqOKR1A01282498390S_zps2af57cbb.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/ZL6RrVDHwYC11282498416S_zps34268f27.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/B05qqKwB2kKGrHqMOKiEERGChR8EBMcV7mpcw_12_zps30b5d73e.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/F7n6tDyIMsZj1282498401S_zps8688140c.jpg

 

These use the same model number as Osmia, but one has a real fancy clip, the other a snake skin window. I don't know if Osmia did the snake skin window on it's pens too. I only have 6-7 Osmia, Osmia-Faber-Castell & Böhler pens. Have a couple BCHR Osmia/O-F-C pens too. I'd never thought I'd own even one chased pen. Both the next are chased. I like the jewel....nice...a big B for Böhler.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/B0ijpCWkKGrHqQOKioEWJJF95bBMvLLjW0w_3_zps48f0adfc.jpg

 

This I don't have but it is a grail pen of mine. An Osmia Supra Deluxe from the '30's when they chased MB with it. Saw it go for €350 some four years ago.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/B01JREwEWkKGrHqNjUEpeRZ0OLBMcCW45dIg_12_zps27e5444f.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/B01Jfw2kKGrHqRg4Ew5FYulSBMcCgocBw_12_zpsb63405fa.jpg

Edited June 25, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson

[rustynib]

Nice Posts All !

 

Thanks for the info value !

 

Some more !

 

rusty

[Bo Bo Olson]

Those Böhlers with out the cap rings are war pens. Yep, I need more Böhlers.

I've not seen an Imperial before...real heavy sharp chasing on it.

[Dupontdelamare]

Reading these very interesting comments, I see your collective knowledge on German pens may be able to infirm or confirm my intuition that a piston pen of the make, Swano, I have just ordered, is also a German made piston pen (the seller believed it was a 1950s UK model)? I think it could be by one of the family group Schwan-Stabilo of Nuremberg (which includes The Swano pencil Co). This pen would have a 14k flexible (UK?) nib and red and black horizontally striped resin (less sobre than a Pelikan 140 unfortunately) with gold plated ring and clip. I note the existence of pens engraved Swano Austria, but I suppose that could be a subsidiary. There is no such indication of origin engraved on my future pen.

I will post on it when I receive it.

Regards

Dupontdelamare

[como]

Very interesting and informative read, many thanks!

[txomsy]

Another German one not mentioned before. This is, actually, terribly hard to find information about as you can guess from the brand name.

 

 

This one has a 14C gold F nib, which is springy and has some flexibility to it. I should submit a review one of these days.

Edited December 19, 2019 by txomsy

[sansenri]

The Senator Regent was no doubt inspired by the Pelikan

first versions were probably from 50-60s but mine is no doubt a re-edition

a nice little pen (somewhat lightweight) but certainly does not stand comparison with, say, a 120