Yet Another "date My 149" Thread

[nick10]

Well I bought yesterday this Montblanc 149 from my local flea-market.. I have read the "Dating 149" thread and I have come to a conclusion about the age of this pen. I simply want for the more knowledgeable members to verify my age estimate

 

Here are the photos of the pen:

 

Well it has plastic threads(not pictured), it says Germany in the clip band and it has a tri-color 18C nib. According to the table, if it has a "round ebonite grooves face & shank" feed then this pen should be a late 50's pen, or if it has solid ebonite feed, then it should be a ealrly 70's pen for the french market(because otherwise it should be a tri-color 14c nib). I can't tell for sure if the feed in my pen is round ebonite grooves face & shank or solid ebonite. What do you think; Thank you

Edited August 3, 2020 by nick10

[FredRydr]

... I can't tell for sure if the feed in my pen is round ebonite grooves face & shank or solid ebonite. What do you think; Thank you

And I can't tell for sure, either. The photo is too dark.

[Fermata]

I am just impressed at the idea that you can buy a boxed 149 in a flea market.

[gyasko]

18c in small type & tri-color nib says early seventies. It would help to see the feed and the and the back end of the pen in more detail & with more light.

[Michael R.]

solid ebonite; no grooves = early 1970s

 

very nice pen

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[nick10]

And I can't tell for sure, either. The photo is too dark.

Hope this photo helps:

 

I am just impressed at the idea that you can buy a boxed 149 in a flea market.

Well to be honest, I don't think this is the original box to this pen...

 

18c in small type & tri-color nib says early seventies. It would help to see the feed and the and the back end of the pen in more detail & with more light.

 

I took a better photo from the feed, see above

solid ebonite; no grooves = early 1970s

 

very nice pen

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

Thank you for your answer, it's great news that this is a early 70's 149, I have read many good things about them. It certainly feels and writes good

Edited August 3, 2020 by nick10

[zaddick]

The bo. Is modern and not original era for the pen. I agree early 1970s as the trim ring for the piston is thick and the clip looks more 1970s to me.

 

I never find such treasures in the wild. Hopefully it fills and writes nicely. If not, please come back to FPN for help and don't send it to MB unless you want a new pen with an old nib and clip.

 

By the way, all that stuff about tri-tone 18C nibs only being for the French market is incorrect. Way too many floating about to have all come from France. It is true they were used in France, just not only France.

[nick10]

The bo. Is modern and not original era for the pen. I agree early 1970s as the trim ring for the piston is thick and the clip looks more 1970s to me.

 

I never find such treasures in the wild. Hopefully it fills and writes nicely. If not, please come back to FPN for help and don't send it to MB unless you want a new pen with an old nib and clip.

 

By the way, all that stuff about tri-tone 18C nibs only being for the French market is incorrect. Way too many floating about to have all come from France. It is true they were used in France, just not only France.

Thank you for your answer. It skipped a little at first, but now it writes perfectly without any problem

 

I have read it many times that 18c nibs were for the French market. Is there another country that recognizes 18c gold or above as such;

[Barry Gabay]

Nice pen, great find. I agree with the folks above: early to mid-1970s. The nib is seen in the 60s, but with an earlier feed and earlier barrel with friction-fit piston. With your solid ebonite feed and single-piece barrel with screw-in piston, it dates from early to mid-70s. Lovely 149. Hope you enjoy it for a long time.

[nick10]

Nice pen, great find. I agree with the folks above: early to mid-1970s. The nib is seen in the 60s, but with an earlier feed and earlier barrel with friction-fit piston. With your solid ebonite feed and single-piece barrel with screw-in piston, it dates from early to mid-70s. Lovely 149. Hope you enjoy it for a long time.

Thank you Barry for your kind words, just reading again your great article about 149s Just to clarify, the nib is right for a early 70's 149, but in the 60's 149 had an earlier feed and barrel, correct;

 

This is my second 149. I had a 1985-1990 149, which I lend to a coworker of mine, and of course she dropped it. I sent it to the local Montblanc service, which fixed it, but it was never the same, so I eventually sold it. I certainly hope to enjoy this pen for a long time

[meiers]

Thanks for starting this thread. Lots of fun. I enjoyed reading the generous and informative responses. The 149 is my favourite fountain pen with the heritage 1912 a close second.

 

May we please see a nice writing sample? That would be the cherry on top or near the tail end of a perfect thread.

Edited August 5, 2020 by meiers

[Barry Gabay]

Thank you Barry for your kind words, just reading again your great article about 149s Just to clarify, the nib is right for a early 70's 149, but in the 60's 149 had an earlier feed and barrel, correct;

 

Hello nick10, Thank you for your kind words about the 149 story. Hard to believe that it was written almost 20 years ago. I have learned more about the 149 since that time. For eg, my dates for the nib you have, three-tone 18C, are incorrect. I have also found quite a number of those nibs in the US since the article was written. So, that indicates your nib was not produced exclusively for the French market. Also, I had never heard about or seen the two-tone 18C nib at that time. I believe the information regarding 149 components from late 1970s onward is correct in the article.

 

Yes, sir. All components for your 149 are correct for early-mid 1970s. Your nib appeared in the 60s with a fully-grooved ebonite feed and later the half-grooved ebonite feed and with the friction-fit piston mechanism.

 

Hope your 149 continues to serve you well. So sorry about your original 149.

 

Best wishes,

Barry

[nick10]

Thanks for starting this thread. Lots of fun. I enjoyed reading the generous and informative responses. The 149 is my favourite fountain pen with the heritage 1912 a close second.

 

May we please see a nice writing sample? That would be the cherry on top or near the tail end of a perfect thread.

I am also grateful for all the help and information I got about my beautiful 149. This is the second time I buy the "same" pen, I really like 149s as it seems See below for the writing sample

Thank you Barry for your kind words, just reading again your great article about 149s Just to clarify, the nib is right for a early 70's 149, but in the 60's 149 had an earlier feed and barrel, correct;

 

Hello nick10, Thank you for your kind words about the 149 story. Hard to believe that it was written almost 20 years ago. I have learned more about the 149 since that time. For eg, my dates for the nib you have, three-tone 18C, are incorrect. I have also found quite a number of those nibs in the US since the article was written. So, that indicates your nib was not produced exclusively for the French market. Also, I had never heard about or seen the two-tone 18C nib at that time. I believe the information regarding 149 components from late 1970s onward is correct in the article.

 

Yes, sir. All components for your 149 are correct for early-mid 1970s. Your nib appeared in the 60s with a fully-grooved ebonite feed and later the half-grooved ebonite feed and with the friction-fit piston mechanism.

 

Hope your 149 continues to serve you well. So sorry about your original 149.

 

Best wishes,

Barry

Your article still is a great and informative resource about 149s. We learn something new, every day we live, don't we; Peharps for the next anniversary of the 149, it would be a good idea to write an updated version of this great article So if at the same timeframe 149s had 14C and 18C nibs and the 18C nibs weren't produced exclusively for the french market, then why did Montblanc produced simultaneously 2 versions of the same nib;

 

It's great to hear that my pen is correct for early-mid 70's Well if I hadn't sold my sold my original 149, I wouldn't have bought this 149, which writes even better than the first. So in the end, all things went well

 

Best wishes

Nick

 

And a writing sample with my 149. I must warn you, my writing isn't the best you have seen, so please be forgiving

[meiers]

Thank you for sharing this writing sample. That is a lovely nib!!! And your handwriting is very legible and easy on the eyes. It shows consideration and respect for your readers, I think.

[nick10]

Thank you for sharing this writing sample. That is a lovely nib!!! And your handwriting is very legible and easy on the eyes. It shows consideration and respect for your readers, I think.

Thank you very much for your kind words It's indeed a lovely nib, perfect for my writing needs, I really like writing with it

[aurore]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, I just thought it would be better than starting a new one.

The deal is I sold my damaged 70s cap (there is a chip) to some guy based in CA and now he is hitting the roof I fooled him and sold a cap that does not fit his pen (does not screw on properly). It did fit properly my 70s pen, without any issues. I clearly stated it is a 60-70s cap. He sent a photo of his pen, what I can see is a 2 piece barrel and a 14K (not 14C) nib, so to me it is an 80s pen and it is quite normal the cap does not fit. What is your opinion regarding dating his pen?

Edited October 22, 2020 by aurore

[gyasko]

It would help to have pictures of the piston threads, and the feed. But from just that, i would say mid to late eighties.

[Barry Gabay]

Hello Aurore,

 

The pen dates from 85-90 if it has plastic threads and 90-91 with brass threads. It should have the split ebonite feed, last of the ebonite feeds, discontinued at the same time as the two-tone 14K nib.

 

Can't explain the cap's not fitting.

[aurore]

Hello Aurore,

 

The pen dates from 85-90 if it has plastic threads and 90-91 with brass threads. It should have the split ebonite feed, last of the ebonite feeds, discontinued at the same time as the two-tone 14K nib.

 

Can't explain the cap's not fitting.

Hello Barry,

 

thank you very much!

I cannot get the cap thing either. I believe the threads are somehow different. It did fit both of my 60-70s pens but since I did not (and do not) have any post 1985 MB 149 pens lately I could not even try and test it with them. Thus I was claiming it fits 60-70s pens, which it indeed does.

[zaddick]

Cap threads changes in the mid 1980s from 3 to 4 starts or vice versa, I can't recall. It's around the time I think they moved to a screw for the derby vs the threaded post integrated in the cap.