Search the Community

Before i decided to proceed to purchase this pen, as i do with every other WE, i looked at the reviews. i was rather surprised, considering that this is a very popular pen among us MB fanatics, that (true to form) GoodGuy's was the only review. a few words about GoodGuy, whilst i don't know him, few of us could fail to have been inspired by his adventures amassing a compete WE collection and sharing every step of the way on this forum (together with Tzutzik) i first noticed the WE pens because of his reviews and i bought the Mann precisely because of his review. i have seriously been considering embarking on that journey but i have yet to commit to the idea 100%. so anyway to the matter at hand... the 1992 Writers Edition pen, the Ernest Hemingway http://i.imgur.com/jqrWoOX.jpg i bought this pen in Mint Condition from my good friend and FPN member Max. Max used to work for MB and is officially recommended by them for Vintage pen repair and servicing as they lack the skill to do it themselves! Max also spent many kind hours with me and explained how these pens are made vs the older generation MB's and generally taught me a lot about Fp's and FP collecting. apart from that he has restarted the Astoria pen company which was itself started by a former MB employee before being bought by MB in the 30's. (sorry got side tracked again [ this is sounding like an Oscar speech] ) Now, i must explain that shortly before i considered purchasing this pen my MB world really was focused on modern pens in the 14x range. i didn't really pay much attention to what preceded it. That changed when i considered this pen. i started reading a lot about the 139 and i must say that the Hemingway is very much a 139 in every sense of the word. as an aside, i had always liked 149's but found them just a tad to large for me to write comfortably with. the Hemingway on the other had is pure bliss. i have found that the Hemingway, due to its flat top and flat blind cap is just that tad shorter in length which, when unposted, fits perfectly in my hand. http://i.imgur.com/xGYJpCk.jpg http://i.imgur.com/tIwYU5U.jpg as you can see form the photos the pens are almost the same width although the taper in the 149 means that at time it feels larger than it actually is. Something i found which illustrated the similarities between the Hemingway, 139 and 149 was to gently swap the caps. http://i.imgur.com/V3jGTlB.jpg You can see the family connection! http://i.imgur.com/N0uGtqe.jpg You can see starting from the cap down, how this pen now looks like a 139 but as you move down the barrel to the cone piston knob it evolves into the 149. a sort of evolutionary chart of the last 60 years of MB design in one pen! It really shows the evolution from one pen to the other! Something which i also found interesting, in the context i referred to above about the taper on the 149, is that the cap of the Hemingway fits and screws in wonderfully on the the 149 but not the reverse due to cap of the 149 being tapered and this the diameter of the 149 cap is smaller. There are also a few details which hark back to earlier times. the Cap has "Mont Blanc" engraved on it with the mountain icon that is so frequently seen on the vintage pens of the 50' 60's. another nod to the 139 is that the Cap ring is engraved with Montblanc- Meisterstuck- Edition. the Piston knob has a flat ring on it but the lip has a small serrated edge something which can seen to a greater extend on the old safety fillers (apologies for these photos iPhones don't like close-ups!) http://i.imgur.com/GYz2lIe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/tFENlNo.jpg so as you can see, i regard the design of this pen to be amongst my all time favourites. So much so that it has peaked my interest in purchasing a 139 myself (if you have any for sale let me know)! in addition the pen has a matte finish to it, something which cannot be captured well by photos because its much more to do with feel than sight. All of those who have held this pen will know what i mean, the "black" precious resin lacks that deep almost artificial shine of modern pens, in some lights the black look almost a dull deep brown much like you would see on an older ebonite pen, even this to me shows that this pen was designed to make a connection between the old and the new, the bridge, the homage to the golden age of the fountain pen. http://i.imgur.com/hR6WmN0.jpg my final remark would be BUY ONE, sell your collection, sell your children, i don't care! just buy one, study it, admire it, use it and then pick up any other pen and you will feel the difference its pen that stands out in my collection (above). Much has been said about this pen so i never intended this to be a recap of goodguy's review, i aimed to say what hasn't been said about this pen and tried to uncover why this is considered a grail pen by so many of us. i think that reason is that this pen is special; it just is... end of story. [ i should have spared you all these ramblings and just said that last bit! ]

The new Montegrappa Hemingway Limited Edition is out! Montegrappa plays tribute to the American author and journalist Ernest Hemingway. The collection is composed by three different editions that reflect the novelist's life and journey. The first of the editions "The Soldier" is already available at Iguana Sell. Its green celluloid body creates the perfect contrast with sterling silver trims. The 18K nib shows Hemingway's signature while cap and clip are decorated with engraved details of the author's life. This edition is available in fountain pen, F-M-B, limited to only 100 pieces! Fountain pen: https://www.iguanasell.com/products/montegrappa-hemingway-the-soldier-fountain-pen-925-silver Should you need additional information please do not hesitate but contact us through info@iguanasell.com Enjoy more pictures of this piece, which is perfect for collectors and novel lovers, in our site.

Hi all- I am new to the forum and need help establishing value of a Hemingway fountain pen given to me by my father. It was purchased in 1992. Never been out of the box. I have an interested buyer and have no idea what the value of this piece is. Can someone help? I found one pen similar on EBay at $3500 U.S. Thank you! Sue

My wife gifted to me a great book on the history of calligraphy, Claude Mediavilla’s Calligraphie – Du signe calligraphié à la peinture abstract. Really a splendid journey through the styles of characters and writing in history, fulfilled with magnificent examples, and a solid manual on how to produce an elegant lettering. It is, without doubts, the best book I ever saw on this matter, worthy any single penny it costs. I am now learning Carolingian, and I made some practice with two 149, fitted with BB and OB nibs (Toffe brown and Parker red inks respectively), a F nib 146 with MB black, a EF Hemingway with Racing Green, and a Dumas with a customised medium italic nib (Mike Masuyama's), filled with Irish Green. The most difficult aspect of Carolingian is, in my opinion, maintaining a very light, almost imperceptible inclination of the characters to the right. The italic nib really helps at producing crispy letters.