What Is The Pelikan Souveran?

[Mech_Pencil]

I just want to get a general history of what it is and where it came from

[Guest Pjay]

http://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.Store.displayStore.36150./souveraen

 

Click on the 'more' button for a little historical background.

 

Some interesting claims here :roflmho:

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pelikan_Souveran.html

[Rick Propas]

The appelation Souverän was adopted around the year 2000, supposedly in answer to the long-standing Montblanc Meisterstück, which has been used for around 75 years.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Rick Propas

[Guest Pjay]

Rick, I'm happy to defer to your experience and knowledge of Pelikans, but the factory website says "In the eighties, the series was baptized Souverän". What's your source for the later date, out of curiosity?

[jar]

Rick, I'm happy to defer to your experience and knowledge of Pelikans, but the factory website says "In the eighties, the series was baptized Souverän". What's your source for the later date, out of curiosity?

 

My early 400s and 600s are not marked Souverän. The larger size and more recent 600s are marked Souverän as are the 800s and my 10xx ones.

[Rick Propas]

I was basing it on when the appellation shows up on the capbands, you may be right that they used it earlier. Apologies for my confusion.

[Guest Pjay]

This topic exemplifies the scant historical records for much Pelikan model development. Certainly there is nothing available that is as detailed as the excellent "Parker Duofold" by by David Shepherd and Dan Zazove.

This site http://www.ruettinger-web.de/e-pelikan-historie.html indicates a "Souverän" model release in 1982, but the name was probably not on the pen cap until much more recently.

 

Your contributions are always welcome, Rick. As someone who purchased their first Pelikan only six months ago, I'm totally in awe of your collection!

[Rick Propas]

Pjay,

 

First, thanks for your kind words. The record for Pelikan is, indeed, a bit spotty. Apparently German law requires corporations to keep records for only 15 years, and that is what they do, destroying them beyond that period.

 

That said, there are the two editions of Pelikan Schreibgeräte and Martin Lehmann's site. Between them, they provide the outlines of the company's history and there is careful study of the product.

 

We manage. But something like the Parker books would be lovely.

 

R.

 

This topic exemplifies the scant historical records for much Pelikan model development. Certainly there is nothing available that is as detailed as the excellent "Parker Duofold" by by David Shepherd and Dan Zazove.

This site http://www.ruettinger-web.de/e-pelikan-historie.html indicates a "Souverän" model release in 1982, but the name was probably not on the pen cap until much more recently.

 

Your contributions are always welcome, Rick. As someone who purchased their first Pelikan only six months ago, I'm totally in awe of your collection!

[soapytwist]

Just to add to this, my 1989/90 brochure describes the 400/600/800 plus the gold (760) and silver (750) plated models as "Souverän", but the 250 and lower merely as fountain pens.

Peversely, the accompanying pricelist (dated Jan 1991) describes all models from 100 upwards as "Soüveran Series". Definitely a case of the UK distributor putting in a heavy metal umlaut!

[jar]

So a question that might help.

 

When did Pelikan change the size of the 600?

[jgrasty]

So a question that might help.

 

When did Pelikan change the size of the 600?

 

1997. Before that year, M400 and M600 were the same size.

[jar]

So a question that might help.

 

When did Pelikan change the size of the 600?

 

1997. Before that year, M400 and M600 were the same size.

 

Okay, so before 1997 the cap banding was not stamped Souverän.

[Guest Pjay]

This site: http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/pelikan.800.html

suggests a 1987 introduction date for the Souverän (understanding that the date of the name on the cap is another matter)

but http://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.CMS.displayCMS.56583./the-history-of-high-quality-writing-instruments

insists that it was in fact 1982. From the sources with the most reliable authority, 1982 seems to be pretty consistent...

[Rick Propas]

Thanks for a most useful thread. Obviously, I was ignorant of the origins of the name.

[diplomat]

I have an 1987 (German) brochure for the launch of the M800 that calls all the 400/600/800 series Souveran

 

Ciao, Andrea

[jar]

When was the 600 introduced?

[daenghafez]

I have an 1987 (German) brochure for the launch of the M800 that calls all the 400/600/800 series Souveran

 

Ciao, Andrea

 

Hi Andrea

 

It's good of you to share the 1987 brochure on Pelikan Souveran pens. Out of curiosity, did the brochure mention on the introduction of M600 and M800 Tortoise? :hmm1:

 

Regards

Daeng

 

-edit on spelling-

Edited January 6, 2011 by daenghafez

[Guest Pjay]

To seek answers to some of the questions in this thread, I contacted Pelikan and promptly received

the following reply (about the release of the M600 models), from their archives section

 

1982 relaunch of model 400 of 1950, now called Pelikan Souverän M 400

 

1986 M 600 Black. 18c gold nib, two rings at the cap, one at filling grip,

one at the end of the barrel above the nib, same size as M 400

 

1988 now with bi-color nib

 

1990 also in green striped barrel available

 

1997 model 600 length a little bit longer than model 400, just in the middle

between 400 an 800

Hope this helps

Edited January 6, 2011 by Pjay

[diplomat]

When was the 600 introduced?

 

I think 1986. The other option could be '85. Pelikan realized than they needed a classic look for the bestseller 400, but to simply made a black version of the 400 was not possible (no way to tell the 400 from the 250 except for the cap). Then they create some upgrade in trim and had to call it differently. Other 600 colors went much later in the mid 90s.

 

I have an 1987 (German) brochure for the launch of the M800 that calls all the 400/600/800 series Souveran

 

Ciao, Andrea

 

Hi Andrea

 

It's good of you to share the 1987 brochure on Pelikan Souveran pens. Out of curiosity, did the brochure mention on the introduction of M600 and M800 Tortoise? :hmm1:

 

Regards

Daeng

 

-edit on spelling-

 

No, at the time the souveran line was basic: 2 400 colors (greenstriped and brownstriped), one 600 and two 800 (greenstriped and black). I believe the models you mention were very limited runs for specific markets and therefore not documented in brochures. And, to be honest, I even doubt a tortoise M600 ever existed. All I have seen is a levenger M250 with a wrong cap so far.

 

Ciao, Andrea

[Guest Pjay]

Other 600 colors went much later in the mid 90s.

 

I even doubt a tortoise M600 ever existed.

 

The striated green M600 was in fact introduced in 1990. Please see the reply from Pelikan above.

daenghafez did not suggest that a tortoise M600 ever existed, but asked if the brochure included reference to a

tortoise M800, in addition to information about the release of the M600. It was a little ambiguous