Franken 139/149

[Letsi]

Hi Guys,

 

Spotted this interesting specimen on fleabay just earlier.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/1malmoin/m.html?_uhb=1&hash=item232e312516&item=151098828054&pt=DE_Haus_Garten_HomeOffice_Schreibger%C3%A4te&rt=nc&_trksid=p4340.l2562

 

I believe the cap and nib are from 139 while the body's from the 149?

Would be interested to know your feel on this pen as well. Would love to try the nib but seller doesn't accept paypal unfortunately...

 

Cheers!

 

Edited: Ok... Apparently the US fleabay doesn't show this listing, had to revise the link to the German site.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Letsi

[meiers]

The cap does not go with the pen. It doesn't look right. I agree that it appears to be a 149/139 combo.

Edited August 13, 2013 by meiers

[JLS1]

+1 for the above. One of the photos of the piston knob shows a '149 G' inscription.

[orfew]

Is it possible that this is a transitional pen? It seems to have the proper 139 nib marked with '250', a 149 barrel and a 139 cap with the silver rings.

[fountainpende]

you will quite often find such pens ... I also have some of them in my collection. The solution is quite simple ... parts of the pen were repaired when the previous version was not produced any more. For example, imagine your 139 broke in the mid 50ties. The 139 was not produced any more at that time, so MB would simply replace the parts with an 149 from the time of repair. Therefore, nob and cap are old, the barrel newer ...

 

From my perspective ... the 139/149 combo is still a nice pen and definitely a good writer ...

[Sblakers]

Boy that's a strange one. If it was somehow a transitional model you would expect to see the ski slope feed. Other interesting thing is the section, its the 139 section I had a silver rings 149 with this same section before that I bought from penboard de. It was explained to me that it was very rare and most likely a transitional thing. If it had a ski slope feed I could be inclined to believe it is some sort of transitional model but the round ebonite grooves in face and shank throw this off. I suppose it could be a later replacement. Very curious pen. I'd like to see max or Tom over at penboard de chime in on this one

[KJY]

Is it possible that this is a transitional pen? It seems to have the proper 139 nib marked with '250', a 149 barrel and a 139 cap with the silver rings.

Hi Orfew,

 

What a coincedence, doesn't it? Maybe I have to buy this one as well!

Then I will start a collection of only transitionals. Hahaha...

[orfew]

Hi Orfew,

 

What a coincedence, doesn't it? Maybe I have to buy this one as well!

Then I will start a collection of only transitionals. Hahaha...

Sorry about that KJY it appears I was mistaken and that your pen may have also been a victim of replacement of certain parts.

[meiers]

you will quite often find such pens ... I also have some of them in my collection. The solution is quite simple ... parts of the pen were repaired when the previous version was not produced any more. For example, imagine your 139 broke in the mid 50ties. The 139 was not produced any more at that time, so MB would simply replace the parts with an 149 from the time of repair. Therefore, nob and cap are old, the barrel newer ...

 

From my perspective ... the 139/149 combo is still a nice pen and definitely a good writer ...

 

I like your point of view a lot.

[georges zaslavsky]

you will quite often find such pens ... I also have some of them in my collection. The solution is quite simple ... parts of the pen were repaired when the previous version was not produced any more. For example, imagine your 139 broke in the mid 50ties. The 139 was not produced any more at that time, so MB would simply replace the parts with an 149 from the time of repair. Therefore, nob and cap are old, the barrel newer ...

 

From my perspective ... the 139/149 combo is still a nice pen and definitely a good writer ...

good and logical analysis

[Sblakers]

Strange. So which pieces do you think were replaced. Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought the feed the pen has would coincide with a blind cap with no markings ? Because of the section it seems that the pen was originally a 139 which was maybe dropped on the blind cap. They replaced the blind cap with an early 50's ,which would have been stamped ? Then at a later date damaged the feed and had that replaced ? Maybe my time line to parts is messed up ? Regardless this is a very cool pen with a seemingly unique history. Anyone who can read german know if this seller will send to USA ?

Edited August 14, 2013 by Sblakers

[meiers]

Strange. So which pieces do you think were replaced. Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought the feed the pen has would coincide with a blind cap with no markings ? Because of the section it seems that the pen was originally a 139 which was maybe dropped on the blind cap. They replaced the blind cap with an early 50's ,which would have been stamped ? Then at a later date damaged the feed and had that replaced ? Maybe my time line to parts is messed up ? Regardless this is a very cool pen with a seemingly unique history. Anyone who can read german know if this seller will send to USA ?

In response to your question:

 

The seller will send his pen "anywhere in the world"

 

"Versand nach:Weltweit" means "shipping worldwide"

 

Matt

[Sblakers]

Thanks

[rustynib]

The section is a old one or chopped ...

[Letsi]

you will quite often find such pens ... I also have some of them in my collection. The solution is quite simple ... parts of the pen were repaired when the previous version was not produced any more. For example, imagine your 139 broke in the mid 50ties. The 139 was not produced any more at that time, so MB would simply replace the parts with an 149 from the time of repair. Therefore, nob and cap are old, the barrel newer ...

 

From my perspective ... the 139/149 combo is still a nice pen and definitely a good writer ...

 

Glad to have your input here on this thread. I initially thought that it's been repaired by some private pen maker but to know that Montblanc service themselves would have done such a thing is really unexpected. I wonder what was the original owner's response when he received this pen after its repair

 

Strange. So which pieces do you think were replaced. Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought the feed the pen has would coincide with a blind cap with no markings ? Because of the section it seems that the pen was originally a 139 which was maybe dropped on the blind cap. They replaced the blind cap with an early 50's ,which would have been stamped ? Then at a later date damaged the feed and had that replaced ? Maybe my time line to parts is messed up ? Regardless this is a very cool pen with a seemingly unique history. Anyone who can read german know if this seller will send to USA ?

 

It's really an interesting pen and seller was willing to send it everywhere in the world. I would love to bid on it but direct bank transfer kind of put me off it....

Edited August 15, 2013 by Letsi

[KJY]

Sorry about that KJY it appears I was mistaken and that your pen may have also been a victim of replacement of certain parts.

 

No problems. Thanks for the input.

And now I have also an answer to my question.

 

Also thank you for responding Fountainpende!

[Penne Stilografiche]

Wow, it sold for $1451.94 including shipping, not bad for a frankenblanc.

Edited August 21, 2013 by collectiblepens.com

[guyless]

So sorry to be so late to this one-- but WOW what an object! The feed is definitely post-1955, the nib is early ("250" nibs are, I believe, earlier than ones marked "139"), the section is definitely NOT that of a 149 barrel but looks like a 139s, and the filler knobs marked with a "G" after 149 were early changed to 149 without a G.

 

So, perhaps it had not one but two repairs. Or alternatively, was assembled from a very amazing collection of spare parts by someone in the mid-fifties or more recently. The odd question is why preserve the section-- 139 nibs were quite frequently used on early 149s, so it's not like it was needed for fit. But then, perhaps if it was a repair and the original owner loved and used his pen, he might have hated the feel of the 149 section with its lip and uncontoured silhouette. Then perhaps later, since flat ski slope feeds can blob far more frequently than the later rounded ebonite model, he regarded that as a worthwhile update.

 

I've often bought pens and thought how great it would be to know exactly what their history of use and repair had been. And this is exactly the sort pen it would instructive to know more about who did what when and why. Well worth noting is that Montblanc's catalogue for German retailers issued in September 1958 devotes pages 26-27 to the parts available for repair, and the L139 has its own long column including everything changed here and more (along with the 132, 134, 136). So the implication is whatever might have been the case during the so-called transition era, original parts were abundant in the mid-1950s, even for Montblancs 13x models.

 

My first experience of Montblanc repair at their German headquarters outside Hamburg was in the early-1980s with a mid-50s 144 I'd dropped on its nib and badly bent. An old tech came out and his first question was, "You DON'T want a new nib, do you?" And I looked at him with total horror. He smiled, took out a pair of pliers and while I watched, and within about 120 seconds or so, handed it back, and said, "Try it now." I did. It was perfect. More often and more recently, when a pen has been taken in by them for service, I've had parts like feeds "updated" to the current model's-- regardless of what I've wanted. But I have to say, this pen really is a puzzle.

Edited August 27, 2013 by guyless