Pelikan: The Brand Book...is It Worth It?

[oregano]

In my obsession of all things Pelikan, I've contemplated getting the Pelikan: The Brand book, which is easy to find. Apart from the interest in having it for those who are collectors, is it as interesting as the Pelikan Schreibergate book, or something one would read once and then never again? For those who have the book, are there pictures of pens as well and documentation of the history of their pens? Thanks!

[sargetalon]

I have a copy and it literally is more about the brand and it's evolution than the pens themselves. It has a nice selection of old advertisements and is a worthwhile read. It is not what I'd call a reference like Schreibergate is and I have not gone back to it since my initial read. It doesn't really detail the pens.

[oregano]

Okay, thanks Joshua, that pretty much answers my question!

[joss]

I have a copy and it literally is more about the brand and it's evolution than the pens themselves. It has a nice selection of old advertisements and is a worthwhile read. It is not what I'd call a reference like Schreibergate is and I have not gone back to it since my initial read. It doesn't really detail the pens.

 

I fully agree: the "Brand" book is really about the whole Pelikan brand. Apart from fountain pens, Pelikan commercialised a broad range of products including ink, glue and paint. The Brand book has beautiful reproductions of vintage Pelikan posters and ads (most of them are from the inks and the paints). There is also an interesting biography of the (Günther) Wagner family and how they came into the business (with children paint actually).

 

But compared to the Schreibgeräte book, the "Brand" book has no significant extra information on vintage Pelikan pens. So my opinion is that the Schreibgeräte book is indispensable for the Pelikan pen collector while the "Brand" book gives interesting background information on ... the Pelikan brand.

[oregano]

Thanks, Joris. I know, it's in the title (!), but I was hoping there would be some supplementary material in the process about

the history of their pens, or simply pictures of actual pens. I haven't had a chance to see it yet in the flesh. The ads sound interesting though.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I've got some thoughts on it here. The short form; a few nuggets for the pen-specific, a wealth of stuff for those interested in the evolution of advertising design.

[irrigger]

One feature of it that most people miss is that it has quite a few good references to the ink bottles that they used throughout the company's history.