Greek ad of 1937

[antoniosz]

24 Nov 1937 (about 68 years ago) in a greek newspaper, an advertisement of a Pelikan.  A rough translation.

A light eater
Have you ever watched a cat when it drinks?
It uses only the tip of its tongue.  The same happens with the PELIKAN fountain pen.
A dip of just ten millimeters of the nib into the ink is enough for a full filling.
In this way the neck of the pen always remains clean.
Many other advantages contribute to making the PELIKAN fountain pen a very safe, hygienic, and overall luxurious object.
Price: 750 drachmas
[roughly half the monthly salary of an office clerk!  Ouch, no wonder everyone was still using dip pens then in Greece]...
Prefer for filling your PELIKAN fountain pen the special PELIKAN ink.
It is exceptionally fluid and is sold in very practical special bottles.

[inkstainedruth]

That's a really cool find!  Thanks for posting it!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lamarax]

ΔΡΧ. 750!!! 😄

 

On 11/23/2025 at 8:43 PM, antoniosz said:

[roughly half the monthly salary of an office clerk!  Ouch, no wonder everyone was still using dip pens then in Greece]...

 

Isn't it true though that today's (luxury pen) prices correspond to about half, or more, of the average wage in Greece?

[antoniosz]

On 11/28/2025 at 12:20 PM, lamarax said:

Isn't it true though that today's (luxury pen) prices correspond to about half, or more, of the average wage in Greece?

Yes.  Average monthly salary today is roughly 1200-1300 euros.  

[lamarax]

On 12/4/2025 at 6:35 AM, antoniosz said:

Yes.  Average monthly salary today is roughly 1200-1300 euros.  

 

Interesting to note, that the modern replica (M101N) of the pen in the advertisement (100), sells for 495 € MSRP.

 

Of course back in 1937, during the height of Metaxas's dictatorship, a fountain pen was a necessary everyday life tool - not a collectible luxury trinket item as is today  

[lamarax]

Coming back to this lovely piece of history; lemme add this bit to the translation of the footnote:

 

Pelikan

SOLD IN FINE STATIONERS AND SPECIALTY SHOPS

 

 "ΜΕΝΤΩΡ" is just the name of the publicity firm.

 

 

Have a nice holiday everyone! 🎄