All Pens and Ephemera

Lapis perfection is nearly impossible to find, but we have found it in this Parker Lady Duofold. Our vintage pen looks like it just came off the assembly line. The blue is vibrant, and the little white flecks are white. The imprint start crisp on top and gets shallow toward the bottom...a factory issue not wear. If you can call it a flaw, the only trouble might be that the barrel under the cap is a slightly deeper shade of blue...but we would argue it isn't discoloration. We restored it with a new ink ink sac. No cracks, no scratches, minimal--if any--wear. No brassing. You will write a smooth medium line with its 14k gold nib and original "Christmas tree" inkfeed. Click the headline for close ups. Slender. 11.3cm capped.

If we aren't mistaken, the Visconti Ragtime fountain pen was their first commercially available pen. This one seems extra unique to us, as we haven't seen this light-brown pearl and black design before. We've seen green ones and yellow ones. This preowned pen looks almost brand new, and its piston still works well. It is pretty obvious its box is pretty beat up, but the pen is great. Only gently used, just a touch of old blue ink came out when we flushed it. You will write a very smooth fine line with its 18k gold nib. However, it feels as if it might be more of a medium once you break it in with some daily use. Assuming you don't want to keep it as a museum piece. 14.3cm capped.

One of the most successful pens of modern Waterman is the Waterman Carene Deluxe. We love these preowned luxury pens. The dynamic styling and excellent writing characteristics make it a real winner. The "Deluxe" means it has a silver-plated cap. The cap combines handsomely with the blue barrel. The cap looks great without any dents or scratches, but the barrel shows some light wear. Included is a Schmidt standard international converter. You will write a very smooth fine line with its 18k gold nib. Great for dressing up and daily writing. 14.5cm capped.

The color match of this married Esterbrook J-model fountain pen looks better in the photo than in real life. The cap is a much deeper red than the barrel. The cap also looks pretty jankety. Nevertheless, there are no cracks and the cap is on tightly. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. We also gave it a new 1461 nib straight out of the box. You will write a firm, extra-fine line with a little feedback. Definitely not a museum piece, but a nice enough daily driver. 12.6cm capped.

Few bridges in Europe are as famous as Florence, Italy's, Ponte Vecchio. It has spanned the Arno River since Medieval times and is famous today for its incredible shops. Early Visconti decided to pay homage to it with this Visconti Ponte Vecchio fountain pen. We love the way the oranges and blues pop in the light. Our preowned luxury pen comes from Visconti's rise to fame. It comes with its worn leather box and papers. Gently used, it still looks like new. You will love the way its smooth 18k gold nib lays down a medium line. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.2cm capped.

Pastels dominated the 1950s' Technicolor landscape, and Esterbrook Purse Pens specialized in those soft colors. This robin's egg blue pen has a great cap and barrel with no cracks but some discoloration. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. The pocket clip is on nice and tight. Click the headline for close-ups. You will see there is a crack in the section near the nib. It is a short crack, and we think we've successfully sealed it with rubber cement. You will write a buttery smooth fine line with an upgraded steel 9556 nib. 11cm capped.

Yo-da-lay-hee-hoo! Have an alpine adventure right on your desk with this New Old Stock Montblanc Tribute to Mont Blanc fountain pen. Our preowned pen appears to have never been used, and it comes with all of its original boxes and converters. Heavier than a Classique, it is about the same size. Click the headline for close-ups. The section lists the various heights of Mont Blanc and its surrounding mountains. The only thing that seems to be missing is its converter, but some models did not ship out with a converter. We don't know if this is one of them. The rhodium-plated gold nib is listed as a medium, but we haven't written with it. 14.1cm capped.

We've been making Parker grail pen dreams come true all month. This offering is a 1941 Parker 51 with a sterling silver cap. Yes, it is an elusive first-year pen in dove grey. It is about as minty fresh as a 80-year-old pen can get. No dents or dings in the cap. Minimal wear on the body. The imprint on these double-jewel first year pens is on the tail cap and is crisp and easy to read. The vacumatic filler has been restored with a working diaphragm. You will write a slightly scratchy extra-fine line with its 14k gold nib. We don't really count it as a flaw, but you'll see the hood is lighter than the rest of the pen...a product of age. No aluminum jewels, unfortunately.