Pelikan
Pens and Ephemera

Pelican birds carry their dinner in a pouch. Why should you carry Pelikan pens in a special pouch. We have a lovely leather pouch from Pelikan that claims to hold 2 pens. We would argue it might be better suited for one really big pen or two average pens. Looks like new and comes with its box.

Germany is known for its emphasis on quality and luxury, and we think the German brand Pelikan is antithesis of writing excellence. The Pelikan Souveran R800 is a large rollerball pen that is very sophisticated. Our preowned luxury pen is in almost-new condition with minimal wear. Included are its original box and a fancy, cream-colored carrying pouch. We just installed a new blue rollerball refill. The company logo features a frosted golden field with a mama pelican and a single chick. 14.2cm capped.

German luxury looks great in the red Pelikan Souveran R400 rollerball pen. This color pattern was discontinued for several years and only recently brought back. Our pen is the older variant. However, it looks close to new and comes in its original box. Only light wear from use. A golden cap topper features a mama pelican and a single chick. We gave it a brief scribble and its refill still works with black ink. However, we have no idea how much ink remains in this refill. The 400s are the shorter, thinner size. 12.5cm capped.

Blue-pen lovers that we are, we think there is no topping the Pelikan City Series Stockholm pens for looks. It is easily the most attractive of the "cities." Ours is in excellent working worker, showing only minimal wear from use...and some scratches on the piston filler knob and the section grip. We find it rather amusing that it comes in the "Grand Place" city series pen's box. It is the right size and shape box for the Stockholm, just the wrong labels on the box. Click the headline to see close-ups of the pen and nib. Marked "M" for medium, you will find that this two-tone 18k gold nib writes a buttery smooth double broad line. It is a gusher. Located on the top of the cap's black "jewel" is a frosted gold logo of a mama pelican and two chicks. 13.1cm capped.

Have you ever seen the shimmering tendrils of plasma in the night sky known as the Northern or Southern Lights? It is a fantastic scene, with the most common color being green ribbons that stretch across the sky. Some German designers took inspiration from these rare events to create the Pelikan Polar Lights fountain pen. Also designated an M640, it is a delightful limited edition pen. We find it to be a little larger than a standard M600, and it has more bowed middle in its design, instead of a straight barrel. Our pen is in great working order and seems to have seen minimal use. It looks almost mint. You will write a very smooth fine line, although the rhodium-plated 18k gold nib is listed as a medium. Includes its original box a papers. 13.6cm capped.

In our own personal collection we have a Pelikan P40 Pura that is probably the most reliable daily driver that we have. We can't imagine this one would be any different. Complete with its original box and travel pouch (not photographed) this is a luxurious workaday pen. This one is gently used with only light wear. It fills with standard international cartridges. You will write a smooth fine line that might be a shade on the dry side depending upon the ink you use. 14cm capped.

Pelikan shocked its die-hard customers by eliminating the red-striped design from its line about 10 years ago. Bold, without being gaudy, these pens became a little harder to find, though the company has recently reintroduced the color. This mid-sized R600 model looks about as close to new as you can get. We include a new working refill. The logo sports a golden mama pelican with two chicks on a black background. It comes with its original box. 13.2cm capped.

In the 1990s, Pelikan started having a ton of fun with its standard issue Souverän pen designs. This Pelikan Souverän R730 is an especially nice rollerball pen with a sterling silver cap and tail cap. The tail cap is perfect and there is only one shallow dent in the side of the cap you can see in the photo. Click the headline for close-ups. In real life, you will easily find the dent if you are looking for it, but you will easily miss it, if you aren't looking for it. The rest of the pen comes with minimal light wear from use. You also get a working blue refill with the pen. 12.5cm capped.