All Pens and Ephemera

The world needs more pink pens, and this Levenger Verona is a beaut. Its acrylic swirls take it from a light cotton candy color to really deep pink that gets close to red. Our pre-owned pen is in near perfection condition, with only light wear from use. Nice crisp imprint. You will write a buttery smooth broad line with its two-tone 14k gold nib. An awesome daily driver. 13.8cm capped.

Glittering blue acrylic swirls make this Levenger Verona fountain pen a real stunner. It looks almost like new with minimal wear. It comes complete with a standard international converter, but it also can use the same style cartridges. You will write a nice medium line with its two-tone 14k gold nib. Compared to the grey model of this pen below, the blue pen's nib is a little firmer with a touch of feedback. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.8cm capped.

We've seen a lot of cool desk pens in our day, and we really love this frosted-brown-glass pelican made for an Eversharp Doric desk pen. It looks even more impressive with back lighting as the bird looks as if it is standing on rippling water. The glass is nearly perfect with one small chip near the back edge of the base. The celluloid trumpet looks like a marriage of a black trumpet and a green marble one, and the gold plating looks good on the trumpet and the pen. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. The pen has the green art deco look not marbled. The section has a little chocolate hazing. This is a nice thick, larger pen. your will write a firm, medium line with its 14k gold manifold nib. There is a hint of feedback with the nib. Click the headline for close-ups. Pen is 21.4cm long. Base 10.5cm L X 9cm W X 12.5cm H.

Odds are pretty strong that these Levenger Verona fountain pens were made by Stipula in Italy. Its deep silvery-grey swirls reminds us of the stunning hour or so before a daylong summer thunderstorm over the suburbs of Chicago. Those were days where the air felt electrical and one's mind tingled with the proximity to raw nature and a desire to take the time to write a story, the scent of fresh rain mingling with the scent of an open bottle of ink. Our fair Verona looks almost new and sports a buttery smooth broad 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. It fills with an included standard international converter. 13.8cm capped.

Our favorite Rube Goldberg filling system in vintage pens has to be the Sheaffer Snorkel. Over-elaborate...but also great for sucking the last drops of ink out of a bottle. We restored this Sheaffer Statesman set with a new O-ring, ink sac and point seal. Cosmetically, it is in very good shape with only light surface wear. You will write a firm extra-fine to fine line with a little feedback. All of that is pretty standard for these conical "Triumph" nibs made of "palladium silver." The pencil remains in great working order and is cosmetically also near excellent with only light surface wear. The vintage pencil comes with a few .9mm leads and the hardened remains of the original blue eraser. Box included.

GARAGE SALE ITEM 8: Ever say to yourself, "I need to pour out a dirty bag of third tier pens and parts and just revel in the joy of it all?" Well, then, my friend, today is your lucky, lucky day. There's nothing special in here. It is literally a dirty bag of parts. If you ever wanted some cheap old pens to tear apart to learn how to do pen restoration, this is ideal. No Refunds. No Returns.

GARAGE SALE OFFERING #3: The theme of this pairing is silver and broken clips. There is a sterling silver Tiffany (as in Breakfast at....) ballpoint pen and a likely silver plated Wahl-Eversharp pencil, also missing a clip. The pen has a black refill. We don't know how well the ballpoint actually works, and we aren't sure if the pencil works at all. Fix 'em. Melt 'em down. We don't care. It is a garage sale bargain. No returns. No refunds.

We don't often carry hand-turned pens, but we are helping a close friend sell a collection, and this on is especially attractive. According to its "certificate of authenticity" it is an MRX Designs Green Swirl fountain pen, which was hand turned by Mark Gonzales in Brooklyn, Ohio, in 2021. Made of burl wood and green-and-white resin, it is tricked out with an "antique brass" set of trim. It still looks new, and it was a great Covid lockdown handicraft. Its golden allow nib writes a fine line with a little feedback. It appears to only take standard international cartridges. 13.1cm capped.