All Pens and Ephemera

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.

Celebrating Italy's hosting of the 1990 World Cup soccer tournament, the green of this modern classic luxury pen symbolizes the color of the soccer pitch. There is a checkerboard design to the usual gold-plated cap band. Our preowned luxury pen comes with all of its original boxes and papers. Gently used, it shows only minor wear. Very minor wear. The piston filler seems to work well. You will love the bouncy way it writes a smooth medium line with its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.1cm capped.

More rarities are on display with this Esterbrook Dollar Pen. Please note the three incised cap bands. Add on the rare 1314 left-foot oblique nib, and you have an interesting classic Estie. No cracks or deep scratches. The only cosmetic issue, other than light wear from use, is the pitting on the lever filler. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. The oblique nib on this one is very sharp and scratchy. Yet, it delivers nice line variation for a trade off. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.1cm capped.

Parker was rather genius for resurrecting its classic Duofold design for a modern luxury pen. Our Parker Duofold Centennial in burgundy is a handsome classic. We love the way the sparkly acrylic burgundy undulates under a light as your rotate the cap or barrel. Our pre-owned luxury pen comes with its original box and papers. There's a Parker converter in it, too. You will write a nice medium line with its two-tone 18k gold nib. No monogram or significant wear. 13.5cm capped.

When Esterbrook went from making Dollar Pens to J-model pens, it ran out of Dollar Pen caps and opted to use the new J-model caps on the remaining Dollar Pen barrels. It is difficult to tell the original ones from the repairmen who replaced broken Dollar Pen caps with J-caps. We found this pen this way, but that doesn't mean anything. What is interesting is the top jewel on the cap has 3 lines instead of the usual concentric circles. The color match is pretty close to perfect between the cap and barrel. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. You will this upgraded steel 9461 nib that is firm and very smooth as it writes a fine line. No cracks, deep imprint, some wear from use. 12.4cm capped.

In the 1940s, if you needed a cheap, reliable pen that was easily customized, you got yourself an Esterbrook Dollar Pen. We restored this black model with a new ink sac and new 1555 Gregg Shorthand nib. There are no cracks or deep scratches, but the early plastic cap on this pen has warped a bit. It can be difficult to get the cap on and off. You will write a nice fine line with its steel nib. There is a little feedback, but we wouldn't call this a scratchy pen...not compared to other Esterbrooks with the same nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.1cm capped.

All mysteries are revealed with a good demonstrator pen. This Sailor 1911 leaves little to the imagination. It is really fun to write with and fill. The fact that it has an M-S ("music") nib made of 14k gold could make this your very favorite preowned pen. In truth, we find this nib to be buttery smooth, but it writes more like a double broad. Its thick tipping does not give it a ton of line variation. Our luxury pen has minimal wear and there are only a couple traces of blue ink trapped in the inner cap. 13.5cm capped.

Krone kicks it up a notch with the Krone Va-Va Voom fountain pen. Curvy with silver-plated trim, it is an attractive addition to your preowned luxury pen collection. Turquoise and amber flecks pop against the milk-chai color of the cap and barrel. It looks as if it were barely ever used. It drips a little after you first fill it, then it holds its ink. After you fill it, we recommend bleeding a couple drops back out and wait for the drips to stop and then wipe it down. It seems to hold ink well after that. Complete with its box and papers. Click the headline for close ups. Its two-tone 18k gold nib writes a smooth medium line. 12.8cm capped.