All Pens and Ephemera

Nothing says luxury like Cartier. Yes, the famed jeweler has an exquisite line of pens. This is the Cartier Diabolo. Elegant and dazzling with an old-world flair, we especially like the blue topper. You might be more impressed with its very smooth, two-tone 18k gold nib sporting a medium point. Aside from a mark of impact on the barrel, just below the cap, this pen looks nearly perfect. No cracks, scratches or other wear. It takes standard international cartridges or converters but is missing its original converter. We included a generic replacement converter. Also includes its box, papers and 2 (mostly dried out) original cartridges that came with the pen. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.2cm capped.

A long, long time ago in a corporate America far, far away, there was a pen company called Wahl and there was a pencil company called Eversharp. They would merge early in the golden era of vintage pens to be more famously known as Wahl-Eversharp. However, this appears to be a rarer early Wahl pen from before the merger. It is made of black hard rubber (ebonite for all the hipsters out there). It has a worn Greek key chasing in the cap and barrel. Click the headline for a close-up to see some of the chocolate hazing. No cracks! We restored this pen with a new ink sac. Its 14k gold nib is marked "Wahl Signature Pen," but it is not to be confused with the later Wahl-Eversharp Signature nibs. This nib does not unscrew for easy replacement. You will write a smooth extra-fine to 1mm wide with its semi-flex capabilities. 13cm capped.

Enjoy more than a little class and sophistication when you write by using this Cartier Diabolo rollerball pen. It is a classic black pen with gold-plated trim, which all comes together with its stunning blue topper. Writing is smooth and easy with the large 8126 capless rollerball refill. We include a new black refill with this pen. You might see a little light wear if you look hard enough, but no one will notice it at arm's length. 14.2cm capped.

Across "The Puddle" Parker had a very different line-up of fountain pens in the 1950s. This Parker Slimfold seemed like the child of a Duofold, Vacumatic and 51. It seems to take from the Duofold name, Vacumtic exterior and an aerometric filler like a 51. The filler is all original and in excellent working order. Click the headline for a close up of the left-foot oblique nib made of 14k gold! Right-handed people will likely enjoy this pen more than lefties. Sorry. Yet, righties, this is a smooth beast with nice line variation close to 1mm. It has a little wear from use but nothing egregious such as cracks, deep scratches or bite marks. 12.5cm capped.

It is quite possible that Bexley was the first American-made and owned luxury pen company to come along in decades, when it arrived on the scene. Owned and operated by dedicated vintage pen collectors, they stayed true to the principals of penmaking that made vintage pens great: light-weight, easy to use and absolutely delightful to write with all day long. Our preowned Bexley Tortoise Shell fountain pen certainly owes more than a not to the original Parker Duofold. Yet, it stands alone with its translucent design and modern cartridge-converter filler. This pen comes with its original converter. Our favorite feature is its buttery smooth, two-tone 18k gold nib with a medium point. 13.6cm capped.

Members of the Black Pen Society certainly know the joy of an oversized Sheaffer Lifetime Flattop. This is the "radite" black model, but we think it was once fixed by Sheaffer with slightly later 1930s Balance parts. Notably the section and inkfeed. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. This pen was somebody's favorite, back in the day. It has lots of wear and brassing from use. There are a couple bite marks, too. The imprint is still legible, but it is more worn in the center. It writes extremely well for a firm extra-fine nib. Then, again, it is a 14k gold nib from Sheaffer's best years. How could it not write beautifully? 13.4cm capped.

Leather craftsmen (or women) created this dignified 2-pen pouch in Italy. The front and back of the case are firm, while the sides have a little give. Saving wear and tear on the closure is a magnet instead of the leather loops, most cases have. It can easily fit 2 fairly large pens around the size of a Montblanc 146...maybe even a 149, though that might be pushing it. It comes with its original box. There are a couple scratches or marks on the back side's leather.

Bexley fountain pens came on the scene in the 1990s as a labor of love between 3 avid vintage pen collectors. Their goal was to make modern pens as well as (if not better than) the original makers of their favorite pens. This Bexley Poseidon Magnum II fountain pen seems to take a lot of influence from early Pelikan pens, but it is much larger than those little pens. Sporting a piston filler, it works well but has a little wear from past use. You will write a firm, fine line with its two-tone steel nib. It is smooth and feels like a steel nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.8cm capped.