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.

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.

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.

Black and gold adds classic elegance to the luxury pencils of Pelikan. This Pelikan Souverän D200 is a great clicker pencil. Just like a Parker Jotter ballpoint, this pencil advances .5mm lead with a click of the tail plunger. This pre-owned pencil looks sharp with only minimal, if any, wear. Made in West Germany, the imprint belies its age. The top of the clicker is golden with a simplistic mama pelican and single chick that is part of the line of the nest. The eraser under the clicker has hardened. 13.5cm.

If you love the look of Pelikan Souverän fountain pens but don't want the hassle of filling from a bottle of ink, try out the Pelikan Souverän R600. This is the mid-sized luxury pen with great green stripes. It uses standard size refills, allowing Pelikan, Waterman, generic and possibly even Pilot G2 refills! We include a free refill with the pen. Our preowned pen has light wear from use but no significant blemishes. The logo is a frosted gold with a shiny golden mama pelican with a single chick. 13.2cm capped.