Pelikan
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.

It is difficult to find these one-year only blue Pelikan Souveran M805 fountain pens with silvery trim. They had a short production run and they weren't flying off the shelves nearly 20 years ago, as they do today. This is the first 805 that we've seen in this color scheme. We've seen far more of the M605s in this color scheme. Anyhow, our pen is in excellent working order. It does have a little wear from use, but it isn't bad. No cracks or deep scratches. You will write a fine line--bordering on extra-fine--with its two-ton 18k gold nib. It is both smooth and sensitive enough to provide the lightest of feedback. It comes with a Pelikan box. The logo background is black with a white mama pelican and two chicks on top of the cap. 14cm capped.

If we lived in a world in which one could only have one fountain pen, the Pelikan Souveran M800 would be the one for us. Well built, always reliable, holds a ton of ink, large but not oversized. Perfect. Our preowned luxury pen is a great daily driver and it looks great with only a little light wear from use. This one sports the two-tone 18kt gold nib. It is marked fine point, but it writes closer to a medium, as most German pens do. We tuned this one a bit, and it is mostly smooth. You might find that it squeaks a little as it writes. 14.1cm 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.

Pelikan first developed the Pelikan Graphos system for technical drawing in the 1930s. This appears to be one of those sets from before the war, although we aren't certain. In theory this pen fills with ink, but we aren't sure how or if this one does. It is a large boxed set with what appear to be 4 nibs that are missing. There are 3 widgets of some sort to the right of the pen in the box, and one of them is potentially missing...unless it is installed in the pen and we are too ignorant to know. Click the headline for a better look, and for a look at the top of the slightly beat up original case/box.

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.