Pelikan
Pens and Ephemera

We love regular Pelikan Souvereign pens, so it should come as no shock that we love this 800-size limited edition Pelikan Blue Ocean. Complete with all of its boxes and papers, this is a New Old Stock pen. No trace of ink from use. It even has its original nib sticker. Click the headline for close-ups. You'll see its excellent two-tone 18k gold nib. It is marked "M" for medium. We haven't dipped it to preserve its virginal nature. Worthy of any Pelikan museum or daily writing for the bold user who wants to experience perfection.

If you found an original "jade marble" Pelikan 101 in this condition from 1935, you might come close to retiring with the money you'd get for it. Luckily for you, Pelikan returned to this classic vintage pen with the limited edition Pelikan Originals 1935 Of Their Time fountain pen. It pays loving tribute to that classic pen with modern materials and improved manufacturing techniques. This modern luxury pen is new old stock! It has never been used. We filled it once with water just to make sure the original piston is still working properly, and it is in great working order. It has never been dipped. Its 18k gold nib is marked "M" for medium point. Complete with original boxes and papers. Click the headline for close-ups. 11.7cm 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.

According to this pen's original owner, it started life as a Pelikan Souverän M400 with a gold nib. Some how, somewhere along the line, this handsome tortoiseshell colored luxury pen ended up with an extra-fine steel nib like an M200. Where does that leave it? It leaves us with a very attractive pen in great working order. Just light wear from use. You can twist the piston filler smoothly and easily from the blind cap in the tail. Writing is fun, firm and a little feedback that doesn't feel particularly scratchy. On top of the cap is a logo with a black field and golden mama pelican with a single chick. 12.5cm capped.

Technically, this Pelikan R200 is called a marble blue. However, as we gaze at the sheening swirls of blue-grey, we prefer to call it "Smoky Blue." Evoking those stunning black-and-white portraits of jazz stars, where their cigarette smoke is its own personality in the photo, we find this preowned pen's design to be just as elegant. Overall, the pen looks nearly perfect, but you can see a ring of wear where the cap snugged against the barrel by the threads. We installed a new, black Pelikan rollerball refill. Complete with its original boxes and papers. 12.4cm 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.

Swirls of green make this Pelikan Souverän R200 rollerball really stand out. We just inserted a new black refill. It looks fantastic. Minimal if any wear, this modern preowned luxury pen is a real stunner. It is the smaller size pen from the Pelikan line. The logo on the top of the cap is a black field with a golden mama bird with two chicks. 12.4cm 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.