Category Archives: Pen Ads of Yesteryear

Pen Collecting Time Capsule

Here are two 5″ X 7″ pen catalogs from 1994! I was intrigued by the Menash catalog as I don’t know what became of that company.

Leaving the pen-collecting life behind, a friend of mine has given me his stash of catalogs and advertising from 1992 through 1994. Its contents blew my mind.

Most of the material was from 1994, the spring I graduated high school. While it is difficult for me to comprehend that was 27 years ago, what is harder to comprehend was how big pen collecting was becoming that long ago!

I found my first fountain pen in 1985 when I was 9 and adored it. It belonged to my late grandfather, and it still worked: a 1928 Sheaffer Lifetime Balance. I used it until it finally broke down, and I became obsessed with finding other fountain pens. They just didn’t exist. Not in my 10-year-old world or the various circles I moved in. I asked adults for them, and all the adults laughed and said they threw their fountain pens out years ago because ballpoints were “so much better.” Even then, I knew that was heresy.

Sheaffer sent me an Imperial to replace my grandfather’s pen, which they could no longer fix. I snatched up those terrible Sheaffer Student Pens at the grocery store. Yet, I was the only person of any age I knew who loved fountain pens. Studying German while in a San Diego high school, my teacher told us that most German kids and adults still preferred using fountain pens. San Diego had no pen stores that I knew of, and the internet did not exist. I worked a part-time job and saved most of my money to pay for my trip as an exchange student to Germany. Most of my fellow American exchange students saved up their money so they could drink heavily in a nation where the drinking age was 16. I begged my German family to be taken to a proper stationary shop. I gleefully purchased a stub-nibbed elegant black Rotring and a bottle of Pelikan royal blue ink. I wrote with that poor beast until its threads wore off. It wasn’t until the internet got more advanced that I could search for fountain pens and finally start finding them in about 2005.

A 1992 edition of “Pen Finder” by Glen Bowen.

And sooo, it surprises me now to see that while I was searching the world over for fountain pens, there was a ground swell of people who did still love fountain pens…and vintage pens, at that! Plus, many of the people I know on the pen show circuit were innovators of the vintage pen revival.

For example, when I first met Glen Bowen, I did not know he founded “Pen World” magazine. He had already sold his stake in it, but his wife Susan was still the circulation director at Pen World. She and I bonded over the fact she went to journalism school at Northwestern with my father. When she later introduced me to Glen, I thought he was just a pen newbie helping his wife at the Pen World table. Ooops!

In this stack of publications is a protean “Pen World” magazine catalog he published in 1992 called the “Pen Finder.” It was printed at the same time as the early “Pen Worlds” but was a catalog of vintage pens he restored that collectors could buy. You had to subscribe to it. There were simply several glossy photos of capped fountain pens and some inner pages that served as an index of what the pens were and how much they cost. No nib photos. As people didn’t yet know the history of the pens as well then as they do now, I think I even spotted a few pens with mismatched caps and barrels.

The catalog index of pens for sale in “Pen Finder.” Back then it was too expensive to print color on every page of a magazine. As such there would be color pages and B&W pages.

Without the internet, vintage pen research was a slow and ongoing process. So many of those early collectors had to do their own research into the histories of pens. And much of that was very hit and miss. The internet really made it easier for everyone to get together and compare notes and research.

I love the low-tech feel of these publications. The world-famous Fountain Pen Hospital vintage pen catalog was just a photo-copier copy of pens and prices. Bexley Pens advertised new models with a beautiful glossy photo paired with a home-printer list of features and benefits.

The more professional catalogs for new merchandise were more sophisticated, but I sure as hell wish I could get my hands on some of this Montblanc and Omas at their original pricing. Brand-new, factory-fresh Montblanc 164 Classique models for $99. Omas fountain pens for $325 to $100! FPH was selling a stash of 14k gold #5 Waterman MUSIC NIBS for $50 a piece!

Vintage pen prices were all over the map. There were rare pens for $100 or $200. Really common pens for up to $800. And, yet, other pen prices haven’t changed. Standard Parker Vacumatics went for around $125.

Ads for the Bexley Giant. Note the glossy one-page sheet paired with a home-printer fact sheet. That was not unusual advertising back then. It was fairly slick and affordable.

When I finally got some guidance from my buddy Hans who taught me about vintage pens and how to repair them in 2005, I felt like we were the last two people on earth who loved old fountain pens. With his instructions, I felt as if I was somehow reinventing the wheel or reviving a long dead religion. Yet, this is evidence I was never truly alone back then. I was just searching in all the wrong ways and places.

It is easy to be glib and say, “Oh, gee, I wish I knew in 1994 what I know now.” While that wouldn’t be untrue, I really wish I knew my pen tribe then and could take the journey with them to where we are today. Fountain pens have always brought me joy, and they clearly bring many other people joy. And while I am very happy we have found each other in this grand and glorious age of the internet, it would have been nice to have learned and shared at an even earlier age.

 

Ink Blotters for a Hat Collector

Vintage ink blotter advertising is awesome when you include guys in hats and a 1920s roadster.

The perfect ad for a vintage addict like me. Hats, blotter and a great red roadster! Who wouldn’t want to hitch a ride inside that ad?

The brick-and-mortar closing of my favorite hat shop (Hats Plus) in Chicago saddens me, as I cannot count the number of hours I’ve spent there trying on hats and envisioning my latest vintage looks. I probably started obsessing over hats at about the same time I began obsessing over fountain pens. Baseball caps, flat caps and Civil War souvenir hats are staples in photos of my childhood. I finally found some fedoras to wear around the time I was 13. It was all downhill from there.

While they will carry on in the webosphere, I shall miss my friends at Hats Plus in the flesh.

Thanks to my friend Len P. here in Chicago, I’ve been able to crossover my love of pens with hats. While divesting his blotter collection this past summer, he gave me some of his great hat advertising blotters.

In honor of Hats Plus, I’m sharing some of my favorites from the hat blotter collection. I hope you enjoy them as well as Len and I do.

 

 

 

 

Even a World War couldn’t stop the progress of hatters. I’d kinda kill get get my hands on the blue or “mallard” fedoras. Good ol’ Victory Felts by Swann Hats.

Women look just as good as men in this alluringly fashionable advertising ink blotters from what looks like the 1910s and ’20s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stetson was known both for its cowboy and western hats as well as its urban fedoras. Gotta love those silent film star cowboy fashions.

Here’s a snazzy look at Stetson’s mens’ hats from the 1930s! The times back then sucked, but people sure looked good…if they could afford it.

 

 

 

Pen Ads before Madison Avenue

What on earth is this old Pelikan ink ad trying to convey in its message. Write with bird vomit? We strangle birds so you can write? Ah, the joys of marketing before Madison Avenue.

Germans might have mastered marketing luxury items in this day and age…look no further than Montblanc, Mercedes and BMW…but the early days weren’t quite as refined.

Quite possibly my favorite pen or ink ad of all time is this one from Pelikan.

What on earth is the message they are trying to convey?

Fill you pen with bird vomit…? Or, we strangle birds so you can write…?

The text of the ad translates to read, “Pelikan-Ink” Gunther Wagner is the man who took over the company in 1871. Below his name are the cities Hanover (where Pelikan was founded, which the Germans spell with two n’s) and Vienna, which is spelled Wien in German.

While we’re questioning everything about the ad, why is there a naked boy riding the bird? And of all things, why is he wearing an oversized hat? Why not some lederhosen? Please, put on some lederhosen!

Given the American euphemism of self gratification known as “choking the chicken,” we grow even more disturbed by this ad.

Sex Doesn’t Always Sell

Some ads get so ridiculous we have to laugh. The advertising campaign for the Cross Verve is always good for a chuckle, but it sure didn’t seem to help sell any pens. It isn’t difficult to imagine the ads as pinups for teenage boys, but the sales for the Cross Verve were awful. I don’t think the pen lasted in production for more than a year or so.

Failed fountain pen advertising for the Cross Verve.

They say that sex sells, but sometimes too much sex distracts from the product. Cross Verve sales never seemed to rise to the occasion that this couple did.

The ad featured a hot young couple wrapped around each other in only their underwear, and the woman is trying to write a card using a Cross Verve ballpoint pen. The man is reaching under her cami to advance their foreplay.

The woman looks mildly perturbed that her letter-writing is being interrupted. I always like to image the caption of what she’s saying to him.

“Stop squirming. I’m trying to write Mother.”

“God, you suck as a desk.”

“Do you mind? I’m trying to write a postcard.”

“How am I supposed to wrap my supple thighs around you and write a letter, if you’re going to get all handsy every time?”

The Cross Verve was actually a good writing pen, even if it was a bit on the ugly ultra-modern side. Sadly, it didn’t seem that even a hot young couple in the mood could sell it…although people might have been a bit too distracted by the hot young couple to notice or care much about the pen.

Still Hunting Parker Vac Desk Set Trumpet

While searching for the perfect matching desk base trumpets for his special Parker Vacumatic and radio desk set, Jaime A. found this great ad from 1936. We love these classic Vac desk sets from Parker. The 1930s might have been a miserable time to live, with the economy in the tank, but, man, they had style.

Check out these great desk sets Parker was offering in 1936. Imagine stumbling on a pen shop back in the day with those looking minty fresh.

Check out these great desk sets Parker was offering in 1936. Imagine stumbling on a pen shop back in the day with those looking minty fresh.

Was Norman Rockwell a Pen Addict?

With their passion for Parker overriding their desire to kiss under the mistletoe, clearly painter Norman Rockwell understood the obsession of pen collectors around the world. Happy Holidays!

With their passion for Parker overriding their desire to kiss under the mistletoe, clearly painter Norman Rockwell understood the obsession of pen collectors around the world. Happy Holidays!

Just one look at this vintage Parker ad, and you know that its painter Norman Rockwell understood pen collectors very well. Sure, it might look a little schmaltzy with two attractive young lovers ignoring one another’s lips under the mistletoe, but they just got new Parker 61s! Of course, they are geeked about their new treasures!

We, here at ThePenMarket.com, hope you get exactly what you want this holiday season!

With respect to all faiths and those without faith, have a Merry Christmas, Happy (belated) Hanukkah, a Joyous Kwanzaa, a Fun Festivus, a Super Solstice and a generally warm winter filled with peace and love.

May you get your heart’s desire.

Best wishes from all of us at ThePenMarket.com

Santa Backs Parker Again; Mail Deadline Dec. 17

Here is Santa peddling Parker button fillers in 1900. These were the "safety sealed" precursors to the Duofold.

Here is Santa peddling Parker button fillers in 1900. These were the “safety sealed” precursors to the Duofold.

A close friend of the blog sent us a card that is ideal for a pen collector. It is the 1900 Parker advertising campaign, and we thought you might get a kick out of it.

It would appear that Parker once again funded the jolly old elf for another year to use his likeness.

Also, time is running out to get your orders in on time for Christmas! In conversations with customers and Postal Officials, a backlog of deliveries is starting to push back the time it takes for a package to arrive via Priority Mail.

When the post office gets a little behind, we cannot guarantee anything, but it would appear your best bet is to have orders ship via priority mail by Dec. 17. The closer you are to Chicago, perhaps the more you can fudge it, but it would be best to have your orders in to us on the 16th to go out with the mail on the 17th.

Pen Ads of World War I

Today, essentially, marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. It is still one of the most savage wars the world has ever known. It left nearly 2% of the world’s population dead: 23 million. There is a good reason those who fought it were called the Lost Generation.

Sealed button-filling pens and take-anywhere ink tablets were revolutionary new creations for sailors and doughboys hoping to write home during the first world war.

Sealed button-filling pens and take-anywhere ink tablets were revolutionary new creations for sailors and doughboys hoping to write home during the first world war.

Yet, there’s no reason wholesale slaughter shouldn’t prevent the tide of marketing.

Parker had a particularly fascinating line of pens aimed directly at servicemen in the trenches. These pre-Duofold pens were considered “sealed” and leak proof. Best of all, you no longer needed fragile glass bottles of ink, which would not withstand the rigors of combat.

Parker sold special ink tablets. These dried tablets could be dropped in a cup of water or any other small container for a nearly instant supply of ink to fill a pen and write your family or sweetheart back home.

These ads come from around 1917, when the United States officially entered the war, which ended Nov. 11, 1918.

Enlist the safety-sealed button filling Parker pens for your needs at school or while fighting in the trenches in this classic WWI Parker ad.

Enlist the safety-sealed button filling Parker pens for your needs at school or while fighting in the trenches in this classic WWI Parker ad.




Please note the artillery is being moved by horses in the ads. This would be the last war to see horses used with any widespread practical regularity. It also would be the last to see swords and lances issued with actual intent for battlefield use. (Yes, the Japanese issued swords in WWII, but they were strictly weapons of last resort.) Cockades and spikes also saw their last use on helmets. Battlefields would be dominated by machine guns and the newly invented tanks. Oceans were devastated by submarines. And for the first time, aircraft could fly over enemy territory to observe movements, attack with machine guns and drop bombs. Cars and trucks came to play vital roles. Motorized ambulances saved countless lives. And chemical warfare would devastate countless people with agonizing pain and misery…if not death.

Getting back to the ads, I love that a pack of more than 30 ink tablets cost only 10 cents. Do any of these tablets still exist? I would love to see some and try one.

Eversharp Sells America on the Doric

We recently added a classic Eversharp Doric Junior to our vintage pens collection, and it is striking how handsome it remains, despite a great deal of wear. The layers of transluscent greens still flash through history as if impervious to age.

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep's catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren't all their ads color?

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep’s catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren’t all their ads color?

This made it surprising for me to have difficulty finding color advertising for these remarkable pens. True, the Depression was savaging America during the time these pens were produced. Also true, color ads were and are not cheap compared to black and white ads.

Nevertheless, the one thing that really stands out on the Doric compared to any other pen Sheaffer, Parker and Waterman had in production was the vibrant color and patterns in these pens. You would think they would want to make that the most prominent feature in the ad.

This page from the 1932 Eversharp catalog shows the very pen we now carry. It lists the color as Kashmir Pearl. The catalog itself is in color, which would have helped sell it to pen shops around the country. Yet, the print ad below it, which was published in “Time” magazine in 1935 is like all of the Doric ads my search turned up…black and white.

Here's an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn't you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Here’s an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn’t you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Not once mentioning the colors of the pen, it tauts a never-leak safety seal of some kind. That would have been an especially important feature on the pen at the time, but the only leak preventer I see in the pen is the inner cap, which most major brands had dating at least back into the 1920s.

Also peculiar is that the ad states the pen holds more ink. The Parker Vacumatic more successfully lays claim to that than any other pen that decade. ANNND, it never mentions the adjustable nib prominently featured in the illustration. That adjuster was supposed to help the pen write thinner and thicker lines, a feature you’d think Eversharp would be shouting to anyone in hear shot.

Then again, just listen to the radio or watch TV, and we still have ample ads that don’t discuss the product’s best features. Heck, sometimes, you can’t even tell what they’re trying to sell.

Santa: Fickle Pen Collector or Genius Fundraiser?

Celebrity endorsements don’t come cheap, but it appears that Santa has been in high demand with every brand who has approached him over the years.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

In 1904 he says Waterman is the best. In 1939 he was hooked on the Parker Vacumatic. In between those years, and well after, old St. Nick has been quick to shill for just about every major and minor pen maker in the world.

At first I thought I should chastise Father Christmas for his inability to pick a favorite vintage pen.

Then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. That’s when I realized what a bloody genius Santa truely is.

Santa has to deliver presents to all of the good boys and girls around the entire planet in just 24 hours. This year alone we’re looking at approximately 3 billion children. True, not all of them are good, but for now we’ll give most of them the benefit of any doubt.

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

In many cases, Santa delivers more than one toy per child. Even if we average it out to just 3 toys per child, that’s 9 billion toys.

That is more than a boatload of toys. Perhaps in a bygone era Santa could get away with 9 magic reindeer, but the jolly old elf will need rockets and more on his sleigh to cart that type of tonnage around the world. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to imagine such a modern sled as that runs up to $500 million or even $1B.

Even a living saint can’t magically generate enough cash for a rocket sled and 9 billion toys in one year…unless…

Unless he cashes in on his celebrity endorsements! By advertising every brand of every product imaginable, St. Nick could easily gin up trillions every year! Coca Cola alone has likely paid him hundreds of billions. Why else would a single bottle of Christmas Coke cost nearly $2?! A dollar of that must go to pay for Santa’s likeness on the bottle and packaging.

As inspired as Santa’s marketing and fundraising is, he can always use a little extra help from the rest of us.

To help the big guy out, it is not too late to visit Toys for Tots today and make a donation. Just click this Toys for Tots, and you will be directed straight to their donations web page.

Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas!