Vintage Pens

Photo Credit: lifeloveslife

Art Deco Conklin Endura Senior Fountain Pen in Verd Green

Buy It Now Price: $325 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This 1920s Conklin Endura Senior fountain pen is an Art Deco Celluloid gem rendered in a strikingly attractive, malachite-like Verd Green color.

-The Conklin Endura Senior was the largest of the Endura pen family.  This specimen measures 12.6 cm (5.0 inches) long when capped and 16.2 cm (6.4 inches) long when posted.

-The origins of the Conklin Fountain Pen Company date back to 1897, when its founder, Roy Conklin, invented the first commercially successful self-filling pen.  The company reached its apogee in the 1920s to early 1930s with the release of its popular Duragraph, Endura, Endura Symetrik and Nozac lines.

-The Conklin Endura line was produced from 1924 to 1930 and is characterized by a bold, yet streamlined Art Deco aesthetic.

-The Great Depression hit the Conklin Fountain Pen Company hard, resulting in a fire-sale of the firm's tooling, inventory and brand to a Chicago-based syndicate in 1938.  Conklin pens produced from this time until the company's final liquidation in 1955 are generally of lower quality compared to earlier models.

-This lovely fountain pen has a semi-flexible, solid 14 karat gold nib that writes with a fine to medium line.  These kinds of vintage nibs are always a favorite of pen enthusiasts because they are so hard to get today.

-We can date this Conklin Endura Senior to the mid/late 1920s due to the presence of a single, wide gold band on the pen cap.  Starting in 1929, the Endura featured a cap with two thin gold bands.

-In the year 2000, the modern Conklin Pen Company was revived.  Although this successor firm has the legal right to use the Conklin name (and that of its former models), these modern Conklin pens share nothing else in common with their antique predecessors.

-The seller is an experienced vintage pen dealer who has meticulously restored this Art Deco fountain pen masterpiece.  In addition, this Conklin Endura is in phenomenal condition, with no visible chips, cracks, dents or brassing!

-Given this vintage fountain pen's eye-catching styling and great condition, I believe the buy-it-now price of $325 is quite fair.  But you can always bid a lower price if $325 is too much for your wallet.

Vintage Conklin Fountain Pens For Sale

Cons:

-Because the no-reserve auction format for this listing ends on Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 11:48 PM EST, there isn't much time to secure this treasure.  The listing has also attracted 22 watchers already, so if you want to own this gorgeous antique pen you need to act soon!

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Photo Credit: Schieks Antique Digger

1943 Eversharp Skyline Fountain Pen & Pencil Set

Buy It Now Price: $300 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This World War II era Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and pencil set from 1943 features sleek navy blue barrels accented with gold filled trim.

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen is a shorter demi size, measuring 4.88 inches (12.4 cm) long when capped and 5.25 inches (13.3 cm) long when posted.  The matching mechanical pencil is 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) long.

-The American pen company Eversharp manufactured the Skyline series of pens in a dizzying array of style and color combinations between 1941 and 1948.  Designed by the renowned industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, the Eversharp Skyline was lauded for its groundbreaking, streamlined profile.

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and mechanical pencil set is new old stock in its original box.  It is absolutely pristine and has never been inked - a near miracle considering it is over 75 year old!  The only exception to the set's perfect condition is some minor toning on the gold-filled trim.

-The Eversharp Skyline was a commercial hit, and quickly became the United State's best selling pen by the mid 1940s.

-These Eversharp Skyline models have wide band trim, which is less common than the company's thin band trim.

-This 1940s Eversharp Skyline fountain pen has a solid 14 karat gold medium nib.  Vintage Eversharp pens were considered excellent writers in their time and are highly prized by today's fountain pen enthusiasts for this attribute.

-The clips on both the pen and pencil have the double checkmark logo, indicating that they were backed by Eversharp's lifetime warranty.

-Both the pen and pencil retain their original paper price tags.  The pen retailed for $9.75 when new in 1943 while the pencil sold for $5.00.  When adjusted for inflation in 2019, these values would be $146 and $75, respectively.

-Neither vintage writing implement has a monogram or other personalization.  This is a nice plus as it can be challenging to find older pens without engraved initials.

-Although the asking price of $300 is a bit high compared to many Eversharp Skyline fountain pen sets in the marketplace, I would be willing to pay the premium in light of this set's exceptional condition.  I have learned the hard way that when you find a remarkable antique, you had better pay the seller's asking price or risk losing the gem forever.

Vintage Eversharp Skyline Fountain Pens For Sale

Cons:

-This Eversharp Skyline fountain pen and pencil set is a pen connoisseur's dream, but due to its unused condition there is no way any serious collector would consider using it as a daily writer.  If that's what you're after, you'll have to find a different vintage pen.

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Photo Credit: THE-ANTIQUE-SHOP-OF-RUMEN

Vintage Pelikan 400NN Fountain Pen & Mechanical Pencil Set

Buy It Now Price: $299 (price as of 2018; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This vintage Pelikan 400NN fountain pen and mechanical pencil set from the late 1950s or early 1960s has striking brown tortoise-striped barrels contrasting with gold-plated trim.

-The Pelikan 400NN fountain pen measures 5.12 inches (13.0 cm) in length.  Although I do not have the exact measurement for the matching mechanical pencil, we can see from the photo that it is slightly longer than the pen.

-Pelikan was founded in Hanover, Germany in 1832 as a supplier of paints and inks.  However, it was not until the late 1920s that the company began producing fountain pens.  Pelikan's golden age came in the post-WWII era of the 1950s and 1960s when it produced many memorable, high quality pens.  Pelikan remains a respected pen manufacturer to this day.

-Vintage fountain pen sets are generally undervalued in today's marketplace.  This allows the knowledgeable writing enthusiast or antiques investor to pick up some truly special pen sets at bargain prices.

-The Pelikan 400 series fountain pen was first produced in 1950 and eventually discontinued in 1956.  A revised version, the Pelikan 400N (the "N" stood for new) was briefly made in 1956.  The type featured here, the Pelikan 400NN, was manufactured from 1956 to 1965.

-This Pelikan 400NN fountain pen comes with its original 14 karat gold EF nib.  Many vintage pen aficionados consider Mid-Century Pelikans to be among the best pen-nib combinations ever made.

-According to the seller, this vintage Pelikan 400NN fountain pen and mechanical pencil set is in working order.  In addition, it appears be in excellent condition, with no visible brassing, cracking or discoloration.

-The 400 series is the iconic vintage Pelikan fountain pen from the historical apogee of the company.  According to specialist collectors' website The Pelikan's Perch, the Pelikan 400NN fountain pen (and its derivatives) are the "number one" vintage Pelikan pen for writing devotees.  In their own words, "If you can only have one vintage Pelikan pen, this is probably the one to get."

-Although the Pelikan brand often sits in the shadows of more recognized luxury pen makers, like Montblanc and Waterman, it really deserves to be acknowledged as a full peer with these venerated competitors.  Because of this, I believe the $300 asking price for this beautiful fountain pen and mechanical pencil set is well justified.

Vintage Pelikan 400NN Fountain Pens For Sale

Cons:

-While generally very robust pens, buyers of the Pelikan 400 series have to watch out for cracked barrels and collars.  This is due to a minor design flaw (a shrinking plastic cap over a static metal liner) and material limitations (a brittle, polystyrene collar).  Luckily, this particular Pelikan 400NN pen and pencil set shows no evidence of these issues.

-Although this vintage pen set is in a Pelikan case, I am dubious that it is original.  If the set was still housed in its original case, its value would be slightly higher.

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