First generation

Pelikan fountain pen (ca.1929)

Cap top; material: ebonite, shape: cylindrical, plane cap top edge, logo: old four chicks logo on the top, "Pelikan PATENT Pelikan PATENT" on the lateral side.

Cap tube; material: ebonite, shape: 2 vent holes (one hole facing each other), no cap bands.

Clip; shape: gold plated drop clip, wider than following generations (Fig.4).

Nib; material: 14 ct gold, shape: heart shaped vent hole, logo⁽¹⁾:

Pelikan

14

KARAT

Feed; material: ebonite, shape: slanted tail, three lamellae with the recess.

Nib socket; material: ebonite. shape: long (17 mm).

Grip section and barrel; material: one piece transparent bakelite, shape: plane top edge, plane side edge, concave grip section.

Sleeve; material: celluloid.

Filling system; material: ebonite with cork seal, shape: knurled turning knob with arrow.

Dimensions;^(a)with sleeve, ^(b)without sleeve, ^(c)ink chamber volume

Total Cap Barrel Barrel Barrel Cap Ink Total

length length length width^(a) width^(b) width capacity^(c) weight

118 mm 63 mm 93.5 mm 12 mm 11 mm 13 mm 1.4 ml 14 g

This is the first fountain pen that Günter Wagner launched in 1929.

The most remarkable characteristics is the differential piston filling mechanism (Patent)(Pelikan’s Perch). Fig.7 is the exploded view of the filling system. The cork seal is fixed to the piston rod(b) with a friction-fit disk(a). The piston rod is hollow and has internal thread. The spindle is inserted into the turning knob and fixed with a guiding pin(e). By inserting the piston rod into the piston guide (or "cone")(d) and screwing the spindle into the piston rod, the filling system is set. Finally, the tiny pin(c) is inserted into a hole in the piston guide so that it fits in the groove (Fig.7 arrow) on the piston rod. The pin (Fig.7 arrow head) prevents the piston rod from rotating, and converts the rotation of the turning knob to the forward and backward movement of the piston rod. The arrow indicates the direction to turn to fill the ink (Fig.7 right). Turning the knob to the left moves the cork seal forward to expel air in the ink chamber and clean the ink window at the same time. No vacuum is created behind the piston that harms the ink filling (Fig.10-①) (Patent). The turning knob has a little "play", preventing ink from spurting out as soon as the knob is loosened. With the tip of nib dipped in the ink, turning the knob to the right reverses the seal, making negative pressure, and sucks the ink. The inner wall of the barrel is slightly conical, meaning that the lumen diameter narrows toward the the filling system. So, when the cork seal is drawn back to the home position, it is pressed against the inner wall to make the more secure seal (Green book). The turning knob secures the ink leak-proof with the double seals at its base and rim (Fig.10-①). For the retailers, the filling system was easy to remove, disassemble, clean, and replace the cork.

The cap is also full of devices. It is easy to remove the clip and clean the inside of cap top and cap tube. The novel clip was called "drop clip" as its tip was drop-like shape. The drop clip glides easily over the edge of the pocket (Fig.10-⑤) (Patent). The grip section has quadruple thread, and only one cap twist away makes it ready for writing. The cap top has been devised so that the nib and the cap top do not interfere with each other (Fig.10-④). The cap top works as an inner cap. The unique cap sealing system consists of the two sealing system (Fig.5, Fig.6). When the cap screwed on, cap top edge and the facing grip section top edge, pushed together, form the tight seal (frontal plane seal). The plane side edge of the grip section is also pushed onto the lateral wall of the cap tube to form the other seal (lateral seal). As cap screwed on/off, air in the cap section is ventilated through cap vent holes via the gap between cap top and cap tube.

The nib is characterized by heart shaped vent hole (Fig.1). They were outsourced to Montblanc⁽²⁾. The air channel of the feed (Fig.8 left), in cooperation with large vent hole, creates even ink flow (Fig.10-③) (Patent). The feed has three lamellae, the middle of which has a recess or “slot”. They form the compensation chamber (Fig.8 right), which regulates the excess of ink forced out of the ink chamber by the warmth of the hand (Fig.10-②). They prevent blots even when ink is running out. The feed is also characterized by a long “tail” that was cut off diagonally⁽³⁾.

The grip section and barrel is made of one piece bakelite. Large, transparent ink window makes "timely inking" possible⁽⁴⁾.

Please click to see the box with manual of 1st and/or 2nd generation.

Note;⁽¹⁾ There are nibs that have nib size identification below the logo (Fig.12).

⁽²⁾ "Beginning in 1924, Montblanc relied on Günter Wagner for ink, and Günter Wagner, which did not have its own metal working facilities before 1935, in turn relied on Montblanc for nibs" (Pelikan Pens: History). According to Penboard.de, the geometry of the nib is the same as that of no.4 Montblanc nib (Fig.14). The exact time when outsourced nibs were switched to in-house production is not clear, but it is supposed to be in 1935.

⁽³⁾ "The slanting tail of the feed is thought to allow using the last drop of the ink reservoir"(Christof Zollinger) (Fig.9) .

⁽⁴⁾ The ink window of my pen is not so "clearly transparent" as the brochure of the time and the official site show. It is bordeaux to brown color (Fig.13). It might be "transparent" to the extent that ink was practically visible, and have darkened over time. It is hard to see though now.