Fourth generation

Pelikan 101N (ca.1949)

In April 1945, the Allied ground advance into Germany reached Hanover. On 10 April, 1945, the US 84th infantry division captured the city.

After WWII, Hanover was in the British zone of occupation of Germany. The delivery of finished pens was limited by the military government's headquarters, and exporting finished pens and spare parts were frozen.

In February, 1946, the machinery had not yet been fully repaired. On the contrary, the company planed to relocate the injection molding machinery to another division (packaging division). Mr. Kovàcs fought against the plan as delay in resumption of production would lead to delay in his income from his royalties. The company shelved the plan fearing that he would offer his patens to foreign manufacturers, and put more energy into getting production started up again.

Finally, in 1947, the supply of pens with CN nib for the domestic market was resumed though in limited quantity.

As from October, 1948, pens with gold nib were allowed to be produced for the export market.

Green indicates the changes from Pelikan 100N (ca.1942).

Cap top; material: celluloid, shape: conical, flat cap top edge, logo: new two chicks logo on the top and “GÜNTER WAGER Pelikan” on the lateral side.

Cap tube; material: celluloid, shape: no vent holes, two narrow bands, grooved around the inner wall.

Clip; shape: gold plated drop clip.

Nib; material: 14 ct gold, shape: round vent hole, logo:

Pelikan

585

14 KARAT

S

Feed; material: ebonite, shape: flat tail, three lamellae without the recess.

Nib socket; material: ebonite, shape: 13.5 mm.

Grip section and barrel; material: one piece injection molded transparent acrylics, shape; flat top edge, slightly tapered, no step near the thread, no brass ring.

Sleeve; material: celluloid.

Filling system; material: injection molded acrylics with black synthetic plastic seal, shape: conical, smooth turning knob.

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

121.5 mm 60.5 mm 99.5 mm 11 mm 12 mm 13.5 mm 2.0 ml 15 g

In 1949, the grip section with step was replaced by a smooth grip section. It seems that Günter Wagner concluded that the step was unnecessary in terms of ergonomics or visual sense. With this modification, model 100N moved to the 4th generation.

As from July 4, 1949, pens with gold nib were allowed to be produced for the domestic market. But, the purchaser had to supply used nibs in exchange. At the end of 1949, gold nibs became available without exchanging used nibs. CN nibs were still available.

My pen is not in a good condition, but tells me how it was build up. As I told before, the barrel was coated with white paint in some model 101Ns, so that the barrel color would not show through. As a result, the sleeve looked brighter and something like "mother of pearl" in some pens. As seen in Fig.4, white paint has come off or degraded from the grip-side portion, where it looks darker and original tortoiseshell color.

By the way, my pen has "S" mark on the nib. According to Pelikan-collectibles, "S" stands for "Scheiben-spitze". I don't know about the nib well. Please tell me what the nib is like or what the nib is for.