Pelikan Fountain Pen

Below are listed some interesting facts about some of the companies who have made major contributions to the development of the Pelikan Fountain Pen. Most of these companies share some things in common. First, many of the Pelikan Fountain Pen they created are highly sought after by people who collect antique Pelikan Fountain Pen because they are a high quality and are also miniature works of art. W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company -- The Sheaffer pen company was established in 1912. The Sheaffer brand is one of the best known names in the Pelikan Fountain Pen industry.
At that time Pelikan Fountain Pen were very messy and inconvenient to refill. You basically took an eye dropper and dripped ink directly into the reservoir. The result of his experiments was the development of the first lever filling Pelikan Fountain Pen for which he got a U.S. patent in 1908. His invention was a small metal lever that could fill the reservoir of the pen directly from the bottle of ink.
Pelikan -- Since 1838 (170 years!) the Pelikan company has been in business. Gunther Wagner bought the original factory in 1871 when it was first just an ink and paint operation. Wagner's family crest was used as the inspiration for the logo and the name.
The company manufactured its first Pelikan Fountain Pen in 1929. They introduced a new system for refilling the Pelikan Fountain Pen with ink, called a differential plunger. The nib of each fountain pen is shaped and polished and then for quality control, is written in by hand.
Parker -- In a way the Parker Pen Company is similar to the Sheaffer Pen Company in that both were created to solve a problem with the quality of writing instruments. The company history traces back more than 100 years. Parker was particularly tuned into this because he was already working for another fountain pen company, in addition to teaching the telegraph. He was selling fountain pens to earn extra money.
Parker was able to improve the flow of the ink, solving his students problems, and for the next 30 years worked on fountain pen designs. He also designed a lever type filling system.
Montblanc -- A fountain pen company located in Germany, the Montblanc name is known around the world. In addition to fountain pens, they also lend their name to other luxury items like fragrances and eye wear. There are those who accuse Montblanc of sacrificing the quality of their pens and just relying on their marketing efforts. However, the vintage fountain pens made by Montblanc are still generally very highly sought after by those who collect antique fountain pens.
The Montblanc company believes that there are counterfeit Montblanc pens being sold on the internet, and they will not allow their official dealers to sell this way. Critics of the company maintain that it is just a way that they can artificially inflate the retail price of their fountain pens.
Waterman -- Louis Waterman got a patent in 1884 for a unique system of getting the ink onto paper. His process involved channeling the ink down the back side of the nib. Many people believe the Waterman fountain pens are some of the finest made anywhere in the world. Although the company was started in the United States the manufacturing of the fountain pens is now done in Paris, France.
He sold his fountain pens on a very small scale until World War I. Omas -- Each pen that comes from the Omas factory is hand made. The fountain pens are thought by many to be among the finest luxury fountain pens created. Each pen can take up to 100 days to be made, and attention is paid to the finest details, so it is no wonder that their vintage fountain pens are so highly regarded. The nibs of their pens produce a high quality of calligraphy because they are extremely flexible. Established in 1925 in Italy, Omas set their expectation of extremely high standards at the point when the business was founded.
All of these companies have fascinating stories behind the pens they created. Many vintage fountain collectors prefer one brand over the other, and you can bet that a lot of these pen manufacturers will be creating pens throughout the next 100 years. They have given their best and are loved by the collectors who acquire vintage fountain pens as a hobby.
Pens are meant to assist us in writing and in other activities that require the transfer of ink from a writing instrument to a piece of paper. You will therefore hear of many names referring to these writing aids for example ballpoint, felt, fountain, reed, quills, metal nibs among others. Other types, although a minority, carry the names of their pioneers or the company that manufactures them. The Pelican pen for example is manufactured by a company with the same name, which was founded in 1832 by a German chemist by the name of Carl Hornemann. He was the first one to build a writing tool company in Germany.
The Pelikan pens hit the market with such a bang because they came with the best ink that non of their competitors could match. By 1938 the company had thousands of employees and this meant more business in general. After the World War II the Pelican model hit the market more aggressively after the company was taken over by a Malaysian company, Hooi Keat Loo's that is still controlling it up to date.