The new "holy grail" for collectors of Pelikan isn't a pen... It's a book! The new Pelikan Shreibgeräte by Jürgen Dittmer and Martin Lehmann is 190 pages of pure, unadulterated Pelikan.
Covering
the entire history of the Pelikan company's pen production, from 1929
through the present, this book offers an amazing look at both the finished
products, as well as the development of the models that made Pelikan what
it is today. There is a concise outline of the company's history, beginning
with Carl Hornemann and Günther Wagner in the 1800s.
The history of the company continues through the twentieth century, with the introduction of the first fountain pens in 1929, and the development of the writing instrument as an important part of Pelikan's product line-up.
The portions covering the way the company has been organized and reorganized are very interesting, depicting the ups and downs of the company as it moved from a producer of inks and paints, through office products, graphic arts supplies, and even toys and games, and back into high end fine writing instruments.
And we haven't even gotten to the main part of the book yet!
Once you get into the main portion of the book, the amount of information on the early Pelikan pens is amazing. Beginning with a brief description of the mechanical details of the fountain pens available at the time, it discusses the patent for the piston filler developed by Theodor Kovács. This filling mechanism became the basis for the Pelikan Fountain pen, and the coverage of the vintage Pelikans begins.
All of the early models are discussed, with good photos of the pens. Both high end pens, such as the Toledo overlays, and solid gold "jeweler's overlay" pieces, as well as the economy models, such as the IBIS and Rappen are depicted. If you are looking for easy identification of a particular model, there is a section in the back with the various models shown "catalog style", along with dates of production and available colors. Additional information on various distinguishing characteristics of the vintage models provide a very valuable reference for those into collecting vintage Pelikans.
The new Pelikan book does carry on further from the original, with more information about new Pelikans, including a great section on the limited edition Pelikans that shows some of the amazing and rarely seen limited editions, as well as the more well known editions. In addition, there are several prototype models shown, giving an interesting look into the development of the modern Pelikan line-up.
The book itself is printed on very nice paper, heavy enough to feel substantial, and with a smooth, matte finish. It's hardcover, with a nice textured finish on the covers. The text is in both German and English, in facing columns. In terms simply of production values, the book is very well done, it "feels" like quality in the hand.
This book cannot be recommended enough to anyone who seriously collects Pelikans, whether new or vintage. In fact, I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Pelikans at all, whether "seriously" or not!
copyright 2004 William Riepl