There is an old legend that tells of an encounter between Martin Luther and the Devil. Martin Luther (11/10/1483 – 2/18/1546) was a German priest, monk, and theologian who sparked the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, and the Devil needs no introduction. As the story goes, Luther was plagued by evil spirits throughout much of his childhood. These were the Middle Ages, so such occurrences weren’t out of place, likely fostered by a strict upbringing rooted in religion. Luther was a god-fearing man and defended himself against such spirits with prayer and song. His views and religious zeal would see him branded an outlaw. While in hiding at Wartburg Castle over a period of 10 months, he took to translating the Bible. The Devil himself is said to have called upon him during this time, frequently trying to disturb his work. Different versions of the story relate these distractions taking several forms such as a fly incessantly buzzing around his head, or a large, black dog in his bed, or even by making enough noise to keep Luther awake, depriving him of much needed sleep. Awakened one night by Satan himself, Luther grabbed the ink well off of his desk and threw it, defending himself against the evil spirit. Legend says that the ink stain was visible on the wall long after the Devil had been banished from Luther’s presence and, to this day, Satan is said to avoid anyone with an ink well as much as holy water, having learned a hard lesson from Luther. Of course, this story is almost certainly a fabrication, a personification of Luther’s devout Christian views which painted life as a constant battle with the Devil. Luther couldn’t have been using Pelikan’s inks at the time but that didn’t stop Pelikan from trying to offer some symbolic protection to its patrons in the 1980s and 90s. Read on to discover how they accomplished this while also learning about some unique pieces of ephemera/jewelry, many made from silver or gold, that Pelikan once commissioned.

A centuries old oil painting that hangs at the Luther House in Wittenberg depicting Luther’s metaphorical struggle with the Devil

Pelikan, like many companies, has a long history of producing tchotchkes in order to promote the brand. A comprehensive review of the innumerable pieces of ephemera that Pelikan has churned out is well beyond the scope of this article. For perhaps the best accounting of such items, I would refer you to the book Deutsche Werbegeschichte Am Beispiel Günther Wagner – Pelikan by Heinz Rings. What I would like to focus on today are some temporally related pieces of jewelry that Pelikan once commissioned, many of which were made from Sterling silver, that you will find pop up for sale from time to time. Pins and lapel pieces from the 1950s and 60s can be found with the company’s then iconic two chick logo but that was just the start of a long history creating such items. These may have been issued to Pelikan’s sales force, presented to key customers, or featured as an incentive to purchase a certain product. As best as I can infer from the available data, production of the modern pieces that I wish to focus on spanned the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the items saw nibs turned into jewelry, whereas others were designed as miniature models, emulating some of Pelikan’s best known products.

A pin given to children who purchased a 120 school pen next to a lapel pin of the same design, likely dating to the 1960s, and shown on the lapel of a jacket. Click on the gallery to enlarge

First up are a few nibs turned into lapel pins. As the name implies, a lapel pin is generally a small pin worn on the lapel of a jacket, serving no function aside from decoration. Both men’s and women’s fashion make allowances for such accessories. These pins come in different styles and the ones that I would like to address are sometimes called stick lapel pins. They have a body made of a long, thin needle with the decorative element at one end and a cap at the other, used to secure the pin to a jacket. They are considered a subtle way to smarten up any outfit, adding a unique and personalized flair without being intrusive or obnoxious. I have acquired two different examples produced by Pelikan that I’d like to highlight. The first is a 14C-585 monotone gold nib, likely from an M400. Its design dates from 1982 until perhaps 1996. The specimen shown here is of an HEF width. The next nib is larger, likely from an early M800, dating it circa 1987/88. The 14C-585 two-toned gold OM nib allows us to be fairly precise with the date since the M800 only came with a 14C nib early on in its production. It is unclear for what occasion these may have been produced or to whom they were given, but they do make for some unique pieces of jewelry that tell a clear story about the wearer. Nibs were perhaps an obvious choice for a fountain pen company to utilize as promotional items. Additional examples of their repurposing have been found in the form of necklaces, key chains, and even as ornamentation on select pens.

Lapel pins made from M400 and M800 nibs, likely dating to the late 1980s. Click on the gallery to enlarge

Next, we examine some pieces made of sterling silver. Sterling silver is an alloy made up of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper or zinc. Sterling silver pieces are stamped ‘925’ to mark their authenticity. The manufacturer in this case was a German company called Palm, a business that I suspect no longer exists as I can find no traces of it in my research. The first of these pieces consists of a small chunk of sterling that was fashioned into a miniature bottle of 4001 ink, probably circa the early 1990s. Taking it a step further, the bottle is portrayed as an inkwell with a quill dipped in it, symbolized by a tiny bird’s feather. Each piece of jewelry came with a small bag of replacement feathers. The accompanying literature tells the story of Martin Luther and the Devil, the same story that I’ve already shared with you with at the outset. The small bottle came as both a tie clip and a much more rarely found necklace. There are no hallmarks, and the only stamp is ‘925’ on the tie bar. I’m not sure how practical these are to wear with the feather in place but if they don’t succeed at helping you look dapper, at least they will keep you safe from the Devil.

A tie clip and necklace featuring a miniature sterling silver bottle of 4001 ink with a genuine feather quill. The accompanying literature tells the story of Martin Luther and the Devil. Click on the gallery to enlarge

The next pieces that I wish to highlight were also made by Palm, probably coinciding with the 1987 release of the M800 and the company’s 150th anniversary in 1988. These exemplars actually have some additional literature to support their provenance. The first item is a stick lapel pin and the other is a tie clip. Both are stamped ‘925’ to indicate their sterling content and the lapel pin has a palm tree makers mark. An advertisement from Pelikan explains just who these pieces were intended for. “Please accept with our compliments this exclusive silver tie clip when you purchase any Souverän M800 fountain pen (While stocks last).” It’s unclear how widely available these were, in what regions they were offered, or just how many were actually made and given away.

A rarely seen advertisement consisting of a picture printed on Kodak photo paper in an A4 size that hails from Scotland

A tie clip and lapel pin made from sterling silver that were once given away with the purchase of a new M800. The beak clip of the tie clip is somewhat deformed. Click on the gallery to enlarge

For good measure, I’m going to throw a few more pins into the mix which one might encounter. The first of these is a pelican with an orange beak and a cream/brown body. It was produced in 1988, on the occasion of the company’s 150th anniversary. The next three are all miniature Souveräns, each just over 1.5 inches in length. Available in pewter, enamel, and brass, some reports indicate that, at least the pewter version, may have been given away with the purchase of an M800 fountain pen in the late 1990s. With an unambiguous design that clearly emulates a Pelikan pen, each piece is stamped Pelikan on the back just in case there was any mistaking its origin. I have one last lapel pin to share with you, this time a motif that features the company’s two chick logo in gold superimposed upon a black background. This was made in the 1990s and came with a card that read, “The motif of this pin is from the current Pelikan trademark. The golden pelican at a black fond is a symbol for quality and tradition of Pelikan.”

Pins styled to look like a Souverän. A pelican enamel pin made in 1988 to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary. A lapel pin from the 1990s with the company’s previous two chick logo. Click the gallery to enlarge

Perhaps it’s wrong to refer to these items as ephemera as that term tends to define something of no lasting significance such as a poster or similar items made with the expectation that they would come to be discarded. These metallic pieces of jewelry, many of which were made from precious metals, were clearly meant to have more permanence. The scarcity of the lapel pins in particular suggest to me that none of these items enjoyed a particularly large production run. Still, they serve as neat collectibles from a time when Pelikan was aggressively producing such things, much more so than they do now. That’s not surprising of course. In the pre-internet days, these tchotchkes were a prominent, relatively cheap, and safe vehicle of brand promotion. With the rise of the internet and the birth of social media, companies are now able to engage the consumer with digital experiences, giving them a reach farther than ever before. The tchotchke is an analog relic from a non-digital world that has increasingly found itself without a home in the 21st century. Still, items like the ones outlined here harken back to seemingly simpler times and do bring with them a welcome sense of nostalgia. Oh, and if you’re concerned about my wellbeing, don’t be. I only stuck myself a half dozen or so times in the making of this article. Have you come across any of these pieces yourself and do you collect them? Perhaps you’ve run into something along similar lines not addressed here? Please share in the comments section below.