Everywhere you turn these days, goods and services invariably cost more. Everyday items such as bread, milk, diapers, and gas command prices not seen in decades. The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting supply chain crisis deserve much of the credit for getting the ball rolling but those are only the origins of this story. Russia’s war in Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions further disrupted many of the global supply chains, adding fuel to the economic fire already raging. Sprinkle in a healthy share of corporate greed for good measure and it’s not too hard to understand how we got here. Prices are now at levels not seen since the 1980s and consumers, who had been better positioned than during past crises to weather the storm early on, are now finding that their household finances are becoming increasingly strained. This is inflation, a rise in prices or the decline of purchasing power over time, and there is little remedy for it at the moment. Pen makers are not insulated from the harsh economic climate any better than the rest of us and the cost of doing business is rising. Pelikan generally raises prices once or sometimes twice a year in order to keep up with the usual annual increases in cost. This generally manifests as a 2-3% increase on fine writing instruments and a 5% increase on inks, refills, and accessories. What we have seen as of November 1st, at least here in the US, is a much more significant increase than in years past, no doubt a reflection of the current global situation. Read on to discover how your favorite Pelikan pens and inks have been affected.
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Pelikan Hubs 2022 – Philadelphia: A Recap
The inaugural Pelikan Hubs event occurred in 2014. Like any new venture, this one was surrounded by uncertainty, largely because no one knew quite what to expect, not even Pelikan themselves. What those few original attendees got was an evening with likeminded people enjoying each other’s company and sharing pens, inks, and paper. Despite their inauspicious beginnings, the Hubs would continue to grow year after year, reaching their peak in 2019. The event’s trajectory predicted noting but continued growth, its future appearing ever bright. Sometimes, life has a way of coming at you when you least expect it. We were all blindsided by the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the Hubs would ultimately be derailed by the unexpected arrival of a global pandemic. Public health considerations would force Pelikan to cancel both the 2020 and 2021 Hubs events to the disappointment of thousands of aficionados. Millions have died, irreplaceable souls who should not be forgotten, and we should not lose sight of the emotional and economic toll this pandemic has extracted upon us all. Still, life must go on and so it was to the elation of thousands that Pelikan announced the return of the Hubs event for 2022. Despite a shorter window for registration, when all was said and done, there were at least 220 Hubs spread across 47 countries counting 6,107 registered participants, numbers that actually exceeded those of the 2019 gathering, a telling reflection of the pent up demand and certainly not a bad tally for an event on hiatus for two years. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has played host to a Hub since the event’s inception. It was my honor to once again helm the festivities as the local Hub Master. This year’s Hub was held in the Pabbit room at Philadelphia hot spot Pub & Kitchen located near Rittenhouse Square. Our hosts were gracious, the food delicious, and the drinks very satisfying but all paled in comparison to the company and the jovial atmosphere. Read on for a recap of the evening’s festivities.
Continue readingThe Chronoswiss Styloscope Rediscovered, Literally!
Treasure can be lost, perhaps tucked away for a later occasion, then forgotten with the passing of time. Sometimes, like the periodical cicadas that emerge from under the ground only once every 17 years, that treasure is rediscovered. Chronoswiss is a mechanical watch manufacturer based out of Lucerne, Switzerland and founded by Gerd-Rüdiger Lang in 1983. In order to commemorate the company’s 20th anniversary, Mr. Lang, a big fan of the M800, commissioned Pelikan to create limited edition pen known as the Styloscope which was released in 2002. Built off of the M800 chassis, the Styloscope was a numbered, limited edition of 999 pieces which I previously described in detail here. These were sold by Chronoswiss and could not be obtained through Pelikan. Now long out of production, finding one on the secondary market can be a challenge for those who lack patience or means as these models have appreciated nicely over the past few decades. The Chronoswiss company turns 40 next year and the Styloscope has now achieved its own milestone, turning 20 years old this year. While mildly interesting news in its own right, what really punctuates that birthday is the fact that 88 unnumbered Chronoswiss Styloscope pens were just recently found by Chronoswiss’ COO, Beat Weinmann, in the company’s basement. Talk about a serendipitous discovery. After much consideration regarding their fate, Style of Zug, a self-described Swiss concept store with a focus on fine writing instruments, has been tapped as the sole distributor for these newfound beauties which are being released into the wild. Read on to find out all of the details including how you might own your own Styloscope.
Continue readingNews: M1000 Maki-e Phoenix Limited Edition
Today brought news of another new release out of Hannover, this one quickly following on the heels of the upcoming Souverän M800 40 Years Anniversary limited edition due out next month. If you will recall, Pelikan kicked off the 2022 season with their M1000 Maki-e Snow, Moon, and Flowers limited edition. Pelikan’s next release will again be another high end Maki-e model, this one titled Phoenix. The last time we got two Maki-e releases in a single year was 2019 when both the Five Lucky Bats and Japanese Umbrella debuted. These are always ultra-exclusive models made in very limited quantities with a price tag to match. Pelikan’s promotional literature states;
“The Phoenix is surrounded by numerous meaningful legends. Phoenix is a legendary spiritual bird in Chinese mythology, appearing in myths, ornaments, works of art, and architecture in East Asia. It is often depicted as a symbol of virtue, wisdom, beauty, and goodness. Phoenix also has the meaning of harmony, peace, femininity, beauty, prosperity, expansion, ascent and success. According to Chinese legends, phoenix represents the entire universe. The phoenix‘s head represents the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the legs are the earth, and the tail is a planet.”
The Maki-e Phoenix utilizes the oversized M1000 chassis, made in Germany, and decorated in Japan. This model is slated to arrive sometime in November 2022. As is the tradition with many of these ultra-limited pens, this will be an edition of just 123 pieces available for worldwide distribution.
Continue readingPelikan Looks To Sell Land Adjacent To Their Peine-Vöhrum Plant
While the central focus of this blog has always been the writing implements and related ephemera that Pelikan has produced over the past 90+ years, I find it insightful to also stay up to date regarding the goings on at the factory and beyond. Doing so can provide a window into the health of the company. Pelikan is a large organization with a very complicated corporate structure that contains many assets and investments which go well beyond their fine writing instruments. Still, some of their publicly reported business decisions hit close to home and those are the ones that I try to bring to you. I previously gave an account of three such occurrences beginning last June with demonstrations at Pelikan’s Peine-Vöhrum manufacturing plant by union employees protesting conditions at the factory. Then, in July 2021, Pelikan sold its logistics center located in Falkensee, Germany. By August, the factory had received a visit from Hubertus Heil (SPD), Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, over the ongoing labor dispute. Since that visit, news about the goings on at the factory has been sparse, that is until now. Thanks to the recent reporting of Thomas Kröger for Peiner Allgemeine, we now know that talks are underway regarding a major project on the Pelikanstraße in Vöhrum. Pelikan is currently looking to sell a little over 6 acres of land in a plot that lies to the northeast of their manufacturing plant. The prospective buyer wishes to use the land to build a logistics center, a possibility currently being explored with the city of Peine. What does this potentially mean for Pelikan? Read on to learn more.
Continue readingNews: Pelikan Souverän M800 40 Years Anniversary LE
Pelikan’s original model 400 was manufactured throughout most of the 1950s as well as the first half of the 1960s. The model would experience two major revisions over its production run, but it ultimately proved to be a great success for the brand. Times change and the company moved away from that iconic design for a number of years, with the Merz & Krell 400NN of the 1970s being a notable exception. That classic style which was so popular in its day saw a revival in 1982 when Pelikan launched the first Souverän fountain pen, the model M400. The black/green color combination featuring the “Stresemann” striped pattern was again alive and well and little changed from that 1950s model upon which it was based. Like its predecessor, the M400 was well received, a win that the company desperately needed at the time. The early 1980s marked a turbulent period in the company’s history, one rife with financial trouble and the M400 played its part to help turn Pelikan’s fortunes around. Forty years later and the Souverän series of pens remains a mainstay in the brand’s portfolio, its design is as iconic now as it ever was. In honor of that that forty-year anniversary, Pelikan is releasing a new limited edition fountain pen, the Souverän M800 40 Years Anniversary limited edition. The design of this new pen is meant to commemorate those features of the Souverän that have made their mark over the years. Read on to learn all about this newest limited edition fountain pen out of Hannover.
Continue readingThe Pencil Is Mightier Than The Pen – Part 1: An Exploration Of The 350
Pelikan introduced their first mechanical pencil to the market on June 26, 1934. The model 200, known as the AUCH-Pelikan, was initially designed to accompany the 100 and, later on, the 100N line of fountain pens. The AUCH-Pelikan continued to be manufactured until October of 1951 with little variation in its design over its 17-year production run. The 1950s would bring a flurry of new mechanical pencils, most designed with an eye towards matching Pelikan’s burgeoning line-up of fountain pens. Pelikan’s focus has always seemed to rest squarely upon their pens with add-ons like mechanical pencils being more of a secondary consideration. That isn’t to say that Pelikan’s mechanical pencils aren’t solid additions to their other writing implements, they absolutely are. In fact, the pencils that they produced were even somewhat ahead of their time when you compare them with other brands. It’s just that the development of their pencil lines has never seemed to be a primary goal. One of the first models to follow on the heels of the AUCH-Pelikan was the 350, first introduced on October 24, 1950. This model changed its looks several times over the course of its production run and is therefore worth exploring in a bit more detail. As far as companion pieces go, the 350 would actually have a few different dancing partners early on in its existence. Care should be taken to not confuse the vintage 350 mechanical pencil that we are discussing here with either the #350 fountain pen made for the Japanese market or the M350 Vermeil fountain pen, two modern models produced in the 1990s. Read on to explore all of the 350’s many forms.
Continue readingContest: WIN A Pelikan M205 Apatite Fountain Pen & Ink Set
September 1st is always a special day for The Perch because it was on that day in 2014 that I officially launched the blog that you’re now reading. I can hardly believe that this endeavor has spanned 8 years already. I can still remember when the idea first came to me. It was when I was studying for my boards in the hospital library, distracting myself with pen research during study breaks that my “flux capacitor” moment occurred. The pen research that I was doing up until that point was simply for my own edification, but it occurred to me that others might enjoy the fruits of my fact finding as well. I found so many interesting tidbits fractured across the internet, like a puzzle that needed fitting together. Some pieces clicked easily into place and others didn’t fit at all. Being able to sort through all of that to get as complete a picture as possible has always brought me joy. What started out as a diversion from studying has now become a primary stress reliever from a very stressful career as a pulmonary and critical care physician. Being able to combine my background in science with my writing skills has been a life saver for me and a way to give back to the pen community. Over the years, I have appreciated each and every one of you that have reached out via email or who have commented on this blog. Time constraints have limited my ability to publish content as frequently as I would like but I remain committed to bringing you all of the Pelikan news as it breaks as well as release my own independently researched articles. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll even publish my research in a book format. This site, of course, will continue to run ad free and not be corrupted by solicitation or gifted products in an effort to bring you a clean and bias free experience. That is my ongoing pledge to you. I continue to take the blog’s integrity very seriously. Consequently, I don’t have the resources to run very many giveaways since they are at my own expense. Still, I have enjoyed hosting an annual contest for The Perch’s birthday so let’s do it again. This year’s giveaway is in honor of the blog’s 8th birthday. What I am offering up is a 2022 Pelikan M205 Apatite Demonstrator fountain pen and ink gift set once it becomes available in November. I have to give a special thanks to the good folks at Fritz Schimpf, a world class retailer whose assistance has made this giveaway possible. Read on to discover all of the details about how you might enter for a chance to win.
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