Italy is rife with manufacturers whose products focus on the culture of writing.  Aurora, Montegrappa, Pineider, Stipula, and Visconti are just a few that quickly come to mind.  Despite the already crowded market space, German interlopers have also done well in the region.  One such instance that comes to mind is the curious case of the M151.  In 2015, I wrote a brief piece titled “The (Short) Story of the M151” which explored from where the pen’s moniker was derived.  As it turned out, the M151 was simply a repackaged M150 Green/Black meant to be sold within the Italian market.  The name of the model arose from the company’s own internal description for the M150.  Despite the seemingly simple explanation, the pen’s marketing has suggested that there is a lot more to this model than meets the eye.  At the end of 2019, the M251 was released, destined for the same region and meant to serve as a larger companion piece to the M151.  Rather than a repackaged model, this was a unique addition to the Classic line, employing the same Green/Black color scheme as its little brother.  Regional sales literature for the M151 can be found with tag lines such as; “Everything passes…myths remain” and “A legend from the past is back.”  This piqued my curiosity.  What was so special about this little fountain pen that would elevate it to mythical status and why was it worthy of a new regional companion piece?  Was it simply a matter of overzealous marketing or was there something more to it?  To answer those questions, I enlisted the help of Mario Pagnozzi of Stilo&Stile.  Based out of Rome since 2004, his company’s mission has focused on welcoming enthusiastic, curious people to the world of handwriting.  With his help and an inquiry to Pelikan’s Italian division, the cultural connection to the M151 has been made just a little bit clearer.  Read on to learn why these two pens might hold a bit more significance for the country than they at first let on.

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