The first student pens appeared in Pelikan's offer in the 1960s. The Pelikano quickly became a great success among both teachers and students.
In Germany, two Hanoverian companies, Pelikan and Geha, simultaneously entered the market with fountain pens designed for schoolchildren. Geha used a special ink storage solution for its own student pens, while Pelikan supported the development of its model aimed at schoolchildren with research.
The launch of student pens
The legendary reliable Pelikan 120 fountain pen appeared on the school fountain pen market in the mid-1950s. The 120 model was essentially a simplified (let's say: cheaper) version of a piston fountain pen designed for adults, equipped with a gold-plated steel nib. In the classical sense, it cannot be called a student pen, as it was not specifically developed with the needs of students in mind, but alongside its reliability, it can also be credited that the Hanoverian company entered the market with the Pelikano model family by gathering experiences related to the Pelikan 120 model.
The national product test of the Pelikan 120 model, the collection and evaluation of feedback, is an important precursor to the history of the new model. The birth of the Pelikano was a true example of community product development. The Hanoverian company developed the new model by consulting thousands of teachers. Pelikan left nothing to chance: they decided on the pen's color combination based on the survey results. They only deviated from the standard color in the third year of production (in 1963) when they launched the black-bodied Pelikano as an export version. (The model, which was available with an unchanged silver-colored cap, was produced for only one year). The only known prototype is the green version of the Pelikan Model 1.
The Pelikano fountain pen debuted on March 22, 1960, and became an extremely popular writing instrument among students. The pen's greatest novelty was its dosing: thanks to the cartridge filling system, children could avoid accidents caused by spilled ink.
Pelican Model 1
The Pelikano Model 1 was the first cartridge fountain pen in Pelikan's range. The plastic pen body received a silver-colored aluminum cap. The steel nib was covered to make the pen as safe as possible for children to use.
During product development, designers also considered the design of existing models. An inspirational predecessor is the Pelikan P15/25 model, which also has a concealed nib.
The nib and ink guide used in the Pelikano Model 1 were developed by the mysterious Kovács Theodor Hungarian engineer back in 1958 for the P1 piston fountain pen. The components received minimal modifications in the case of the Pelikano to better fit the cartridge filling system.
The ergonomically designed pen body is quite large, yet light and surprisingly balanced. Thanks to its size, a spare cartridge can also be comfortably placed inside the pen body. The screw-on, silver-colored cap has a conical design, and its unmarked cap received the same color as the pen body. The fountain pen features Pelikan's characteristic beak clip in a chrome steel version.
This model does not yet have an ink window; only the improved Pelikano fountain pens launched in 1965 received a transparent ink level indicator window.
Fountain pen with extras
The Pelikano fountain pen was also available with a red or anthracite gray leather case. Inside the asymmetrically designed case, there was a foldable pen holder held by an elastic band. This allowed the fountain pen to rest comfortably between two classes. The zippered leather case also contained a standard Pelikan ink cartridge holder paper box, ensuring that with the cartridges placed in the pen body, a total of 8 cartridges provided that the Pelikano would truly be a reliable companion for students.
Nothing indicates the success of the Pelikano Model 1 better than the fact that over 1 million units were sold during its 4 years of production (1960-1964).
Are you interested in the topic?
Read more:
Csaba's further articles in the Budapest Pen Show community magazine. here.
