Montblanc
Montblanc 149 Meisterstück (1952)Founded in 1906 by Claus-Johannes Voss, Alfred Nehemias and August Eberstein as the Simplo Filler Pen company, Montblanc International GmbH is a German manufacturer of writing instruments, watches, jewellery and leather goods. The Meisterstück name (English: ‘Masterpiece’) was used for the first time in 1924, for the top lines of fountain pens.
The oversized 149 has been Montblanc’s best fountain pen since the 1950s and has at various times gone under the name ‘Diplomat’. Jackson Pollock and John Paul II used the Montblanc 149, and then there’s the iconic photograph of John F. Kennedy and Konrad Adenauer. In the photo, Adenauer needs to sign a treaty, and Kennedy takes from his pocket the greatest German fountain pen, the Montblanc 149, and hands it to the chancellor of West Germany. A great political statement.
The 149 looks pretty much the same in 2002 as it did back in the 1950s, but there have been fundamental changes in the mechanics and materials. Hence, many collectors seek out 149s (and others from the 140 series) made in the 1950s, while second-hand examples of the more recent production often go begging.
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