New seals for Pelikan 100N, 400, 120, and 140

Although we started selling replacement seals for Pelikans some time ago, we were never entirely satisfied with them. They were larger than the originals and softer, and did not always fit securely enough onto the piston shaft -- to the point that in some cases they had to be glued in place. The first ones were also bright blue, which looked nothing like the originals when viewed through the ink window, and the later ones weren't much better, being off-white.

We decided we could do better, and now the results are in: seals just like the originals, that fit securely, and made in both clear and black -- the latter giving an accurate original appearance to Pelikan 100N pens equipped with the early black synthetic seals.

They are now listed in our catalog, and will shortly be listed on eBay as well. Resellers interested in wholesale quantities should contact us directly for pricing.

UPDATE: Most earlier Pelikan 100N pens have a barrel that is slightly larger (0.1-0.2mm) inside than the 9.0mm standard for the later, acrylic-barreled 100Ns and the 400, 120, 140, etc. For these pens, we now have oversize seals in translucent green.

Dating a Waterman instruction sheet

George Kovalenko has been trying for some time to pin down exactly when Waterman first offered pens in red hard rubber. He has managed to narrow down the likely point of introduction to somewhere between November 1906 and February 1907, as is explained on his pen history blog. So when the pen below crossed my path, the instruction sheet accompanying it caught my eye as fitting neatly into this chronology.

The pen is a smooth 0512 1/2, in a Christmas box with a gift inscription dated 1910. The instruction sheet gives much space to promoting the new "Clip-Cap", and from the way the clip is represented and from the range of materials offered, the date must be right around 1906.

This is also consistent with the listing of spare parts on the same sheet, shown below. Parts are listed as plain, chased, or mottled -- Cardinal is not mentioned. Both #3 and #7-size pens are still in the lineup, as are the desk pens (eyedroppers with long, tapered barrels, too long to be carried in a pocket).

Intriguingly, the parts list includes two models I have never seen nor heard of, oversize taper-caps in #7 and #8-size.