On Sale: Pens, Pencils, and Ephemera

Perfection is difficult to achieve in vintage pens, but this 1940 Oversize Parker Vacumatic gets close. No cracks, only light wear and incredible barrel clarity with celluloid that is on the light orange-dark yellow spectrum. No brassing. A feint barrel imprint. Close to perfect two-tone plating for the 14k gold nib. (Click the headline for a close-up.) YET, as you can see on the main photo, the name "James A. Kunkel" is engraved on the barrel. We looked up the name, and there are too many James Kunkels to know who owned this specific pen. You'll write an extra-fine line that is a bit dry but can sometimes look fine. Restored and in great working order. Museum worthy rare burgundy...yet, still a good writer. 13.5cm capped.

In 1936, Fred & Ginger lit up the silver screen in the classic "Swingtime," King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry an American divorcé, television broadcasts first began, Jesse Owens showed up the Nazis in Berlin, Joe DiMaggio was a rookie, FDR won a second term and this Parker Vacumatic standard set in burgundy was made. It was an elegant era, and this pen in many respects marks the pinnacle of art deco design. This particular set is in excellent condition. No cracks, maybe 1% brassing, no scratches, restored and working. Its two-tone 14k has some cosmetic issues. Click the headline to see close-ups. It writes an extra-fine line with a little flex but not much. The matching pencil works great in excellent condition and comes with spare 1.1mm leads. Pen measures 12.8cm capped.

Before the demonstrator craze even got started, an Italian luxury pen manufacturer knew it would be a brilliant idea to showcase its finest wares. Thus, we have the birth of the Visconti Voyager Demonstrator limited edition. Black and yellow lines add panache to the clear cap and barrel of pen number 728 of 888. Its original owner filled it with blue-black ink. We did our best to clear it out, it still is visible in some places. Its piston filler is in good working order. You'll write a nice medium line with its two-tone 18k gold nib, but it might need a little breaking in to get used to daily use once again. Your purchase includes the pen's original wooden presentation box and papers. No cracks and minimal traces of wear mar this pen's surface. 14.2cm capped.

"When Madame Pompadour was on the ballroom floor, said all the gentleman obviously, 'The lady has a well developed...personality.'" More than the bawdy lyrics sung by Dorothy Lamour in the Hope & Crosby "Road to Utopia," the real Marquise de Pompadour was the extremely clever mistress and confidant of France's King Louis XV. Her mastery of court intrigue and support of the arts remains unparalleled. In 2001 the world's top luxury brand paid homage to her with the Mont Blanc Patron of the Arts Marquise de Pompadour limited edition pens. Exquisitely designed, Mont Blanc paired with the porcelain artists at Meissen to create this pen. Click the headline for close-ups. Guaranteed authentic, our's comes complete with papers and boxes--there is a chip on the back of the wooden box. Amazingly, it was actually used. We have cleaned and flushed the pen, which works great, but there is light surface wear on the barrel with some lightly rubbed in wear spots on the piston blind cap.