Every few years I cycle between three sets of pens: modern 139 pens (Dumas, Hemingway ,YoTGD), modern 149 demonstrators, and Nakaya Dorsal Fins. I write with my pens so if I don’t use them I sell them (and often end up rebuying them).
Over the past few years, another major change to my writing rotation has been incorporating 1.5mm rollerball and Zoom rollerball pens. This is causing me to shrink my fountain pen writing rotation.
I am selling a 149 demonstrator that Richard Binder ground to a Waverly XF nib. Richard has written a fair amount on the Waverly grind. I can only agree with him that this is my favorite nib to write with.
I believe a fair price for this 149 Demonstrator is $5,250. Richard is only doing work at a few pen shows each year, and is no longer taking mail-in work. I think of this pen as being more rare for the nib than the demonstrator itself, and 149 demonstrators are indeed rare. My price includes shipping in the US.
I can send the pen to a well-known pen expert in Germany to disassemble and clean before sending it to you; and at that time you could pick clear sealant or pink goop.
I would also gladly have a zoom call so you could evaluate the pen more carefully if you would like.
Paypal, check, or wire transfer are my preferred methods of payment.
Given my use case, I can’t think of anything I would want to trade for. I have some interest in another Hemingway or YoTGD, and I am always searching for a YoTGD pen stand.
If you would like more pictures or information, please just ask. I have bought and sold many MBs. I know a lot of people and we likely have friends in common.
My belief that $5,250 is a fair price for this pen is demonstrably incorrect, since this post generated 200+ views but no PMs with an interest to purchase. I have always thought of these demonstrators in the league of Patron 888 pens, but a price is simply what a buyer and seller agree to.
With this post, I am revising the selling price to $4,750. Thank you for looking.
It's a great looking pen! Do you know who made it, since I believe MB didn't do demonstrator 149s?
Edited to add: Aha, I've found the OP's earlier post (2020) and there was a few of them. It appears MB did indeed make a VERY few demonstrators. Sean, I'd be interested to know how one tells the factory ones from, say, Torelli's work, since I assume you did your own research before buying these ones . . .
Thanks,
Ralf
Last edited by ralfstc; January 28th, 2023 at 04:18 PM.
Thanks for your note. There is a thread on FPN that began in 2010 which details my journey in collecting these 149 demonstrators. I owned one Torelli demonstrator. In the hand, the difference was immediately noticeable because MB's parts are injection-molded and Torelli's are (I assume) turned on a lathe. Torelli's 149 was "prettier" than any of the nine MB 149 demonstrators I have owned. Probably because it was not injection molded, it didn't have the imperfections that every one of the MB 149 demonstrators has had. One thing I really like about the MB 149 demonstrators is that they fit in a MB 149 pen stand (which is understandable since the components are injection molded on the same machines as the normal 149s). Torelli's 149 demonstrator did not fit in the MB 149 stand and that is why I sold it (many years ago). The solid platinum 149 also did not fit in the normal MB 149 stand; I have a thread on that somewhere too, but its parts looked standard but they were not.
I have bought all of my demonstrators from two German collectors well known in the pen world. Well from them and I have bought many demonstrators back from the people I sold them too. I have one demonstrator (which is not even the nicest one) that I have bought back twice. I have promised my family I won't sell that one again since it is inevitable I would have to buy it back.
Thank you Ralf. When I first got into the 149 Demonstrators, I did not think they could have been gifts from MB because each one just had too many imperfections. And i know enough about manufacturing (and injection molding) that I could never understand how there could be so few of them if they were gifts from MB. So my initial assumption was that these escaped from the factory with the help of a few well-connected and passionate insiders. Years after I had owned five of them I bought a few that came with pictures showing the president of MB giving them away. What is undeniable about the ones I have owned is that no two are identical, and they are a hodgepodge of parts. In this way, they are unlike any comparable demonstrator I can think of. And that should cause some caution on the part of any would-be buyer.
Montblanc 149 Clear Demonstrator
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