Kaweco Colleg
1950s
About This Model
Kaweco is one of the oldest names in German fountain pen manufacturing, with roots in the late 1880s. They achieved success with ebonite pens by 1903 and published a full catalog in 1911. With Waterman's, they first brought out safety pens. Growth was spectacular until the economic crash in the mid-1920s, with Soennecken and Montblanc gaining ascendancy and other firms appearing. Kaweco could not keep up and with the Depression entered their first bankruptcy. In the pre-war 1930s, the models we know today, the Colleg, Sport, Special, Elite, and Helios appeared, all as celluloid piston-fillers. They survived the postwar years, but slipped again with the advent of cheap plastics and ballpoint pens, and experiened a second bankrupcty again in 1981. In 1995, the Gutberlet family took over its assets and re-emerged as a stationery and office supply firm. Most recently, since 2010, Kaweco has produced the first series of new models, excellent re-enactments of the earlier Sports and Dias, but with modern styling.
About This Pen
Kaweco was one of the first German fountain pen manufacturers, and through two world wars, the Depression, the rise of ballpoints and now the computerized age, is still in business but has had several owners and identities. After WWII its manufacturing returned to life with a full range of models under their prewar names, including the Colleg, a mid-priced line aimed at college students. It is, like most German pens, of black celluloid and piston-filled. It is a full-size pen — 12.6 cm long, and fits the hand very nicely. This pen was released from my personal collection and freshly restored. It’s a very nice writer, with its original responsive steel nib.
Price: $75 Sold