Monogram Pearl and Black Fountain Pen

Black and Pearl pens are treasured by collectors for their interesting patterns, and for the lack of surviving clean examples.  Time (insert aging sacs and ink residue) has not been kind to these pens and most have discolored badly. All of the large pen makers of the 20s and 30s made them ~ most notable are the Parker Duofold, Sheaffer Balance, and Wahl Gold Seal Pearl and Black Pens.  A collector can expect to pay $ 500 and above for clean examples of the pens listed above.

This brings me to this week’s restoration.  It is a large Monogram pen in Pearl and Black that probably dates to the late 1920s, the same time that the Big Three were producing Pearl and Black beauties.  As you may recall, Monogram Fountain Pens were a house brand of Rexall Stores, made during this period by George Kraker.

Previous posts referring to Monograms are as follows:

Rexall Monogram – February 7, 2008
Pencraft – June 1, 2008

Below is a photo of the pen after taking it apart.  You can see that the parts are in good shape, aside from a stained feed and nib, as well as the gold bands and lever.  The sac and j-bar were absent from the pen after I removed the friction fit section/feed/nib assembly.  I thoroughly cleaned each piece, making certain to scrub the inside of the cap and removing all of the ink residue.  All of the gold parts cleaned up to their original luster and the pen was ready for reassembly.  As this is a large pen, a large j-bar and long size 20 sac were used and attached to the section/feed /nib.  This will guarantee a very large ink supply in the future.  I used a silicon sac to help prevent future discoloration of the barrel, which has survived quite well.

Here is a photo of the completed pen which measures a very large 5 1/2 inches closed and 6 7/8 inches posted.  The double cap band and top cap band are a nice touch to this premium Rexall brand pen.

The clip is a typical Kraker clip seen on many of his Pens (Yankee, Dixie, Belmont, and Monogram).

The nib is a very large “Everlasting” L, which I assume to be for Large.  In my April 24, 2009 post, Pencraft Chicago the Pencraft / Kraker nib was a Pencraft “L”. These nibs with sizes occur in some of his pens.  I am not certain that this nib is original to this pen, but tend to think it is, given the “L”.

Here is a photo of the imprint on the barrel.  It reads:

The Monogram Pen

NON BREAKABLE

SOLD ONLY AT The Rexall Store

Given the popularity of the Pearl and Black pattern of this pen and the fact that Kraker was still making pens for Rexall in the late 1920s,  I would guess that this pen was produced in Libertyville, IL in the late 20s by Kraker’s Pen Company.   It is a very attractive pen and the color has survived very well over the past 80 years.

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