Penexchange

• Home
• The "Cavalier of the Rose"
• Traveler's inkwell
• Fountain Pens for Use with Carbon paper
• Classifying Overlays
• The Toledo
• Why Piston Fillers !?
• Self-filling Pen
• The first Fountain Pens
• Many Brand Names - one Manufacturer
• Original Pelikan
• TULA-Silver-Overlays
• III. Series
• Pneumatik Fountain Pens
• How much would Grandmothers Fountain Pen be worth ?
• The Rappen-Fountain pen
• 400-400N-400NN
• IBIS 130E

III. Series

The world-wide economic crisis at the end of the 1920s made the purchasing power of most potential fountain pen customers fall dramatically. That is why it was very difficult for manufacturers of high-priced fountain pens such as Montblanc to gain new purchasers. At that time, Montblanc offered two series:

1. Their »Masterpieces« (20, 25, 30, ...) at a price of 18 to 27 Reichmarks,
2. the 12 1/2, 15, 17 1/2 models at a price of 10 to 15 Reichmarks.

In order to compensate for this decline, Montblanc tried to open up new groups of customers with a significantly less expensive series in 1932 -- the »III Series« in the price categories of 6.50 to 10 Reichmarks. This was certainly not an extraordinary strategy as such, but the accompanying advertising measures showed a lot of imagination:

Anyone only being able to afford a fountain pen of the III Series of lesser quality and limited guarantee in comparison to the Masterpiece was given the opportunity to exchange this pen for a Masterpiece within one year by paying the difference.

Montblanc summarised the advantages of this offer to their dealers as follows:

3 advantages:

1. One year's usage free of charge
2. Payment in 2 stages
3. With just one additional payment the acquisition of a Masterpiece which lasts a lifetime.«

In this fashion, Montblanc attempted even at that time to realise the idea of customer loyalty which has become generally accepted by advertising strategists.

The Series

The fountain pen of the III Series were produced in the three then-current filling systems:

• the safety fountain pen
• the push-button fountain pen
• the plunger fountain pen (only in size »b«)

The Filling System

Generally, all of the filling systems were produced with the same basic form. Parallel to the plunger fountain pens, Montblanc also produced other low-priced fountain pens, like the No. 334 with a b-nib.

The III Series was so popular in some countries that Montblanc even supplied the 334 fountain pens with an III Series imprint. These pens are very rare today and are coveted by collectors.

Martin Lehmann