The chemist Carl Hornemann founded a paint and ink company near Hanover, Germany in 1832. This would serve as the foundation for what we know today as Pelikan. The date of the company’s official founding is regarded as April 28th, 1838 because that was the occasion of their very first price list. All of the company’s anniversaries are based off of that date meaning that 2018 marks the 180th anniversary of the brand. To honor the affair, Pelikan is releasing a very limited edition fountain pen called the Spirit of 1838. We get our first glimpse of this new model thanks to the German retailer Fritz-Schimpf. You may recall similar releases in the past such as the M750 and M760 which honored the 150th anniversary in 1988. We also saw the M101N Jubilee Pen in 2013 which was a run of just 238 pens marking the company’s 175th anniversary. Now the Spirit of 1838 follows a similar vein, being released in an edition of just 180 pens.

The Spirit of 1838 will be a limited edition fountain pen based on the M1000 chassis. The pelican beak clip, fittings, and barrel will be made of sterling silver meaning this M1000 will be heavier than the standard edition models. The body of the pen is sculpted with longitudinal lines along its length. To commemorate the anniversary, the engraving “180 Years Pelikan 1838 – 2018” is applied to the barrel. Near the piston knob, the stamp Ag 925 indicates the silver content. The usual Souverän furniture is included here including a single trim ring on the section, two trim rings on the piston knob, and two cap bands. Behind the cap threads on the section sits a smoke colored ink window. The end of the piston knob is engraved with the edition number and the cap top depicts the standard single chick logo embellished with three diamonds along the nest. These are meant to represent trust, reliability, and production in Germany. The nib will be a rhodium plated 18C-750 gold with a special engraving just for the anniversary.

If the above sounds appealing, you’d better not wait too long to order since only 180 of these limited edition pens will be up for grabs. Availability is anticipated for the end of April. Due to the exclusivity of the release, you can expect to pay a hefty fee. Early pricing is around €3,000 (~$3,700) for customers in the EU. For those of us who reside in the USA, we can subtract the 19% VAT. While this is a nice looking pen, I think that the price and exclusivity will keep it out of reach for the large majority of us. Still, it’s not hard to admire this silver behemoth.