Pelikan 120 fountain pens

The Pelikan 120 was a standard school fountain pen in the 1950/60's. The Pelikan 120 has a gold-plated steel nib with several nib widths available. The serial number is engraved on the barrel (e.g. J99340), to make each pen clearly identifiable for its owner. However, there are also copies with no such number.

In 1958 Pelikan launched an advertising campaign, each student got a blue-gold pin badge for sending the serial number of his school pen to Pelikan.

Weight	Total Length	Barrel Length	Cap Length	Diameter	Ink Capacity
0.49 oz	4.92 in	3.74 in	2.36 in	0.47 in	1.5 ml
14.0 g	125 mm	95 mm	60 mm	12 mm

The 120 Deskpen was probably produced or revised at Pelikan Milano (Italy). Companies gave Deskpens to their employees giving the advantage, that it was not possible to take the pen away by mistake.

The 120 Deskpen is actually a standard 120, with two changes:

1. instead of the round cap top a brass finial with threaded holes for the mounting mechanism had been installed.
2. The piston knob was replaced by an extension.
   
   However, in contrast to other Deskpens this model´s cap is still threaded so the pen must be screwed into its mounting.

Weight	Total Length	Barrel Length	Cap Length	Diameter	Ink Capacity
0.62 oz	7.44 in	6.22 in	2.37 in	0.47 in	1.5 ml
17.7 g	189 mm	158 mm	60.1 mm	12 mm

Pelikan had already discontinued the production of the 120 in 1965. In 1973 a new edition appeared. This was manufactured by Merz & Krell and differs in some details from the original model. The filling knob is flush with the barrel as is the transition from the grip section to the barrel. The cap ring is tapered.

Merz & Krell also produced the model 120 in black, a color not being produced by Pelikan before.

The threads of the cap are also different, so the cap of an old 120 will not fit the M & K.

Weight	Total Length	Barrel Length	Cap Length	Diameter	Ink Capacity
0.49 oz	5.16 in	3.94 in	2.48 in	0.47 in	0.65 ml
14 g	131 mm	100 mm	63 mm	12 mm