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Lot 1100
MONTBLANC: Rare No. 4K Octogonal 14K Solid Gold Propelling Pencil, c.1926
16 June 2015, 10:00 PDT
San FranciscoSold for US$2,125 inc. premium
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MONTBLANC: Rare No. 4K Octogonal 14K Solid Gold Propelling Pencil, c.1926
Octagonal No. 4K propelling pencil, hallmarked 585 (14K solid gold), plain surface with engraved Montblanc emblem, domed top with white enamel star. 103mm. Excellent condition with one very tiny ding. Rare.
Jens Rösler comments:
"This incredibly rare pencil was discovered in an old cigar box in my grandmother's cellar. My grandmother, Annemarie Rösler (daughter of Montblanc founder C.J. Voss), told me that this and other gold pencils were given to her father as payment during the economic crisis of 1929-1931, when Montblanc was struggling to save money. After the Second World War, many of these "salary" pencils were exchanged for butter on the black market. One gold pencil was equivalent to 1 kg of butter, enough to survive for one week! Solid gold Montblanc pencils from that time are extremely rare in any condition. This example is mint except for one barely visible ding, and may be the best one in existence."
Provenance: From the Jens Rösler Montblanc Collection.
-Wallrafen, Stefan & Jens Rösler. Collectible Stars I: Montblanc 1908-1947. [Cologne: 2014], p. 156 (similar pencil pictured).
Jens Rösler comments:
"This incredibly rare pencil was discovered in an old cigar box in my grandmother's cellar. My grandmother, Annemarie Rösler (daughter of Montblanc founder C.J. Voss), told me that this and other gold pencils were given to her father as payment during the economic crisis of 1929-1931, when Montblanc was struggling to save money. After the Second World War, many of these "salary" pencils were exchanged for butter on the black market. One gold pencil was equivalent to 1 kg of butter, enough to survive for one week! Solid gold Montblanc pencils from that time are extremely rare in any condition. This example is mint except for one barely visible ding, and may be the best one in existence."
Provenance: From the Jens Rösler Montblanc Collection.
-Wallrafen, Stefan & Jens Rösler. Collectible Stars I: Montblanc 1908-1947. [Cologne: 2014], p. 156 (similar pencil pictured).