Montblanc Vintage 1930–1939 Pix push pencils of the 1930s

At Montblanc only the push pencils are called Pix. They had been invented by Leistenschneider; Montblanc acquired the rights including the name in 1934 and launched the first Montblanc Pix in the same year. In the 1930s the numbers range from 1 to 4 and 71 to 92 to the metal Pix 710 to 760.

Invention and takeover

The Pix push pencil had been developed by Leistenschneider — according to the illustrated book “Meisterstücke for the art of writing” a young manufacturer named August Leistenschneider. It was made in the Druckfüllbleistift-Fabrik Düsseldorf and came onto the market at the end of 1933. A newspaper article of 1934 pointed out three advantages:

• it advances the lead close behind the tip and clamps it, so that it neither turns nor wobbles
• only a small remnant of each lead is lost
• it can be operated with one hand

Volume I also shows the forerunners of 1933–1934: Leistenschneider’s first model in black (12.5 cm), green and red marbled Pix that were sold for only a few months, and a black pencil as a sample for the later Montblanc Pix.

Until then Montblanc had no usable push pencil: the OB of 1924 had not been technically mature, and other available patents did not meet the company’s own standards. In 1934 the management acquired the rights to the Pix including the name, and in the same year the Montblanc Pix was launched.

Leistenschneider made a guaranteed minimum sales volume a condition. To reach it, Montblanc offered the Pix No. 92 in 1934 as an inexpensive entry model, the “Volkspix”. Production in Hamburg was set up by Kressel, a former employee of Leistenschneider, who later managed the entire production together with Schwarting.

How the mechanism works

An advertising leaflet of 1934 explains the technology: a refilling device and a feed clutch bring lead after lead to the tip. The clutch works without spring pressure and grips the lead so close to the tip that it is guided almost to the end; the last piece is still held by the elastic, tangentially slit bronze tip. The whole mechanism sits in a brass casing, and the moving parts are made to ± 1/100 mm.

It was protected by German patents, pending patents and the registered design D.R.G.M. 1296243 for the tip. The push button of many Pix reads “D.R.P. 569824” (photos of the Pix L72; dealer information at penboard; Fountain Pen Network post of 29 July 2013). The lead chamber holds ten leads of 45 mm.

The Pix clicks audibly when pressed; according to the Diary this contributed to its success, and the name soon became the epitome of the push pencil. Only the push pencils were called Pix, a pencil with a twist mechanism is not a Pix (forum post of 22 November 2006). According to the German text of “Collectible Stars” I Montblanc fitted the original mechanism until well into the 1950s. A defective Pix mechanism cannot be repaired, only replaced.

Advertising, catalogues and markets

The advertising gives different figures for how far the lead reserve goes — 2.3 km of writing or about half a year (leaflet of 1934), 1½ km (advertisement in the Diary), 1.57 km (advertisement of 1934). The number of patents varies likewise: twelve at home and abroad in one advertisement, seventeen on a poster for Christmas 1936. Montblanc gave a ten-year guarantee, according to a poster in volume I and the illustrated book.

The leaflet of 1934 presents eight versions and recommends the Pix with a rose pattern to ladies as a companion to their Meisterstück fountain pen:

• a basic model for everyone
• a long, thick shape for people who write a lot
• a format for gentlemen
• a slim long format
• a short format for the waistcoat pocket
• a gift version and a luxury version for waistcoat pocket and handbag

A catalogue of 1939 for the Stöffhaas shops still shows the Pix No. L 72 (Fountain Pen Network post of 8 January 2011). According to a Fountain Pen Network post of 29 July 2013 the Pix L71 and L72 complemented the Meisterstück 132 to 139, the 72 and the 82 the second series and the 92 the third series; sales catalogues of the time show the third series together with the Pix 92 (Fountain Pen Network post of 17 August 2013).

For Italy there were Pix with the imprint “Fabbricata in Germania”, for example a 72 G, and metal Pix marked “Pix Brevettato” with the Italian rolled-gold hallmark “18 K.R.” (dealer information at penboard).

The Pix 1 to 4, 71 to 74, 81 to 83 and 92

The first Montblanc Pix carried the numbers 1 to 4 in 1934–1935, which became the 71 to 74. With a cap top of gold-coloured metal they were called L1 to L4, later 71L to 74L in the tables and L71 to L74 in the captions and notes. The 71 is 12 cm long and 1.2 cm thick, the 72 of the same length 1.0 cm, the 73 measures 9.5 cm, the 74 8 cm; an advertisement of 1934 promotes four sizes.

The 72 had the most versions:

• 1934–1936 with a teardrop clip, 1936–1947 with a papyrus clip, from 1938 also with a coloured push button in blue, red, violet, yellow or green
• 72 G with one barrel ring (1934–1943, 1938–1939 with white gold trim) and the short K72G (11 cm, 1936–1938)
• 72 S, hatched (1934–1937)
• 72 E with a rose pattern (1934–1936)
• 72 lg, long, at 13 or 13.8 cm (1936–1940)
• 72-2 with two barrel rings (1937–1941, in coral red mostly sold in Denmark)
• 72 PL, black-and-silver striped (1936–1941, at the end with white rolled-gold trim)

S and E denote the surface, as on the Meisterstück pens of those years; what G and GO mean is not explained in the book. The 81, 82 and 83 (13.5, 12.5 and 10 cm) took 2 mm leads; the 82 ran until 1953, the other two until 1936 and 1937.

The 92, the “Volkspix”, has an engraved star. Volume I lists it without clip and with a silver-coloured tip for 1935–1943, long as the 92 lg at 13.2 cm for 1935–1936. As the 92 GO it came with chromed trim until 1943 and with gilded trim until 1953 — until 1952 also as No. 392 —, in 1935–1937 also in blue, brown, grey or burgundy marbled, malachite green, azurite blue, black-and-silver striped and coral red.

According to the Diary a red top on the 92 marked a red lead from 1937 to 1940.

According to the collectiblestars.com database the black Pix are of hard rubber, the 72 PL and the coloured 92 GO of celluloid, and the number is on the barrel end. maxpens.de shows a 72 for export without a number imprint.

The metal Pix 710 to 760

The metal Pix came eight-sided as the 710 (12 cm) and 720 (9.5 cm) with a diameter of 0.85 cm, round as the 730 (12 cm) and 740 (9.5 cm) and six-sided as the 750 (12 cm) and 760 (9.5 cm) with a diameter of 1.05 cm. Volume I lists versions of the 720, 750 and 760 from 1934, most from 1936 or 1938; some ran only until 1942 or 1943, others until 1953 or 1955. The heading of the 710 gives 1934–1942, but its rows only begin in 1936.

The metal Pix were made of silver hallmarked 835 or 900, of rolled gold or of Alpacca, for special customers of 585 gold; the clips carry the imprints “Alpacca”, “Double” or “Walzgold”. More than 20 guilloches are known, many made to customer order, and there is no complete survey. In advertising drawings of 1936 they carry designations from “Gravur 1” to “Gravur 7” (engraving 1 to 7). According to the collectiblestars.com database the metal Pix carry no number.

In 1934–1936 the 750 in 585 gold and in silver had a clip engraved “PIX PATENT” and an enamelled star. The book regards two silver 750 with a rose or leaf pattern and an unusual ball clip, an eight-sided 730 in silver-coloured metal and a silver Pix only 7.5 cm long as prototypes. A 710 in rolled gold existed with a larger top so that it would fit in a pocket diary.

For the push button volume I gives a form with an enamelled star until 1936 and a different one afterwards (1936–1953), for the clips the spade clip (1934–1936), the diamond clip (1936–1953) and the tie clip (1938–1955).

“The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide” also shows lady-size Pix in rolled gold (1937–1950 and 1937–1939), streamlined Pix in 14 ct gold (1936–1939) and in sterling silver (1936–1950) as well as Pix in sterling silver (1937–1950). According to volume II gold and rolled-gold Pix of 1935 to 1955 cannot be fully classified for lack of documents.

Photos on this website and what came next

Photos on this website show a Pix 72 in black with a gold-coloured clip, a Pix L72 with cap top and centre ring of gold-coloured metal — according to forum posts the model for the Writers Edition Voltaire of 1995 (Fountain Pen Network post of 6 April 2014) — and a silver metal Pix with barleycorn guilloche whose number cannot be seen in the photos. In Denmark the green marbled 72 n was made from 1937 (Production in Denmark).

How the Pix continued is described on the pages Pix of the 1940s and Pix of the 1950s; there the L after the number stands for the long version, whereas on the Pix of the 1930s it stands for the metal top. Several numbers denote other instruments at other times: 1 to 4 also twist pencils, 72, 82 and 92 fountain pens in the 1960s, 72 and 82 Chromatik ballpoints in the 1970s.