Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict. III.

The third and last article of the Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict appeared in issue 77 (nominally April 2026) of Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱). I say final because I have decided to discontinue this collaboration due to the strict internal censorship that forms part of the magazine's editorial policy.

The ostensibly subversive subject of these particular Confessions is the story of the Presidente pens marketed in Spain around 1960. The original text reads as follows:


A Very Spanish Pen (Made in Japan)

In Madrid, every Sunday an immense and ever-growing flea market takes place along Ribera de Curtidores street. And, as in most street markets, what someone else might discard is for you to buy. There, at one stall, I saw an array of unused fountain pens, neatly arranged. They were claimed to be Presidente, a minor Spanish brand legally registered by a certain Doroteo Pérez y Pérez, whose business was located at number 8, Calle del Príncipe Pío, Madrid, in 1959.

The luxury Presidente. Photo by Tommy Lanceley

In actual fact, however, those pens proved to be Platinum pens.

Further research in Spain showed that there appear to be only three models of Presidente pens, albeit with some color variations―black, grey, red, and blue. All three feature the Platinum globe logo with the letters S and N (after Shun-ichi Nakata, 中田俊一, founder of Platinum) engraved on the cap and on the nib. One of them even carries the name Platinum engraved on the nib, whereas the other two are imprinted with the brand name “PRESIDENTE” above the Platinum logo. In any event, the Spanish brand is always prominently engraved on the barrel: “PRESIDENTE / Registrada.” Inside, the filling system also bears the Spanish brand, together with instructions on how to fill the pen, written in imperfect Spanish.

Presidente and Platinum logo.

All of them are aerometric fillers―bladder type with an internal compensation tube― with nail-shaped steel nibs, very similar to the Honest models made by Platinum in the early 1950s. Those models evolved into the Honest 60 in 1956–57, when Platinum decided to say “farewell to ink bottles” and marketed the first ink cartridges in Japan, thus abandoning self-filling mechanisms.

In 2013, at the now-discontinued Mitsukoshi Stationery Festa, the seasoned Platinum craftsman Mr. Masayoshi Nakanishi (中西正好) examined my Presidente pens. He immediately recognized them as Platinum products:

“Oh, that was the luxury model! Be careful with the clip, as it is a bit fragile.”

At the same time, however, he explained that there were no company records of contacts or transactions dating so far back. Consequently, Platinum as a company could not say much―if anything―about these somehow Spanish Platinum pens: pens bearing engravings and instructions in Spanish, sometimes incorrect Spanish.

Publishing this information online prompted several fellow aficionados from around the world to share their own knowledge. We then found out that there had been other cases of foreign-branded Platinum pens besides the Spanish one. In South Africa, the brand Hifra marketed similar models dating from the 1950s, as well as more modern Platinum “pocket pens” later in the 1960s. In Greece, the brand Joker also used a couple of Platinum models in its operations. In this latter case, the pen box carried two brand names―Joker and Platinum.

Honest models by Joker (top), Hifra (middle), and Presidente (bottom).

Joker AND Platinum.

Were there more operations like these? In the absence of written records in Platinum’s archives, it is not possible to decide one way or the other. We do know, however, that such operations existed and that they had a very loose connection to Platinum in Japan.

Once again, the pen community proved to be essential in providing information beyond what official records might reveal. There is always something hidden in plain view at flea markets around the world.

I am merely the writer of this story, populated by a number of characters. Eduardo Alcalde, Miguel Huineman, Salvador Maturana, Toshiaki Sugimoto (杉本寿明), Kostas Kouvaris, Alberto Linares, and Masa Sunami (すなみまさみち) contributed by offering information and expertise.

RomilloPens Wi Toledo – Pilot (Thai) Black

Bruno Taut
January 2026 and March 17th 2026
etiquetas: Platinum, Presidente, Joker, Hifra, publicaciones

Integral Nibs

The Parker T1 briefly described on the previous text speaks of both the material –titanium-- and of the nib geometry –the integral nib conformed out the same material- of the section. And pens with this type of nib are not that numerous in the market.

Integral nibs. From top to bottom, Hero 850, Parker 50 "Falcon", Parker T1, Pilot Murex, Pilot M90, Pilot Myu-701.

Only three companies made them—Parker, Pilot and Hero. The basic models –leaving colors and cosmetic variations aside-- can be seen on the first picture.

Chronologically, these are the pens:

– Parker T1. Made between 1970 and 1972. Only one variation was produced.

– Pilot Myu-701. Produced between 1971 and 1977 (at least). Three variations were made, with the one with white stripes being rare and very expensive in the secondary market.

– Pilot Murex. 1977-1983. Three variations: black, red, and black with a digital watch on the cap.

Three of the four regular finishes of the Parker 50.

– Parker 50 “Falcon”. Produced between 1979 and 1982. Four well documented basic finishes (matte black, matte brown, steel, gold filled), and some variations based on the gold filled model. (A. LAMBROU. Fountain Pens of the World. ISBN 0-302-00668-0. P. 201).

Hero, the two pens on top, and Paidi pens.

– Hero and Paidi pens. Hero and Paidi are sister brands under the Hero Group and shared designs. Models Hero 849 and 850 and Paidi Century used the same nib and section. These are the least documented pens of the group. Unknown number of variations. Production years are uncertain, but seem to be between late 1990s and early 2000s.

– Pilot M90. Only one finish on this limited edition made in 2008 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the company. 9000 units made.

Universal with music nib – Kingdom Note Kawaratake

Bruno Taut
March 19th, 2026
etiquetas: plumín, Pilot, Parker, Hero

Titanium

I started collecting fountain pens after discovering the Pilot Myu 701. Taking that as a sign, I made a mental note to track down its natural predecessor, the Parker T1. It took me more than fifteen years to find one. In the meantime, many other pens —too many, in fact— found their way into my pockets.

Among them were several other titanium pieces : an Indian Lotus, a Chinese Fuga, and a Japanese H-Works. Implicit in that list, though absent from the picture, is the Nakaya Piccolo that the Lotus so unashamedly copied.

Each of those pens probably deserves a review of its own. Whether they will get one is another matter entirely.

Pilot Petit-1, 2nd generation ― Pilot Red

Bruno Taut
March 16th, 2026
etiquetas: Fuga, H-Works, Lotus, Parker

Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict. II.

In issue 76 (January 2026) of Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱), I published the second instalment of the Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict. On this occasion I wrote about the little-known Pilot Capless made in Brazil, a subject that has already been discussed on these pages (::1::, ::2::). For that reason --and because the relevant material is already available-- I will not be translating the original manuscript, which was written in Spanish, for... reasons.

In any case, those reasons provide a perfectly convenient excuse to release some information about these obscure pens in Spanish. English-speaking readers may refer to the previous Chronicles --linked above-- simply resort to any online translator. What we really need now is someone willing to contribute information in Portuguese and Japanese--something more substantial than the anodyne, self-censored drivel that certain pathologically timid magazines deem safe enough to publish.


La extraña Capless brasileña.

Una bitácora es, sobre todo, un mecanismo de difusión de contenidos. Pero, con el tiempo puede llegar a ser un canal de comunicación con otros aficionados. Escribir en inglés sobre el mundo estilográfico japonés, un ámbito a menudo protegido tras la muralla de su idioma, favorece esa comunicación. El resultado son consultas y comentarios enviados por aficionados a las plumas estilográficas de medio mundo. Y, a veces, las noticias son sorprendentes.

Hace unos tres años, un lector me escribió desde Brasil para contarme que tenía en su poder unas Pilot Capless fabricadas en ese país. Y hasta me envió fotos. En Tokyo consulté a los sospechosos habituales, un puñado de personas con mucha experiencia y conocimiento del universo estilográfico japonés. Entre ellos destacaba el añorado Sr. Niikura (新倉) (1942-2024), gran autoridad en Pilot. Todos reaccionamos con sorpresa y hasta escepticismo:

– Pero, ¿acaso alguna vez las Capless se fabricaron fuera de Japón? – preguntó uno de nosotros.

La Capless brasileña en su caja. Foto de Tommy Lanceley.

Trasladamos la pregunta obvia a Pilot Japón, pero la respuesta no arrojó ninguna información: Pilot no tiene registros de la producción fuera de las fronteras japonesas.

Tuvimos que esperar unos meses para poder tener alguna de esas plumas en las manos: mi lector tenía una visita pendiente a Japón y aprovechamos para organizar un pequeño encuentro alrededor de esas Capless misteriosas. Y es que en ausencia de información oficial no hay nada como leer la pluma para empezar a entender de qué hablamos.

En términos generales, tal y como se puede ver en la fotos, la Capless brasileña pertenece a la serie C-300GW comercializada incialmente en Japón a partir de 1964. Pero hay detalles en ella que la diferencian claramente del modelo japonés. El ejemplar brasileño emplea un plumín de acero, sin fecha de producción, mientras que la versión japonesa utiliza un plumín de oro de 14 quilates, acompañado del logo JIS (Japan Industrial Standards) y del año y mes de fabricación. Los anillos centrales del cuerpo son también diferentes: cóncavo el japonés, levemente convexo el brasileño.

Plumín de acero para la brasileña, de oro para la japonesa. Foto de Tommy Lanceley.

El detalle más revelador, sin embargo, reside en los grabados. En el cuerpo de la versión brasileña puede leerse “PILOT / IND. BRASILEIRA”, y en su plumín, la abreviatura “PILOT / IND. BRAS.”. Por el contrario, la Capless japonesa exhibe el habitual “MADE IN JAPAN” en ambos lugares. El origen brasileño queda, por tanto, aclarado.

La Capless brasileña en el centro. Nótense las diferencias en el anillo central. Foto de Tommy Lanceley.

Así que, efectivamente, nos encontramos con una pluma semejante pero también diferente a un modelo bien conocido en Japón. Y si bien Pilot cuenta con una factoría en São Paulo desde 1954, no sabemos si esta Capless se fabricó íntegramente en Brasil o si simplemente se ensambló en Brasil a partir de piezas enviadas desde Japón. Los grabados “IND. BRASILEIRA” y la ausencia de la marca JIS, sin embargo, apuntan a la primera hipótesis.

Por otro lado, ¿durante qué años se produjo y se vendió? ¿Se vendió exclusivamente en el mercado brasileño o llegó a otros países de América del Sur? ¿Cuántas se fabricaron? ¿En qué colores se ofreció?

En fin, muchas preguntas sin respuesta inspiradas por una humilde pluma que nadie parece conocer. Una pluma que, por otro lado, no es más que una nota al pie de página de la historia inacabada de Pilot en general y de la Capless en particular. Pero es la rareza lo que de verdad atrae al coleccionista. Ahora bien, esta Capless brasileña quedaría arrinconada en un cajón ignorada por todos si no hubiera un mínimo de información pública sobre ella.

Por ello crear y mantener canales de comunicación a través de publicaciones impresas y redes sociales es importante para coleccionistas e historiadores. Y es que hay plumas e información que no aparece en los registros oficiales de las marcas y hay mucho que la memoria colectiva de los aficionados y coleccionistas puede ofrecer.

Universal with music nib – Kingdom Note Kawaratake

Bruno Taut
November 2025 and March 10th 2026
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless, Brasil, publicaciones