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 variatiosn 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

Madrid 2026

I did not want to keep talking about pen shows and similar events. I thought I had already written a tad too much on the matter, but about two weeks ago Pens and Friends, the organizers of the Madrid Pen Show, announced that they were stepping down from that role. The consequences are obvious—as of today, there will not be a 22nd edition of the Madrid Pen Show in 2026. Is there any hope in the form of a new organizer?

Ten years ago...

Back in November 2025, in the aftermath of the last edition, I wrote a text explaining what I saw as a decline in the event. In summary, I argued that the Madrid Pen Show had two main problems—an ageing public and an expensive city—and these are bound to remain for a while regardless of the organizers. Still, I would like to offer my two cents’ worth of reflections on how a new team could approach a renewed version of the Madrid Pen Show:

1 ・Different dates.
In the not-so-distant past, there was a global calendar of pen shows. According to it, Madrid was held on the third weekend of November -occasionally on the second-, and following that schedule was key to attracting some important dealers. However, new pen events have crowded the calendar and scheduled their shows whenever they see fit.

In this new context, Madrid could adopt the same strategy in order to reduce organizational costs.

2 ・A smaller and shorter event.
With the same goal of reducing costs, the three-day event of 2025 could be shortened to a single day with a smaller number of dealers.

3 ・Attracting new audiences.
The new event should also aim to attract younger and new audiences. Marketing through social media and expanding beyond fountain pens could serve this purpose.

4 ・Local and professional organization.
The organization must be based in Madrid, as it is hardly feasible to organize such an event remotely in Spain. It should also aim to be professional rather than relying solely on the enthusiasm and personal commitment of a small number of individuals.

Announcement on Facebook, January 15th 2026.

For now, however, Madrid has no pen show. But does this city deserve one? Only time will tell.

And I promise I did not intend to write about events for a while…

Parker T1 – Faber-Castell Königsblau

Bruno Taut
January 28th, 2026
label: evento, Madrid, mercado

Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict. I.

Last September I started a collaboration with the magazine Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱) under the generic title “Confessions of a Spanish Pen Addict”. My first text was this piece “East Meets West” on some old topic included on these Crónicas Estilográficas you are now reading.

Repetitive as this text might be, it can also work as a contrast to the new ways seen in Istanbul that I described on my previous text.


East Meets West

My relationship with fountain pens started in high school in Spain. My first workhorse was a plasticky Waterman Jif —an excellent, even if simple, scholar fountain pen.

Waterman Jif.

The hobby came after years of using fountain pens of all kinds —good and bad, smooth and scratchy. Already living in Japan I needed a new tool to write with. I made an Internet search for information about pens in Tokyo and it gave me my first insight on Japanese fountain pens by the hand of the Pilot Myu 701. This beautiful pen triggered my interest for pens in general. Then I digged deeper. That was about twenty years ago. And four years later, I started my blog “Crónicas Estilográficas” where I mostly write about Japanese fountain pens.

Pilot Myu 701.

I attended my first pen show in 2009. It was the sixth edition of the Madrid Pen Show, the pen show of my hometown. It was a wonderful experience: an endless collection of pens and a generous community of enthusiasts willing to share their knowledge. The event gathered about 50 dealers and about 1000 visitors during three days in november.

Since then, I have visited many more pen shows, and I have gained some experience in navigating them, as they are always overwhelming: so many pens and so many dealers, but also so little money.

Madrid Pen Show in 2024.

But I live in Japan, and the scenario here is very different. At that time, 2010-15, there were frequent pen meetings in the Tokyo area –and in Japan in general. They were common, but also small: about a couple of dozen participants at most, and not that many pens for sale.

It was only in 2018 that Tokyo witnessed something resembling a true pen show: the Tokyo International Pen Show, better known as TIPS. Since that year, TIPS has been held every autumn and has grown steadily in reputation and attendance. But is it truly comparable to the grand pen shows of Madrid, London, or Utrecht, to name just a few?

European pen shows are, at their core, about fountain pens. Of course, there are always some dealers offering paper, ink, and other accessories, but these are secondary. The fountain pen is the king. And perhaps because of that focus, attendees are mostly middle-aged or older, and predominantly male.

By contrast, TIPS and other events of the type in Japan are broader in scope —they celebrate stationery culture in general. At these events, fountain pens, mostly new, are only a very small portion of what is on display. The majority of tables feature almost anything but pens: notebooks, fancy paper, stickers, ink stamps, masking tapes, and, above all, new inks. The visitors are also very different: younger, often in their twenties and thirties, and with a strong presence of women.

Tokyo International Pen Show, TIPS, in 2019.

As interesting as these events are, they might not be the primary destination for fountain pen lovers in search of unique pens in Japan. Instead, such collectors could do much better by looking to the smaller groups of aficionados whose regular gatherings, though modest in scale, are specifically dedicated to fountain pens.

Reagardless of its commercial focus, the example of TIPS poses an important question: how sustainable is the European model for pen shows? Their audience may be loyal and relatively wealthy, but they are also aging, and there is hardly a new generation of pen lovers ready to take over. Pen show organizers in Europe may then need to look at events like TIPS for inspiration, especially when it comes to attracting younger customers.

On the other hand, the TIPS model is not without problems. Its very broad scope, particularly in a country so rich in stationery goods as Japan, makes it easy to replicate. In fact, in recent years we have seen a proliferation of similar stationery markets and fairs. At times, it has seemed as though there was one such event almost every month. Is there room for so many? To stand out, organizers might want to study the European model, where specialization and focus provide a clear identity.

Ultimately, my only wish is to keep attending these gatherings, both in Europe and in Japan, for many years to come. Pen shows —whether in Madrid, Hamburg or Tokyo— are enjoyable events where a personal passion becomes communal. But for this to happen, the shows themselves must adapt, evolve, and survive.

Pilot Elabo – Pilot Black

Bruno Taut
August 25th and December 31st, 2025
etiquetas: evento, mercado, Madrid, Tokyo, publicaciones

Crossroads

I can count up to eight pen shows (but what is a pen show, anyway?) held this past November—Tokyo, Istanbul, Madrid, Budapest, Paris, Melbourne, Singapore, and Bologna. But for the sake of this text, I will focus my attention on just three of them: the Tokyo International Pen Show (Nov 1–3), Pen Fest Istanbul (Nov 8–9), and the Madrid Pen Show (Nov 14–16).

I will begin by stating that I attended only two of them—Tokyo and Madrid. As I have often said on these pages and even in the printed publication Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱), they are two primary examples of the basic models of pen shows—the Western and the East Asian. And they went as expected: plenty of stationery in Tokyo and a strong presence of vintage pens in Madrid. Both were successful events.

In Tokyo, about 150 dealers attracted over 3,000 visitors in three days (entry fees ranged from JPY 1,000—about EUR 6—to JPY 3,000 per day, or JPY 5,000 for a three-day pass; table fee: JPY 40,000, or EUR 225). Everything looked business as usual. The formula is well established, and it works. Limited as it is in the vintage and used pen area, TIPS has the merit of attracting small companies to display their goods to a mildly international audience. The only drawback might be the relatively small number of visitors compared to the large number of dealers, as well as the proliferation of similar events in Tokyo. The good part? The exhibition area is never crowded.

TIPS 2025.

In Madrid, over 1,500 visitors attended an event with around 60 dealers (free entry; EUR 360 per table). However, attendance figures in Madrid must be taken with a pinch of salt, as a free-access event makes accurate counting more difficult.

Still, the Madrid Pen Show showed some signs of exhaustion, as if that model had already reached its full potential and could only decline from here. The reasons are both circumstantial and structural.

Madrid has become a very expensive city, and for the first time in years the organisers are reporting some losses. The cost of the city also deterred many regulars from attending the event—accommodation, some said, was prohibitively expensive. But the main problem is the age of the regular attendee. We are old, and there is hardly a younger generation of aficionados ready to take over and generate the necessary demand.

Madrid Pen Show 2025.

Madrid, I believe, is at a crossroads—the formula that has worked for 21 editions may no longer be the right one in 2025. And the way out of this situation might be found in Istanbul.

Pen Fest Istanbul, now in its fourth edition, showed some remarkable numbers: 63 dealers and about 8,000 visitors in just two days (entry fee: TRY 500—EUR 10; table fee: TRY 40,000—EUR 800).

But what is more interesting from the outside is the combination of the two basic pen show models in a single event. As we can see in Miroslav Tichsler’s video, Istanbul offered new and old pens, stationery, pen fixers, and nib tuners—an exciting mix indeed.

Penkala´s video of the 2025 Pen Fest Istanbul.

Istanbul, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, might very well represent the future of pen shows: the sweet spot between the declining Western tradition and the rising force of the Eastern aficionado.

Hongdian N6 Long Knife– Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
December 3rd, 2025
etiquetas: evento, mercado, Madrid, Tokyo, Istanbul