The 149 didn’t even start out on my list of ‘Grail Pens’. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever want one. But, that all changed the first time I used its little brother, the 146. Here’s my story of how I was introduced to Mont Blanc and an agonizing tale of a love affair delayed by a bit of snow.
When I first started collecting fountain pens a little more than a year ago I knew very little about Mont Blanc and thought they were overpriced. I had no appreciation for them whatsoever. I never saw myself owning one as I was mostly intriqued by vintage pens, and still am today. After 9-10 month of collecting I was first introduced to the 146 by J English Smith, and then again shortly thereafter by rroossinck. After using them something just clicked and I realized what I had been missing. After learning about Mont Blanc’s history and the quality craftsmanship that went into these pens I now had much more appreciation for them. I was able to trade several pens to my buddy for his 146 and ever since that moment my next goal was to get my hands on a 149. The 149 went on my list of Grail Pens and quickly rose to the top.
After being disappointed with not being able to find one I could afford on a couple message boards I turned to eBay and watched every Mont Blanc auction for about three weeks. I bid on several but lost, until finally I won one. Wow, my first Grail Pen! I was so excited! Now came the wait. The seller shipped it UPS so I could track it the whole way. I don’t know if that was a good thing or not. The day it was expected to arrive we got a massive blizzard. DELAYED! So, being the hopeful idiot that I am I figured it would arrive the next day. I mean, that’s what the new ‘expected delivery date’ on UPS’s website said. Well, around 6pm the following day, with no new pen in hand, I called UPS to inquire about the situation. The lady told me it would definitely be delivered tonight and that they stay out until 8-9pm. Ok, fine. A little more patience. I’m sure the delivery guy is about to knock on my door any minute. 9:30 comes and still no pen. I call again. They tell me because of all the snow some packages have been delayed. My pen was actually on a truck that was making deliveries, it just didn’t make it to my door. I requested it stay at the shipping center so I can go pick it up first thing in the morning. I try to sleep, but the sun can’t rise soon enough.
The shipping center opened at 8am. I was there at 8:15. They can’t find my package. “I’m sorry sir, I think it’s gone out on the truck.” Really? Wasn’t my call last night supposed to prevent that? She says she’ll call me when she figures out where my package is. A couple hours later she calls, “Sir, your package is here waiting for you. You can pick it up any time.” I blaze down there turning a 30 minute drive into a 15 minute Formula 1 race with my Jeep in 4-wheel drive and a foot of snow on the ground. My wife was more than a little terrified.
I finally get my package and run out to the Jeep. My wife said I looked like a little kid on Christmas morning when I pulled the pen from the box. To be honest, I felt like a little kid. I was so excited and happy and relieved to finally have it in my hands. My 149 is incredible. The 18k gold nib puts down a fantastically smooth fine line with awesome flow. This particular pen has the ‘W. Germany’ stamp on the clip ring, which I tried to show in the photo above. I’m hoping to add both sizes of the Boheme to my collection as well as some vintage 149s with flex and a platinum trimmed 146. I feel like I’ve been sucked into the vortex now. I have a mistress and she wears the white star.
