Pelikan is a historic German stationery, writing-instrument, ink, art-materials, and office-supplies brand, best known for its fountain pens, inks, school stationery, drawing materials, and its distinctive pelican logo. Its roots go back to Hanover, Germany, in the 19th century, and the company considers 28 April 1838 its official founding date.

Today, Pelikan operates as part of the Pelikan Group, whose portfolio also includes brands such as Herlitz and Susy Card. The group says it has more than 1,600 employees, 17 local sales organizations, and four factories, with products sold internationally. 1

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Quick facts

Pelikan’s history begins with Carl Hornemann, a chemist who established a factory producing paints and inks in Hanover.

Hornemann began the business in 1832, but Pelikan uses the date of its earliest surviving price list—28 April 1838—as its official founding date. Consequently, the company celebrates its anniversaries from 1838 rather than 1832. 3

The original business was therefore not primarily a fountain-pen company. It was essentially an artist’s-color and ink manufacturer.

This origin explains something important about Pelikan’s later identity: writing instruments were only one part of a much broader tradition encompassing ink, drawing, painting, education and stationery.

A decisive turning point came with Günther Wagner.

Wagner joined the company as a chemist and plant manager and eventually took over the business in 1871. In 1878, the company adopted a pelican emblem based on Wagner’s family coat of arms. 1

This is the origin of the Pelikan brand name and visual identity.

The pelican wasn’t originally selected simply because it was an attractive animal. It came from the Wagner family heraldry, making the logo a family symbol that subsequently became a commercial trademark.

The pelican with its chicks became one of Germany’s oldest registered trademarks; Pelikan dates the trademark registration to 27 November 1878.

This is one of the most interesting aspects of the brand’s history: the logo predates the modern Pelikan fountain pen by more than 50 years.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Pelikan expanded from its original paints-and-inks business into a much broader range of office and artistic products.

These included products associated with:

• Ink
• Drawing and painting
• Copying
• Stamping
• Gluing
• Erasing
• Office supplies
• Educational materials

Pelikan’s Indian ink, introduced in the late 19th century, became an important product. The company also expanded internationally, with representatives and distribution activities reaching markets outside Germany.

By the early 20th century, Pelikan was therefore evolving from a chemical/ink manufacturer into something much closer to the full stationery company that consumers recognize today.

Education became a particularly important part of Pelikan’s identity.

The company published Der Pelikan, a magazine associated with art education, beginning in the early 20th century. Pelikan’s historical materials describe it as supporting painting and drawing lessons and providing ideas concerning art, techniques and materials.

This educational orientation eventually became extremely important for the development of Pelikan’s school products.

Rather than simply selling writing instruments, Pelikan increasingly positioned itself around the idea of helping people learn to write and create.

That philosophy can still be seen in products such as the Pelikano and griffix systems.

One of the most important dates in the company’s history is 1929.

Pelikan introduced its first fountain pen with a patented piston-filling system.

This was a major technological step. Instead of relying on an eyedropper or a disposable/refillable ink reservoir, a piston mechanism allowed the user to draw ink directly into the pen from a bottle.

The advantages included:

• Larger ink capacity
• Convenient filling
• Controlled ink flow
• Less mess
• Easy reuse
• Compatibility with bottled ink

The piston-filler would become one of Pelikan’s defining technologies and remains central to its reputation among fountain-pen enthusiasts.

Pelikan subsequently became particularly famous for its piston-filling fountain pens.

The company’s premium fountain pens eventually evolved into the famous Souverän family.

The combination of:

piston filling + striped barrel + distinctive clip + pelican logo + interchangeable nibs

became one of the recognizable visual and technical signatures of Pelikan.

Pelikan is also unusual among major fountain-pen manufacturers because it has historically produced its own fountain-pen nibs rather than simply purchasing them from a specialist outside manufacturer.

One of Pelikan’s strongest visual identities is the green-striped fountain-pen barrel.

The classic appearance generally combines:

• Translucent green/black striped material
• Dark green cap
• Gold-colored or silver-colored trim depending on model
• Pelican cap emblem
• Distinctive Pelikan clip
• Piston-filling mechanism

The striped barrel is particularly associated with the company’s premium Souverän pens.

It has become so closely associated with Pelikan that a fountain pen with a striped Pelikan barrel can often be recognized even without seeing the brand name.

Pelikan did not concentrate only on expensive writing instruments.

In 1960, it introduced the Pelikano, a fountain pen designed specifically for students. The development involved cooperation between writing educators and fountain-pen designers.

This was strategically important because it established a product philosophy very different from that of a luxury pen manufacturer.

Pelikan could serve both:

a child learning handwriting

and

an experienced fountain-pen collector.

The Pelikano became one of the company’s classic educational products and helped reinforce Pelikan’s reputation as a brand concerned with handwriting education.

During the 1970s, Pelikan worked with educators to develop a simplified handwriting system for beginners. The company’s history identifies this as another expression of its educational expertise.

This eventually led to an important concept behind Pelikan’s school products:

A writing instrument should help the child learn correct handwriting technique.

That philosophy is particularly evident in later products such as griffix.

Although fountain pens are probably Pelikan’s most internationally recognizable products among collectors, the company’s product portfolio is considerably broader.

Pelikan produces or has produced products covering:

• Fountain pens
• Ballpoint pens
• Rollerballs
• Mechanical pencils
• Pencils
• Ink
• Ink cartridges
• Correction products
• Glue
• Paint
• Watercolors
• Craft materials
• Sharpeners
• Erasers
• School bags
• Office stationery
• Paper products
• Educational products

The current Pelikan Group describes its portfolio as containing more than 12,000 products, spanning writing, painting/crafts, office products, school bags and backpacks, and premium writing instruments.

Among fountain-pen users, Pelikan 4001 is arguably one of the brand’s most important products.

The 4001 line represents Pelikan’s long-standing expertise in bottled fountain-pen ink.

This is significant because Pelikan’s history started with ink before it started making fountain pens.

In other words:

Ink came first → fountain pens came later.

That gives Pelikan an unusually long connection between its ink chemistry and its writing instruments.

Pelikan later introduced Edelstein Ink, a premium ink collection.

According to Pelikan, the Edelstein inks were developed with ingredients intended to provide particularly smooth writing and care for fountain pens, and the inks are packaged in distinctive glass bottles. The collection was introduced in 2011.

Edelstein therefore occupies a different position from 4001:

• 4001 → traditional, practical, everyday fountain-pen ink
• Edelstein → premium, color-focused enthusiast ink

This reflects Pelikan’s dual identity as both an everyday stationery brand and a high-end fountain-pen manufacturer.

The company experienced substantial expansion during the 20th century.

In 1978, Pelikan became a public company. However, its subsequent history was complicated by aggressive expansion and corporate restructuring.

By the early 1980s, the enlarged organization encountered serious financial difficulties.

In 1982, Pelikan experienced a financial crisis and subsequently went through major restructuring. In 1984, Swiss-based Condorpart acquired the company, after which Pelikan was divided into various businesses.

This period is important because modern Pelikan is not simply a continuously unchanged corporation dating back to 1838. There is a distinction between:

the historical Pelikan brand/business tradition

and

the successive corporate structures that have owned and operated it.

One of the more unusual parts of Pelikan’s modern history is its connection with Malaysia.

In 1996, Malaysian company Goodace Sdn Bhd acquired a majority interest in Pelikan Holding. The company’s later corporate structure eventually became associated with Pelikan International Corporation Berhad (PICB).

In 2005, Pelikan Holding AG was acquired through a reverse takeover by Diperdana Holdings Berhad, which subsequently changed its name to Pelikan International Corporation Berhad.

So although Pelikan’s brand and historical origins are German, its modern corporate history has a significant Malaysian connection.

This is particularly notable because Pelikan is sometimes casually described as simply a German company. Historically that is understandable, but the ownership story is considerably more complicated.

Another major development was Pelikan’s relationship with Herlitz, another well-known German stationery brand.

Pelikan acquired Herlitz, and from 1 March 2014 Pelikan took over distribution and marketing activities for Herlitz in Germany and Austria.

The broader group subsequently contained several brands, including:

• Pelikan
• Herlitz
• Geha
• Susy Card

This transformed Pelikan from simply being a fountain-pen and ink company into a broader stationery-products group.

Today, the Pelikan Group describes itself as a major provider of paper, office and stationery products.

Its current product categories include:

• Writing
• Design writing
• Coloring & painting
• Handicraft
• Correcting & erasing
• Gluing
• Office
• School
• Fine writing

The group says it has more than 1,600 employees, 17 local sales organizations and four production facilities. Its products are distributed internationally.

The company has also maintained manufacturing and commercial operations in multiple countries, including Germany, Mexico, Colombia and Poland.

Among fountain-pen enthusiasts, Pelikan occupies a particularly prestigious position.

The brand is generally associated with several characteristics:

Piston filling

Pelikan is famous for piston-filling fountain pens, a mechanism that has become central to its identity.

Excellent ink capacity

Because the barrel itself functions as an ink reservoir, many Pelikan piston-fillers hold considerably more ink than ordinary cartridge/converter pens.

Easy maintenance

The traditional Pelikan design makes the nib unit removable on many models, allowing relatively convenient cleaning and maintenance.

Nib variety

Pelikan has historically offered a wide range of nib widths and specialized nibs.

German engineering

The brand’s German heritage contributes strongly to its reputation for mechanical precision and manufacturing quality.

Collectability

Pelikan has produced numerous limited-edition and special-edition pens, particularly from the 1990s onward.

The Souverän is probably the single product family most strongly associated with modern premium Pelikan.

Common models include:

• M300
• M400
• M600
• M800
• M1000

The numbering generally corresponds to different sizes and positions within the range, although exact specifications and generations vary.

The M800 and M1000 are particularly famous among serious fountain-pen enthusiasts.

The M1000 is the largest member of the classic Souverän family and was introduced during the 1990s.

Pelikan’s visual identity is unusually consistent. Several elements immediately signal the brand:

The pelican logo
The central historical symbol.

Green
Especially strongly associated with traditional Pelikan pens and ink.

Striped barrels
One of the most recognizable features of Souverän fountain pens.

Pelican-head clip
The characteristic clip design reinforces the brand identity.

Gold/silver trim
Depending on model and edition.

Classic proportions
Pelikan tends to retain recognizable shapes across generations instead of completely redesigning its flagship pens.

This continuity is one reason older Pelikan pens can still look unmistakably related to contemporary models.

Pelikan’s modern mission emphasizes learning and personal development.

The company’s stated vision, introduced in 2021, is:

“To create equal opportunity to learn and to grow for everyone.”

This is consistent with the company’s historical evolution. Pelikan started with artists’ colors and ink, moved into office products, developed fountain pens, became deeply involved in school handwriting, and eventually built a broad stationery portfolio.

So its identity is broader than simply: “German fountain-pen manufacturer.” A better description would be: A historic German-origin stationery and writing brand whose heritage combines ink manufacturing, writing instruments, art education and school products, with a particularly strong reputation for piston-filling fountain pens.

If we reduce nearly two centuries of history to a few defining characteristics, Pelikan has five major identities:

1. Ink manufacturer — its roots are in paints and inks, long before fountain pens.
2. German stationery heritage — the brand emerged from 19th-century Hanover.
3. Fountain-pen innovator — especially its piston-filling technology.
4. Educational brand — Pelikano, handwriting systems and griffix demonstrate its focus on learning.
5. Premium writing brand — Souverän pens have made Pelikan particularly important to collectors.

That’s why Pelikan occupies an interesting position in the stationery market: it simultaneously sells products to schoolchildren, ordinary office users, artists and serious fountain-pen collectors.

In the fountain-pen world, Pelikan is often discussed alongside brands such as Montblanc, LAMY, Pilot, Sailor, Platinum and Parker, but its identity is somewhat different.

Montblanc is heavily associated with luxury and prestige.

LAMY is strongly associated with modern industrial design and everyday German writing instruments.

Pilot/Sailor/Platinum represent Japan’s particularly strong fountain-pen tradition.

Parker has a major American/European historical legacy.

Pelikan occupies a distinctive niche combining German engineering, traditional ink production, piston fillers, education and stationery.

Its closest historical competitors have changed over time, but Pelikan’s combination of ink + education + fountain pens + stationery is unusually broad.

Pelikan is more than a pen company in Germany and parts of Europe. For generations, its products have been associated with:

• School
• Handwriting
• Art classes
• Office work
• Letter writing
• Drawing
• Fountain-pen culture

That makes Pelikan somewhat analogous to brands that became embedded in everyday education and childhood.

A German student encountering a Pelikano or Pelikan ink bottle isn’t necessarily experiencing it as a luxury product—it can be an ordinary part of learning to write.

At the opposite end, an enthusiast buying an M800 or M1000 may be purchasing a highly collectible writing instrument.

That enormous range is one of Pelikan’s most interesting characteristics.

After almost two centuries, Pelikan’s greatest legacy isn’t actually a particular pen. It is the continuity between writing, ink, art and education.

The company’s historical progression is remarkably coherent:

Carl Hornemann’s ink factory
↓
Günther Wagner and the pelican trademark
↓
Ink and artists’ materials
↓
Office and school supplies
↓
1929 piston fountain pen
↓
Pelikano and handwriting education
↓
Souverän premium fountain pens
↓
Modern global stationery group

That history explains why Pelikan can credibly occupy both the school-stationery market and the high-end fountain-pen market.

1. History of Pelikan (Günther Wagner
2. Company – Pelikan
3. Official Pelikan website