Montblanc | 1979
«Sie haben schon lange einen weißen Stern verdient.» (You have long deserved a white star.) In 1979 Montblanc invited Der Spiegel readers to treat themselves, from DM 25.
The company was born in Hamburg in 1906, when a stationer, Claus Johannes Voss, a banker, Alfred Nehemias, and a Berlin engineer, August Eberstein, began making fountain pens. They traded as the Simplo Filler Pen Co. Their pen «Montblanc», named after the Alps' highest peak, soon gave its name to the whole brand. Since 1913 the white star on the cap has shown the snow-covered summit seen from above.
In this ad we can see a Montblanc that is hard to imagine today: the Quickpen, sold in three finishes at DM 25, 40 and 98. Two years earlier, in 1977, the British firm Alfred Dunhill had taken control of Montblanc, and the brand gradually dropped its cheaper pens to focus on luxury.
Since 1993 Montblanc has belonged to the Swiss group Richemont, and it still has its headquarters in Hamburg.
The ad closes with a line any writer would sign: «Schreiben überzeugt mehr als Beschreiben», writing convinces more than describing. Did you ever own a Montblanc?
Text in the ad
Sie haben schon lange einen weißen Stern verdient.
Montblanc
Warum schenken Sie sich nicht einfach selbst einen Montblanc? Einen MONTBLANC Quickpen zum Beispiel. Dieses Schreibgerät gilt als eine der großen Entwicklungen nach dem Kugelschreiber. Es hat 3 verschiedene Minen zum Auswechseln: markant, fein, weich. Schreiben Sie den MONTBLANC Quickpen einfach einmal Probe. Bei Ihrem Fachhändler. Denn Schreiben überzeugt mehr als Beschreiben.
Unverb. Preisempfehlung: Platin-veredelt oder Gold-plattiert DM 98,– · Schwarzchrom DM 40,– · Mattchrom DM 25,–
Translation:
You have long deserved a white star.
Montblanc
Why not simply treat yourself to a Montblanc? A MONTBLANC Quickpen, for example. This writing instrument is considered one of the great developments since the ballpoint pen. It has 3 different interchangeable refills: bold, fine, soft. Just try writing with the MONTBLANC Quickpen. At your specialist dealer. Because writing convinces more than describing.
Suggested retail price: platinum-finished or gold-plated DM 98 · black chrome DM 40 · matt chrome DM 25
- Brand
- Montblanc
- Year
- 1979
- Decade
- 1970s
- Country
- Germany
- Medium
- Magazine
- Themes
- Fashion
- Original publication
- Der Spiegel, 1979
