Soennecken Emerald Pearl S25 Fountain Pen, Exclusive model for Swiss-Market, Germany circa 1940

Offered for your consideration is this very rare and beautifully preserved Soennecken S25 fountain pen, dating from circa 1940.

The S25 is an especially seldom-seen Soennecken model, having been manufactured in Germany specifically for sale in the Swiss market.

It is fashioned from exquisite Emerald Pearl celluloid, whose rich green and pearlescent pattern displays remarkable depth and movement as the pen is turned in the light. The elegant form is complemented by gold trim and crowned by a substantial ebony cap jewel.

Its restrained proportions, beautiful material and unmistakably German design combine to make the S25 both an important collector’s pen and a particularly attractive writing instrument.

The pen features its original solid 14K gold Medium nib.

Signed “14K – 585” and bearing the Soennecken logo, the nib has a pleasantly semi-flexible character. It responds subtly to variations in writing pressure, allowing a modest degree of expressive line variation while remaining very well suited to everyday writing.

The S25 is equipped with Soennecken’s patented pump-filling mechanism.

The filling system has been fully serviced, including the installation of a fresh cork seal, and has been thoroughly tested for reliable operation.

This rare Soennecken S25 remains in excellent vintage condition.

The Emerald Pearl celluloid is beautifully preserved, and the original Soennecken barrel imprint remains clear and readily legible.

The pen has no personalized engraving, brassing, cracks or other damage.

It has been fully serviced and tested and is functioning properly.

In the United States, Parker, Sheaffer and Waterman are among the most familiar historic names in fountain pens. In Germany and throughout Europe, Soennecken occupied an equally prestigious position as one of the foremost manufacturers of writing instruments and office equipment.

The company traced its origins to the writing society founded by Friedrich Soennecken in 1868 to promote the Rundschrift, or round-writing system, which he had developed by the age of twenty.

This represented a radical departure from the distinctly Germanic Fraktur script then in widespread use, favouring instead the clearer Antiqua style derived from the Italian humanist tradition.

Soennecken also designed steel nibs ideally suited to his new writing method. At one time, Soennecken nibs were the writing instruments of choice for Friedrich Nietzsche and Franz Kafka.

The Soennecken company was formally established in Bonn in 1875, when Friedrich began producing his own nibs, inkwells and instructional books devoted to the penmanship system he had created.

The business prospered rapidly, and by 1883 a new three-storey building had been constructed to accommodate approximately forty employees.

Friedrich Soennecken also invented the ring binder and hole punch, two indispensable office articles that remain in everyday use. The company subsequently expanded into office furniture and developed an extensive range of writing and office products.

By 1890, the fountain pen had become one of the most important articles in the Soennecken range. Successive models followed, including the company’s first safety pen in 1905. During the following decades, Soennecken continued developing new designs and filling systems, establishing itself alongside Montblanc and Pelikan as one of Germany’s foremost manufacturers of fine writing instruments.

Following Friedrich Soennecken’s death in 1919, the company passed to his son Alfred, who successfully maintained production despite the inflation, currency depreciation and material shortages that marked post-First World War Germany.

The Second World War devastated the combined work of two generations of the Soennecken family, with both of the company’s Bonn factories completely destroyed.

Nevertheless, in 1945 Alfred Soennecken and his son, Alfred Jr., gathered together members of the former workforce and successfully resumed production. The historic company continued manufacturing until 1967.

Produced exclusively for the Swiss market around 1940, the present S25 represents an especially rare chapter in that distinguished history. Its exquisite Emerald Pearl celluloid, patented filling system, expressive 14K gold nib and remarkable state of preservation make it a particularly desirable surviving Soennecken fountain pen.