Is it just me or does there seem to be a mysterious link between Kaweco and Red Dwarf, a British Sci-Fi comedy?
In my Kaweco Prototype blog post from two years ago I had a “This blog post has been brought to you by Kryten and the Jupiter Mining Corporation” message (for fun), but when the latest Red Dwarf series aired last autumn the intro video from Red Dwarf current home, TV station Dave (part of UKTV), featured the newly released Kaweco Perkeo.
Mysterious, especially since Kaweco isn’t exactly a high street brand in the UK. Maybe in the future Kaweco will become part of the Jupiter Mining Corporation.
One of the images from the old blog post
I guess the conclusion to draw here is that creatives, like the ones making UKTV’s intro videos, like a good pen, in this case a Kaweco.
..and now for something completely different (in case you haven’t heard yet): WHSmith bought CultPens.
Recently I have contacted Sebastian Gutberlet to find out more about the Kaweco Perkeo. All I knew is that there used to be a Kaweco fountain pen with that name in the (early?) 20th century.
Just a reminder, Sebastian is the son of Michael Gutberlet, the man who revived Kaweco. The main intention of asking Sebastian about the Perkeo was to collect some more information for the Stationery Wiki – because I couldn’t find much information on the web, but then I thought: why not turn it into a blog post.
Thanks to Sebastian Gutberlet for this image
It’s been a long time coming
It came as quite a surprise to find out that this new Perkeo has been in the making for a very long time. Sebastian’s grandfather Horst Gutberlet [1]Michael Gutberlet’s father actually developed the new Perkeo’s precursor in 1997. The prototype was resting in Michael Gurberlet’s desk for many years before now being finalised and released.
I’ve mentioned more than once that when I went to school you had to use a fountain pen, at least in Bavaria where I’m originally from. I’m not sure about the current pen situation in schools there, but my guess would be that on the continent there are (still) many schools where pupils write with fountain pens. The grip zone is supposed to help the pupil with holding the pen the right way. As a beginner’s fountain pen the Perkeo is probably aimed at these pupils (..but that doesn’t mean we adults can’t have fun with this pen, too).
It will be available in four colour combinations and according to Sebastian Gutberlet the Perkeo will be released in Juni or July the latest.
Thanks to Sebastian Gutberlet for this image
I’d like to thank Sebastian Gutberlet for answering my questions and providing pictures for this blog post.
