Pen wipers
It’s 1955, and Nancy is selling pen wipers.
“No Cap!”’
A 1946 ad for the Reynolds ballpoint pen.
Back to the dowdy world
Today’s Zippy is all about paper and fountain pens.
Two-tone Papermates
Two-tone cars looked spiffy, at least in my faint childhood remembering. These “tu-tone” pens, not so much.
Last-minute shopping
“Just five minutes at a Parker Jotter counter can take a surprising amount of guesswork and expense and time out of your Christmas shopping.”
Parker T-Ball Jotter, 1963
This 1963 Life advertisement recalls a gone world, when everyone wore a watch and close to half of American adults smoked cigarettes.
Sheaffer cartridge pens, 1959
Back-to-school pens. What makes this ad especially great is the appearance of Ann Marget Olsson (last name misspelled as Olson). Yes, Ann-Margret.
The government-issue pen
Washington Post article on a dowdy writing instrument