Further features and information about this pen: Made in Germany in 1956, Pelikan 400NN fountain pen, green striped with a black cap. The barrel band is green striped. A lovely pen. A good chance to complete your Pelikan collection.
Historical background: The smaller model 100 made a big hit for Pelikan, and along with the Rappen and Ibis pens, it saw the company through the second world war (or at least as far through it as the failing German consumer market would permit). With relatively little wartime damage to its facilities, Pelikan resumed business in about 1947, offering an updated model 100N pen as well as the old entry level Ibis pen.
As the 1950s opened, however, it was time for some new products. Pelikan answered this need with the model 400, introduced in 1950 to sit at the top of the roost. The 400 was of a more conventional profile than the 100, and was slightly longer than the 100 (but only when capped).
Pelikan was already known for colourful pens, but the new striped barrels were a big fashion success, helping to end the dominance of all-black pens in the German market. The most common 400s have tortoise-stripe barrels. The 400 was offered in upmarket versions: the 500 (gold-filled cap), the 600 (solid 14k cap), and the 700 (solid gold cap and barrel).
The 140 is mechanically very similar to the 400, but is less expensively trimmed and pointed. The model 120 was a student version of the 140, with a steel point.
In the mid-50s, Pelikan restyled the 400, calling it the 400N (N for neu or 'new'). The cap was lengthened and slightly tapered and fitted with a longer pelican-beak clip, and the piston knob got a rounded bottom. A couple of years on came the 400NN, with greater streamlining at either end, although the barrels remained the same.
Pelikan 400 NN green striped near MINT