Big Ben BENCO 62
Green Marbled Set Danish Denmark Fountain Pen BF and Pencil PENOL
Big Ben BENCO 62 Green Marbled Set Danish Denmark Fountain
Pen BF button filler and Propelling Pencil in Original Locking Box. Propelling
pencil is working. PENOL AMBASSADOR CO NGI gold EF nib. Some brassing of clip. Small
plastic crack in pencil tip, does not affect function. Both pen and pencil
engraved: BODIL BANG. Unrestored. Excellent condition. Shipped by USPS Priority
Flat Rate Small Box.
Big Ben Pens and Pencils History:
The Benzon Trading Company began in 1922 in
Denmark by Niels Benzon and primarily imported Wahl-Eversharp pens to Denmark.
Apparently, Benzon had worked at Wahl-Eversharp in the USA for a period of
time, and he gained the exclusive rights to import Wahl-Eversharp pens to
Scandinavia; this is similar to the setup that Olsen had with Parker pen import
rights to Scandinavia. Also similar to Olsen and Penol, due to import
restrictions in 1933 and a shortage of Wahl-Eversharp pens, The Benzon Trading
Company in Copenhagen began production of their own line of pens, called Big
Ben. Although most Big Bens have Big Ben nibs that correspond in size to
the size of the pen (2, 4, 6, 8), many Big Bens are found with original
Wahl-Eversharp nibs. Some of the pens were also called Big Brother,
but this name was discontinued since it was too close to Parker’s Big Bro. A
third name seen on Benzon pens is Axo. Benzon also had a subbrand
of pens called Benco, much less commonly seen that Big Ben pens. There
were a wide variety of Benco pens and pencils produced that mimic some of the
Big Ben models. There was a Benco (Benzon and Company) factory/repair shop
(Benco-Verken) in Malmo, Sweden, and Benco pens and pencils are found more
often in Sweden than in Denmark. Benzon produced some black hard rubber pens
using the name Skribent (similar to Penol’s subbrand Skribent)
and also, like Penol’s Skribents, were sold exclusively to the store Fyldepenne
Magasinet. There was a significant amount of advertising in magazines and
periodicals about Big Ben pens in Denmark in the 1930s and 1940s, but also
pieces of ephemera, including large and small wooden pen replicas to advertise
the Big Ben brand in department stores and specialty shops. Regarding the pens
and pencils themselves, a variety of materials and colors were used to produce
Big Ben with different filling systems (mostly piston, also button, aerometric,
C/C). A unique filling system using a “reverse” piston filling mechanism was
produced in Heidelberg, Germany by H. Hebborn & Co. Fabrik Fur Fullhalter
& Fullbleistifte, with a British Patent No. 451168. As with
Penol and other pen companies, the production of Big Bens ended in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, there is not an extensive amount of knowledge available about
the production numbers and specific versions of Big Ben or Benco pens.