Stunning Vintage 1930s Reform LUXUS Lady No.69 Fountain Pen - Barleycorn Black Shiny Celluloid & Snake Clip w/ 14K Super Flex Nib from the "Attic Find" Item ID: REF-081

Reform Luxus Lady No.69 - Black Celluloid - Barleycorn

Manufacturer/Model: Reform Germany/Luxus Model No.69
Year of production:  Exact year unknown, Estimated mid to late 1930s
Filling system: Piston filling (Original cork replaced with x2 HQ rubber O-rings - silicone greased)
Nib: 14K 585 - F Fine - Super Flex melts on paper, writes up to BB/3B, super wet and consistent; Original Ebonite feed
Material: Cap & Barrel - cast and bored black celluloid. Amber Ink Window. Turning Knob, Captop, Piston Shaft & Grip section made out of Ebonite/Hard Rubber. Piston parts metal. Cast and Gold Filled clip and rings
Length (pen closed): Compact when closed at 116mm, Full size length when Posted at 146mm posed
Condition and information:

Date this pen published & listed: February 26th 2025
This is the 4rd Reform pen/type from the find "Attic Find" to be listed.
The first three being the Reform Luxus Jade Green, the Reform Luxus Blue Chevron, and the Reform Black Barleycorn Celluloid No.70 (the Gentleman's sibling of this pen)

Context & Provenance:
To read more about the circumstances about how and where this pen was found, please visit our blog page here. Article: "June 2nd 2021 - The 80 Year Lost, 300+ Pen Attic Find"
This find was also covered by The Pelikan's Perch in the article: "Treasures In The Attic: A Time Capsule Rediscovered"


Reform Luxus Lady Model No.69

The pen offered here is the Lady version companion of the Model 70. This pen is part of the Black Reform celluloid pens from the Attic Find. There were about 15 or so Reform pens in the Attic Find, some in very minor used condition, some with only some minor traces of ink in them, we assume pens that were only dipped in the shop for testing or maybe even some pens that were brought back for repair, service or tuning as was a "thing" back then. Some of these Reform pens were completely NOS - new old stock condition, meaning it was obvious they were never dipped in ink or used. The corks are clean as on the day they left the factory. So it was a true pleasure to the first people to touch and explore these pens as they were left close to 90 years ago. Most importantly however, is the fact that all Reform pens had their original 14K gold nibs. This was not the case with some other brands, which either had their nibs replaced with steel nibs at that time, or some were missing the nibs entirely due to the fact that they had been salvaged for gold, either then or years later. You can find out more as to why we know that was the case in our Blog Post.

The pen listed here is one of four Luxus models from the find and only 3 such No.69 pens were found. The No.69 is slightly more compact than the No.70, and it was intended as Lady's pen. Even though slightly more compact the pen becomes normal size when posted and sits nicely in the hand. Same as with the No.70, it is made in an astonishing shiny Black Celluloid with hand made barleycorn finish. Interestingly though, unlike the No.70, this pen features a full piston shaft with a guiding pin, similar to the Pelikan 100 from that time. We believe this design choice was done in order prevent the piston rod turning freely inside the barrel when the turning knob is turned, since the contact surface between the two is lower. In order to achieve this, there is a mid joint/section in between the blind cap and the barrel, however when this joining section is fully screwed on the barrel, the pattern on the barrel and this tiny section is connected absolutely seamlessly. This leads us to believe that these hand engraved barleycorn patters was done on each pen by hand only once the pen was fully assembled, so not parts could be used from another such pen, otherwise the pattern would not align.

The craftsmanship and quality of these pens is simply astonishing, same as described for the Luxus No.70, the Blue and Jade Chevron models, so the same description applies. These even surpass Pelikan and Montblanc craftsmanship and quality in some if not in most respects, as Reform had much to prove as they were the underdogs.

If some thought that Montblanc came up with the Snake head/body Clip, they might want to reassess that belief. Reform made "Snake" clips as early as 1930 with their first models, and by the time the rest were doing it, they even modernized the shape of what we call Gen 2 Snake Clip to a modern multi-faceted design as on this model 69 and the model 70. Simply astonishing as to how far and how good Reform were at this time. Please explore the photos to find out more.

All of the Model 70 and Lady 69 pens had been gently and thoroughly brought back to life, i.e. the "restored" word does not actually feel right, as besides the cork change to rubber O-rings, minor lubrication, there was nothing done on them except cleaning and light polishing. They are basically as they were some 90 odd years ago. We were even tempted to leave some of the original corks on, as hard may be to believe, their pistons were actually still operating flawlessly, moving smoothly and creating perfect vacuum with their original wood corks!

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When this pen was made, Reform was what Apple was in the 1980, a rebel company, with bold goals, no compromises, one drive only, making the best pens ever made! Several engineers from the then well established pen companies left to found Reform, (mainly from Kaweco), after their bold ideas and passion wouldn't be heard at "IBM", they left and founded Reform. This was the result.