Welcome to my website devoted to the pens and pencils of Christian Olsen and the Penol company from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Chr. Olsen was the distributor of Parker pens in Denmark beginning at the turn of the 20th century. This business arrangement was made between George S. Parker and Soren Chr. Olsen when Parker was investigating European sites for the distribution of his Parker pens made in Janesville, Wisconsin. These "Danish Parker" pens are identified by variations of the barrel imprint to include a "CO" (Chr. Olsen) and an "anchor" inside a circle (also found on some Penol models). Apparently the anchor represents Chr. Olsen's passion for boats and sailing around Scandinavia. Other varieties of Danish Parker pens may have barrel imprints that indicate "M.I.D." (Made in Denmark). The nibs on the Parker pens may have the "D" (Denmark), or "NGI" (Nordisk Guldepenne Industri in Denmark - also seen on some Penol models). Interestingly, Canadian Parker pens were, on occasion, sent to Denmark for re-sale and these pens bear both a "Made in Canada" imprint, in addition to the "CO anchor" Danish logo. It seems as if this also occcured if Parkers were sent from England to Denmark for sale; these Parkers may have the "Made in England" stamp as well as the CO anchor logo from Denmark. Additionally, in Germany, when the Parker-Osmia production ceased and the factory closed in 1930, many of the Parker-Osmia pens were sent to the Denmark factory for distribution and sale. The "Parker-Osmia A.G. Heidelberg" imprint was removed by buffing the barrel and replaced with the "CO anchor" imprint to indicate that the sale of the pen was made in Denmark. It is possible to see both imprints on the same Parker pen - I have seen this variant with both imprints on several Parker Duofold Senior models. In addition to the factory in Copenhagen at Emdrupvej 28A, there was also a Parker (and Penol) distribution site in Sweden, located at A.B. Chr. Olsen, Kungsgaad 60, Stockholm. Penol then also produced Parker pens in Denmark, with some models unique to the Penol factory (Parker VS rust colored), and pens bearing the Parker logo and the "CO" and anchor imprints (Parker Duofold Maxima ("SuperMax"), Parker Duofold Senior, and Parker Duofold Special models with single or double jewels, as well as New Parker Duofolds, Parker Victory, Parker Slimfold, and Parker Popular and Demi-Populaer models).
Chr. Olsen was the distributor of Parker pens in Denmark beginning at the turn of the 20th century. This business arrangement was made between George S. Parker and Soren Chr. Olsen when Parker was investigating European sites for the distribution of his Parker pens made in Janesville, Wisconsin. These "Danish Parker" pens are identified by variations of the barrel imprint to include a "CO" (Chr. Olsen) and an "anchor" inside a circle (also found on some Penol models). Apparently the anchor represents Chr. Olsen's passion for boats and sailing around Scandinavia. Other varieties of Danish Parker pens may have barrel imprints that indicate "M.I.D." (Made in Denmark). The nibs on the Parker pens may have the "D" (Denmark), or "NGI" (Nordisk Guldepenne Industri in Denmark - also seen on some Penol models). Interestingly, Canadian Parker pens were, on occasion, sent to Denmark for re-sale and these pens bear both a "Made in Canada" imprint, in addition to the "CO anchor" Danish logo. It seems as if this also occcured if Parkers were sent from England to Denmark for sale; these Parkers may have the "Made in England" stamp as well as the CO anchor logo from Denmark. Additionally, in Germany, when the Parker-Osmia production ceased and the factory closed in 1930, many of the Parker-Osmia pens were sent to the Denmark factory for distribution and sale. The "Parker-Osmia A.G. Heidelberg" imprint was removed by buffing the barrel and replaced with the "CO anchor" imprint to indicate that the sale of the pen was made in Denmark. It is possible to see both imprints on the same Parker pen - I have seen this variant with both imprints on several Parker Duofold Senior models. In addition to the factory in Copenhagen at Emdrupvej 28A, there was also a Parker (and Penol) distribution site in Sweden, located at A.B. Chr. Olsen, Kungsgaad 60, Stockholm. Penol then also produced Parker pens in Denmark, with some models unique to the Penol factory (Parker VS rust colored), and pens bearing the Parker logo and the "CO" and anchor imprints (Parker Duofold Maxima ("SuperMax"), Parker Duofold Senior, and Parker Duofold Special models with single or double jewels, as well as New Parker Duofolds, Parker Victory, Parker Slimfold, and Parker Popular and Demi-Populaer models).
In the early 1930s, Chr. Olsen began to produce his own line of pens, named "Penol." The derivation of the name is controversial, but it is likely a combination of "pen" and "Olsen." One theory is that the name "Penol" was derived from the telegram address for Chr. Olsen which was "Parkerpenolsen" which was shortened to "Penol." Another theory is that Chr. Olsen was called "Pen-Olsen" by his friends since dealing with pens and pencils, then shortened to "Penol." In either case, in the early 1930s, Penol began to manufacture pens in Copenhagen, and it quickly became apparent that the Penol line was selling better than the imported Parker pens. This discrepancy in sales may have had something to do with the advertising done by Chr. Olsen, with the Penol line receiving much more attention in the Danish magazines than the Parker brand, with ads targeting pens as gifts for student graduation, confirmation, and Christmas time presents.
The Penol pens were produced by hand in the factory in Copenhagen by Danish workers. As a result, each pen is unique with respect to size, shape, imprint, assembly, feed, section, nib, and clip. On occasion, Parker parts may appear on Penol pens and vice versa. It is well known that Penol pens are very well made indeed. It is difficult to understand how this was possible, especially during the German occupation of Denmark in the early 1940s. But, similar to most items of Danish design and manufacture (furniture, pottery, lamps, electronics - for example, Bang & Olufsen), the exquisite attention to detail and the use of high-quality materials was not sacrificed. The war-time period resulted in a shortage of materials (especially gold), and therefore, many pens were assembled from spare parts and nibs (even Parker nibs) and clips (with and without a Penol imprint) in the factory, also making each pen truly unique. During the German occupation of Denmark, the majority of pens produced were black, but the most popular Penols amongst the Danes were red, like the red color in the Danish flag.
Chr. Olsen also produced many 'sub-brands' of Penol pens, including the unique Skribent line with very attractive snake head clips. The Skribents were sold exclusively by the store Fyldepenne Magasinet at Amagertorv 16 in Copenhagen, with the general agent named Georg Andersen. Some of the Skribent pens closely resemble some of the Montblancs made in Denmark (models 202, 212, 206, 216). There is a mystery about the Montblanc pens produced in Denmark at that time, and it is possible that some Montblancs were produced at the Penol factory, but most likely, another plant was used for manufacturing these pens. The Danish distributor for Montblanc pens was known as Alfred Th. Øberg A/S, Gl. Mønt 4, København. In addition to Skribent, some other Penol sub-brands include Merkur, Nichroma, President, Parlament (exclusively distributed by Gug-Kjeldsen), Regina, Rex, Royal, John Bull, The Bluepoint Pen, The Greenpoint Pen, The Tomahawk Pen, Monarch, Standard, Turbo Matador, Astoria, Tete Rouge, Red Star, ACCA, and Evory, among others. Other Danish pen brands at that time included those of Johannes Iverson including Miller, Orion, London, and Hoover, while Editor and Liberty pens were made by individual companies. Oxford-Everdurable, ACCA was made by the German company Siebert & Löwen (Matador) for a Danish trading company, that was not connected to Christian Olsen (Penol) or Benzon Trading Company (Big Ben) or Montblanc in Denmark. In Stockholm, Sweden, the Svanstrom company imported Conway Stewart pens that were imprinted with unique Svanstrom names (Royal, Superior, Brilliant, Quality, Standard, Popular, Junior, and Visible Pens), and bearing a Conway Stewart (CS) clip. In summary, according to Claus Holten and Poul Lund (Montblanc in Denmark, 1914-1992, sternschanze.dk, 2013), although Denmark is well known for production of the Penol, Big Ben, and Danish Montblanc pens, other pens were imported to Denmark. In 1908, Johannes Iversen began to import pens to Denmark with pen brand names including Orion, London, Gefion, and later, Miller and Hoover. Note that many of the pen names are British or denoting an England or Great Britain origin, even though many of these pens were produced in Germany. But, also, some pens may have been produced in Denmark, since there were several Danish companies producing pens at the time, including Christian Olsen (Penol), Benzon (Big Ben), and Alfred Th. Oberg (Montblanc), and many of these pens bear similarities to these other brands. It is likely that Orion and London pens were imported before WW I and included eyedroppers, safety fillers, lever fillers, and button fillers. Miller and Hoover pens were introduced in the beginning of the 1930's and comprised push-button fillers and vacuum-fillers (with a patented filling system by Johannes Iversen). Also, some Orion, London, Miller, and Hoover pens from the 1930's are similar/identical in design, materials, sections, feeds, clips, and cap bands. The Orion lever fillers (1920s) the streamlined Orion pens (1930s) were produced by Nielson-Werk GmbH in Hamburg-Blankenese, Germany. These pens except the imprints are the same as the Merkurit pen models that were produced by Nielson-Werk at the same time. Some Orion and London pens were produced by Mertz & Krell (Senator) and other German pen companies including Siebert & Loven (Matador), Hebborn & Co. (Dux) and Angloamer.
During the 1930s-1950s, there were several pen manufacturers and importers located in Denmark that were in direct competition with Chr. Olsen, including Nils Benzon of the Benzon Trading Company that had locations in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. The Benzon company produced Big Ben (and Big Brother and Axo) pens in Denmark and Benco pens in Sweden, and also were the importers of Wahl-Eversharp pens from the USA. Benzon also made a Skribent model similar to Big Ben pens for Fyldepenne Magasinet. There were several pen stores in Denmark, as well as larger department stores that had exclusive rights to sell specific pen brands, and they identified their pens with additional imprints, such as "VW" (Vessel & Wett is now known as Magasin Du Nord, a large department store in Denmark) and "GK" for Gug-Kjeldsen which was were the Parlament sub-brand was sold exclusively .
The Penol pens have not enjoyed a dedicated following from many pen collectors, especially in the USA, most likely because of their scarcity in the marketplace. Once a pen user or collector experiences a Penol pen, he/she is usually impressed with the fine quality of production as well as the attractive designs and flexible nibs. Penol produced a wide variety of different pen models from 1930-1950, but most were either button-fill or piston-fill mechanisms. Initially the numbering systems used were simple (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3) and were very similar in design to the Parker Duofold pens that were being sold by Chr. Olsen. Throughout the years, many Penol designs were inspired by Parker designs, but, in addition, there were unique, one-of-a-kind models not seen in any other brand using unique barrel materials. The most popular and widely produced and distributed Penol models were the earlier "deLuxe" line (O, AO, BO, and CO) and the later "Ambassador" line (Junior, Special, and Senior). Additionally, Penol produced many pencils as part of a fountain pen and pencil set, as well as a wide variety of unique pencils, many for advertising, with unique propelling mechanisms. While there is little information available about the number of pens produced of each Penol model, certainly, the more unique models were not mass-produced and limited examples are available. Towards the end of fountain pen manufacture in the late 1940s, Penol developed an association with Esterbrook, and some Penols were produced using an "Esterbrook-type" clip and the Esterbrook Renew-Point nib assembly, as seen with the Penol Universal model. In the 1950s and 1960s, Penol produced a school pen (Skolepen) model. With the introduction of the ballpoint pen, the popularity of fountain pens diminished, and Penol produced a few ballpoint models (Q-pen, Q-pen Twin, and Q-nylon), and gradually ceased production of fountain pens. Today, Penol pens remain rare in the open market, but they are coveted by dedicated users and collectors of the pens of Chr. Olsen.
Since it is not possible to have complete and fully accurate information about Danish pens or the Penol company, please contact me if you have any additional information to share, or if you have any corrections and additions or suggestions to the information presented here. In the quest for knowledge about this specific subject area, any helpful information would be greatly appreciated in order to document as accurately as possible the history of Christian Olsen and the Penol company. Thank you, in advance.