PELIKAN The Brand Book

  

In the run-up to Pelikan's 175th anniversary, previously undiscovered letters from the company's founder Günther Wagner to his successor Fritz Beindorff were found in the archives of the well-known traditional company from Hanover. According to these, the history of the Pelikan brand must now be partially rewritten. For example, the original coat of arms of the Wagner family was found, which was probably already used as a sign for children's colors (honey colors) before 1873. It was company founder Günther Wagner himself who, based on his family coat of arms, designed the graphic of the PELIKAN figurative mark for the "Little Honey Colors".

Günther Wagner drew the Pelikan logo, with three chicks in a nest. Honey colors were common watercolors mixed with honey at that time. According to the price list of 1873, small round honey colors were offered in boxes of 12, 18, or 24 colors; with the color pots glued to the metal sheet. In designing the mark, Günther Wagner abandoned the oval of the shield that formed the background of the pelican depiction on his family coat of arms.