These Capless pens (later renamed Vanishing Point for the American market) are wonderful works of engineering. When you push the button on the end it ejects or retracts the nib inside the section. It is hard to see from the image, but there is a little hatch that seals the nib inside the pen and prevents it from drying out.

If you can remember back to 1964, you will recall this was the year of the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. It is difficult to stress just how important these games were to the Japanese. The war had ended less than 20 years earlier and Japan hoped to show how it had emerged from the ashes and became one of the leading industrial countries of the world. Japan spent four years cleaning up the pollution in the cities and new buildings were popping up like dandelions. The public spirit was full of pride and hope and the number of volunteers were overwhelming. Nearly everyone participated in some way. Pilot was one of the official sponsors for the games and they had an important stake in the games as well. Not since their Dunhill Namiki maki-e pens of the 1930's had the foreign market looked at Japanese pens. The Pilot engineers worked day and night to create several innovative designs to be released in time for the Olympics. Some of these were the Pilot Elite, a short, telescoping pen, and The Pilot Capless pictured here.

These early Capless pens are exceedingly hard to find today and it is a rare chance to find one in such nice condition in the original box. This illustrated pen sports the Star above the clip, the 1964 models were the only ones to have this and are highly sought after by collectors.

The sturdy silk-lined box is quite a treasure itself. The outside of the box is spotted with age, but the inside of the box is in pristine condition. The name "Pilot" is embossed on the inner lid with a stately gold calligraphy type logo.

Ron Dutcher has lived in Japan for over 15 years, where he owns and runs a small orthopedic clinic with his wife, Keiko; which leads him to many Japanese pen finds. His patients, once they learn of his pen hobby often give him pens as gifts or offer to sell them to him. He is a member of the Tokyo Pen Association, and has learned a great deal from Japanese pen collectors. He sells a great many Japanese pens on ebay under the name Kamakura-Pens, but his true love is for early American pens. He can be contacted at rd@kamakurapens.com Click on the link below to visit http://www.kamakurapens.com