Stationery in MoMA: Pens, Pencils, Post-it Notes

A timeline from 1890 to 2010 marking stationery in MoMA records: GEM paperclip 1899, Scotch Tape 1930, Bic Cristal 1950, Hastil fountain pen 1969, Post-it Note 1977 and the 2004 humble masterpieces show — Six dates for stationery objects in MoMA's records, as its collection pages and the 2004 checklist give them. Original illustration made for this story. © Stationery Times.

Key takeaways

MoMA's own page for the Bic Cristal gives the designer line as the Decolletage Plastique Design Team, the date as 1950, the materials as polystyrene, polypropylene and tungsten carbide and the credit line as Gift of the manufacturer.
Marco Zanuso's Hastil fountain pen, made by Aurora of Turin in 1969, is in MoMA's Architecture and Design collection (object 61.1972) in steel, plastic and white gold.
MoMA's checklist for humble masterpieces (MoMAQNS, April 8 to September 27, 2004) listed 122 objects, among them a Post-it Note, Scotch Tape, a GEM paperclip, a Fiskars scissors and a Kokuyo eraser.
Not every object on that checklist is marked as owned: several stationery items carry the status Proposed acquisition, so we only call an object collected when a MoMA page or credit line says so.
The MoMA Design Store sells pens and notebooks too, but a store listing is not a collection record.

People often say a pen is “in MoMA”. We checked what the museum’s own pages say, which items are collected and which were only shown or proposed, and where a claim is only repeated by the maker or by fans. MoMA’s website blocks automated page requests from our tools in places, so we read two collection records, its 2004 checklist and a 2014 post, and list everything else as unconfirmed.

Which pens are in MoMA’s collection?

Two writing instruments have MoMA collection pages we could read: the Bic Cristal ballpoint and Marco Zanuso’s Hastil fountain pen. Both are listed in the Architecture and Design department, and both are credits of the manufacturer rather than purchases.

Object	Designer line on MoMA’s page	Date	Materials	Object number	Credit
Bic Cristal Ballpoint pen	Decolletage Plastique Design Team (maker: Societe Bic, France)	1950	Polystyrene, polypropylene, tungsten carbide	1409.2001.1-2	Gift of the manufacturer
Hastil Fountain Pen	Marco Zanuso (maker: Aurora S.p.A., Turin)	1969	Steel, plastic, white gold	61.1972	Gift of the manufacturer

Both pages said “Not on view” when we read them on October 30, 2026. The Cristal appeared in MoMA’s exhibition Pirouette: Turning Points in Design in 2025; BIC’s release gives the run as January 26 to October 18, 2025, while MoMA’s page label gives November 15, 2025, so we don’t state a closing date.

What is the Bic Cristal’s place in MoMA?

The Cristal is the pen most closely tied to MoMA: it has a collection record, it was in the 2004 humble masterpieces show and it was in the 2025 Pirouette exhibition. MoMA’s checklist for the 2004 show lists “Bic Cristal”, 1950, by Societe Bic, as a gift of the manufacturer. The designer attribution is unclear there, because the checklist prints the Decolletage Plastique Design Team above the entry and “Designer unknown” below it.

BIC says the Cristal entered MoMA’s permanent collection in 2001, which fits the 2001 in the object number. Our BIC Cristal guide covers the pen, and our BIC history covers Marcel Bich and Clichy.

What about the Hastil fountain pen?

The Hastil is a slim 1969 fountain pen designed by the Italian architect and designer Marco Zanuso for Aurora in Turin. MoMA lists its size as 5 7/16 by 5/16 inches (13.8 by 0.8 cm) and the materials as steel, plastic and white gold. We read no Aurora source for the model, so we don’t describe how it writes. Aurora’s current pens are in our Aurora 88 guide.

What else did the humble masterpieces show include?

The 2004 exhibition at MoMAQNS listed 122 everyday objects, and about fifteen of them are stationery or office tools. Curator Paola Antonelli’s introduction names “the apparently simple Bic pen, the paper clip” and “Post-It notes”. The items below are as printed in the checklist, with its dates and credit status.

Object	Designer and maker as printed	Date	Status on the checklist
Lead Pencil	Kaspar Faber; Faber-Castell	1761	Proposed acquisition
Wooden Pencil with Eraser	Hyman Lipman; Faber-Castell	1858	Proposed acquisition
GEM Paperclip	GEM Manufacturing Ltd. and William Middlebrook; ACCO Brands	1899	Proposed acquisition
Push Pins	Edwin Moore; Moore Push-Pin Company	1900	Proposed acquisition
Scotch Tape	Richard G. Drew; 3M	1930	Proposed acquisition
Scissors	Olof Backstrom; Fiskars	1960	Greta Daniel Fund
Bic Cristal	Societe Bic	1950	Gift of the manufacturer
Post-it Note	Art Fry and Spencer Silver; 3M	about 1977	Purchase
Folle 26 Stapler	Henning Andreasen; Folmer Christensen	1977	Gift of the designer
Kadokeshi Plastic Eraser	Hideo Kanbara; Kokuyo	2001	Proposed acquisition
Scissors	Kyocera	1985	Gift of the manufacturer
Letter Opener	Marcello Nizzoli; Olivetti	1960	Gift of the manufacturer

“Proposed acquisition” means the museum planned to acquire the object, so we don’t call those items owned. A 2014 MoMA post says the museum “proudly displayed” the Post-it Note, Chupa Chups and the Bic Cristal pen in the 2004 show, “acquired over the decades by several curators”.

Is the Fiskars scissors in MoMA’s collection?

The 2004 checklist lists a Fiskars scissors by Olof Backstrom with the credit line Greta Daniel Fund, a purchase credit. Fiskars says its plastic-handled scissors were introduced in 1967 and that MoMA acquired them in 1976; the checklist dates the object 1960. We don’t reconcile the two dates. See our Fiskars scissors guide for the maker’s own account.

Are Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape in MoMA?

The Post-it Note is listed with a purchase credit; Scotch Tape is listed as a proposed acquisition. The checklist gives Art Fry and Spencer Silver as the Post-it’s designers at 3M. Our Post-it Notes guide covers the product, and our Scotch Magic Tape guide covers the tape.

What couldn’t we confirm?

We couldn’t confirm the Lamy 2000 or the Fisher Space Pen from a MoMA page. Pen forums often say the Lamy 2000 is in MoMA’s collection. We did not find a MoMA collection record for it, so we leave it out. NASA’s Spinoff site says Space Pens are in MoMA’s permanent collection, but we read no MoMA record for one; our Fisher Bullet guide repeats the claim as NASA’s.

We also did not check the museum’s full catalogue, because MoMA’s search pages were blocked for our tools. There may be more stationery in the collection than the two records and the checklist we list here.

Is the MoMA Design Store the same as the collection?

No: the MoMA Design Store is the museum’s shop, and a pen sold there is not a collection object. It sells pens, notebooks and sharpeners made by other brands, such as the Blackwing One-Step sharpener. MoMA has also put its name on a Moleskine notebook with Van Gogh artwork. Treat a store listing as a product, not a museum credential.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Bic Cristal in MoMA's collection?

Yes. MoMA's collection page lists the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen, 1950, as object number 1409.2001.1-2, a gift of the manufacturer (Societe Bic, France), in polystyrene, polypropylene and tungsten carbide. BIC's own history dates its entry to 2001.

Is a fountain pen in MoMA's collection?

Yes. MoMA holds the Hastil fountain pen designed by Marco Zanuso in 1969 and made by Aurora S.p.A. of Turin, Italy. Its page gives the materials as steel, plastic and white gold, the object number as 61.1972 and the credit as a gift of the manufacturer.

Is the Post-it Note in MoMA's collection?

MoMA's 2004 humble masterpieces checklist lists a Post-it Note, about 1977, by Art Fry and Spencer Silver for 3M, with the credit line Purchase. A 2014 MoMA blog post also names the Post-it Note among the pieces it showed in that exhibition.

Is the Lamy 2000 in MoMA?

We couldn't confirm it. Many pen sites say the Lamy 2000 is in MoMA's collection, but we did not find a MoMA collection page for it, so we don't state it as fact. Check MoMA's online collection before quoting the claim.

Is the Fisher Space Pen in MoMA?

NASA's Spinoff site says Space Pens are in MoMA's permanent collection. We could not open a MoMA record for one, so we report it as NASA's statement. Our Fisher Bullet guide covers the pen itself.

What was the humble masterpieces exhibition?

An exhibition of everyday designed objects at MoMAQNS, MoMA's Queens space, from April 8 to September 27, 2004. Its checklist lists 122 objects, and the introduction by curator Paola Antonelli names the Bic pen and the paper clip.

Can I buy what MoMA collected?

Often, yes. The Bic Cristal, Post-it Notes, Scotch Tape and paperclips are ordinary products. The Hastil is a 1969 design, so we did not check whether Aurora sells it today. The MoMA Design Store's own pens and notebooks are separate products.

Sources (6)

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