Vintage Advertising Pacific Northwest Bell Ink Pen Gold Tone. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company was formed in 1961 when it spun off from Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. Being majority owned by AT&T they were court ordered to split 1984 in order to break up a monopoly. They then became a subsidiary of US West. In 1991 US West merged with Qwest then took on the branding in 2000. In 2011 Qwest merged with CenturyLink. Bankers Pens brand made in the USA.