11 replies to this topic

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hey there

No name and named but company mysteriously not known - or little known - fountain pens are things I seem to find often.
I kind of wish I had purchased every one of them I 'have' found, instead of being put off by the learned collectors who seem to have directed me so.

I would be interested to find out who has similar pens and stories [and photo's] they would like to share regarding these pens.

I am wondering if anyone knows who made this one of mine.
A cracked Ice pattern with a lovely nib with what appears to be a Lion or Bear head on it. I was once told by a collector he thought it was a German nib, and was checking his records, but alas, after many months with no reply, I can only assume he found nothing, and just neglected to contact me again.



Here is a close-up of the nib in question.



Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to assist me with this one.

[Hugh]

Hi Garth,

I've a "gut" feeling this is German as well!!. Something about the "Lion's Head" rings a bell ( I know...a very small bell...rather hollow...and not much substance!!) , regardless of that you have a nice item. Is the feed there? If not one well worth doing up imo.

Regards
Hugh

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hi Garth,

I've a "gut" feeling this is German as well!!. Something about the "Lion's Head" rings a bell ( I know...a very small bell...rather hollow...and not much substance!!) , regardless of that you have a nice item. Is the feed there? If not one well worth doing up imo.

Regards
Hugh

Hi Hugh

Hope the bell helps your rememberer regarding the German influence about the nib / pen.

Yes the pen has a feed, [photo below] and it is after 10 pm here, and my digital camera battery is on charge, so took this with my mobile phone. Better photo tomorrow, but hopefully enough to get by for now.



Respectfully and hopeful of a plethora of information in the morning from yourself and others. LOL.

Edited by FmrLEO_GJ, 17 November 2011 - 11:25 AM.

[david i]

Garth,

I posted your pen to the Zoss List.

Rick Propas is having trouble posting today (we're peeking at the board ware), but emailed,

Interesting pen and I can't really add to Vance's comment but the cracked
ice pattern is not often seen in German pens. Interesting . . .

Vance Koven had this to offer:

From what I can find out, the lion's head (get new glasses, David) nib was made by Peter Rupp, who made nibs for Kaweco and Osmia. The pen pictured in Garth's post looks to me like an Osmia, or possibly a Faber-Castell from the 1950s.


Vance R. Koven

David Wells offered the following:

Hi David

I fairly certain that it is indeed a German manufactured pen. The piston mechanism looks to be the same as many 60's & 70's designs that I have seen.

As for the creature on the nib and the manufacturer, I can't be certain, but it looks similar to the Tigers head logo used on some of the Le Tigre advertising materials, which used profile images, but the pen nibs and barrel imprints had full face images.

Examples of the advertising logos can be seen on the Le Tigre page of my website, http://conway-stewar...uk/le_tigre.htm.


Sorry I can't be more specific.

[Hugh]

Hi Garth,

Your pen has certainly attracted some attention!! Having read the above , the Osmia connection is probably where I've seen the Lions head nib.

Regards
Hugh

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Garth,

I posted your pen to the Zoss List.

Rick Propas is having trouble posting today (we're peeking at the board ware), but emailed,

Interesting pen and I can't really add to Vance's comment but the cracked
ice pattern is not often seen in German pens. Interesting . . .

Vance Koven had this to offer:

From what I can find out, the lion's head (get new glasses, David) nib was made by Peter Rupp, who made nibs for Kaweco and Osmia. The pen pictured in Garth's post looks to me like an Osmia, or possibly a Faber-Castell from the 1950s.


Vance R. Koven

David Wells offered the following:

Hi David

I fairly certain that it is indeed a German manufactured pen. The piston mechanism looks to be the same as many 60's & 70's designs that I have seen.

As for the creature on the nib and the manufacturer, I can't be certain, but it looks similar to the Tigers head logo used on some of the Le Tigre advertising materials, which used profile images, but the pen nibs and barrel imprints had full face images.

Examples of the advertising logos can be seen on the Le Tigre page of my website, http://conway-stewar...uk/le_tigre.htm.


Sorry I can't be more specific.

Hi David

Thank you for posting on Zoss list - that was very thoughtful of you. Interesting enough Vance Koven has emailed me about other pens, and I had asked regarding this pen a time ago on the Yahoo Group you and I are a part of and nothing was said about it then. Enough said, there is some information now.

I will get showered and tidied up, get the digital battery back in the camera and take some better photographs of the pen, feed, and nib, and re-post to the gallery and post.

Thanks again

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hi Garth,

Your pen has certainly attracted some attention!! Having read the above , the Osmia connection is probably where I've seen the Lions head nib.

Regards
Hugh

Hi Hugh

It certainly did
I have had it as one of my earliest finds in my little collection, having found it many years ago, and paying pittance for.

I will now go and find some information / photo's / website that has Osmia pens.

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hi Hugh

It certainly did
I have had it as one of my earliest finds in my little collection, having found it many years ago, and paying pittance for.

I will now go and find some information / photo's / website that has Osmia pens.

Well, I have tried to find my pen on the internet putting in Osmia, Faber-Castell and found nothing similar
I have typed in Peter Rupp nibs, and found less

Does anyone else have any suggestions of where I may check? Other 'search engine' wording?
It feels I am so close on this one now, but it still eludes identification

[FmrLEO_GJ]

What do you all think?

While surfing the net trying to find information about my Onoto sterling overlay, I stumbled upon this page:
http://www.penhome.c...oto_Archive.htm

7th pen from the bottom, albeit the cap is fixed to the pen so verifying if a blue view window is impossible, looks remarkably like this unknown cracked ice pattern pen of mine.
The cap jewel / tassie is not as elongated as mine, but 'to me' at least, this is the closest I have seen.
Also, mine has only the single yellow metal band on the cap lip, and not the three as shown on the example... but....

An Esterbrook?
Could it be?

[AZuniga]

Hi there,

I had not seen this post before, sorry. I just want to add some thoughts about your pen.
It is certainly German. I am sure it is not Esterbrook. Most probably a sub brand made by Osmia or Staedtler,
but it could also be a brand named Ero.
It is very common to see animal logos in German pens, I have one with a deer, another with a bear
or the fabulous Greif in Greif pens.
One possibility is your particular pen was made for the English market in the hard times
after the war, early fifties. the Cracked Ice pattern was particularly well received in England as you know.
I am posting in the Gallery a picture (unfortunately not so good but I will try to improve it soon), of a couple of cheap
German pens, one is called Super ...(??) Pen, the other is Oriental.
They have many similarities with yours: the clip, the top, the lower part too, both have a transparent blue inkview
although not the beautiful pattern which makes yours special.
Hope this helps
Regards

[FmrLEO_GJ]

Hi there,

I had not seen this post before, sorry. I just want to add some thoughts about your pen.
It is certainly German. I am sure it is not Esterbrook. Most probably a sub brand made by Osmia or Staedtler,
but it could also be a brand named Ero.
It is very common to see animal logos in German pens, I have one with a deer, another with a bear
or the fabulous Greif in Greif pens.
One possibility is your particular pen was made for the English market in the hard times
after the war, early fifties. the Cracked Ice pattern was particularly well received in England as you know.
I am posting in the Gallery a picture (unfortunately not so good but I will try to improve it soon), of a couple of cheap
German pens, one is called Super ...(??) Pen, the other is Oriental.
They have many similarities with yours: the clip, the top, the lower part too, both have a transparent blue inkview
although not the beautiful pattern which makes yours special.
Hope this helps
Regards

Hi there to you Penmex

thank you for this information and for the photo you have put in the gallery.
Would be lovely to see them with the caps removed to show the ink window - but in your time.

Trust you clicked on the link in my post immediately prior to yours, to see why I considered the Esterbrook idea, but you - along with a number of others - seem to have the knowledge where I do not.

Again, thank you.

[AZuniga]

Hi there,

I had not seen this post before, sorry. I just want to add some thoughts about your pen.
It is certainly German. I am sure it is not Esterbrook. Most probably a sub brand made by Osmia or Staedtler,
but it could also be a brand named Ero.
It is very common to see animal logos in German pens, I have one with a deer, another with a bear
or the fabulous Greif in Greif pens.
One possibility is your particular pen was made for the English market in the hard times
after the war, early fifties. the Cracked Ice pattern was particularly well received in England as you know.
I am posting in the Gallery a picture (unfortunately not so good but I will try to improve it soon), of a couple of cheap
German pens, one is called Super ...(??) Pen, the other is Oriental.
They have many similarities with yours: the clip, the top, the lower part too, both have a transparent blue inkview
although not the beautiful pattern which makes yours special.
Hope this helps
Regards

Hi there to you Penmex

thank you for this information and for the photo you have put in the gallery.
Would be lovely to see them with the caps removed to show the ink window - but in your time.

Trust you clicked on the link in my post immediately prior to yours, to see why I considered the Esterbrook idea, but you - along with a number of others - seem to have the knowledge where I do not.

Again, thank you.

I added another image to the gallery, I guess it will be more helpful than the first one.
Regards