65 replies to this topic

[david i]

One of my montage shots done about ten years ago, from the high volume pen photography I used to do at pen shows. I own none of the following.

regards

david

[AltecGreen]

To change things up, the next pen I'm showing is a pen from the early 1930's. Specific pen stores are important in the development of Italian fountain pens. Many important stores commissioned pens from many of the major and minor pen makes. The pen I'm showing next was sold by Stilo Fetti in Rome. Fetti opened in 1893 and are still in business. In the early 1930's to the end of that decade, Fetti ordered pens from Omas. Like the pen I'm showing today, the early Fetti pens (FIPS) were clones of the Parker Duofold. The Parker Duofold was tremendously influential and many Italian makers started their business making Parker Duofold-like pens.


The FIPS pen I own is in a classic blue and bronze celluloid.



The top cap is slightly tapered and knurled



Knurled blindcap



The cap band is a single capband with two lines. Other FIPS pens had two cap bands that resemble Parker trim.





I expect to be busy the rest of the day and tomorrow so I'll put up more pens today.

Going in the opposite direction in time, we look at a post-war Columbus pen. After WWII, the Italian pens moved away from flat top and other classic pen designs towards a more streamlined and rounded look. It was also a time of re-building as many of the pen factories were destroyed or damaged during the war. Columbus introduced the lever filling model 55. This was a solidly built pen with an affordable price. It has the new streamlined look but kept the large variety of celluloids (much stock was saved and hoarded from the 1930's by Columbus). There is nothing fancy about this pen and uses the tried and true lever filler. The pen was a hit. These are very nice pens to use.

The Columbus 55






Logo



These pens were made from sheets of celluloid that were rolled and sealed. This was much cheaper than lathe turning rod stock.



The pens were available with gold nibs and gold trim or steel nibs and chrome trim




They came in a wide variety of celluloid patterns

[AltecGreen]

To start the week, I have some of most favorite vintage Italian pens to collect and use. Yes, I do use some of them.

The pen is a Minerva Classica. Minerva is a sub-brand of Omas that sold very high quality pens that rival the quality of mainline Omas pens but with a twist. Most if not all of the major Italian companies has sub-brands in the golden age. Some were lower tier pens, some were meant for export, some were very high quality. Armando Simoni, the founder of Omas, kept the Omas line very conservative. There were not a lot of styling changes in the flagship Omas lines. However, the Minerva pens had many different body styles and trim that were never seen on the main line Omas pens. The Classica is a lever filler with a single cap band, a shovel clip, and very clean styling from the mid-1930's. The ones I own all have fabulous flexible nibs that are very fine (almost Japanese like). They came in many varieties of celluloid including three unique vertically striated celluloids.

Minerva Classica is two sizes.



Up close



Vertically Striated Celluloid. The larger pen has some discoloration on the barrel. This pattern can also be found in blue.



Minerva Logo



Very fine nibs

[Marsilius]

Wow. Those are gorgeous, and more great information! And this is for starters, eh? It looks like it will be a good week.

[playtime]

I love this thread--i have yet to purchase an Italian pen, soon perhaps because of these pics:)

thx for sharing

J

[AltecGreen]

A quick one for today.


The pen is a Zemax. I'm not sure of the model. I'm not even sure Zemax had model numbers. Zemax was a company founded in 1934 in Turin by Massimo Zeme, hence the name Zemax. The pens are not quite equal to the quality of the major houses but the pens are of good quality, had interesting trim, and by all accounts were good value for the money at the time. The big attraction of this particular pens are the two rather intricate and ornate bands on the cap and barrel. The bands give the pen a very elegant look and is something not common in vintage pens. Modern on the otherhand.....




barrel band



cap band



The pen has a celluloid section.

[AltecGreen]

Today's pen is a Williamson, the Italian Williamson.

According to research, the founder of the Italian Williamson was an agent for the American Williamson and sold the American made pens in Italy. In the twenties, the Italian Williamson starting making pens in Turin and by all accounts took the American name and four clover logo as expediency. The Italian Williamsons most successful pens were from the thirties and were button fillers in ringed celluloid. The celluloid obviously invokes Parker but has a unique feel to it. They are very nice. Williamson also made safety pens and other celluloid pens. My pen is in a slick golden ringed celluloid and is in the large size.


Williamson



Williamson logo



Stylized arrow clip. Kinda looks like a Stipula clip.



Unfortnately, my pen does not have the original clip. It has an AET (another Italian pen company) replacement.

[brando090]

A quick one for today.


The pen is a Zemax. I'm not sure of the model. I'm not even sure Zemax had model numbers. Zemax was a company founded in 1934 in Turin by Massimo Zeme, hence the name Zemax. The pens are not quite equal to the quality of the major houses but the pens are of good quality, had interesting trim, and by all accounts were good value for the money at the time. The big attraction of this particular pens are the two rather intricate and ornate bands on the cap and barrel. The bands give the pen a very elegant look and is something not common in vintage pens. Modern on the otherhand.....




barrel band



cap band



The pen has a celluloid section.

I just keep coming back to this pen, I love the look of this pen. Congrats on the find!

[AltecGreen]

Since there was interest in pistonfillers, I have today a Montegrappa from the 1940's.

By the forties, many Italian companies adopted the piston filler mechanism. These were produced along side other filling systems. This Montegrappa pen is kind of mid-range pen. It is medium sized and came in a variety of different celluloids. The Montegrappa pens sported a large ink window. In this pen, the ink window has a web pattern. I've seen other pens in this series with cross hatch markings on the ink window. This pen sports a steel nib and is possibly wartime production. The piston works pretty well and this is a nice user pen. There were fairly popular because they came in a wide variety of colors.

[AltecGreen]

The Columbus 130 series pens were the mainline pens from Columbus after the war. They were very successful and came in three sizes (130, 132, and 134) and in at least twelve different celluloids. One look at the 130 series and you will see the influence of the Wahl Evershap Skyline in the design of the 130 series pens. One of the post war trends in Italian design was towards a more rounded and streamlined shape and away from the classic flat top pens. The 130 series came with a venerable but reliable lever filler.


Columbus 130 family



Columbus 134



Columbus 132



Columbus 130



Skyline like top of the cap.



Columbus clip from the 1940's



Standard Columbus nib

[AltecGreen]

Today's pen is a Columbus 128.






Wait. Isn't this a Columbus 134 I showed yesterday.





Hmmm.......no lever.





There is a knob at the end.




Ink Window




The Columbus 128 is a fairly obscure variant of the Columbus 134 with the obvious change to a piston filler.

[markiv]

Thank you for starting this thread and treating us with these delightful pens. Keep 'em coming.

[Marsilius]

Great stuff. The clip on those 128 and 130, etc. recall just ever so slightly the Skyline clip design. Just ever so slightly. Coincidence?

[Rick Propas]

Ricky, brilliant thread! You know that I share your love for these pens.

[AltecGreen]

Ok! I'm back. The computer situation is mostly resolved. To celebrate, let's pull out the good stuff.


I return with the Omas Extra Lucens. The facetted Extra Lucens was Omas' flagship pen for many decades and it is the pen I think of when I think of Omas. The Extra Lucens was introduced in 1936/1937 in response to Parker's vacumatic along with the cylindrical Lucens. The Extra Lucens and Lucens used a new filling system patented by Armando Simoni called the "stantuffo tuffante". It is functionally very similar to the filling system on a Dunn. The first generation Extra Lucens had a Greek key cap band like the Omas Extra, a roller clip, and very light colored transparent celluloid. The celluloid was not stable when the pens first came out. Omas switched to darker celluloid and changed the clip to a arrow clip (a
la Parker) and three thin cap band rings. The first gen Extra Lucens are among the rarest of the rare. Few are known to still exist. Here I show the two Extra Lucens I own, one in tortoise shell and the other in a Parker-like ringed celluloid. Both are medium sized.









Lucens arrow nib

Edited by AltecGreen, 18 May 2013 - 02:00 AM.

[AltecGreen]

Today's pen is a Helios from probably the 40's. Helios was a company that was active from the late 30's to the late 40's based in Milan. Like many Italian companies, they were buying materials and parts and assembling pens. The pens are of reasonable quality with really good celluloid quality. This pen is in a gold veined green marbled celluloid. It is basically the green version of the 'oriental blue' that was featured in the Ancora #4 I showed. This pen is interesting because the shape has a balanced look and is very similar to modern Japanese pens. Think Nakaya Portable writer. This pen has a very smooth transition from the cap to barrel when the pen is capped. The pen also has an ornate cap band.

[Inkysloth]

I find the Parker detail copying interesting - the arrow shaped clips are one thing, but actually putting an arrow on the nib seems somehow wrong.

[AltecGreen]

Today we look at the Columbus Extra 90 series pens. These were among the last great pens made by Columbus. These were introduced in the late 40's and were made probably until 1952 when Columbus abandoned celluloid and focused on lower end pens. These pens have a unique button filling mechanism. You unscrew the top blind cap but the blind cap does not unscrew completely. Unscrewing the blind cap extends the cap and then you push down on the cap to actuate the button filler. You won't lose the blind cap with this mechanism. The mechanism is simple and effective. These pens were reasonably priced and came in a dazzling variety of celluloid as well as both steel and gold nibs. The larger pen is a Columbus Extra 92 and the smaller pen is a Columbus Extra 90.




The button fill system



The mechanism



The most brilliant green celluloid



Red Arco



Steel nib



Gold Nib

[markiv]

Copying is the best form of flattery. In my opinion Italians took the Parker design elements and raised it to whole another level.
The Helios is quite flamboyant; is it a man sized pen?

Thank you for sharing your collection of Columbus pen. Especially the latest ones as I have not see this variant of button filler.

[AltecGreen]

The Helios is quite flamboyant; is it a man sized pen?

The Helios is a medium sized pen. Kinda on the same size as a Pilot 74, Platinum 3776, and Sailor 1911M.

Edited by AltecGreen, 21 May 2013 - 02:48 AM.