65 replies to this topic

[tenney]

Such gorgeous celluloid... ahhhhh. I love seeing them in person and in photos. Thank you, Ricky.

In the pics of the Aurora Selene, the nib looks like there's a separation of the tines. Is that correct?

[marcshiman]

Ricky,

You've done a fantastic job building this collection, no easy task living on the West Coast! Collecting Italian pens is an exercise in both joy and frustration, and its very different from collecting American pens.

For one thing, only a small number of companies had catalogued colors and plastics (and for the most part, those catalogues are long gone). For the most part, manufacturers used what was available meaning that Italian pens are available in a dazzling array of celluloids. Even the most hardcore of Italian collectors (in Italy) will come across an Omas and say "I've never seen that before!" on a regular basis. Unfortunately, many of these celluloids are very unstable and finding them in good shape is a big part of the challenge.

The hardware (clips, bands, etc.) are of awful quality for the most part. We often find these pens with obvious replacement clips, and its not as if there's a large market of parts for these pens. I have an oversize Nettuno Superba - body, section and nib, no cap. On the occasion that I finally find a cap, I fully expect upon asking for a price to be told "no - you sell me the barrel, section and nib" and that will be the end of the negotiation.

Nibs are also next to impossible to find if there isn't an original in the pen. Omas, Columbus, and Radius nibs can be had but try to find a Tabo 10 size nib or a Zemax nib. I've heard that after the war, many people melted down their gold nibs.

Then come the brands. Letizia Jacopini authored THE BOOK(S) on Italian pens, and without it we would all be lost. But even still, we know that Omas, Montegrappa, SAFIS and others made pens and parts for other brands. Stores branded their own pens. I've got a full drawer (22 pens) of beautiful unbranded pens that Italian pen collectors can sit around and discuss as to where we think they came from. Yes, you can pay a heap of money for a name pen. Aurora, Omas, and Ancora seem to get the highest prices, Radius, Columbus, Tabo seem to be quite a bit cheaper despite being of equal quality.

And while we are talking about prices - get out your credit card, but call the bank to check your limit first. A common senior size Omas Extra Lucens starts at $2k and goes up from there. Mint Auroras (very hard to find, because their celluloids were very unstable) are $1k - $2k.

To me, collecting Italian pens means having an eye for a quality pen rather than knowing each brand, catalog, etc. If you have ever seen an ad that claims a brand to be a sub-brand of Omas or Montegrappa, its usually not true - although its entirely possible at one point in a company's history that its pens were manufactured for them by Omas or Montegrappa.

I'll post some other Italian pens when I get back home in a few months.

[AltecGreen]

Great post Marc.


The reason I collect vintage Italians aside from the celluloid is the challenge. It's always fun trying to figure out the origins of any given pen.

[AltecGreen]

Contrary to rumors, I have not run out of pens.


I have a bit of time tonight so let's throw up some more pens.


Tonight we have a pair of Omas Lucens. The Lucens was the cylindrical counterpart to the Omas Extra Lucens. The Lucens came out around the same time but perhaps a bit later than the Extra Lucens. Unlike the EXtra Lucens, the first generation Lucens were not made in the fragile light color celluloid so you can find first gen Lucens. The first gen pens have the classic Greek key band and the roller clip. These were soon changed to the arrow clip and three ring cap bands. My two pens are not as transparent as my Extra Lucens. The barrels of both pens have darkened. The red pen moreso. The picture with the flashlight hopefully gives you a sense of what the pen looked like when new. The larger pen has an Omas Extra nib which is possibly not original. The medium sized red marbled pen has the Lucens style arrow nib.

[penpalace]

Ricky,

 

I really enjoyed reading this thread from front to back. I don't know that I've run into you at one of the pen shows on the East Coast but you have some very nice pens. I do recall the thread after the Swann Gallery auction but somehow I missed this thread entirely.

 

I'll have to post some pictures too at some point. My personal collection only consists of a few Italian pens but I always have some for sale so I do get to enjoy them even with just a few to keep!

 

Pearce.

[penpalace]

Well I will finally start to post some pictures of some Italian pens, some are from my collection, others will undoubtedly end up for sale. I look forward to hearing from the Italian pen experts like yourself.

 

Pearce.