The GERMAN Columbus brand...

Michael has written,
From what I can gather, the brothers Meissner owned Salamander; sometime in the 1930's they moved the factory to southern Germany and renamed their product Rackete (rocket) to keep up with the times.... hard to know what the war did, as it seems that K. Meissner is the only brother identified in the later Columbus invoices. It seems that Columbus was a separate small company that Meissner(s) took over after the war. It had nothing to do with the Italian Columbus pen maker.

Rick, thanks for providing that very clear history of these different brands. That seems to take care of many of the questions I had.

This is such an interesting company, it seems like it was a first tier brand and that Salamander and Rakete were as well. These are no doubt much less known, and harder to find than the ever popular and also first tier Montblanc and Pelikan pens of the same eras.

On another note, good to know German Columbus was an entirely separate company from Italian Columbus, both seemed to have made beautiful pens though!


If anyone else has a Columbus/Rakete/Salamander pen to share, please do post pictures!

Something else for our Meissner Columbus/Salamander collection

I did not see this topic before. It is very good information, thank you for sharing it. I am adding here for of those pens in my collection, I really enjoy writing with them (two of them only test them recently)
They are:

Rakete 404 (marbled green) PBF, nib: Rakete 4 14 karat
Rakete 440 Black Safety nib: Rakete 4 14 karat (it has a 6 or b in italics)
Salamander 770 (the larger one gold filled) Safety, inscribed E M in reference to the nib, nib: Salamander 7 14 karat
Salamander, gold filled, Safety nib: Salamander 2 14 karat

The only information I have now is the one shared here.
Regards, Ariel

Since it is the first time I attach images here now I know I can use larger ones...
Sorry for that..

I did not see this topic before. It is very good information, thank you for sharing it. I am adding here for of those pens in my collection, I really enjoy writing with them (two of them only test them recently)
They are:

Rakete 404 (marbled green) PBF, nib: Rakete 4 14 karat
Rakete 440 Black Safety nib: Rakete 4 14 karat (it has a 6 or b in italics)
Salamander 770 (the larger one gold filled) Safety, inscribed E M in reference to the nib, nib: Salamander 7 14 karat
Salamander, gold filled, Safety nib: Salamander 2 14 karat

The only information I have now is the one shared here.
Regards, Ariel

Ariel,

Those are truly stunning Salamanders! I'm glad you posted them, they have lovely overlays and cap finials.

Please do post some large pictures if you get the chance!

Gobblecup

Thanks for your comment, I just took some fast images but I will have better images in the next couple of days and will gladly post them... I was so surprised when I saw another nib with a large E in it that I thought I had to send images, I will.
Great and surprising pens indeed... I love the green logo at the top, it reminds me of MB, Osmia, Merkurit and other MB secondary brands; the same logo form which is repeated in the nib around the nib number or by the side ...

I forgot to add that I have been collecting two other "obscure pens" as it is usually mentioned: "Greif" (I have four up to now) which was manufactured also near Hannover in Goslar and whose factory was bought by Pelikan around 1965.. and Matador (I have many safeties, turbos and later ones) ... so rereading all the posts I wonder if all those factories were not some how related to resist the strength of Pelikan, MB or Soennecken... by the way there is an article in the last book by Stephen Hull about the production of pens in Germany in 1946, which pens they were allowed to produce and how many, by the British authorities, It is very helpful, I guess I will scan it and post it with the images... maybe you will find there some of the information you are looking for...
Regards, Ariel

Gobblecup

Thanks for your comment, I just took some fast images but I will have better images in the next couple of days and will gladly post them...
Regards, Ariel

Hello,

Uploaded images are capped around 500k for posts. However, at top of every page is a tab for GALLERY, which takes you away from FORUM to our photo hosting area. You can create your own album or use one of the few subject albums already present. 25 MB of storage is allocated to each member. This is a rare thing for pen boards. JPG compression and size cap still suggested, but you can store many pictures with the free hosting. Using the image share link (BBC code version is easiest, just paste it directly into your text), the image will appear in any post you choose.

Hello,

Uploaded images are capped around 500k for posts. However, at top of every page is a tab for GALLERY, which takes you away from FORUM to our photo hosting area. You can create your own album or use one of the few subject albums already present. 25 MB of storage is allocated to each member. This is a rare thing for pen boards. JPG compression and size cap still suggested, but you can store many pictures with the free hosting. Using the image share link (BBC code version is easiest, just paste it directly into your text), the image will appear in any post you choose.

Thank you for this information it would certainly be very useful
Regards, Ariel

Ariel,

Those are truly stunning Salamanders! I'm glad you posted them, they have lovely overlays and cap finials.

Please do post some large pictures if you get the chance!

I have posted some larger images in the section Gallery / Members....
Here I am adding the pages of the book I mentioned you, i hope it is useful although it does not say anything about Salamander in particular...
The book is The English Fountain Pen Industry, 1875-1975 by Stephen Hull from 2011