Vintage Italian Pen series

[peterpen53]

I said it before, I'll say it again. How Montegrappa has changed! Not necessarily for the better, depending on one's personal taste, of course.

[AltecGreen]

I said it before, I'll say it again. How Montegrappa has changed! Not necessarily for the better, depending on one's personal taste, of course.

Maybe at the end of this series, I'll post some comparative pictures of past and present for the brands that still exist today.

It's a fun way to see the evolution in the pens and design.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Sometime I think I'm too addicted to media experiences, where "media" refers to something that comes between me and the physical reality. I've had opportunities to see AltecGreen's collection from close enough so that I can pick up the pens. But I feel I am enjoying this thread, with his commentary on individual pens and company history and lovely photographs, more than I've enjoyed looking at the real thing. Time to work on eliminating that need for a middle man. For now, I love this thread.

[JustinJ]

Sometime I think I'm too addicted to media experiences, where "media" refers to something that comes between me and the physical reality. I've had opportunities to see AltecGreen's collection from close enough so that I can pick up the pens. But I feel I am enjoying this thread, with his commentary on individual pens and company history and lovely photographs, more than I've enjoyed looking at the real thing. Time to work on eliminating that need for a middle man. For now, I love this thread.

It is not the media experience but that you have more information on the pens. With greater information on the pens, it much easier to appreciate them.

It reminds me of the times that I've watched Sister Wendy on PBS. She had a series of shows on art in various museums. She had a way of bringing out the paintings to help you appreciate them more.

This thread has helped me to understand Italian fountain pens. I never payed much attention to them, especially since they are not as prominent in the U.S. Now, after reading this thread and having more information, I am much more likely to look for one to purchase.

[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

[peterpen53]

That 134 almost looks like it's made of wood, especially the cap.

[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.

[gentlyom]

How beautiful Columbus pens are!! Definitely superb quality.

[DanDeM]

So much for retaining focus.

Here's what I know:
Columbus Overlay, button-fill. 10.1 cm, 4.0 inches. Nib reads Columbus (in script) 585K
(in a diamond). Spear clip, with box. Cap lip imprint: COLUMBUS LAMINATO ORO



My cheesy camera blows out the chasing detail, but the workmanship is remarkable; even
the fill button is gold filled.





Here's what I think:
#25, 1930 something.

Well AG, care to straighten me out, and please fill in the gaps?

Right now it sits ominously alone in a 48 pen case.

Looks like I'm going to be much more selective with the Hollands and the Wirts.

[AltecGreen]

Nice pen.

I don't usually go after the gold overlay pens but Columbus made very nice overlays.

I'll have to do a bit of digging. The pen could be 30's but I think 1940's is also a big possibility. By the late 1940's Columbus was making these pens with a piston filling mechanism.


BTW-I had a computer meltdown over the weekend so no more updates until I get the new computer up and running. I had to go buy a new computer at lunch today.

[DanDeM]

Nice pen.

I don't usually go after the gold overlay pens but Columbus made very nice overlays.

I'll have to do a bit of digging. The pen could be 30's but I think 1940's is also a big possibility. By the late 1940's Columbus was making these pens with a piston filling mechanism.


BTW-I had a computer meltdown over the weekend so no more updates until I get the new computer up and running. I had to go buy a new computer at lunch today.

Thanks. Anything you can add would help greatly. The background I've read is sketchy.
Hope the install goes smoothly and you don't lose anything.

[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

[Tony Rex]

You're a champ mate. And a generous one for showing us these. Because, my possibilities of owning these beauties are next to zero; from lack of resources and knowledge on my part, and opportunity on nature's. I'm not big on Italian pens but perhaps this thread may change that.

Edit: Oh, and moar please!!

[gentlyom]

Hi Altec, what beautiful Omas Extra Lucens pens you have!! And superb pictures you took!!

I especially like the tortoise shell color, and would want one in my collection. Would you mind tell which year was your pen made, and the price range of the pen like this? Very possible I would have to save up for two decades for one like yours.

[AltecGreen]

Hi Altec, what beautiful Omas Extra Lucens pens you have!! And superb pictures you took!!

I especially like the tortoise shell color, and would want one in my collection. Would you mind tell which year was your pen made, and the price range of the pen like this? Very possible I would have to save up for two decades for one like yours.

The Extra Lucens in this trim appeared in 1938 and continued in this style to probably the late 40's. At some point, the Extra Lucens became available only in black. The Tortoise shell pen has a two tone nib and was probably 1938-1940. The other pen has a single tone nib and probably dates to after the war.

These pens generally run $1-2K. For pens like the ones I showed above, you are looking more like $1.5k to over $2k depending on the seller.

[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.

[gentlyom]

The Extra Lucens in this trim appeared in 1938 and continued in this style to probably the late 40's. At some point, the Extra Lucens became available only in black. The Tortoise shell pen has a two tone nib and was probably 1938-1940. The other pen has a single tone nib and probably dates to after the war.

These pens generally run $1-2K. For pens like the ones I showed above, you are looking more like $1.5k to over $2k depending on the seller.

That's really informative, many thanks!! $2k is extremely expensive, but I really like the one you have which has beautiful translucent barrel. I will put in on my wishlist. I am very new to Itlian pens, I hope this is not too much to ask... but do you happen to know where I am likely to find one like this?

[AltecGreen]

The Extra Lucens in this trim appeared in 1938 and continued in this style to probably the late 40's. At some point, the Extra Lucens became available only in black. The Tortoise shell pen has a two tone nib and was probably 1938-1940. The other pen has a single tone nib and probably dates to after the war.

These pens generally run $1-2K. For pens like the ones I showed above, you are looking more like $1.5k to over $2k depending on the seller.

That's really informative, many thanks!! $2k is extremely expensive, but I really like the one you have which has beautiful translucent barrel. I will put in on my wishlist. I am very new to Itlian pens, I hope this is not too much to ask... but do you happen to know where I am likely to find one like this?

Vintage Italian pens are not easy to find in the US. There was very little export of pens from Italy during the period in question. Such pens can be found from various dealers who handle such pens. Gary Leherer usually has a selection of vintage Italian pens in each of his catalog. You'll have to wait and see if a Tortoise shows up. I bought the Tortoise pen from Letizia Jacopini who wrote the two volume "The History of the Italian Fountain Pens". There are a number of dealers based in Italy who could find the pen for you. Also, the Swann auction (if they have another one) is a good source. Youstruckgold acquired a tortoise from the last Swann auction. Finally, they do turn up at US pen shows but you will have to go to the shows and find the dealer with the pens. A black Extra Lucens is fairly easy to find and much less expensive ($600-1000).

[Jon Szanto]

Gee, Ricky, you think that Helios nib has any Parker lineage in it?

[AltecGreen]

Gee, Ricky, you think that Helios nib has any Parker lineage in it?

You can write a whole book about Parker and Waterman's influence on Italian fountain pens. Waterman's influence was in the early pens while Parker's influence spans the 20's to at least the 50's. Wahl-Eversharp's influence makes for an interesting debate.