Vintage Italian Pen Series by AltecGreen [Pic Heavy!]

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E. E. Ercolessi is one of the most important pen stores in Italy. The store(s) are based in Milan and have had a hand in the development of several Italian pen companies. The friendship between the founders of Ercolessi with the Verga Brothers (Columbus) and Armando Simoni (Omas) is noted. Ercolessi did not make their own pens but contracted out to various companies. Many of the pens sold were variants of Omas and Columbus pens.

This particular pen looks like Columbus production.

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This pen has one of the most magnificent celluloid patterns I've ever seen. The pen is a Columbus 25. It was a mid-priced pen made in the late 1930's. It was made in a difficult economic time but Columbus maintained quality. But this pen is all about the celluloid.



Somewhat faded art deco band


Amazing celluloid pattern



Standard Columbus nib.

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Let's look at some post war pens.


This pen is a Duchessa. Duchessa is one of the many Montegrappa sub-brands. One can see the influence of the Wahl Eversharp Skyline. The pen has a more rounded and streamline look that was popular after the wear. Duchessa was a more budget oriented line and this pen is definitely a budget pen. The celluloid is nice but not spectacular. I've seen this pen in at least 4-5 other celluloid patterns. The pen is a button filler.

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Safis took a similar route to their post-war pens. This Radius has the new popular streamline cigar shape rather than the classic design of the Radius Superior I showed earlier. Like the Duchessa above, the cap bands became simpler. Gone are the ornate caps bands on the Radius Superior. The celluloid is classic light colored Tortoise shell celluloid seen on many Italian pens.

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Omas also introduced more rounded pen bodies in the form of the Ogival. But I don't have one of those. Omas continued with their classic facetted shapes in addition to the Ogival.. However, there were tweaks to the classic design. The trim was simplified to a single thick solid cap band, simple non-roller clip and the proportions seem a bit more 'modern'. Of course, the filling system was switched to a piston filler. This Omas Extra was made for Italia Navigazione.

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Now back to more classic pens.


Here is a selection of Columbus 98's. The 98 was a mainline pen for Columbus in the 1930's and were the first main series with the introduction of celluloid. The first pens made in celluloid were derivative of the Parker Duofold. The pen (on the left) is a clone of the Parker Duofold with one exception. These pens were soon replaced with pens that are classically Italian. The 98 was made for quite some time and underwent many subtle changes in trim. Simple clip, roller clips, and a Parker-like arrow clip. The number of celluloid patterns is just vast for these pens. The filling system for these pens is unique to Columbus, a spoon filler. Basically, the pen has a spoon which when depressed would compress the sac. It's bit of a novelty and not my favorite filling system but is it definitely unique to Columbus.

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The Omas Extra series was Omas main line pen in the early 30's and replaced the earlier Duofold like pens. The round and facetted Omas Extra oens were lever fillers and really have the classic design that continues today. This pen is a medium sized cylindrical Omas Extra. The pen has the classic Greek key band set off by two smaller bands.

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Omega is an interesting company. In 1919 Eugenio and Alfredo Verga started the Columbus pen company in 1919. Around 1930, the brothers parted ways. Alfredo Verga started the Omega pen company in Milan and made good quality pens through the 1930's while Eugenio continued on with Columbus. The Supernova series was one of the better known Omega pen models. This pen is a button filler in a classic red marble celluloid.

Omega Supernova






Gold plated steel nib

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The Aurora Selene was a budget pen from Aurora made in the 1940's. The pen came with chrome trim and Aurora's steel alloy nib called Platridio. The pens came in a dozen varieties of celluloid. This was a successful series that was made until the mid 1940's.

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Astura was a budget line from SAFIS. These were nice economical pens that came in a variety of nice celluloid patterns. These came in round and facetted varieties. These were low cost high volume pens.

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Goliarda is a Ancora sub-brand. The pen has an interesting flared clip. The Goliarda pens were budget offerings but still had quality celluloid and gold nibs. This pen has a warranted Ancora nib that is marked with the Ancora symbol.