Re: Vintage Italian Pen series
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
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