The Marco Aurelio Street Pen Meeting

It’s a great pleasure to spend a night playing with vintage pens, particularly when there are many high quality vintage writing instruments from different collections. On June 12th, myself and some fellow collectors ( Edoardo, Fabio, Giovanni and Nicola) met with our best pens at Edorado’s home which is in Marco Aurelio street, not far from Colosseum. Using few words but many pictures, I would like to describe the incredible high level of pens which appeared on Edoardo’s table (Fig.1). I hope you will enjoy all the following images.

Figure 1- Edoardo's table

Firstly, we started the meeting with some American pens. Figure 2 shows a series of Parker Duofolds, the first of which was a senior RHR.

Figure 2 - Parker Duofolds

Fabio showed us an ultra-rare late series Security pen with the original Educator nib. It’s great pen of pretty black-bronze celluloid (fig. 3 and 4).

Figure 3 -Security pen with original Educator nib

Figure 4

Figure 5 shows us

Figure 5

1) Parker Duofold senior RHR
2) Waterman 7
3) Swan red-mottled
4) Crocker blow-filler 40 red-mottled
5) Wahl red-mottled
6) A red-mottled Moore’s safety pen.

The following picture (Fig. 6) shows us

Figure 6

1) Pick BCHR with a rapidograph-like point
2) A giant BHR Crocker pen-pencil combination
3) A large Dunn with the Dunn Camel nib
4) An unmarked jade green pen which resembles a Crocker with installed Crocker 6 nib
5) A Vacumatic oversize.

We continued to examine American pens and again I took a picture of another group shown in figure 7

Figure 7

1) Chilton Boston oversize jade green
2) Wonderful Conklin Nozac
3) Onoto plunger-filler made of a pretty red-mottled hard rubber and having the original DE LA RUE ONOTO LONDON nib
4) Still a Crocker H-filler
5) A Waterman 58
6) Chilton Wing-flow
7) The Improved Moore’s safety pen.

So, we started to look at the first group of vintage Italian pens, figure 8 shows....

Figure 8

1) 1940s Ancora lusso blue-veined
2) 1940s Columbus 134 red-black marble
3) 1940s Tibaldi vacumatic
4) A black and pearl Olo g 23 (Aurora production or most probably Olo have been produced by Genesio family for Aurora
5) Omas extra-lucens gray Manhattan patter
6) Littoria black-bronze (Littoria were produced by the Columbus company
7) 1940s Radius Superior brown Arco celluloid with a Radius Superior 8 steel nib
8) Tabo transparent multi-color Manhattan patter with a vacumatic ink filling mechanism
9) 1950s Columbus red-black marble celluloid.

Figure 9

Figure 9 also shows us three pens of great interest. The first is an Omega (produced by Alfredo verga in Milan) 1937 safety pen which was produced by Kaweco for Omega. Of great interest is the original Omega 10 Kt solid gold nib. The second and the third pen are a Waterman 42 and a Columbus safety pen. Both these two pens are of great interest because have been sold by the famous Pineider pen store, Florence, Italy. Since 1800s, Pineider was based in Signoria square of the town of Florence. Both the clips , the first made of ferosilver and the second of solid 800 silver, are marked F. Pineider FIRENZE. Also of great interest is the fact that the Waterman is marked “F. PINEIDER FIRENZE” also on the barrel. Whereas the Columbus’ pen showed us additional interesting information; in fact this pen is marked “AVM” ( Alfredo Verga Milano) such as can be observed on Omega pens. It’s well noted that Alfredo and Eugenio Verga were two brothers that during 1920s started to produce eye-dropper and safety pens in Milan. Generally, Columbus pens are found to be engraved with “EVM” (Eugenio Verga Milano) whereas Omega pens are found to be engraved with “AVM”. Why is this Columbus engraved with “AVM”?

Figure 10

Figure 11

It’s now a great moment, two great pictures for probably the best 1930s pen never been produced by Ancora for Uhlmann-Eterno. Figures 10 and 11 show an Uhlmann-Eterno 12 side faccetted Gray-green ARCO lever-filler pen. It’s really wonderful. I have never seen such a wonderful Arco pattern. Figure 12 shows us further great pens

Figure 12

1) Omega SUPERNOVA plunger-filler (this pen is one-piece barrel and section) gray Manhattan patter
2) Radius Superior Blue with bronze veins, lever-filler, and with a Radius Superior no. 10 gold nib
3) Aurora NOVUM with security clip
4) Aurora SUPERNA!!!
5) Radius Superior TRANSPARENT with an ink filling mechanism fairly similar to the system adopted for the Ink-vue by Waterman
6) Magnificent Ancora DAMA Blue marble with the lever-filler mechanism....and again figure 13 shows

Figure 13

1) A superb Columbus 98 lapis with the “spoon-filler” ink filling mechanism
2) a Columbus 96 in red-mottled HR having the same mechanism
3) wonderful 12 side facetted Montegrappa’s pen
4) a very rare Aurora ARA 4 red mottled HR.

Figure 14

Figure 14 shows us
1) Tibaldi “Infrangibile”
2) Still another Tibaldi “Infrangibile”
3) The superb Tibaldi REX
4) An ultra rare 1920s Tibaldi black HR safety pen....and again figure 15 with

Figure 15

1) Aurora NOVUM of a wonderful veined celluloid with the security clip
2) Minerva pen (1930’ Omas production)
3) Aurora NOVUM with the classic clip
4) Aurora SUPERNA
5) the famous Aurora ETIOPIA.

Figure 16 shows us

Figure 16

1) A wonderful 1930s Montegrappa button-filler
2) A World War II period Columbus gray celluloid with Manhattan pattern
3) Aurora NOVUM still with the security clip and
4) A very pretty Williamson brown celluloid with Manhattan pattern, it’s a pen of very high quality
5) A superb Tabo Transparent gray celluloid with a vacumatic system.

Now the famous Omas’ pens. Figure 17 shows

Figure 17

1) Omas 361 brown Arco
2) Omas Extra-lucens of a magnificent color
3) Omas extra set blue Arco....really wonderful.
4) Omas Extra-lucens black with a perfect transparency of the barrel. Still further Omas pens for your eyes. Figure 18 shows:

Figure 18

1) Omas lucens green marble
2) Omas Extra lever-filler
3) Omas Extra-lucens gray Manhattan pattern with the classic Omas extra-lucens gold arrow nib
4) late 40s Omas piston-filler
5) Omas Extra-lucens with the gray Manhattan pattern, steel clip and bands and with the original omas Permanio nib.

Figure 19 show again wonderful pieces

Figure 19

1) Montegrappa button-filler pen
2) Omas Extra-lucens of a very very pretty color
3) Minerva piston filler pen
4) Contessa Perla(1930s Omas’ production) with the classic Superpenna Contessa nib
5) Still another Montegrappa’s pen.

Now it’s moment to show you some of Ancora’s pens. Figure 20 shows

Figure 20

1) Magnificent Ancora DAMA with a personal point like section
2) The famous Ancora DUPLEX with two bands on the barrel and four on the cap
3) An ultra rare Ancora DAMA with the plunger-filler ink filling mechanism and a transparent barrel
4) The last of this group shows you an attractive celluloid which is very hard to find again. We nearly at the end of this review and figure 21 shows

Figure 21

1) Aurora ARA 3 made of red-mottled HR
2) A rare black and pearl Aurora ML
3) A gorgeous set Aurora INTERNAZIONALE blue-bronze celluloid coming with the original box. Of great interest is that fact that the pencil is marked also Edacoto to underline the cooperation which was existed between these two companies.

Figure 22

Finally some superb Montblancs (fig. 22 and 23). In figure 23 you can observe a Montblanc with the pneumatic ink filling mechanism which works like the Chilton ones.

Figure 23

The last pictures (Fig. 24 and 25) are for two Italian pens, particularly Duo-color pens. The first is a Dante Davide Zerollo and the second is a Diana. This last shows to have two different lever filler mechanisms with two different reservoirs and nibs, two caps and one clip.

Figure 24

Figure 25

You can find more detailed information about all these vintage fountain pens in the most popular books. Our aim was simply to show you some pictures.