Aurea
1940s
About This Model
There were many small fountain pen manufacturers in Italy during the vintage era, particularly in Torino and Bologne, and included Artus, Atlantica, Aurea, Imperiale, Kosca and others. The trouble is that there is almost no published information about them, except for the wonderful scholarship of Letizia Jacobini, who has managed to tease out most of the sub-brands and models from brands, a tremendously complex job. Most of the brands here were one purchase I made some years back to experience mid-level Italian vintage pens. They were almost all button-fillers, in celluloid patterns that I had never seen before or since. The nibs were almost all steel, responsive and often at least minimally flexible. Filcao started in the 1960s in Settimo Torinese, Italy, as a machine shop for metal parts. Crediting Richard Binder for the history, it's noted that by the end of the decade Filcao was producing cartridge/converter fountain pens, which then became its primary business. In 2004, Binder designed a pen for Filcao called “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,” an all-new button filler. It was followed by the Atlantica, the Nobile, and the Silvia. Filcao closed in 2012.
About This Pen
This is a beautiful pen of 1940’s styling from an almost unknown brand, with brown and green Vacumatic-like stripes descending vertically in triangular slanting patterns, an unusual and remarkable appearance. The pen is 12.3cm long capped, with gold trim. It is very clean — no tarnish to trim, no scratches of note. The button filler is strong; the pen fills well. The Aurea imprint is partly present but easily read, and there is an indecipherable trace of a second line to the imprint. The Aurea’s nib, which cannot be identified as original to the pen, is marked “Globus”, and “Osmio”, and with what I presume to be a size indicating “4”. It is also marked “585”, for 14K gold. The nib is a long-tined flexible writer, and it is both strong and delicate.
Price: $225 Sold