Tibaldi Infrangible
late 1930s
About This Model
Tibaldi was one of the oldest fountain pen manufacturers in Italy, having started in Florence in 1916. They made elegant, top quality pens until after WWII, using beautiful marbled and Vacumatic-like patterns. Their top lines, the Infrangibles and Lussos, were truly elegant button fillers in the 1930s and available in many colors and patterns with gold trim. Later, their Impero series had two model lines, of which one is seen today, the Trasparentes, which featured pistons and long transparent barrels in a thin Vacumatic pattern. Trasparentes survived into the 1950s, when numerous other, lower-quality models were produced to survive. Tibaldi shut its doors in the 1960s.
About This Pen
This Tibaldi Infrangible was from a period of transition in Tibaldi pens from lever-fillers to button fillers and the full adoption of celluloid styling. This Infrangible (means “unbreakable”, a branding term used often by Italian pen makers then), a mid-level pen from the later 1930s, is marbled brown with silver flecks and bars. It is an attractive pen, in nickel plated trim and a bright yellow imprint. The cap is stepped, in nickel with a black jewel on top. The base of the barrel is black, giving the appearance of having a blind cap. At 12cm capped, it is full-sized, and fits very nicely in the hand. The clip is rectangular, with full-length vertical ridging; it shows a bit of pitting but is attractive. The three cap rings and lever are clean and intact. This pen’s nib is a Morans, another Italian pen manufacturer; it is long-tined, delicate, and writes a fine to medium line with good shading. A very nice, affordable example of Italian workmanship.
Price:
$245 $165 Sold