1936 Vintage Osmia 222 Button Filler Fountain Pen 14K EF Nib FLEX Germany
Item History & Price
Ca. 1936 VintageOSMIA FOUNTAIN PENRare Model 22214 Kt. Gold FLEX Nib, Iridium TippedEx Fine with Excellent Line VariabilityBlack Celluloid Cap & BarrelEbonite Section with BrownishOxidation That Will Wear Off With UseButton Filler - Working 100%Writes Very Smoothly Without SkippingMade in Dossenheim, Germany
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from my personal collection:...r>Osmia was founded in 1919 by Hermann Böhler under the name of Böhler und Cie, in Dossenheim, near Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg after he decided to leave his position at Kaweco to open his own company with his brother Georg. Initially, Osmia made mostly mechanical pencils and hard rubber (ebonite) safety pens. The company's Greek Cross logo looked at a distance similar enough to the Montblanc star that Montblanc actually sued Osmia! Fortunately, the companies were able to reach a settlement and Osmia switched to a logo consisting of a white diamond within a white circle, and Osmia was soon the second largest pen manufacturer in Germany.
This Osmia 222 bears neither the old cap emblem nor the new one. Possibly it was made during a transitional period when the company was still shaken up by Montblanc's lawsuit but hadn't yet developed the new logo.
For a time, Parker acquired Osmia for local production of Duofold pens. But it was again an independent company as soon as Parker discovered that Duofolds were too expensive and their nibs too rigid for the German market. Osmia pioneered the use of osmiridium as an alternative to the rather impure iridium nib tipping material that was available to German industry in those days, and its superb wear resistance enabled Osmia to offer a lifetime guarantee. In 1935, Faber-Castell began the process of acquiring Osmia. Even after the acquisition process was completed in 1951, Faber-Castell continued to produce pens with the Osmia logo, testimony to the brand's considerable prestige and the widely recognized high quality of Osmia's designs and craftsmanship.
Company founder Hermann Böhler had been with Kaweco when the company purchased the excellent nib maker A. Morton & Co. During this time, Böhler became a world-class expert on gold nibs. It was one of the areas in which Osmia was considered among the world's best.
The 14 Karat solid gold nib on this Osmia 222 is definitely one of the best flex nibs I have seen that wasn't produced during the flex-crazed 1920s. It has occurred to me that Herr Böhler likely had a lot to do with that! Near the blind cap, the barrel is marked EF for Extra Fine, yet flexing the nib enables the writer to produce lines ranging from EF to Broad, perhaps I'd call it Double Broad or nearly so. And the iridium tipping material is still intact.
Even if you don't intend to use the flex feature for calligraphic writing, flex nibs are still a great feature to have, as they are very forgiving. That's because writers who are more used to ballpoints than fountain pens may be a bit heavy-handed from time to time, and flex nibs will simply spring back into shape rather than remaining bent and distorted whenever someone bears down on them!
To reiterate what is written in the required "condition description" box above:
This Osmia 222 Fountain Pen is in very good cosmetic and functional condition for an 80 year old pen. The #2 14 Kt. gold nib with iridium tip is in absolutely superb shape, in perfect shape and undistorted with no sign that any of the tipping material has worn away. The cap and barrel are celluloid and have never sustained damage of any kind and are still brilliant and black after all these decades. The section, however, is ebonite and has oxidized to a brownish colour that will wear away back to the black underneath with use. It has already become slightly less brownish from touching it to take these photos. I leave it to the new owner to decide whether to polish it, but pen repair specialists advise against it, and it likely isn't necessary. The button filling system and rubber bladder are 100% intact and working 100%.
Of course it writes very smoothly and without skipping.
I am charging quite a bit less than the $145.00 that the last Osmia 222 that appeared on eBay garnered some months ago because it will take time for the brownish oxidation on the section to wear away to the black underneath as the pen gets used. The thinning of the gold plate on the clip ring that secures the pocket clip to the cap isn't noticeable in well-lit areas thanks to the reflectiveness of the gold plate that's still remaining. And of course the part that really counts, the nib, is solid gold that will never have any issues with brassing.
Measures 125 mm long capped, 116 mm uncapped, 138 mm with the cap posted, The cap is 12 mm in diameter, and the section and barrel are 9.5 mm in diameter, with the section tapering in to 8 mm toward the middle.
So, if you're looking for a fountain pen with a flex nib of the highest quality made by one of the dominant companies in its field known for the excellence of its nibs, this Osmia 22 is for you. An affordable luxury that relatively few collectors can own at any price because of production problems from so many of Osmia's workers being drafted into the military, this rare model is guaranteed to delight or your money back.
Of course I will miss it, but I have made a firm decision to rationalize my collections. In short, I can no longer keep them all.
All orders shipped within one business day.
Unconditional money-back guarantee: Returns in the same condition as when shipped cheerfully accepted for 14 days. Buyer pays the postage unless the item is not as described. Please enlarge and review the accompanying photos, as they constitute an important part of the description.
Thank you for your interest in my items. Please check out my other listings, which include Japanese and European mechanical watches, fountain pens, smoking and cigar accessories, antique English mechanical pencils by Sampson Mordan, Edward Baker and others, as well as a variety of other luxury goods.
Yes, we sell such items on consignment. To inquire, just use the "Contact Seller" link in the "Seller Information" box at the top right-hand corner of this webpage. Please try to describe what you have and/or include photographs if possible.
Unconditional Money Back Guarantee
U.S. SELLER -- Free Shipping in U.S.A.
This is a "BUY IT NOW" Listing
from my personal collection:
This Osmia 222 bears neither the old cap emblem nor the new one. Possibly it was made during a transitional period when the company was still shaken up by Montblanc's lawsuit but hadn't yet developed the new logo.
For a time, Parker acquired Osmia for local production of Duofold pens. But it was again an independent company as soon as Parker discovered that Duofolds were too expensive and their nibs too rigid for the German market. Osmia pioneered the use of osmiridium as an alternative to the rather impure iridium nib tipping material that was available to German industry in those days, and its superb wear resistance enabled Osmia to offer a lifetime guarantee. In 1935, Faber-Castell began the process of acquiring Osmia. Even after the acquisition process was completed in 1951, Faber-Castell continued to produce pens with the Osmia logo, testimony to the brand's considerable prestige and the widely recognized high quality of Osmia's designs and craftsmanship.
Company founder Hermann Böhler had been with Kaweco when the company purchased the excellent nib maker A. Morton & Co. During this time, Böhler became a world-class expert on gold nibs. It was one of the areas in which Osmia was considered among the world's best.
The 14 Karat solid gold nib on this Osmia 222 is definitely one of the best flex nibs I have seen that wasn't produced during the flex-crazed 1920s. It has occurred to me that Herr Böhler likely had a lot to do with that! Near the blind cap, the barrel is marked EF for Extra Fine, yet flexing the nib enables the writer to produce lines ranging from EF to Broad, perhaps I'd call it Double Broad or nearly so. And the iridium tipping material is still intact.
Even if you don't intend to use the flex feature for calligraphic writing, flex nibs are still a great feature to have, as they are very forgiving. That's because writers who are more used to ballpoints than fountain pens may be a bit heavy-handed from time to time, and flex nibs will simply spring back into shape rather than remaining bent and distorted whenever someone bears down on them!
To reiterate what is written in the required "condition description" box above:
This Osmia 222 Fountain Pen is in very good cosmetic and functional condition for an 80 year old pen. The #2 14 Kt. gold nib with iridium tip is in absolutely superb shape, in perfect shape and undistorted with no sign that any of the tipping material has worn away. The cap and barrel are celluloid and have never sustained damage of any kind and are still brilliant and black after all these decades. The section, however, is ebonite and has oxidized to a brownish colour that will wear away back to the black underneath with use. It has already become slightly less brownish from touching it to take these photos. I leave it to the new owner to decide whether to polish it, but pen repair specialists advise against it, and it likely isn't necessary. The button filling system and rubber bladder are 100% intact and working 100%.
Of course it writes very smoothly and without skipping.
I am charging quite a bit less than the $145.00 that the last Osmia 222 that appeared on eBay garnered some months ago because it will take time for the brownish oxidation on the section to wear away to the black underneath as the pen gets used. The thinning of the gold plate on the clip ring that secures the pocket clip to the cap isn't noticeable in well-lit areas thanks to the reflectiveness of the gold plate that's still remaining. And of course the part that really counts, the nib, is solid gold that will never have any issues with brassing.
Measures 125 mm long capped, 116 mm uncapped, 138 mm with the cap posted, The cap is 12 mm in diameter, and the section and barrel are 9.5 mm in diameter, with the section tapering in to 8 mm toward the middle.
So, if you're looking for a fountain pen with a flex nib of the highest quality made by one of the dominant companies in its field known for the excellence of its nibs, this Osmia 22 is for you. An affordable luxury that relatively few collectors can own at any price because of production problems from so many of Osmia's workers being drafted into the military, this rare model is guaranteed to delight or your money back.
Of course I will miss it, but I have made a firm decision to rationalize my collections. In short, I can no longer keep them all.
All orders shipped within one business day.
Unconditional money-back guarantee: Returns in the same condition as when shipped cheerfully accepted for 14 days. Buyer pays the postage unless the item is not as described. Please enlarge and review the accompanying photos, as they constitute an important part of the description.
Thank you for your interest in my items. Please check out my other listings, which include Japanese and European mechanical watches, fountain pens, smoking and cigar accessories, antique English mechanical pencils by Sampson Mordan, Edward Baker and others, as well as a variety of other luxury goods.
Yes, we sell such items on consignment. To inquire, just use the "Contact Seller" link in the "Seller Information" box at the top right-hand corner of this webpage. Please try to describe what you have and/or include photographs if possible.
