Montblanc Vintage 1930–1939 Astoria — from its foundation in 1921 to a Montblanc sub-brand

Described on this page

Astoria — the Hamburg fountain pen maker from 1921 to the takeover in 1932 by the later Montblanc-Simplo and its brands under Montblanc until 1938: safety and lever fillers, precious-metal overlays, DUX turning and push-button fillers, Atlantic/Atlantik, Adler, Akademia and Royal

There are photos of Astoria safety pens of the years up to 1932 on this website (see “Not to be confused with”); the table lists the versions in “Collectible Stars” I that touch the years 1930 to 1939.

Key facts

Foundation: 1921 in Hamburg by Georg Illgner (production) and Sigmund Popper (sales); according to the Diary in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld¹
Takeover: 1932 by the Simplo Füllfeder-Gesellschaft (Montblanc-Simplo from 1934); Astoria a sub-brand until 1936 according to the Diary, in the plates of volume I until 1938²
Production: safety and lever fillers 1921–1932, overlays 1922–1932, DUX turning fillers 1932–1937, DUX push-button fillers 1934–1936, sub-brands after the takeover 1933–1938³
Filling system: safety pen, lever filler, DUX turning filler (a turning mechanism presses the button down via a V-shaped piece of metal), push-button filler³
Sizes: 00, 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10; short (“kz”) and long (“lg”)⁴
Brands: Astoria, Atlantic/Atlantik, Adler, Akademia, Eminent, Special, Goldjac; dealer brands such as “Der Kauffmann” and “Trigon”⁵
Imprints: “ATLANTIC ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, “ADLER ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, “ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, “ROYAL”, “ATLANTIK” with a triangle logo⁶
Versions: 62 entries — see table

Not to be confused with

Astoria pages of this website⁷
Safety pens of the years up to 1932 with photos.
See Astoria 1921–1932 · No. 2 rolled gold · No. 2 gold
Astoria since 2009⁸
New fountain pens under the old name, without any connection to Montblanc.
See Astoria 2010
Monte Rosa as “Astoria”⁹
In Switzerland the Monte Rosa school pen was sold under the name Astoria in the 1950s.
See Monte Rosa
White triangle for the Arab markets¹⁰
From the 1970s Meisterstück pens for these markets carried a white triangle instead of the star.
See 149 from 1960 to 1989 · 146 and 144
Trigon and Royal at Montblanc¹¹
Both names also occur as Montblanc dealer brands.
See Dealer brands and sub-brands

Sources and notes

“Collectible Stars” volume I (chronology); Diary and German edition, page 86 (diary-de-12).
“Collectible Stars” volume I; volume II, chronology; Diary.
“Collectible Stars” volume I; Diary.
“Collectible Stars” volume I; Diary (catalogue plate).
“Collectible Stars” volume I; collectiblestars.com database (brand register).
“Collectible Stars” volume I.
Pages of this website (Astoria 1921–1932).
“Collectible Stars” volume I; post on Penexchange (thread “Pilot Untermarke von Montblanc”).
“Collectible Stars” volume I; volume II.
“Collectible Stars” volume I; forum posts (country versions).
“Collectible Stars” volume I.

Astoria was a Hamburg fountain pen maker, founded in 1921 by Georg Illgner, until then works manager at Montblanc, and by Sigmund Popper. At first its pens closely resembled those of Montblanc. In 1932 the Simplo Füllfeder-Gesellschaft — Montblanc-Simplo only from 1934 — bought the company and afterwards kept the name as a sub-brand.

Foundation and early years

Illgner took charge of production, Popper ran sales. According to the chronology of the same book Illgner left Montblanc in 1921, and Ernst Rösler took his place. The Diary names Illgner with several financial backers and gives the company’s seat as Hamburg-Bahrenfeld.

The pens were carefully made; according to a forum post of 27 February 2006 Astoria used a cap thread sometimes different from, sometimes the same as Montblanc’s, depending on the period. A large share went abroad, according to volume I thanks to Popper’s connections to Italy, Eastern Europe and France. An Italian advertisement names Ing. E. Webber & C. in Milan as agents.

Safety and lever fillers

Until the takeover, according to volume I, Astoria made:

black safety pens in sizes 00, 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10
lever fillers in sizes 1, 2, 4 and 6
safety pens with overlays of rolled gold, 585 gold, silver or blue enamel, round or eight-sided, with barleycorn, paisley, wave, floral or sunbeam patterns

According to the book some overlays were probably made in Italy. Matching metal twist pencils were bought in, among others from Wahl-Eversharp and Fend. The Diary also shows a black and pearl marbled push-button filler no. 6 of 1929–1932 and a catalogue plate with short (“kz”) and long (“lg”) versions. A forum post of 10 February 2005 also mentions lever fillers, pens in size 1 and pens with overlays.

According to maxpens.de an Astoria no. 4 made for the Füllfederpalast in Vienna has a nib like the Montblanc no. 4, only with the Astoria imprint. Astoria safety pens of these years are shown on this website on the pages no. 2 in rolled gold, no. 2 in gold, no. 1 in silver, no. 2 octagonal and no. 00 and no. 04 kz ajour; the no. 04 there already has a Montblanc nib.

The DUX and the other brands

Around 1930 Astoria brought out a sac filler of its own, the DUX series. Instead of a button that is pressed down, the DUX has a turning mechanism that moves the button down by means of a V-shaped piece of metal. The plate lists:

DUX turning fillers in sizes 1, 2, 4 and 6 with a round top, 1932–1936, the 2 also in black and pearl
DUX push-button fillers in the same sizes, 1934–1936, the 6 also in black and pearl
safety pens and turning fillers 2 and 4 with a flat top, 1936–1937

Besides Astoria the company used the names Atlantic, Adler, Akademia, Eminent, Special and Goldjac and, like Montblanc, also stamped dealer brands such as “Der Kauffmann” and “Trigon”. The plate of the sub-brands shows safety pens of the 1920s marked “ATLANTIC ASTORIA FABRIKAT” — the no. 2 with a white dot in the cap top —, “AKADEMIA” and “CLIMAX”, plus an “EMINENT” of 1912–1919, that is from before Astoria was founded.

The takeover of 1932

The Great Depression brought Astoria heavy losses. Although the economy was slowly recovering in 1932 and there were orders, the reserves were not enough; Simplo bought Astoria in 1932 and took over its plant and part of its staff. Volume II and the Diary give the same year for the takeover, the Diary naming mismanagement as the cause of the difficulties. Popper joined Simplo as sales manager, among other things for Eastern Europe, and stayed until 1938.

Montblanc sold the Astoria stocks and developed new designs, which were not actively sold. From the time after the takeover volume I lists these push-button fillers:

light blue with “ROYAL”, 1933–1935
black and pearl with “ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, 1935–1937
pearl and red marbled with “ADLER ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, 1935–1938
azurite blue with “ATLANTIK” and a triangle logo, 1935–1937

According to the book Montblanc later used this triangle for the Arab markets. According to volume I Royal was also the name of a dealer brand that Montblanc supplied to the Kaufhaus des Westens around 1910–1925 (“Kadewe Royal”); whether the two are connected has not been resolved.

The name after 1938

According to the plates of volume I, pens with the Astoria imprint ran until 1938. After that, according to visit reports of its own sales management, Montblanc still offered simple, bought-in pens under the Astoria name in individual markets until the end of the 1950s. In Switzerland the Monte Rosa school pen was called “Astoria” in the 1950s, because the rights to the name Monte Rosa there belonged to the firm Dimmler (see Monte Rosa).

Since 2009 there have again been fountain pens under the Astoria name, made by hand by a former Montblanc employee; this brand has nothing to do with Montblanc (post on Penexchange (thread “Pilot Untermarke von Montblanc”)). This website shows them under Astoria 2010.

All versions 1921–1938 62 entries

Each version on its own row. A dash (—) marks missing information. “Photos” links to a page of this website or to an individual pen at penboard (↗, opens in a new tab).

Fountain pens 57 entries

No.	Years	Type	Version	Filling system · nib	Source	Photos
00	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
0	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
0	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn with floral chased band, probably Italian overlay	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
0	1922–1932	Fountain pen	blue enamel, round	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	lever filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedbarleycorn with floral-style band; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedbarleycorn, cap ring; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedpaisley pattern, cap top fully overlaid; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedflower and leaf pattern, cap top fully overlaid; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	585 gold, 8-sidedplain and barleycorn squares	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1 lg	1922–1932	Fountain pen	silver, roundbarleycorn	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedpaisley pattern, probably Italian overlay; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn and plain stripes, cap ring, probably Italian overlay; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	silver, roundbarleycorn and plain stripes, blue enamelled bands	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1 lg	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn and wave chasing, floral band on the cap	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1 lg	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundfloral overlay, probably Italian overlay	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundcap top with floral overlay, probably Italian overlay; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundwave chasing with floral-style band, probably Italian overlay; Diary: no. 1 in rolled gold 1923–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
1	1932–1936	Fountain pen	blackround top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
1	1934–1936	Fountain pen	black, brand “DUX”round top; Diary: DUX push-button filler 1933–1937	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
2	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	lever filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	silver, roundwaves and plain stripes	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	silver, 8-sidedbarleycorn and floral pattern	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn and fence pattern, cap top fully overlaid	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	585 gold, 8-sidedrose pattern with waves, cap top fully overlaid; Diary: no. 2 in 14 ct gold 1925–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	585 gold, 8-sidedplain; Diary: no. 2 in 14 ct gold 1925–1932	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
2	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn with blue enamelled bands	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2 lg	1922–1932	Fountain pen	gold-filled (rolled gold), roundbarleycorn	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2 lg	1922–1932	Fountain pen	blackimprint “ATLANTIC ASTORIA FABRIKAT”	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1932–1936	Fountain pen	blackround top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1932–1936	Fountain pen	black and pearlround top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1934–1936	Fountain pen	black, brand “DUX”round top; Diary: DUX push-button filler 1933–1937	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
2	1936–1937	Fountain pen	blackflat top	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
2	1936–1937	Fountain pen	blackflat top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	lever filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1922–1932	Fountain pen	silver, roundsunbeam overlay	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1932–1936	Fountain pen	blackround top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1934–1936	Fountain pen	black, brand “DUX”round top; Diary: DUX push-button filler 1933–1937	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
4	1936–1937	Fountain pen	blackflat top	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
4	1936–1937	Fountain pen	blackflat top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
6	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
6	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	lever filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
6	1929–1932	Fountain pen	pearl and black marbledshown only in the Diary; the plates of “Collectible Stars” I list no Astoria push-button filler before the takeover	push-button filler	“The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
6	1932–1936	Fountain pen	blackround top	turning filler (“DUX”)	“Collectible Stars” I	—
6	1934–1936	Fountain pen	black, brand “DUX”round top; Diary: DUX push-button filler 1933–1937	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
6	1934–1936	Fountain pen	black and pearl, brand “DUX”round top; Diary: DUX push-button filler 1933–1937	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I; “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”	—
7	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
8	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
10	1921–1932	Fountain pen	black	safety pen	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1933–1935	Fountain pen	light bluebrand “Royal”; imprint “ROYAL”, sold after the takeover by Montblanc	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1935–1937	Fountain pen	azurite blueimprint “ATLANTIK”, with triangle logo, later used by Montblanc for Arab markets	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1935–1937	Fountain pen	black and pearlimprint “ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, sold after the takeover by Montblanc	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1935–1938	Fountain pen	pearlimprint “ADLER ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, sold after the takeover by Montblanc	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1935–1938	Fountain pen	red marbledimprint “ADLER ASTORIA FABRIKAT”, sold after the takeover by Montblanc	push-button filler	“Collectible Stars” I	—

Twist pencils 4 entries

No.	Years	Type	Version	Filling system · nib	Source	Photos
—	1929–1934	Twist pencil	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedbought in, probably by Fend	—	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1929–1934	Twist pencil	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedpaisley pattern, bought in from Wahl Eversharp	—	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1929–1934	Twist pencil	gold-filled (rolled gold), 8-sidedbarleycorn with blue enamelled bands, bought in, probably by Wahl Eversharp	—	“Collectible Stars” I	—
—	1929–1932	Twist pencil	blue enamel, roundprobably made by Wahl Eversharp	—	“Collectible Stars” I	—

Sources

Facts from the following sources: “Collectible Stars” volumes I and II (Rösler/Wallrafen), “The Montblanc Diary & Collectors Guide”, “Meisterstücke for the art of writing”, the collectiblestars.com database, maxpens.de, forum posts in the archive of this website, in the Penexchange forum and on the Fountain Pen Network, individual pens at penboard (only as a link to photos) and the pages of this website.

This page gives no values or prices — neither original shop prices nor current offers.

Literature

aJens Rösler, Stefan Wallrafen: “Collectible Stars I — MONTBLANC 1908–1947”. 2014. ISBN 978-3-00-044233-9. On this website “Collectible Stars” volume I. more about the book ›
bJens Rösler: “The Montblanc Diary & Collector’s Guide”. Christians Verlag, Hamburg 1993. ISBN 3-7672-1174-2. On this website “Diary” for short. more about the book ›
cJens Rösler, Stefan Wallrafen: “Collectible Stars — Montblanc writing instruments from 1946 until 1979”. 2001. On this website “Collectible Stars” volume II. more about the book ›