Jump to content

Zodiac Pens


jimhughes

Recommended Posts

Any Scholars out there who can give me some resources or insight into Zodiac Pen Company. Per nib imprint Paris France.

Thanks, Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 4
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • jimhughes

    2

  • Frits B

    1

  • ruud2904

    1

  • Blackandwhite

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

My French is letting me down a bit, but I found the following on the history of Meteore:

 

quote

 

Tout débute en 1916 par la création de la Manufacture Parisienne de Porte Plume réservoir. Par la suite, la société déménagera de très nombreuses fois en région parisienne.

 

En 1921, changement de nom pour devenir la Plume d’Or avec comme sous marque commerciale : La Météore ( parmis d’autres : Zodiac, Prompto, Pullman... ).

La Plume d’Or avait un sérieux avantage par rapport à ses concurrents : celui d’être un très grand fabricant européen. Les plumes étaient souvent estampillées des lettres D et D du nom des fondateurs ( Demilly et Degen ).

Cependant, du fait des restrictions, pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, les plumes or étaient remplacées par des plumes inoxydables marquées Vaedium.

Très tôt, la société a su marketer ses produits par l’apposition d’une bande blanche sur ses stylos même si ses premiers modèles étaient comme classiques : remplissage au compte-gouttes et modèles à plumes rentrantes.

 

......

 

unqoute.

 

Perhaps somebody with a good understanding of the French Language can tell you more exactly. What I get more or less out of it, is that Zodiac was a commercial FP brand name way back in 1921.

 

 

Ruud

 

 

Filling a fountain pen is much more fun than changing a printer cartridge

 

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7260/postminipo0.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tout débute en 1916 par la création de la Manufacture Parisienne de Porte Plume réservoir. Par la suite, la société déménagera de très nombreuses fois en région parisienne.

 

En 1921, changement de nom pour devenir la Plume d’Or avec comme sous marque commerciale : La Météore ( parmis d’autres : Zodiac, Prompto, Pullman... ).

La Plume d’Or avait un sérieux avantage par rapport à ses concurrents : celui d’être un très grand fabricant européen. Les plumes étaient souvent estampillées des lettres D et D du nom des fondateurs ( Demilly et Degen ).

Cependant, du fait des restrictions, pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, les plumes or étaient remplacées par des plumes inoxydables marquées Vaedium.

Très tôt, la société a su marketer ses produits par l’apposition d’une bande blanche sur ses stylos même si ses premiers modèles étaient comme classiques : remplissage au compte-gouttes et modèles à plumes rentrantes.

 

 

 

It all starts in 1916 with the Parisian Fountain Pen Works. After that the company moves frequently to new locations in the Paris region.

In 1921 the company name is changed into La Plume d'Or = the Gold Nib, with trade mark La Météore (and others like Zodiac, Prompto, Pullman etc).

La Plume d'Or had a serious advantage over its competitors: it was a very large manufacturer in Europe. The nibs were often stamped with their founders' initials D and D (Demilly and Degen). However, because of the restrictions [on the use of gold] during WW-II, the gold nibs were replaced by stainless steel nibs under the brand Vaedium.

The company very early marketed its fountain pens by putting a distinctive white band on them, although its first models were the usual classics: eye-droppers and safeties.

 

Not perfect, but you'll get the drift.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE (Frits B @ Mar 3 2009, 08:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Tout débute en 1916 par la création de la Manufacture Parisienne de Porte Plume réservoir. Par la suite, la société déménagera de très nombreuses fois en région parisienne.

 

En 1921, changement de nom pour devenir la Plume d’Or avec comme sous marque commerciale : La Météore ( parmis d’autres : Zodiac, Prompto, Pullman... ).

La Plume d’Or avait un sérieux avantage par rapport à ses concurrents : celui d’être un très grand fabricant européen. Les plumes étaient souvent estampillées des lettres D et D du nom des fondateurs ( Demilly et Degen ).

Cependant, du fait des restrictions, pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, les plumes or étaient remplacées par des plumes inoxydables marquées Vaedium.

Très tôt, la société a su marketer ses produits par l’apposition d’une bande blanche sur ses stylos même si ses premiers modèles étaient comme classiques : remplissage au compte-gouttes et modèles à plumes rentrantes.

 

 

 

It all starts in 1916 with the Parisian Fountain Pen Works. After that the company moves frequently to new locations in the Paris region.

In 1921 the company name is changed into La Plume d'Or = the Gold Nib, with trade mark La Météore (and others like Zodiac, Prompto, Pullman etc).

La Plume d'Or had a serious advantage over its competitors: it was a very large manufacturer in Europe. The nibs were often stamped with their founders' initials D and D (Demilly and Degen). However, because of the restrictions [on the use of gold] during WW-II, the gold nibs were replaced by stainless steel nibs under the brand Vaedium.

The company very early marketed its fountain pens by putting a distinctive white band on them, although its first models were the usual classics: eye-droppers and safeties.

 

Not perfect, but you'll get the drift.

Ruud and Fritz:

Thank you for the information and education. My French isn't up to the level it was 40 plus year ago in college. The translation was most helpful. French Ebay has 2-3 pens for sale now of the Zodiac Variety. One a MHR, another an overlay in silver. Nether, in IMHO, near as nice a colouration as the one I purchased from Ruud yesterday. One of them is dated as 1930 with an 18kt nib. I'll have to look back for the DD nib imprint and white band. Thanks for sharing Ruud, Jim

Edited by jimhughes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 years later...

I read this topic with great interest. I purchased a small ladie's Zodiac model labelled (?) A00 in mottled red/black and A + P Doubleorlaminé ( double laminated gold ) Overlay. When the pen arrived it was "as left by last writing user" - which means: a couple of days of cleaning and a pen sac that had turned into hard rubber on the inside.

Three days later the pen writes - as You can see on the picture. Flexible nib, yet used quite a bit - and a wet noodle. But I like to save these little pens and make them work again.

The information about the brand is rare. As I am searching I found this topic. Your translation is good, Frits B. Although the text is not that clear - even in french. Is Zodiac a subbrand of La Plume d'Or/ La Météore - at least that is what it seems to say.

If I find more information, I'll let You know.

Jean-Marie

Here is a picture and a writing sampler of my Zodiac, once clean and with a new sac:

 

14413345982_9eac0dd32c_z.jpg
[

Edited by Blackandwhite
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...