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Hermann Bőhler Sterling Silver Fountain Pen


konis

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Seller called it a pen, "Osmia", so I bought it. I must admit that it is beautiful. http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/7631c098f6a5172b.jpg

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/9b025ff72c8d2954.jpg

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/5e14cdac4a435f6e.jpg

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/ac462282ab901fd3.jpg

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/c89339beccd5fe4e.jpg

It has all the similarities Osmia fountain pen http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/59d5e63dedf4f8d3.jpg

The structure of the body like Osmia

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/fdb65b00f549f57c.jpg

Clips like Osmia

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/ade0f3473df955b8.jpg

Ink window like Osmia

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/74abeca8b7913d2d.jpg

Nib – Osmia Nr 3 stub

But nowhere what is the name this pen. I started looking and found this logo.

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/1d832f2c6dc6f525.jpg

It is Hermann Bőhler,'s logo, the founder and one of the owners brand Osmia.

Hermann Böhler began producing pens under the name " Hermann Bőhler," after the takeover by Faber Castell Osmia brand.

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1930/5458635def4e53d3.jpg

http://images10.fotosik.pl/1933/0a149f77061e3ff3.jpg

Regads

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Beautiful barleycorn overlayed pen.

:notworthy1:

 

I have one very, very like in twin similar, but has a Luxor nib, and 900 silver mark on the flat part of the "same" clip. The bottom was and is still attached to the piston knob. I am not going to take it apart to see if I have a Boehler mark.

If I can remember correctly, the piston's end piece did not have any mark. having a Boehler before, would have noticed.

 

I had mine professionally cleaned, for 16 Euro, so it suddenly looked 'brand' new. Before there were black tarnish dots that refused to come off with a jeweler's cloth.

 

Mine cost 70 Euro, but I'd bought six pens at his flea market table, he wanted 100 to start with. I didn't have a Luxor and it was such a pretty pen.

 

I had to sweat some thinned shellac under the main body to 'glue' it back on, and the end piece. Mine has a cork gasket.

The pen originally worked with the end piece attached, so I re-attached it, after taking it apart so the pro could polish it.

 

If yours is really like mine, the machining seems deeper than your pictures show. ??

 

(I can now see that I did not look hard enough at the pictures, which are of two pens. :headsmack:) I am missing the Boehler trade mark. (Not all his pens have that 'trade mark' some have the other 'regular' Osmia cap jewel.Osmia had two and two clips it used.) I have three Boehlers, with only one with the trade mark jewel.

 

Mine has a fish bone patterned pen, and plain silver jewels.

 

Who ever did the overlay, did mine too. :thumbup:

 

I date the pens from mid 1938-40. 1938 Hitler took gold away from the pen companies, because a gold nib would have been 'normal' on a 900 silver overlay. I assume that after 1940 silver was also hard to find. It could not have been made other wise until mid 1950's because of the war recovery. The pen material is pre-plastic emulsion machines that came in then, used by everyone.

 

You can photograph. :notworthy1:

Mine look like an Ebay photo. :crybaby:

 

The nib on his is #3 Osmia, so it is semi-flex and writes grand.

Osmia needing money sold it's nib factory to Degussa in 1932. After that Degussa continued to make great nibs with Osmia's name. "Normally #3 Osmia nibs are semi-flex. Well, I do have one #3, that is maxi-semi-flex/'flexi', like all the Osmia Supra nibs, which are 'flexi'.

 

I have Osmia nibs in gold and steel in both flex sets. I can't say which is better with material.

Some of my finest nibs are Osmia nibs and some of my best Obliques too.

 

I am surprised that the Boehler has an Osmia nib on it.

My three have a Degussa, Zenta, which could be Czech or Croat and Pluma with gold wash, which I think was Italian. I would have thought he'd just had Degussa nibs, with his name rather than Osmia, but I don't have enough Boehlers to know.

 

I was under the assumption, with no facts to back it up, Faber-Castell who had started buying into Osmia in 1936 might have had something to do with why Boehler was not using Osmia nibs.

 

Two of the three I have have are the exact same model as Osmia, two use the same 'cap' jewel; the one with out the Osmia diamond, and two have the same clip. One clip is much different; hammered look, with the Boelher cap jewel.

 

Osmia/Boehler always had the problem they did not have an Office Supply company attached to them like Soennecken, MB and Pelikan.

 

Boehler lasted until the '70's or longer. Osmia got erased, with in 5-6 years after Faber-Castell bought them up in 1951. Before Faber-Castell made only second tier pens and needed a name first tier pen to upgrade their line. They had a pencil empire to back them selves.

 

My Luxor nib from Herlitz I believe it is spelled, another Heidelberg nib making company; like Degussa, Rupp, and Bock. Mine is an F-EF easy full flex.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Beautiful barleycorn overlayed pen.

:notworthy1:

 

I have one very, very like in twin similar, but has a Luxor nib, and 900 silver mark on the flat part of the "same" clip. The bottom was and is still attached to the piston knob. I am not going to take it apart to see if I have a Boehler mark.

If I can remember correctly, the piston's end piece did not have any mark. having a Boehler before, would have noticed.

 

I had mine professionally cleaned, for 16 Euro, so it suddenly looked 'brand' new. Before there were black tarnish dots that refused to come off with a jeweler's cloth.

 

Mine cost 70 Euro, but I'd bought six pens at his flea market table, he wanted 100 to start with. I didn't have a Luxor and it was such a pretty pen.

 

I had to sweat some thinned shellac under the main body to 'glue' it back on, and the end piece. Mine has a cork gasket.

The pen originally worked with the end piece attached, so I re-attached it, after taking it apart so the pro could polish it.

 

If yours is really like mine, the machining seems deeper than your pictures show. ??

 

(I can now see that I did not look hard enough at the pictures, which are of two pens. :headsmack:) I am missing the Boehler trade mark. (Not all his pens have that 'trade mark' some have the other 'regular' Osmia cap jewel.Osmia had two and two clips it used.) I have three Boehlers, with only one with the trade mark jewel.

 

Mine has a fish bone patterned pen, and plain silver jewels.

 

Who ever did the overlay, did mine too. :thumbup:

 

I date the pens from mid 1938-40. 1938 Hitler took gold away from the pen companies, because a gold nib would have been 'normal' on a 900 silver overlay. I assume that after 1940 silver was also hard to find. It could not have been made other wise until mid 1950's because of the war recovery. The pen material is pre-plastic emulsion machines that came in then, used by everyone.

 

You can photograph. :notworthy1:

Mine look like an Ebay photo. :crybaby:

 

The nib on his is #3 Osmia, so it is semi-flex and writes grand.

Osmia needing money sold it's nib factory to Degussa in 1932. After that Degussa continued to make great nibs with Osmia's name. "Normally #3 Osmia nibs are semi-flex. Well, I do have one #3, that is maxi-semi-flex/'flexi', like all the Osmia Supra nibs, which are 'flexi'.

 

I have Osmia nibs in gold and steel in both flex sets. I can't say which is better with material.

Some of my finest nibs are Osmia nibs and some of my best Obliques too.

 

I am surprised that the Boehler has an Osmia nib on it.

My three have a Degussa, Zenta, which could be Czech or Croat and Pluma with gold wash, which I think was Italian. I would have thought he'd just had Degussa nibs, with his name rather than Osmia, but I don't have enough Boehlers to know.

 

I was under the assumption, with no facts to back it up, Faber-Castell who had started buying into Osmia in 1936 might have had something to do with why Boehler was not using Osmia nibs.

 

Two of the three I have have are the exact same model as Osmia, two use the same 'cap' jewel; the one with out the Osmia diamond, and two have the same clip. One clip is much different; hammered look, with the Boelher cap jewel.

 

Osmia/Boehler always had the problem they did not have an Office Supply company attached to them like Soennecken, MB and Pelikan.

 

Boehler lasted until the '70's or longer. Osmia got erased, with in 5-6 years after Faber-Castell bought them up in 1951. Before Faber-Castell made only second tier pens and needed a name first tier pen to upgrade their line. They had a pencil empire to back them selves.

 

My Luxor nib from Herlitz I believe it is spelled, another Heidelberg nib making company; like Degussa, Rupp, and Bock. Mine is an F-EF easy full flex.

 

Please post pictures. Also do you have the auction on this pen?

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My home made pictures look like those great Ebay buys of a blury pen.

His are so much better and the over lay seems to be the exactly same, out side I can not read the '900' silver on the flat part of his clip.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0608.jpg

 

I got it in a live indoor flea market in Germany. I picked up a rolled gold semi-flex English P-45 from him too.

At another table I picked an other English semi-flex Parker, a Duofold Jr. Those both being semi-flex :yikes: :yikes: shocked me. I'd not expected '50's Parker pens to be in semi-flex; but they are English, and there were still Wyvern and Swan's then with good nibs with some flex.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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  • 5 years later...

Sorry to "revive" such an old thread, but it is the only place online where I've found any information on this pen.

Luckily, the reason why I came to know about this pen is because I won an eBay auction of one such pen just last night.

 

Here are some of the pictures from the auction:

 

s-l1600.jpg

s-l1600.jpg

 

I really cannot wait to get my hands on it. I'm just hoping now that all is working with the piston mechanism, as the nib seems to be in good condition, despite it having a somewhat less stub-like point as the other pen posted in this thread.

 

I'll follow up when I get the pen and post some pictures that I take myself!

 

Lastly, I'd just like to thank those who posted information about the pen in this thread as it is always fascinating to find out more about these wonderful objects.

"Yes, everything is simple. It's people who complicate things."

-Albert Camus

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pfortzheim is the jewelry capital of Germany. So I think all the overlays were made there in they all seem to have the same clip.

I now have 3 of the silver pens, each a different chasing.

One is exactly like yours; barley corn. Mine has a fishbone ink window. And a Luxor Herlitz nib....so the pen could well be a Luxor, I've seen other Luxors with fishbone as a muster.

Two have Palliag (palladium?) 1st Qual nibs.

I lucked into a 14 K barley corn one. I did not expect to win it at a live auction. But got it for the start bid of @ E120 or 150 I don't remember exactly. It has a 14 K 'Bison' nib, made by G. Rau Pforzheim.

Could be any dealers noticed the piston needed a new cork.....sigh, still does. :rolleyes:

I don't know if jewelers sent the pens to Pfortzheim or the companies.

As soon as it gets home....do tell what nib yours has.

 

It might say what pen it was originally....or not....in my gold one's nib is not from a pen company, but a nib maker. I'm sure other companies made fishbone patterns, other than Herlitz's Luxor sub brand...their top of the line from my guess. In the Luxor pens I've seen seem to be a tad better than the Herlitz pens I've seen.

Neither were the Palliag nibs. Which could be from before the war really got started. Hitler stole the gold in the summer of '38, and the pen companies scrambled to make good nibs out of other metals.

eLFriN5.jpg

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Here are more pictures:

 

Xn3LOw0.jpgR9aweGA.jpg2giH4Is.jpg

 

The pen has a clear (amber orange) ink window, and no sign of the "HB" logo. It is in overall pretty great condition, however the piston mechanism isn't working 100%, however, well enough to take ink up and keep it in. The nib, besides a little bit of corrosion (?) writes extremely smoothly! Slightly stub-like, but not a super wide stub. I've been using it over the last week to take notes at university, and I must say I am very pleased! Definitely worth the 25 euros I paid :D

 

The gold pen you have is lovely! But being a university student, I prefer the look of the silver pen. Most people assume it is steel and so it doesn't get so many looks, however... the gold is pretty damn nice! :P

Edited by Nacoga

"Yes, everything is simple. It's people who complicate things."

-Albert Camus

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Silver is pretty damn nice too...so I thought when I got all of my three in silver.

I do not know that nib....I've never seen one like that.

What's it say? Could you show a better picture. If you do I'll ask Thomas to take a look at it.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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