Vintage Brand 'Mondiale'

[jhmclearly]

Posted a similar thread in the Italian section but thought I should also try here.

 

Just bought an unusual vintage safety pen on Ebay with the only mark being 'Mondiale'. I think it may be connected to the Italian brand Mondial LUS but wondered if anyone else might be able to provide any info on it ?

 

I'll post better pictures when it arrives but for now this is the best there is.

 

Cheers

 

[jhmclearly]

The pens arrived and it's lovely. The white metal does look as if it's silver.... but the gold ? Off to the jewellers tomorrow ro check.

 

Not sure if more pics will help as there's been no response so far. But it's quite pretty.

 

[jhmclearly]

Another pic.

[Shangas]

Extremely pretty but..where's the nib?

[Titivillus]

Extremely pretty but..where's the nib?

 

 

It's a safety pen so the nib is retracted into the body of the pen. One reason it can have the stubby cap.

 

Kurt

[Shangas]

I know what a safety pen is and how they work, I'm just saying that identification might be a bit easier if we could see the nib screwed out.

[jhmclearly]

Nibs a replacement steel nib - 'Rostfrei' - possibly germanic ? But not a help in trying to identify it. At first glance jeweller thought it might be silver and gold so I've left it for him to test. Could be lucky...... then again.

[QM2]

jhmclearly,

 

Did you ever find out more about the pen? What did the jeweler say about the metals?

 

I believe that Mondiale was an alternative way of spelling or marketing Mondial.

See this pentrace article on Umberto Legnani:

http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/Data_Retur...icle.asp?id=406

 

 

QM2

[jhmclearly]

Hello

 

Thanks for the link. It does suggest that I was right in my initial thoughts as to its origins.

 

Slightly unfortunately it turned out to be brass and silver, rather than gold and silver, but even so it is a lovely pen.

 

Still a bit of a bargain considering what I paid for it.

 

Cheers

 

John

[QM2]

Hello

 

Thanks for the link. It does suggest that I was right in my initial thoughts as to its origins.

 

Slightly unfortunately it turned out to be brass and silver, rather than gold and silver, but even so it is a lovely pen.

 

Still a bit of a bargain considering what I paid for it.

 

 

I agree that even with brass it is a great find. I have a BCHR Mondial from 1928 and it is a very nice, durable pen. I hope yours is functional and you are able to use it. If you ever decide to sell it, PM me and I may be interested!

 

 

QM2

[zabo]

Hi,

today I went to a flea market and came back with a couple of pens.

 

One of them looks very similar to the one in this thread.

You can see it here:

 

 

 

I paid very little for it.

 

It's a safety pen but it lacks the nib and feeder and the back part of the barrell is broken and was superglued.

Fortunately I've been able to unglue it nicely and even more luckily the glue did not ruin the turning knob, which still works nicely, pushing up and down the internal mechanics.

 

Cap screws securely and the internal seal looks intact.

 

Has some little dings on the metal part, which I believe is brass.

 

Can you guys tell me something more about this pen?

 

Do you think it's wothwhile an attempt at finding a nib+feeder and repair the posterior part of the barrel?

 

Thank you

Edited March 15, 2009 by zabo

[ethernautrix]

jhmclearly, THAT is a GORGEOUS pen. Wow.

[RevAaron]

Wow, both of these pens are really great.

 

zabo: I don't think you'll find it easy to locate a "correct" nib and feed, but I do think it's totally worth getting a replacement nib and feed put in, from whatever source you like. If you don't want to do this, I would be interested in buying it from you as a user and stick in some random nib. I love the pattern on the barrel, very neat.

[tknechtel]

Thanks for this thread and especially the article. I just bought a celluloid Mondial pen from Sanpei here on the FPN Marketplace and wasn't able to find any info about the company. It's a pen from the 50s with a lizard look to the celluloid, with a flexi nib - now I can't wait to try it!

Best,

Tom

[zabo]

Wow, both of these pens are really great.

 

zabo: I don't think you'll find it easy to locate a "correct" nib and feed, but I do think it's totally worth getting a replacement nib and feed put in, from whatever source you like. If you don't want to do this, I would be interested in buying it from you as a user and stick in some random nib. I love the pattern on the barrel, very neat.

I was actually thinking about "playing" with it myself... :embarrassed_smile:

Anyway, make me an offer and I'll think about it.

 

Just want to be clear that the posterior part of the barrel (black part in the photograph) is broken at the base (near the metal part, if you look well you can see the fracture line in the photograph).

Turning knob, internal axle and mechanics are working.

Therefore one of two things, either redo the posterior black part from a piece of ebanite or repair it with some pins.

Need also evaluate state of the posterior (cork?) seal.

The rest you can see.

 

Best of all

[Vintagepens]

Just a quick note about taking pens to jewelers for testing:

 

Be VERY clear that you don't want them to damage the article, since most jewelers will take a file to the piece. Yes, they'll say it will only be a tiny mark that nobody will notice, but those test marks are far from invisible and do devalue a pen or pencil (or other article). In general, there's no point in testing, since virtually all pens and pencils are either prominently marked or can easily be figured out with simple visual examination.

[sumgaikid]

Nibs a replacement steel nib - 'Rostfrei' - possibly germanic ? But not a help in trying to identify it. At first glance jeweller thought it might be silver and gold so I've left it for him to test. Could be lucky...... then again.

 

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it,but "rostfrei" is probably "rust-free" in German.

 

John

 

[publius]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it,but "rostfrei" is probably "rust-free" in German.

 

John

 

Yep. "Rostfrei" = "inox" = generic marking for anything stainless steel.

[LetiziaJac]

Thanks for this thread and especially the article. I just bought a celluloid Mondial pen from Sanpei here on the FPN Marketplace and wasn't able to find any info about the company. It's a pen from the 50s with a lizard look to the celluloid, with a flexi nib - now I can't wait to try it!

Best,

Tom

 

Hi, I just got the link to this topic from Zabo. I had not read it before. I would just like to add a couple of words on Mondial and Mondiale pens. They are both 100% Italian but I doubt that they have a common origin. Mondial pens come definitely from Umberto Legnani's company, based in Saronno. Most Mondial pens have a small "globe", similar to Waterman's imprinted somewhere next to the Mondial logo. Most of the late '40s early '50s production is medium quality. As regards safeties with metal overlay, Mondial pens were often marketed through mail catalogues, advertized as precious pens you could buy at affordable prices ( ... which gives us a hint of their quality). Mondial nibs also exist, but they were mainly steel or gilt nibs. As regards Mondiale pens, and in particular the one in the picture here, the overlay seems to be of much higher quality than the Mondial. My opinion is that this pen comes from the Milan area and it is a bit earlier than Zabo's Mondial.

 

[zabo]

My opinion is that this pen comes from the Milan area and it is a bit earlier than Zabo's Mondial.

Letizia, mine too is marked Mondiale and not Mondial.

Sorry in the previous photo the "e" was missing.

Here is a photo after initial cleaning (and not yet polished).

Now I believe it's gold filled, not brass.

Edited May 2, 2009 by zabo