The (Un)Official Artus Thread (German Brand(S))

[Vignette]

I searched diligently and did not find a central thread focused the brand "Artus".

 

 

I have managed to figure out that there seem to be atleast three uses of "Artus" in terms of fountain pens -- a German company named Artus that morphed into Lamy, a German company named Artus that coexisted in the same market as Lamy, and a Russian one-of-a-kind luxury brand using maki-e and the like.

 

 

I propose that this thread would focus on the two(?) German brands of Artus, because they are hard to differentiate from each other and might share several details, and that the Russian Artus would be discussed elsewhere, since it is so different from the German ones.

 

 

Most fountain pens that I find in the wild in Finland are branded Artus, but there is no central gathering spot for "Artusts" on FPN. Please post and share pictures of your Artuses, and if you know what your model is called, the year it was made, etc, so we can help add to the collective pool of information. Thank you.

 

Artusts of the world, unite!

[Kaweco]

Ok, let`s define this as the official Artus thread, I hope we soon will see your Artus collection . IMHO there is only one Artus trademark in Germany.

Kind Regards

Thomas

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have two that work, and eventually I'll have fixed up two others I have.

Right now I have a easy full flex Degussa nib on one in it is friction feed.

 

Mine appear to be late '40's-early 50's.

They are regular flex, not nails.I have steel 92 nibs and a gold one. Don't know exactly what number or widths they have,with out going to the repair box.

A bit later I'll see what they were; but think they were all F nibs.

 

Don't have them photographed.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[Florida Blue]

I have one Artus fountain pen that I just recently acquired. It is black with gold plated trim with "ARTUS" imprinted in the clip.

 

It's piston fill with plastic threads but the unique thing about the pen are the little port holes for the ink window. It appears to have a gold plated, steel nib.

 

I believe it was made in the 1950s and it could be a Ballit model but I'm not sure. The Favorit model looks similar to this. If anyone could tell me the exact model I would greatly appreciate it.

 

It's currently not working so I haven't written with it yet. The piston won't suck up ink.

 

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae149/thefancyman/DSCF0239.jpg

 

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae149/thefancyman/DSCF0247.jpg

 

http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae149/thefancyman/DSCF0248.jpg

Edited October 4, 2012 by Florida Blue

[OakIris]

I no longer have the pen but I used to have a Lamy Artus demonstrator, must have been made in that transitional period of time when Artus was Lamy's lower tier school pens brand = 1960's? Here are a couple of pictures:

 

 

 

Holly

[Vignette]

I have one Artus fountain pen that I just recently acquired. It is black with gold plated trim with "ARTUS" imprinted in the clip.

 

It's piston fill with plastic threads but the unique thing about the pen are the little port holes for the ink window. It appears to have a gold plated, steel nib.

 

I believe it was made in the 1950s and it could be a Ballit model but I'm not sure. The Favorit model looks similar to this. If anyone could tell me the exact model I would greatly appreciate it.

 

It's currently not working so I haven't written with it yet. The piston won't suck up ink.

 

 

The Artus that I bought on Monday looks identical to yours, except instead of the ink window having portholes, it has stripes. I call him Felix, because he looked like his name would be Felix. (I name all my pens) His picture is in this post: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/220874-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us/page__view__findpost__p__2475222

 

 

After a thorough cleaning and adjusting, he writes with a lovely F flex.

 

I picked up another Artus today from the same shop, a pine green "Artus-Rekord" as it says on the barrel, and it would not even suck up ink. I thoroughly cleaned and rinsed it, and now it is a lovely M flex. Under my bizarre rules of pen naming, she will have a girl's name, probably a German name. I'm thinking Sabine. The first Artus of my collection was found by accident in a flea market pencil jar, does not have a cap, and cost me 30 cents. Sorry for not having pictures of my pens today, I cannot find the charger for my camera.

[Kaweco]

Hello Vignette

#1 is a Lamy 27 and #2 and #3 are Artus Ballits all in red. The Ballits have a little bit of a difference in the streamline shape and a different ink window. The Lamy has a gold plated ring and clip and a gold nib. The Ballits have steel nibs and brass clips. The material is all the same.

Kind Regards

Thomas

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/ArtusLamy2.jpg

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/ArtusLamy1.jpg

[Kaweco]

This is possibly the oldest Artus nib ever

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/Artusnib.jpg

Edited October 6, 2012 by Kaweco

[Hex]

I have 2 in various stages of repair. Pictures when the camera gets back.

Both are black. Doh.

1) Numbered 22 OB, green view window, Artus nib 14k 585 II, no name on the clip

2) Numbered 43 B, green view window, Artus iridium Extra nib, Artus on clip. Nib has heen bent. It's slightly longer than #1

 

Both piston fillers.

[Florida Blue]

I guess this answers the question in a thread that was posted about a week ago, where all of the vintage (pre-1980) Lamy's are? :roflmho:

 

Many appear to be in Finland and of course in their native Germany. I bought mine from someone in New York.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/230753-where-are-all-the-classic-lamy-pens-from-yesteryear/

[Kaweco]

Artus was founded possibly in 1936 by Paula Kaufmann

[Kaweco]

Lamy`s first trade mark was Orthos. Very early C.J. Lamy got a patent for his "Orthos Zweischreiber", a combo made from celluloid. There was a union between Lamy and Kaufmann, who produced Artus fountainpens. Early Orthos and Artus pens are very scarce. Possibly the Orthos imprint disappeared after the union because the names had been similar.

pic: #1 = Orthos #2 and #3 Artus fountainpens. The style is a little bit different.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/OrthosArtus.jpg

Kind Regards, Thomas

[Kaweco]

Sorry for not having pictures of my pens today, I cannot find the charger for my camera.

Notwithstanding that Artus is a very interesting trade mark and the very early years are mostly unknown: This is a very very poor thread where I have learned only that the initial poster needs an Artus cap and seems not to be very intereted in his own topic.

My batteries also had been finnished.

Kind Regards

[senzen]

Finally got an Artus, a piston filler, it has a small marking: 41, underneath FK (fine kugel?). Smooth nib, I like the design in spite of disliking gold accents in general, particularly the ink window; I've come across similar models in blue which looked stunning, but where a little beat up. I'd love to know the name of this model if anyone knows, and age range. Also got a grey Reform.

 

[Kynaeilijae]

Hello.

 

Nice to see the humble Artus getting some recognition. I wonder why this brand has been so neglected, while Lamy has been so much more appreciated? Although they are mechanically identical. Was it ever marketed in the US?

 

In the fifties and sixties, Artus was very popular here in Finland, being one of the so called "school pens" (together with eg. Monte Rosa and Pelikan Pelikano). All three brands are similar in that they are well built and can withstand abuse from children, and the piston mechanisms are robust and smooth, too.

 

These pens turn up frequently at flea markets and online auction sites in Finland. And they are often in good condition, and usually very cheap!

 

The pictures show some of the Artus pens that I have as part of my Lamy collection. From left to right:

 

1. " Lamy Artus" (piston, presumably from the mid-sixties when the name Artus was finally dropped, neither brand name on clip)

2. "Artus Prinz" (cartridge, sixties, takes short Pelikan-type cartridges)

3. "Artus Rekord" (piston, sixties)

4. "Artus Prinz" (piston, sixties, the word KANSAKOULU denotes a school pen for the firts six years in school

5 and 6. "Artus Rekord" (piston, fifties)

7. "Artus Sonderklasse" (piston, fifties)

 

Long live the pen world Aspidistras.

 

martti

[Kynaeilijae]

Hello.

 

Nice to see the humble Artus getting some recognition. I wonder why this brand has been so neglected, while Lamy has been so much more appreciated? Although they are mechanically identical. Was it ever marketed in the US?

 

In the fifties and sixties, Artus was very popular here in Finland, being one of the so called "school pens" (together with eg. Monte Rosa and Pelikan Pelikano). All three brands are similar in that they are well built and can withstand abuse from children, and the piston mechanisms are robust and smooth, too.

 

These pens turn up frequently at flea markets and online auction sites in Finland. And they are often in good condition, and usually very cheap!

 

The pictures show some of the Artus pens that I have as part of my Lamy collection. From left to right:

 

1. " Lamy Artus" (piston, presumably from the mid-sixties when the name Artus was finally dropped, neither brand name on clip)

2. "Artus Prinz" (cartridge, sixties, takes short Pelikan-type cartridges)

3. "Artus Rekord" (piston, sixties)

4. "Artus Prinz" (piston, sixties, the word KANSAKOULU denotes a school pen for the firts six years in school

5 and 6. "Artus Rekord" (piston, fifties)

7. "Artus Sonderklasse" (piston, fifties)

 

Long live the pen world Aspidistras.

 

martti

[senzen]

Hello.

 

Nice to see the humble Artus getting some recognition. I wonder why this brand has been so neglected, while Lamy has been so much more appreciated? Although they are mechanically identical. Was it ever marketed in the US?

 

In the fifties and sixties, Artus was very popular here in Finland, being one of the so called "school pens" (together with eg. Monte Rosa and Pelikan Pelikano). All three brands are similar in that they are well built and can withstand abuse from children, and the piston mechanisms are robust and smooth, too.

 

These pens turn up frequently at flea markets and online auction sites in Finland. And they are often in good condition, and usually very cheap!

 

The pictures show some of the Artus pens that I have as part of my Lamy collection. From left to right:

 

1. " Lamy Artus" (piston, presumably from the mid-sixties when the name Artus was finally dropped, neither brand name on clip)

2. "Artus Prinz" (cartridge, sixties, takes short Pelikan-type cartridges)

3. "Artus Rekord" (piston, sixties)

4. "Artus Prinz" (piston, sixties, the word KANSAKOULU denotes a school pen for the firts six years in school

5 and 6. "Artus Rekord" (piston, fifties)

7. "Artus Sonderklasse" (piston, fifties)

 

Long live the pen world Aspidistras.

 

martti

Thank you, mine looks like the third one. I'm impressed that it works flawlessly, now using it with Jacques Herbin Ambre de Baltique, an ink that quickly veers into a brown in most pens but remains a yellow in this one, probably the combination of a screw cap and a piston.