Osmiridium hunter from Australia

[Ossie Jax]

Hi there, my name is Jacqueline and I'm from Tasmania. I'm a bit of a history nerd and work in the arts - my motivation for joining intersects with both. 

 

I'm working on a project about Tasmanian osmiridium and am searching for samples of osmiridium nibs, pens and packaging from the 1920s and 1930s when the osmiridium boom in Tasmania was in full swing. Essentially, Tasmania was the primary source of osmiridium globally during that period, exported for use predominantly in fountain pen nibs.

 

I'll post in the Mall as well, but hello from Australia and hoping there are some history enthusiasts here with similar interest in this area and/or who might be able to assist.

[Ossie Jax]

Turns out I can't post in the Marketplace forums so I'm back again with some photos of what I'm looking for if anyone has any leads.

 

I've scoured eBay and FB marketplace locally (some of these photos are from eBay) and looking for other vendors. 

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! So glad to have you as a member!!

[Mark from Yorkshire]

[Wahl]

[OCArt]

[Kaweco]

Hello Jaqueline from Tasmania

Very interesting input and I think this could match into the topic: "Writing Instruments"/ nibs or FP history.

First of all: There is no complete nib made from Osmiridium. The nibs were made from 14 or 18 Karat Gold and only the hard metal tip contains Rhodium, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinium, Gold and other metals. Osmiridium from the Ural mountains in Russia content additionalRuthenium. Iridium and Osmium are neighbors in the periodic table of elements, their atom radius is very similar and they interchange places in the crystal system. So both metals can hardly extracted from each other. The natural found alloy contents normally few Iridium and more Osmium but Iridium could be much better identified because of many blue and violet spectra lines.

In 1919 Dr. Haagn from Heraeus in Hanau/ Germany was able to seperate all metal contents, he idetntified the extraordinary high melting points and began to produce new synthetic alloys. Osmium is vulnerable to Oxygen, it burns down to the very poisonous Osmiumtetroxid, so it must be worked in vacuum. Haagn/ Heraeus produced an alloy with 80% Osmium for nib tips. The fountainpen factory Georg and Herman Böhler in Dossenheim near Heidelberg /Germany purchased the Patent and got a chance for "ever lasting" nibs and took the brand "OSMIA". Parker tried to produce similar compounds for nib tips but in the end they purchased the whole OSMIA factory in Dossenheim. (CEO: C.J. Lamy) Until today Heraeus produces nib tips with Osmium. But the metal is tremendous expensive and is mostly substituted by the cheaper Ruthenium since many many years. 

I remember an essay from Mottishaw/ Montgomery at "pentrace" (Len Provisor): "Where`s the Iridium?" They made anlalyses of nib tips by EDAX and found:  nearly no Iridium, notwithstanding nearly the whole word call the nib tips "Iridium"

It can be hard to find nibs with original natural "Osmiridium" from Tasmania. But there are old papers from fountain pen and nib producers. Böhler and the old KAWECO from Heidelberg in common with MORTON before 1919 were among them. The imprint Osmiridium" is no proof for the natural mineral

Possibly one can identify the small nearly hexagonal "brick", which was welded under the nib, cut grinded and polished. Maybe there are a few of this magic nibs in this world.

My best wishes for your art and writing object from the other side of the world.

Thomas

Heidelberg/ Germany

Fountainpenmuseum

[Bisquitlips]

 

Welcome! Glad you are with us!