I am enjoying a run of good luck in my fountain pen acquisitions. Hot on the heels of my “four countries and six new pens in a week” cruise ship holiday, I stumbled across a vintage Aurora in an antiques market.
This happened in Spitalfields Market, where my wife and I had come to buy her a hat. Actually, she may have spotted the pens before I did. There, on a shelf, displayed in its Aurora box, was a fountain pen that I was unfamiliar with.
This was a slim, cylindrical pen with a glossy gun-metal finish and a gold-coloured pocket clip, cap-band and barrel end. Pulling off the snap-cap revealed a black section and a gold-coloured nib, flat topped with bends at the sides, a bit like a Lamy Safari nib but with no visible imprint. A generous blob of tipping and the condition of the body all suggested that the pen had seen little use.
Generally speaking, I do not gravitate towards slim pens. However, for a vintage Aurora I was prepared to make an exception. It was mine for £20.00.
With no papers in the box, I tried to think of the pen’s name. The name “Profil” kept coming to mind but no, that was a Lamy range. Then I remembered the name Hastil. Was it a Hastil perhaps? For a brief time, I thought it was.
Examining my purchase at home, I found the only bit of branding, the name AURORA in tiny letters on the cap but, unusually, printed in line with the pocket clip and barely noticeable on a casual inspection. I also discovered that the cap was cleverly designed to post, with a satisfying click, to add a bit of heft and length, making a very comfortable unit.
I flushed the section and then pushed in a brown Aurora cartridge, from a box which I had fortuitously bought at a recent pen show. It wrote beautifully, with a nice medium line, good flow, no skipping, no hard-starts, no scratchiness. I was delighted.
Also, I surprised myself in finding that I took so well to such a slim pen. This was a revelation rather like when, as a teenager, I discovered that I did like strawberries after all.
Some research on the internet and in old Aurora catalogues, revealed that my pen was not the Hastil. From a similar pen being sold on eBay, I gathered that mine was the Aurora Marco Polo. (Marco Polo, c. 1254-1324, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer). I did read up about the Hastil, and learned that it was designed by Marco Zanuso, and introduced in 1970. The slim, cylindrical metal design was so novel and successful that the Hastil became the first fountain pen to be exhibited in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
I gather that my pen came later, and whilst sharing some superficial similarities to the Hastil, it did not have the Hastil’s gold nib (in a distinctive, scoop shape) nor the cap which was flush with the barrel – yet postable due to a barely perceptible tapering of the barrel. The Hastil also had a special recessed pocket clip feature.
I had not seen an Aurora Hastil in the flesh. But then by a strange coincidence, we were visiting a friend in north London, just a few days after my purchase of the Aurora. Knowing of my interest in pens, she went to dig out a few old pens to show me. Imagine my surprise, when one of these was an Aurora Hastil, complete with its original, extraordinary, metal cylinder box, with papers, a pair of unused Aurora cartridges (from which the ink had almost entirely evaporated) and the accompanying converter, called the Trik-Trak. Our friend could shed no light whatsoever on how she came to have this pen. I suspect that it had been purchased by or gifted to her husband, long since deceased.
Having spent the previous few evenings gleaning information on the internet, I was thrilled to see an actual Aurora Hastil and took a few photos of it. These are not vintage pens that you come across very often. Fortunately, our friend’s son is a fountain pen enthusiast who will appreciate its worth.
Finally, my lucky streak did not end here: with my Pen Repair Course approaching, I had popped into a local antiques shop to ask whether they had any old pens, as I needed some to work on. The proprietor rummaged in a box, in a dimly lit corner of his cluttered shop piled high with furniture and all manner of bric-a-brac. He then emerged with a bundle of five fountain pens, namely a Parker 51 aerometric, a Parker Slimfold, two lever-fillers: – a ‘Swan’ Mabie Todd SF2 and a Pitman College and finally a black plastic “Marksman” Chinese pen. He would not sell them separately but only as a job lot. I bought the lot, and got them all clean and working again. I have been having a great time with them but will save this for another post.
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What a nice find. These vintage Aurora pens are superb writers and I have a small collection of these that I love. My favourite is a silver Godron Hastil with a fabulous gold nib. Slim, balanced and an all day writer. I believe Aurora were tasked by Montblanc to create the Noblesse line and these were based on the Hastil design. Others followed the band wagon and copied Aurora’s design – Diplomat Attache, Elysee En Vogue to name a few. Aurora still sell the Magellano a successor to the Marco Polo. Better materials and gold nibs. Enjoy your Aurora’s they remain my favourite pens. Also try looking out for the vintage Aurora 98 magica riserva. One of the most elegant designs from the 60s.
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Thank you for this helpful information. I have just had a look online at the Magellano and also the 98 magica riserva which does look very appealing.
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The Marco Polo is a stunner. There is nothing to dislike about it. I’m glad to hear you are finding it comfortable to write with as well – I know not everyone is fond of slim pens. I’m slightly less impressed by the looks of the Hastil, I have to admit. Perhaps it is the nib shape that I prefer on the Marco Polo. Off to look at the Magellano now.
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Thanks Pamela. I surprised myself in adapting to this slim pen so quickly! I now reach for it often and enjoy the writing experience. Just goes to show, we need to test ourselves sometimes!
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I love Aurora pens, in general. Both modern and vintage. I have both the Hastil (all vermeil finish, 14k M). I wish I had the ‘Ecosteel’ silver Hastil, too. I also own the Marco Polo. In a rare red and gold color finish. Never imagined I’d like these very slender pens so much. But I’m so glad I bought these Auroras. I like everything about these pens. Cool to know that you chanced upon and bought the Marco Polo pen.
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Thanks Sajjad. I was not even aware of the Marco Polo until I found this one. Your red and gold version sounds elegant.
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To find an Aurora Marco Polo for £20 and in such good condition is something that doesn’t even cross my mind. You are very lucky. I didn’t know this model, but I did know the Hastil. It’s a type of fountain pen that I really like. I recently acquired a Lamy St 45, which we can consider the same style, and I am very happy with it. Also, this week I ordered a Diplomat Traveller Flame which was at a very good price and I am quite looking forward to it. I have read your reviews of Diplomat models.
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I am sure you will be thrilled with the Diplomat Traveller. Diplomat’s steel nibs are superb, including the Traveller. The Flame edition looks stunning.
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The Traveller has totally satisfied my expectations, it has become one of my favorite pens.
In a way, Diplomat reminds me a lot of Inoxcrom. The owners were close friends and the Germans distributed the Spanish brand in Germany. On the other hand, Inoxcrom manufactured the Diplomat Classic (twin of the Inoxcrom Corinthians), a luxury model inspired by the Omas Paragon.
The Inoxcrom Paris looks quite similar to the Diplomat Traveller. I have the red Paris with gold motifs and black section. There is a very similar Traveller. Also, they share the feed.
I want to clarify that the current Inoxcrom has nothing to do with the one that disappeared in 2010. The company was re-founded by a group of former workers, but its models are completely new and produced in China.
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Thankyou Miguel, for this interesting information. I was not aware of the connection between Diplomat and the original Inoxcrom.
I do have just one Inoxcrom fountain pen, a Mistral if I remember correctly, in a metallic matt lilac finish, but I believe it post-dates the old company.
Best wishes.
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The Mistral model belongs to Inoxgrup, one of the two companies that emerged from the bankruptcy of the original Inoxcrom. Inoxgrup has survived to the present day and subcontracts production to a Chinese OEM. The other company was Inoxcrom International (disappeared in 2017) and they had the stock of the original Inoxcrom. They produced classic models and created some new ones. As far as I know, they mixed Spanish components with others from China.
http://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2017/08/inoxcrom-inoxgrup-mistral.html
https://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2017/07/inoxgrup-sccl-la-cooperativa.html
https://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2017/07/inoxcrom-internacional-inoxcrom-ixc.html
ORIGINAL INOXCROM:
https://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2017/03/inoxcrom-guia-fotografica-para-su.html
https://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2017/03/inoxcrom-guia-fotografica-para-su_17.html
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Inoxcrom had a distributor in England. I know that you frequently visit flea markets and stores where they sell vintage pens. Those guides may be useful to you on occasion. There are inoxcrom models that are worth the money for their quality. The most luxurious ones are very sought after nowadays.
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Many thanks for this additional detailed information. Your knowledge of Inoxcrom’s history is impressive!
Yes, I do visit pen shows and antique shops and will keep an eye open for any good quality vintage Inoxcrom models.
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