The Astoria company was founded in 1921 by former Montblanc production manager Georg Ilgner together with Herman Dietzel, Sigmund Popper, and Wilhelm Frings in Hamburg. The fountain pen holders are quite similar to those of Montblanc. The brand symbol also recalls Montblanc through its black and white colors. Many of the writing instruments produced were exported abroad.

The product range included, among others, safety pens and lever-fill pens, often decorated with overlays of gold or silver. Later, push-button fountain pens were also introduced.

In the 1930s, Astoria ran into financial difficulties and was ultimately reacquired by Montblanc in 1932 and distributed until 1936.

Here one of the fountain pens ("Model 2010") is reviewed.

After ordering the fountain pen, it is custom-made to the customer's specifications, and a few days later the package arrives. Inside is a rather plain white box, which contains the actual writing instrument box made of Italian walnut wood (see below), and inside that is the fountain pen.

First, the "technical" specifications:
The fountain pen is approx. 14 cm long (closed). Without cap the length is 13.2 cm; with cap posted it measures 16.5 cm.

In terms of size, this Astoria corresponds to a Faber-Castell Pen-of-the-Year or a Montblanc 149.

The grip section has a diameter of approx. 1.2 cm, making the fountain pen slightly "slimmer" than a 149. This does, however (at least in my view), contribute to writing comfort. A special feature of the grip section is the surface finish: it is slightly "roughened," giving you a secure grip at all times (I wonder why no other manufacturer came up with this ingenious idea earlier!).

The fountain pen itself is made of hard rubber, a material frequently used for writing instruments in the 1920s and 1930s. Today many writing instruments are instead produced from "noble resin" (i.e., Plexiglas), a material that allows mass production by injection moulding. This is not possible with hard rubber; all writing instruments are individually lathe-turned by hand.

The fittings and clip are made of silver. The downside is that silver tarnishes over time, but it also has a uniquely warm tone. The shape of the clip will look familiar to many collectors: it is a tie-bar clip style that was extremely popular in the 1930s and 1940s (and certainly still is today!).

The filling mechanism is also something special: this is a pneumatic piston filler. Inside the barrel there is a rubber sac. Unscrew the blind cap at the end of the fountain pen, and pressing the button compresses this rubber sac. Next, simply hold the nib in an ink bottle and release the button. A vacuum is created and the sac fills with ink (within approx. 8 seconds). This is a very simple but highly effective system. Other manufacturers have now begun reviving this classic filling method for special editions.

Interim summary: Materials, craftsmanship, and size should impress most people. But what else makes this fountain pen so unique?!

It is certainly the special nib and ink channel. The nibs are custom-made to the customer's specifications and hand-ground. The ink channel was also specially designed for this fountain pen. Together they provide a rich ink flow that is sure to delight many!

Conclusion:
The Astoria 2010 is already a true "classic." Shape, weight, craftsmanship, and ink flow are all convincing.