Bologna was one of the major “pen cities” in Italy from the early 1900’s till WWII and beyond. It was the city where Nettuno, Colorado, Omas, Tabo, the Scotland and a few more famous brands were manufactured, but also the place where a few very important nib manufacturers were located.
Universal pens were produced in Milan by the Cavaliere Company.
The company’s logo was the outline of a horseshoe (Cavaliere in Italian means Knight). The logo can be found either with the horseshoe only or with a nib which goes through it.
I have had this Uhlmman Eterno’s catalogue for years and have often wondered if the facetted pens it shows were Uhmann pens or not. They looked like Ancora pens to me.
During the 1990’s, when I was gathering information on Italian brands and their origin for the History of the Italian Fountain Pen, I was lucky enough to interview a number of former sales agents and pen shop owners who gave me precious information on many brands.
One of the most difficult brands to catalogue was WELCOME/WELLCOME which was found both on celluloid pens and on pens with semi-precious overlay.
The chapter dedicated to Simplex pens ( vol. II pag. 70, 71), can now have some additions due to the discovery of a number of Simplex pens which were not known when the book was written.
The marketing of Simplex pens is connected with the activity of the Milan-based “ Penne e Pennini di Meda A.” company, located in Corso Magenta.
