The Astoria Company started its activity in 1921 in Hamburg.

Astoria's founder, Mr. Ilgner had been a Montblanc employee and when he founded his own company he took advantage of the experience and know how he had  accumulated working for Montblanc. The logo which was chosen for Astoria pens, a black and white circle divided in 4 triangles, appears to be an attempt to have an alternative to the black and white  Montblanc's star logo.

Astoria early products were safety pens in ebonite, both black and mottled, which are actually very similar in design and style to Montblanc pens of the same era.

The Astoria Company was bought by Montblanc in 1923 and its products were then developed as a kind of subbrand or parallel line. 

The biggest size in the Astoria range of safety pens was the Nr. 10, which is however smaller than its Montblanc Nr. 12 counterpart. Astoria nr. 10 models are extremely rare and they exist in black and in mottled  ebonite. Models which were exported to Italy were also offered with 18 kr overlay.

This Astoria nr. 10 is in excellent condition with very minimal traces of use. The imprints are fresh and crisp and there are no traces of oxidisation on the ebonite. The pen shows the engraving F on the turning knob but the nib is a stubbish one. It has probably been replaced.

This pen is definitely a very rare piece, suitable to fit in any high end collection.