1950s Gorgeous Faber Castell Osmia No. 883 Celluloid Tortoise Green Striped with 14K Gold Extra Fine Flexible Nib Piston Fountain Pen Item ID: VAR-093

Faber Castell Osmia No.883

Manufacturer/Model: Faber Castell Osmia/883 EF/Germany
Year of production: Early to mid 1950s
Filling system: Piston Filling (New O ring installed)
Nib: Solid 14K 585 Gold two tone gold, Flexible EF Extra fine size; writes up to triple broad; 3B
Material: Celluloid Green Tortoise Striped; Amber color transparent cap and body
Length (pen closed): 127mm, posted 146mm

Condition and information:
A truly gorgeous pen with a lot of history attached to it. The Osmia company was founded in 1919. They made some amazing writing instruments and were strongly admired for their pen's quality and innovation. This caught the eye of some of the larger pen makers in Europe, and soon enough in mid 1930s, Osmia was partially acquired by Faber Castell. Since the Osmia brand had a such a good reputation, Faber Castell decided to keep the brand, and thus continue to make only the best of their fountain pens under the brand Faber Castell Osmia, in fact, the pens were made in part by the same people that worked at Osmia. However in early 1950s, the entire Osmia company was acquired by Faber Castell and they decided to phase out the Osmia name completely, only the diamond Osmia logo stayed on their pens, without the Osmia name, i.e. this pen, made in early to mid 1950s.

The pen is a true masterpiece, made to compete and even surpass its biggest rivals at the time, the Pelikan 400 and the Montblanc 142/144 which were in its class. The build quality, the precision, the compactness of the fitted parts is extraordinary and palpable. The pen has that familiar floating line of that 50s German design, very similar to the Pelikan 400. It is a marvelous tortoise green striped, made out of celluloid, and in between the green stripes, the amber color celluloid can be seen, making the pen's cap nearly fully transparent and making the barrel transparent too, just enough so the user can read the ink level. Even the section is green, completing the design theme which is a fully vintage green pen that was so popular at the time. The tortoise shell is made out of cast celluloid, and no two pens are identical. The green stripes on this pen are not identical too. The pen has a different appearance from every side. The beautiful Osmia logo is located on the top as a crown, as well as on the nib. Gold plated wide ring and clip are prestine with no gold wear off.

The pen has a superb piston filling system. Not shown on the photos, but its from the same green color as the pen. Simple yet powerful as the Pelikan piston filler, but fitted with a thread as opposed to friction. Originally it was fitted with a cork, but we've replaced the cork with a rubber O ring for optimum performance, which makes the pen fill all the way to the top and never leak, and will operate for decades to come.

Where this 883 gives Pelikans and Montblancs run for their money is its superb nib. Osmia was renowned for their nibs. It is much larger than most of its competitors at the time, it almost feels and looks as it does not belong to this pen, it is so big. It is semi to fully flexible super sharp EF nib. It just feels right and does an amazing writing. It can easily flex with a gentle press, and the tines will split apart up to 2mm. Even though its EF, it is not scratchy, only when pressed very hard. But its a thick nib, so unlike many flexible nibs which could easily bend when pressed, this one will retract in its original position always.

Most importantly the pen is in pristine condition, hard to believe it was made close to 70 years ago, it is perfectly preserved. No scratches, cracks, dings, teeth marks, gold ware off or any cosmetic or functional issues, a true museum piece pen, but also a wonderful writing instrument to be enjoyed every day!