Very Rare 1930s Dutch UNION GENIE 19500 Celluloid & Hard Rubber 14K OF Super Flexible Nib Push Button Bladder Fountain Pen Item ID: VAR-091

UNION Genie 19500

Manufacturer/Model: Union/Netherlands/Genie 19500
Year of production: Mid to Late 1930s
Filling system: Push Button P Bar filler (New Silicone Sac Installed); To fill the pen, submerge the nib into the ink bottle, than press the push button 5-6 times
Nib: 14K 585 Solid gold, OF oblique fine; Paintbrush like flexible; super soft
Material: Celluloid pen; Hard rubber captop, blind cap & grip section; Gold Filled Clip  
Length (pen closed): 133mm; Posted at 165mm
Condition and information: 

This is a very rare pen, made by one of the very few successful Dutch pen makers but long lost brand, Union. The Dutch Union company is not to be confused with the "The Union" fountain pens made in USA or the "Union ST Graphics" from San Francisco, or with the Soyuz brand in USSR (which translates to Union) as Soviets would not write their brand in Latin alphabet. This is an extremely rare pen made by the Dutch company Union made in the region of Holland in early to mid 1930s. They used some different addon names we know of in order to differentiate their lines, such as this one Union Genie (where Genie translates to Genius in English). We believe the company existed for less than two decades, as most of their pens we see correlate to a certain period of bladder push button filling pens. This is one of those pens.

The pen is unique in some ways, not seen on other European pens. There is this masculine from factor of the pen, crowned with a screw nut. This was a contemporary industrial inspired design at the time, and it could not be more obvious. The section under the blind cap covering the push button is strait as opposed to the curvature of the pen's body. This is not a deformation, on the contrary it is a design feature of the pen which allows for the cap to be fitted over it when posted and stay very secure, giving the pen an enormous length of 165mm. Secondly there is a slot for a cap ring on the cap, however there is no ring. We are not sure if this is a design feature or the ring is missing. It can be both ways, as even an empty slot is preventing cracks on the ring simply as the form makes the cap more strong. Another rare feature is the very thin ebonite ski-slope feed but with fins. Usually ski-slope feeds were solid uniforms as opposed to having fins.

The crown achievement though is the nib. This must be one of the softest nibs we've ever used, comparable to those early Swan and Waterman nibs everyone likes to try. The nib is so soft it takes just the tiniest amount of pressure for the tines to split, its a true paintbrush. From the form of the tip and the writing line we rate the nib to OF, oblique fine, but this may also be made by the nib adapting to its previous owner style. Nonetheless the nib is now writing a perfect OF line, with line variation on every stroke and can go to create lines up to 3mm thick as long as the feed is wet and full with ink.

The filling system is the popular at the time among European pen makers, bladder filling with a standard P (pressure) bar which was found on so many pens. We have replaced the sac with a new silicone one for better performance and the pen fills and holds the ink as it was intended to. 

The pen is in mint condition, no cracks or scratches, deformations or dings, perfectly preserved. This is one extremely well built pen by special pen company which we don't see much from, a truly rare specimen with beautiful design, worth any collection and a true joy for daily use!