![]() Immediately after the war Ancora gave its products a stylistic and technical overhaul. Bases are generally grained gray marble or crystal. During World War II, Ancora also made a series of beautiful pens with the same features as the standard models. Today these nibs are much rarer than 14-karat gold classic Ancora nibs. Ancora fountain pens with chrome trim will therefore also have Zanio nibs. Like all of the major pen manufacturers of the day, Ancora resolved the problem of the scarcity of gold created by the war by using a steel alloy to make nibs. ![]() To fill the pen you simply squeeze the sac between your fingers. The filling system used for this line of pens is quite common for the time – by unscrewing the blind end cap, which is longer than average, you uncover a rubber sac. The pens do, however, differ on a number of fronts, with the level fillers fitted with a roller clip slotted into a cap with three thin bands, and the button fillers sporting a clip with a ball tip with a single cap band.Īncora made Duplex lever fillers in lady, medium, large and oversized models and in a variety of solid colors and marbled finishes, all of which are extremely beautiful. The wordings engraved on the barrel of both versions are identical: "Ancora Duplex" in block letters over a stylized anchor. Ancora made lever-filler and button filler versions of the Duplex. These are very beautiful, well-finished pens, distinguished by one decorative band on the body and two near the cap lip and barrel end. The classic model was replaced by the Duplex line in the early thirties. Produced in very small numbers, these early Ancoras are today extremely rare and much sought after by collectors. These pens were joined by new models, also button-fillers but with more rounded ends, made from celluloid in often unusual and fascinating colors. The first celluloid Ancoras, made in two sizes from marbled, black, and solid colors of celluloid, have the classic clip with a ball tip and either end made of black hard rubber. Ancora safety pens with precious metal overlays played a fundamental role in the firm's later output. The same style of decoration can also be found on models with metal overlays, most of which are of excellent quality and stylistically first rate. Many pens have an enameled design of a blue anchor on a white background on the cap top, for example. What really sets these pens from the twenties apart is their refined style. The first Ancoras were black hard rubber safety pens, made in lady's and gentleman's versions. When Zanini died after World War II, his son Alfredo took over the reins of the company. ![]() It remained there until 1938, when the firm moved to new industrial premises in Arona. ![]() It is in Bologna that Zanini became friends and worked with Armando Simoni, the future founder of Omas.Īccording to an official document registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce, Zanini transferred this business to Sesto Calende in September 1925. ![]() Bologna provided Zanini with numerous contacts in the fountain pen industry, which he was able to take advantage of in later years. The years spent in Bologna proved vital, serving as Zanini's apprenticeship in the trade. The address of the firm was Zanini's home at Via Irmerio 17/b, Bologna. Zanini stayed in partnership with Clerici until 1924, when he set up a new sole proprietorship under the name "Fabbrica di Penne Stilografiche e Commercio Stampe in genere, Stampe e Riproduzioni Opere d'Arte" (Manufacture of fountain pens and sale of prints in general. Tracing the milestones of Zanini's life is no easy task, however it is documented that while his early ventures into penmaking and stationery sales date in the early 1919, it was in March 1920 that, in collaboration with a partner by the name of Clerici, Zanini founded a new company with the business name "Fabbrica e Commercio di Penne Stilografiche e Raffinati Oggetti per Arti Grafiche" (Manufacture and sale of fountain pens and luxury accessories for the graphic arts) which would later become Ancora. The amount of information we have on him the history of his company has grown over recent years thanks to the contributions of researchers and enthusiasts. Giuseppe Zanini, Ancora's founder, was born in March 1897 in Schio, Italy. ![]()
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