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First my request, then some background. I am asking you please to post, for each vintage Aurora 88 / 88K / 88P that you own, - the model and the serial number - if it is an unserialised 88P, please state that. - if you have documentary evidence of it, the year of manufacture / sale (not a seller's opinion please). Background I have collected quite a few models and serials from FPN, fleabay and my own few pens, and have compared this with the information in the Aurora 88 Dynasty and other threads. Now, I am seeking more data to improve upon it. I have concluded from looking at existing pens that the serial number offers a useable source for dating the pens. It appears that they were applied as would be expected to each successive pen, regardless of model. The lowest serial I have found to date is under 47000, so we know that they did not kick off the process somewhere in the hundred thousands. From the Dynasty thread, one would expect to see 88 and 88K serials intermingled for the period 1951 to 1953, and this happens. One would also expect from that source to see no overlap between the 88K and 88P and so far this too is the case. However, based on total production information in the Dynasty, taking that as cumulative, one would expect a serial in the 2.5 M range to appear only on an 88K, but it appears on an 88 which ceased production in 1953. That implies that either fewer 88P were later produced to stay within 3.8 M total, or else more than 3.8 M were later produced if the inferred 1.3 M 88P were made. An alternative that practically no 88K were produced during 1954-57 seems unlikely! However, no 88P so far has a serial as high as 3.3 M, far from 3.8 M. Casual reading also suggests there are more unserialised 88P around than the small number expected (I have one myself). This may account for the gap, if serialising ceased around 1961. For these reasons I am asking for the above data to try to fill in some gaps. I am already close to having a fairly good translation from serial to year, to counter optimistic sellers and simply for one's own entertainment. To do this I am obliged to make an assumption about non-linear production patterns in which production for each model ramps up quickly in year 0-1, plateaus around 2-4 years and declines in years 5-7. These mild curves are assumed but appear to give better results on known data than assuming flat production rates. edit:minor and formatting

For reference, here is a list of pen manufacturers and who supplies their nibs. I've gathered this from a lot of different sources (including older posts in FPN forums). I'll update and correct the list as I come across new data. There have been several earlier attempts to organize this information on FPN, but hopefully this is a bit more organized/centralized. For the record, I am aware (and should caution readers who are not) that not all Bock or JoWo nibs are the same. The mere fact that, e.g., Visconti and Omas both use "Bock manufactured nibs" does not mean, ipso facto, that they use the "same nib." In that particular case, the nibs are very different. Also, it is worth dispelling the mistaken notion that in-house nibs are “better” than Bock or JoWo nibs. This is patently untrue. Most high end pen-makers will do a lot of finishing after receiving pens from Bock or JoWo, which are already made to their unique specifications at the factory; they are merely taking advantage of the economies of scale offered by a dedicated nib manufacturer (the "artistry" of smoothing and finishing that give a brand's pens their unique "feel" is almost always done in-house by all pen-makers). That said, it is sometimes interesting who makes the nibs for whom, and to that end, I present the following list. Updated June 3, 2017. Organized by pen-maker: Brand Current Nib Supplier Historical Sources Ancora In-House Aurora In-House Bexley JoWo Until early 2000s: Bock for gold, Schmidt/JoWo for steel Caran D'Ache Bock Cleo-Skribent Bock Conid Bock Conklin JoWo Conway Stewart Bock Pre-1920: Warranted, 1920-1975: In-House Cross In-House and Sailor (only for Peerless 125) Pelikan and Pilot Danitrio Bock (except 24k #50 sized nib on the Yokozuna series, made by an undisclosed Japanese company JoWo Delta Bock Diplomat Bock Dupont Bock Eboya Bock Edison JoWo Elysee Bock (finishing by SP Dupont?) Faber Castell JoWo Graf von Faber Castell Bock Franklin Christoph JoWo for steel, Bock and JoWo for gold Formerly all Bock (including some Schmidt branded Bock) Goulet JoWo Hakase Pilot (and Sailor, but mainly Pilot) Helico Bock Karas Kustoms Bock Kaweco Bock Lamy Mainly In-House; Bock for specialty nibs Exclusively Bock in the beginning Magna Carta Bock Montblanc In-House Montegrappa Bock Monteverde Bock Ohashido Sailor Omas Bock In-house until 2000 Onoto Bock Parker In-House Pelikan In-House Originally Montblanc nibs, later in-house, switched to Bock 1997, transitioned back to in-house since mid-2000s Pilot/Namiki In-House Platinum In-House Romillo In-House Sailor In-House Sheaffer Bock In-house Signum Bock Stipula Bock Stylo Art Sailor, Platinum, Pilot, and Bock Taccia Sailor and JoWo TWSBI Bock and JoWo Urso Bock Visconti Bock Waterman In-House Yard-o-Led Bock And organized by nib-maker: Bock Caran D'Ache, Cleo Skribent, Conid, Conway Stewart, Danitrio, Delta, Diplomat, Dupont, Eboya, Elysee, Graf von Faber Castell, Franklin Christoph, Helico, Kaweco, Karas Kustoms, Montegrappa, Monteverde, Omas, Onoto, Sheaffer, Signum, Stipula, Stylo Art, TWSBI, Visconti, Yard-o-Led In-House Ancora, Aurora, Lamy, Montblanc, Parker, Pelikan, Pilot/Namiki, Platinum, Romillo, Sailor, Waterman JoWo Bexley, Conklin, Edison, Faber Castell, Franklin Christoph, Goulet, Taccia, TWSBI Pilot Hakase, Pilot/Namiki, Stylo Art Sailor Hakase, Ohashido, Sailor, Stylo Art, Taccia If you have any additions or corrections, please include a link to where you found your info. Thanks!

Just want to share with all FP enthusiasts here, the manufacturing video of Platinum 3776 gold nibs: [media=400] [/media] Love the work ethic and passion shown in the making of the nibs (and with nice cheerful music to boot). Although kind of awkward to see some of the forced smile at the end (IMO). Sorry if this has been posted previously.

Dear friends it’s my pleasure announce you the out printing of my book, The Secrets of writing instruments - History, design, materials, production. A depth research on the topic of writing instruments, with a new and dynamic ways of reading with historical curiosities, information on the materials and methods of production, research supported with the laboratory analysis whose the methodology it’s explain to appendix . you can find it online and in the bookshop. http://bupress.unibz.it/it/i-segreti-degli-strumenti-di-scrittura.html faithfully A. Titone http://bupress.unibz.it/media/catalog/product/cache/2/small_image/290x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/i/m/image_101.jpg