Konigstuhl Ringtop In Lapis Lazuli

[betweenthelens]

First, thank you to another seller whom I highly recommend- Peter Twydle, the Pen Wizard of Hornsea (UK), and I am sure of other places, too, for procuring and auctioning such a beautiful pen. I've always admired the gemstone lapis lazuli and the obscurity of the pen as well as its unusual name drew me to it.

 

Please note that the color in the fourth photo is the truest example. While the bright sun gives the pen an impressive cast, indoors, the color is much more subdued.

 

Königstuhl means "king's seat," "king's chair" or "king's throne" and is a place in the Odenwald Mountains of Heidelberg. The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl Astronomical Observatory are located here and the pen does remind me of the night sky.

 

The pen is a button filler and has the words "Warranted, 14 Ct, 1st Quality" on the nib.

 

The background for the photography is the c 1920s German book Die drei Ruisdel on the Dutch painter Ruisdel and his two namesakes.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_3215_zps5d4b4c97.jpg

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_3219_zps6d1c1098.jpg

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_3221_zpse21d7472.jpg

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_3224_zps9d401366.jpg

 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee513/betweenthelens/IMG_3213_zps0ff8e18f.jpg

 

 

[Stylus156]

Very impressive, had never heard of this model before...

 

Best, M.

[GTOZack]

pretty!

[Pelikan Vera]

wow my favourite colour. this looks very pretty indeed....enjoy Vera

[betweenthelens]

Very impressive, had never heard of this model before...

 

Best, M.

 

Thank you! Earlier, I did a search for the brand and found a Königstuhl set in red on penboard.de. The red pen has no imprint and the seller postulates it could've been made by Parker Osmia. It's an intriguing mystery.

pretty!

Thank you!

 

wow my favourite colour. this looks very pretty indeed....enjoy Vera

Thanks so much!

[Azuniga]

Very nice pen indeed and you presented it in a very nice way too...

I tend to believe penbord.de is right... pen looks very much like Parker Osmia or Adler, made by Parker Osmia.

Too many similar details for not being originally from Osmia and made for some company which required the name Königstuhl

Best Ariel

[amk]

I have an Osmia Supra that appears to be in exactly the same material, very swirly lapis with pronounced white highlights. I wouldn't be at all surprised if yours was produced by Osmia. It's a sweet pen!

[betweenthelens]

Very nice pen indeed and you presented it in a very nice way too...

I tend to believe penbord.de is right... pen looks very much like Parker Osmia or Adler, made by Parker Osmia.

Too many similar details for not being originally from Osmia and made for some company which required the name Königstuhl

Best Ariel

Thank you, on both accounts, Ariel.

 

I have an Osmia Supra that appears to be in exactly the same material, very swirly lapis with pronounced white highlights. I wouldn't be at all surprised if yours was produced by Osmia. It's a sweet pen!

Thank you! I'd love to see your pen.

[Kaweco]

Hello

And here it is, the real Königstuhl. With its 568 meters the second highest of the Odenwald mountains. After a walk up there of a ride with the old cable car you will have a nice overview to the old city of Heidelberg, the Neckar- river, the Rhine- valley and possibly you can look upon some of the numerous fountainpen makers, which had been located here.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/Koumlnigstuhl_zpsd1b0e284.jpg

<

<

But back to fountain pens. There is really no sign of origin at the Königstuhl fountain pen. The screw threads are well cut, the material is stunning and 3 cap rings had been a masterpiece. There are similarities to other Osmia fountainpens but we surely will find the well- known trademark Osmia, Parker- Osmia or Böhler in an imprint.

I must confess, I have a similar fountain pen which I had listed in my Osmia- file with the name "Der Stern Halter", but I found that Stern had been a producer in Berlin. During the late 20th and the early 30th many fountainpens had been made in this Duofold style.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/Stern_zpsee5ec75f.jpg

 

<

<

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/Thomasnr/Osmia2_zpse233f92e.jpg

 

pic: Osmias and Parkers and the 2 wrong Sterns

<

Believe me, we had been discussing the origin of the Königstuhl fountainpen for a while, but it will remain a secret, who made this very nice fountain pen. I hipe somebody will find an original Box.

Kind Regards

Thomas

[Azuniga]

I am glad Thomas participated in this post, since if someone knows about these pens is him... and he has always clarified us about it when we do not know...

If he says this pen is a mystery, then we have some homework to do...

Thanks Thomas,

Ariel

[betweenthelens]

Hello

And here it is, the real Königstuhl. With its 568 meters the second highest of the Odenwald mountains. After a walk up there of a ride with the old cable car you will have a nice overview to the old city of Heidelberg, the Neckar- river, the Rhine- valley and possibly you can look upon some of the numerous fountainpen makers, which had been located here.

But back to fountain pens. There is really no sign of origin at the Königstuhl fountain pen. The screw threads are well cut, the material is stunning and 3 cap rings had been a masterpiece. There are similarities to other Osmia fountainpens but we surely will find the well- known trademark Osmia, Parker- Osmia or Böhler in an imprint.

I must confess, I have a similar fountain pen which I had listed in my Osmia- file with the name "Der Stern Halter", but I found that Stern had been a producer in Berlin. During the late 20th and the early 30th many fountainpens had been made in this Duofold style.

pic: Osmias and Parkers and the 2 wrong Sterns

<

Believe me, we had been discussing the origin of the Königstuhl fountainpen for a while, but it will remain a secret, who made this very nice fountain pen. I hipe somebody will find an original Box.

Kind Regards

Thomas

Thomas, thank you for your very informative post and lovely photographs. Your pens are gorgeous. The "wrong Sterns" are absolutely breathtaking. Are you saying the two pens are not Der Stern Halters made by Osmia because of the location of Stern?

 

And do you think it's a possibility that Parker or Parker Osmia made this pen for Konigstuhl? Look at this link and the red pen and pencil set: http://www.penboard.de/shop/hlist/MIDE/VIPW/1

They look so much like Parkers and they're unmarked, too, which deepens the mystery, right? Do you think they might've been placed in the box although they don't belong in it?

 

Also, note the ring on the ring top is the same shape as your two ring tops. Do the nibs give any clues?

 

I am glad Thomas participated in this post, since if someone knows about these pens is him... and he has always clarified us about it when we do not know...

If he says this pen is a mystery, then we have some homework to do...

Thanks Thomas,

Ariel

I am, too, Ariel. The more information we have, the better chance we have of solving the mystery.

[Kaweco]

Hello

quote:.........Are you saying the two pens are not Der Stern Halters made by Osmia because of the location of Stern?./quote

Yes. We try to build up a complete register of all German fountainpens, producers and trade marks. This is not a comfortable online research because many of these informationes came from hear- and- say, from dubious souces or from private estimates. A reliable source is a document from an archieve, an adress- book or only a guarantee- paper or an advertising. But it must have a date, an adress. and a sure conjunction to a fountain pen. Each other ideas must stay behind. "Where is no name, there is noname". We never believe online sellers because they have an interest in a better profit. Normally unknown fountainpens are described older and sometimes in a relationship to a wellknown high grade trademark, what we sometimes call the "montblancisation". Stern had been found as a fountainpenmaker in Berlin and Osmia had no outsoucing from there, so Stern had been idenified and filed as a seperate trade mark. Otherwise: "Adler". They had been identified being a shop only with no production. They bought fountainpens from Osmia with their own omprint.

quote:...........And do you think it's a possibility that Parker or Parker Osmia made this pen for Konigstuhl?.../quote

I hear something like this very often but I cannot find the sense behind. Surely, even well known brands made cheap versiones of fountain pens for wholesellers and warehouses to occupie the low budged sector or to kick out competitors. But a world trade mark like Parker who sells its pens to any unknown pen maker for cheap??? There is no profit and no logic in the end...

quote: .........Look at this link and the red pen and pencil set: http://www.penboard....ist/MIDE/VIPW/1 They look so much like Parkers...../quote

The seller of these fountainpens is known as <one of the best> and he is honest enough to say it COULD (!) be a Parker- Osmia - derivate. The try to combine the hill with the location of Parker- Osmia fails IMHO, we had a "Säntis" producer here (hill in Switzerland) and an Everest- producer ( hill in Tibet). The date of producion is also a rocking suggestion: The Parker- Osmia- connection had crashed in 1930! For sure, Böhler (Osmia) was able to make this fountainpen but it also could be a Luxor, a Steinmann, a Kaweco, even a Lamy or any other of the numerous founainpen makers which came and went in these times. The box is very nice and scarce but alas it does not include any papers.

quote:.........Do the nibs give any clues?/quote

Surely! Since one decade Osmia had made their own nibs in an outstanding quality. They exclusively used a new invented tipping alloy with a high percentage of Osmium, converted the metal to a trade mark and took an advantage compared to their competitors. Also Parker made their own nibs. This does not match very well to the import nib of the Königstuhl pen.

Kind Regards

Thomas

[betweenthelens]

Thomas, I like that term: montblancisation. True one must watch for this when buying pens online from unknown sellers.

 

I agree, too, that you must have some definitive way to catalog pens. Speculation just isn't accurate enough.

 

 

Thank you for all of the interesting information you've provided to this discussion. I've learned so much!

 

Best,

Laura

[Gloucesterman]

Very impressive color. What is it about "blue" pens that catches so much attention?

[betweenthelens]

Very impressive color. What is it about "blue" pens that catches so much attention?

I don't know but I agree. My Delta Mask is an absolutely heavenly blue, and this, contrasted with the palladium, is almost hypnotic. Perhaps it's the idea of water or the fact that the blues used in many fountain pens are deep and rich and hardly ever considered pedestrian.