No. 30 Push knob Filler (Azurite)

This pen is from the personal collection of Kawuska - an FPN member that has inspired many of us with his pen collection, photography, and craftsmanship in penmaking!

This No. 30 Meisterstück was produced between 1932 and 1934. The pen featured in this article has a beautiful Azurite colour. Collectible Star I rates the Azurite No. 30 a 10 out of 12 in rareness, described as a "once in a blue moon find". The nib is a beautiful 14c one without a number "30" imprint on it as earlier pens in this series had. A few variants in clip designs have been found on the Meisterstück series. The fluted clip on this pen is period correct.

In 1924 Montblanc introduced the "Meisterstück" series which was intended to be the company's top-of-the-line offering. At that time, the pens were numbered based on their price. So, No. 30 meant that it cost 30 Reichsmark (RM) which was the currency in Germany at the time. The smaller numbers meant that the pens cost less but also that they were smaller in size. The No. 30 was positioned in the middle of the line up at around 13.6 cm capped. The smallest was the No. 20 and the largest was the No. 45. You can read more about these pens on our website.

The body and cap of this Meisterstück series are believed to be made of celluloid, but one particular advertisement from the late 1920s showing this series of pens in its lever variant asserts that "In keeping with our tradition of quality, we do not make pens made from cheap celluloid material that is flammable; our material is absolutely breakage and fireproof". Now, I don't know if this means that the material itself is not celluloid (maybe casein) or if the advertisement simply implied that the quality of celluloid used by Montblanc was superior.

Notice that this pen has "Meisterstück" imprinted on its cap and the patent details imprinted on the barrel. This means the was made in Germany, and probably marketed to German audiences. On the other hand, Meisterstück pens made for the English speaking countries were imprinted with "Masterpiece", while pens made for the Italian market were imprinted with "Capolavoro" and those made for the French market said "Chef D'œuvre". They all mean the same thing!

For bibliography, see Resources page -->link