Montegrappa is an Italian

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

, based in

Bassano del Grappa Bassano del Grappa ( vec, Basan or ''Bassan'', ) is a city and ''comune'', in the Vicenza province, in the region of Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo ...

, a city in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

. Its full name is Elmo & Montegrappa S.p.A., and is renowned for its fine art-crafted

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib to apply a water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkw ...

History

Montegrappa was founded under the slogan "Manifattura pennini d'oro e penne stilografiche" ("Maker of gold nibs and fountain pens") in 1912. Its products are still manufactured in the original factory on the river Brenta, in

—near

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, in the North-East of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bassano was a centre of military operations. Among the many soldiers who used the company's pens (''Elmo'' at that time) for their correspondence were two celebrated 20th-century writers,

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

and

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...

, who had both volunteered for service as ambulance drivers. The company was at its high point in the 1930s. It was a period when the

became widespread and the products of the House of Bassano met the taste of the public with their sober

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

, the variety of their colours and materials (among the first to use

celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporar ...

and

galalith Galalith (Erinoid in the United Kingdom) is a synthetic plastic material manufactured by the interaction of casein and formaldehyde. The commercial name is derived from the Ancient Greek words (, "milk") and (, "stone"). It is odourless, inso ...

), the operation of their technical solutions, and the originality and precision of their manufacturing techniques.

Products

Montegrappa Extra 1930 Black Bamboo and Turtle Brown Fountain Pens

Other Montegrappa products were watches, cufflinks, pockets of leather, fragrances and accessories. The Montegrappa company is owned by Aquila's family:

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

and the ex-F1 Ferrari driver

Jean Alesi Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, ...

are also partners and members of the board for P.R. and communication.Sylvester Stallone ambasciatore del marchio Montegrappa
/ref> Montegrappa makes Regular Edition; Limited Edition; and Special Edition Pens. Pens come in three forms; rollerball; ballpoint or fountain. In addition to these forms, Montegrappa makes pens out of various precious materials; silver and gold are the most commonly used material. Limited Edition Pens include: Alchemist; Aphrodite; Brain; Eternal Bird; 1995 Dragon; 2015 Dragon; Pele; Luxor; Classical Greece; Frank Sinatra; Amerigo Vespucci; Science and Nature; Tertio Millennio; Israel 50th; Romeo and Juliet; Lancaster and York; Vatican 2000; Il Millennio de Bassano; Batman; Tribute to Ayrton Senna; Mayan Calendar; My Guardian Angel; Harrods;

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

; Bruce Lee; Pirates; Chaos; Gran Teatro Le Fenice; Barbiere Di Siviglia; Excellentia Lech Walesa; White Nights; 88th Anniversary; Kazan; Mysticum Count Cagliostra; Human Civilization; Cosmos Enigma; Invita a la Traviata; Citta D'arte Venezia; America's Cup; Quincy Jones;

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

; Special Reserve; Memory; 2000 Millennium; Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraser; La Serena; Sophia; United Arab Emirates; Paulo Coelho; Kahlil Gibran; Queen of Hearts; Animalia for Peace Parks; Animalia; Euro 2002; Montegrappa also made a series of Ferrari Pens; a series of Elvis Pens; a DC Comics series; and a golf edition.

References

External links

Official website
{{Portal bar, Companies Manufacturing companies of Italy Writing implement manufacturers Fountain pen and ink manufacturers Watch manufacturing companies of Italy Jewellery companies of Italy Luxury brands Italian brands Manufacturing companies established in 1912 Design companies established in 1912 Italian companies established in 1912 Companies based in Veneto