Minimalism at its Creative Best

The Elmo 02 exemplifies a time when ‘portable’ writing instruments were fighting for widespread adoption. Resourcefulness and creativity were needed to meet contemporary tastes and budgets.

Honest character and chiseled good looks were hallmarks of many of the early Elmo pens used in offices and classrooms across Italy in the 1920s. Here, an archive design by factory co-founder, Heinrich ‘Elmo’ Helm, provides the blueprint for a silhouette that minimizes its use of metal componentry without sacrificing decorative flair. The debonair cummerbund clip is a reminder of the timelessness of great design.

Period-correct flourishes are found in shallow conical ends, a ‘ski-jump’ grip section and a brass ‘cummerbund’ clip design that channels the panache of the 1920s – with traces of early art deco.

A suite of sophisticated marbled finishes offers expressive alternatives to the formality of the typical jet black pen. Swirling textures are created randomly during blending, making every example unique. Get that? No two resins are alike.

The Elmo 02 US Exclusive Edition is available as a fountain pen with a custom Montegrappa Stainless Steel nib. Fountain pen nib sizes offered are EF, F, M, B, 1.1 & 1.5 stub. Just as impressive and also offered are rollerball and ballpoint pens.

‘Elmo’ branded pens were recognized for their stylistic and industrial inventiveness. Now built in Montegrappa’s present day manufacturing environment. The original Elmo helped inform more than a century of Montegrappa style, design and engineering. This is something to celebrate.