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<noinclude>{{Infobox_Brand|Astoria}}</noinclude> [[Image:1923-12-Astoria-Safety.jpg|thumb|A 1923 ''Astoria'' advertising]]
''Astoria'' was founded in [[1921]] in Hamburg by ''Georg Ilgner'', which until then had been the [[Montblanc]] director of the production. These, with the financial support of Herman Dietzel, Sigmund Popper and  Wilhelm Frings left [[Montblanc]] to start his own business. ''Astoria'' began producing very good quality [[Astoria Rientranti|safety]] pens, very similar to those of [[Montblanc]]. Even the company logo, consisting of a circle divided into four segments of alternating black and white color likes a lot, if only for the contrast of black and white color, the one of the company Ilgner came.

In addition to the [[safety]] models ''Astoria'' also produced [[lever filler]] pens with and a good number of  good quality [[overlay]] pens, coated in gold and silver. The company suffered a financial crisis in the early 30s, and in [[1932]] was reacquired by the [[Montblanc]] that maintained the production of pens with this brand until [[1936]], at least as regards the main production facility in Germany. 

''Astoria'' pens produced in this period appear to be of the best quality, so they are very often treated the same way as [[Montblanc]], which erroneously (at least for models earlier than 1932) is considered a sub-brand. Having been active in the market for a few years, the ''Astoria'' are quite rare and therefore have a considerable value to collectors.

[[Image:Astoria-60s-Black-CappedBox.jpg|thumb|left|An ''Astoria'' from '60s]]

Despite the dismission of the brand in [[1936]] reported by many people, there are still signs of a continuation of the ''Astoria'' production also in a subsequent period, as it can be seen from the picture shown next, showing a pen with the typical 60s design of an [[hooded nib]]. 

In the specific case that's a pen marked ''Astoria'' found in Finland<ref>as reported in [http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/182589-i-found-an-old-astoria-fountain-pen/ this thread] on FPN, and from the subsequent conversation with the actual owner, this is a pen remained in the family since its purchase by the his father.</ref> and with a [[Montblanc]] instruction booklet for the 60s models. 

It is not clear whether in this case the use of the ''Astoria'' brand has been used for a generic production of a  second tier economic pens as a [[Montblanc]] sub-brand, or rather it is an original production but addressed to some selected foreign markets (in the case of Northern Europe).

==External References==
* [http://www.fountainpen.de/astoria.htm] Page on fountainpen.de
* [http://www.caprafico.com/pens-88/astoria-catalogue-1928] Page from Tom Westerich's website
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==Notes==
<references/>
{{BrandData|Founder=Georg Ilgner|Place=Amburgo|Date=1921|Country=DE}}

{{CategorizeBrand|Germania|Secondary brand}}</noinclude>