FROM FATHER TO SON SINCE 1930
Morastylos is a family story, with a passion for pens passed from father to son. Founded in Paris in 1930 by Boris Mora, the business continues with André, bringing together vintage pens, restoration and Oldwin creations.
Since the Paris shop closed in December 2022, André has continued the story online and at pen shows around the world, in the USA, Europe and Asia, meeting pen enthusiasts and collectors.
1930, the beginnings of Maison Mora
Born in Odessa in 1907, Boris Morakhovski, known as Boris Mora, left Ukraine in the late 1920s. In 1930, at the age of 23, he established a wholesale stationery and office supplies business in Paris, also specialising in pen sales and repairs.
That same year, he founded Oldwin, whose pens were made in the Jura region. Boris Morakhovski travelled across pre-war France, selling his pens and spare parts for vintage pens.
Boris, who was Jewish, volunteered to serve the country that had welcomed him. Decorated with his regiment, he went on to spend five years in Nazi prisoner-of-war camps.
During his transfer to a Stalag, he hid his military papers in the canvas cover of the truck carrying him, fearing his captors’ reaction to his Russian origins. In 1945, a gendarme returned the papers, which had been found still hidden in the cover of that very truck!
On his return in 1945, Boris set up his business in a first-floor apartment on rue Dauphine. Almost everything was in short supply, and customers were willing to climb the stairs to find what they needed.
He became a French citizen in the late 1940s.
Boris and Pauline on rue Séguier
In 1958, the year his son André was born, Boris Mora moved to rue Séguier. The wholesale stationery business brought prosperity to the family as major pen brands such as Waterman and Parker grew in prominence.
Boris kept a space in the shop devoted to vintage pens. Sales to private customers were usually the domain of Pauline Mora, André’s mother. His reserved nature left him with little inclination for small talk, so he was happy to leave dealings with collectors to her.
Over some thirty years, Boris developed Oldwin, producing more than a hundred models of fountain pens, ballpoints and mechanical pencils. Competition from the major manufacturers and the rise of the ballpoint pen eventually led him to put the brand on hold.
André grew up in this world. When he started secondary school, his father gave him his first fountain pen, a Waterman Flash with a turquoise body, followed two years later by a chrome Waterman Facette.
Customers kept coming. In 1976, an article in the weekly magazine Le Point helped vintage pen sales take off.
1978, André takes the reins
In 1978, André Mora was twenty, with a qualification in accounting. His father was growing older: it was time for André to take charge of the family business. Born with a pen in his hand, well almost, he was eager to take the reins.
Boris stepped back from the shop but continued to repair vintage pens at home. André gradually moved away from wholesale stationery to concentrate on private customers and fountain pen repairs. The vintage pen selection grew as he continued to seek out new pieces, particularly from abroad.
In 1989, the year his father died, André took part in his first pen auction. Others followed, with André providing his expertise to auctioneers and insurance companies.
1991, an iconic address
After moving from number 10 to number 7 on rue Séguier, André Mora settled at 7, rue de Tournon in January 1991. A short walk from the Senate and the Luxembourg Gardens, the shop was a gathering place for pen enthusiasts.
Everything there was devoted to writing: pens, inks, accessories and specialist books. Antique inkwells, cases in leather, wood or silk, display stands and rare advertising objects sat alongside contemporary pens, with the finest pieces displayed like jewellery in individual niches.
Visitors came in search of a rare find, to entrust a valuable pen for repair or to have vintage pieces appraised. Selling a collection or discovering a new release: André Mora was always ready to help.
Craftsmanship and connections
In the workshop where his father had worked before him, André turned old parts on a lathe and cut new threads. Rings, clips, nibs and feeds: the stock passed down by Boris was a treasure trove for restoring pens.
In January 2008, the Syndicat français des experts professionnels en œuvres d’art et objets de collection confirmed his admission as an active member, specialising in collectible pens.
Repairs have been part of the business’s story from the very beginning. Among the pieces entrusted to it was a Waterman fountain pen used by General MacArthur to sign Japan’s surrender, restored at the request of the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, in the United States. In June 2016, the museum thanked André for the restoration, which he carried out free of charge.
In 1996, André attended his first Pen Show in Los Angeles. These events allowed him to seek out the pieces his clients were looking for and bring back treasures unavailable on the French market. He went on to attend events in the United States, Europe and Asia.
2002, Oldwin is reborn
For years, André had hoped to revive Oldwin, the pen brand created by his father Boris Mora. His wish came true in 2002, to the delight of his many customers. For André, it was a joyful tribute to his father.
Boris had never been a collector at heart. Through enthusiastic customers, André was able to piece together Oldwin’s history. The family brand once again took its place among the creations of Maison Mora.
The Classic captures that spirit: a fountain pen with clean lines and no trim ring, recalling the streamlined shapes of the 1930s. An elegant silhouette and a prominent nib, beautiful and smooth!
Ebonite, acrylic resin, celluloid or wood: the materials are shaped from solid rods. Natural lacquer, gold and silver also feature in selected creations. Materials, feel, grip and design all contribute to a pen’s character.
His advice to collectors
“Always buy what you love.”
Recognition and milestones
In 2010, to mark Maison Mora’s 80th anniversary, Oldwin offered six series of eight numbered pens in celluloid or ebonite. All sold out quickly.
In 2012, readers of Pen World magazine awarded André Mora the Reader’s Choice Award in the best cultural theme category for the Oldwin Loulav fountain pen. Limited to fifteen pens, the edition evokes the Jewish festival of Sukkot, bringing international recognition to the family brand.
In 2013, the mayor’s office of Paris’s 6th arrondissement presented André Mora with a medal in recognition of his service to the community.
A further exhibition devoted to Waterman in 2014 followed those held in 1993 and 2008. Visitors could admire several hundred exceptional pieces, some of them unique.
In 2020, Maison Mora celebrated its 90th anniversary. Working with his friend Emmanuel Caltagirone of The Pen Family in the United States, André launched a limited edition of 90 numbered Oldwin pens in green Omas Arco celluloid. This edition introduced piston filling to the Oldwin range for the first time.
In December 2022, the Paris shop closed its doors. Today, Morastylos continues its story with the same passion for pens, online at morastylos.com and at pen shows around the world, in the USA, Europe and Asia.
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