Dating An English Vacuumatic

[nickant]

Hello all.

I had the good forntune today to come across two Parker 51's in the wild, at a secondhand store.

Of course, I grabbed both.

One is a Burgundy Aerometric.

The other, a Black Vaccumatic.

Both are Made In England.

With both my eyes and brain fading fast, the best I can see under magnification of the date code on the Vacuumatic is this (line in full): REG-T-M-S+0.244 (or REG-T-M-6+0.244 or REG-T-M-640.244)

Two of the characters could be any combination of S/6 and +/4

After much googling, I'm no wiser.

Could someone here work out the date for me?

(note that I don't have a macro lens good enough to get a clear shot of it)

Thank you

Nick

 

 

[gvl]

Hi Nick,

 

Sorry but no date code shows in that line - it just details the registered trade mark for the model of pen which is 640.244.

 

The details stamped on the barrels of English Parker 51s tend to vary a bit but usually the date code is shown at the end - after the word 'England':

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/igaza9.jpg

 

The date code here "8" is shown at the bottom of the imprint on a line of its own.

 

G

Edited August 30, 2014 by gvl

[nickant]

Thank you, G!

Yes, mine is similar.

Unfortunately it is a little more worn, and no number can be seen, neither after "England" nor a line below.

I was suspecting 1947 or 1948, as the cap does not have a blue diamond.

The caps may have been swapped around on these two pens.

However, one has the short arrow and one the long version.

I suspect the long version is correct for 1947-8.

Cheers

Nick

[gvl]

Yes, the cap with the long clip would be correct for the 51 Vacumatic.

 

The year of manufacture would not have been before 1947 as production of English 51s only started in the latter months of that year. Blue diamond caps were never manufactured in the U.K. although it is possible that some of the early 51 vacs used blue diamond caps imported from Canada. The early English 51 clips were slightly different in appearance to those manufactured elsewhere with the feathers on the arrow having a more tapered appearance and a thicker shaft.

 

Enjoy your pens!

 

G.

[nickant]

Pic!The Black/left pen is the Vacumatic

Edited August 30, 2014 by nickant

[gvl]

Looks a really nice couple of pens. The English rolled gold caps with the band near the base are relatively scarce. Did you get them at a good price?

[nickant]

Both are in good working condition.

Cleaned them out and loaded up Diamine Oxblood and Imperial Purple.

The Aerometic is a fine and is very very smooth.

The Vacumatic is medium and smooth too.

Both for $20

:-()

[gvl]

English 51s have some of the smoothest nibs known to mankind. At $20 , they were an absolute steal!!

Great find!!

[nickant]

[KBeezie]

*n/m*

Edited August 30, 2014 by KBeezie

[sherbie]

I can check when I get home but 1947 to April 1950 ( or it could be April 1951) is the date range for your pens

 

The Parker factory in England moved onto making aeros later than the USA

 

Don't think I've seen eng made vac caps in rolled gold before either - they are almost always long arrow transition lustraloy caps

 

Well done on the pick up

[Florida Blue]

I can check when I get home but 1947 to April 1950 ( or it could be April 1951) is the date range for your pens

 

The Parker factory in England moved onto making aeros later than the USA.

 

That is correct. Parker Newhaven didn't start producing Aermetric 51s until April 1950 and 51 Vac production began in 1947.

 

There is also a picture of a rolled gold transitional cap English 51 in the 51 book. The 51 book states that rolled gold caps were never advertised by Parker in Britain until 1955. In 1955, the purchase tax on jewelry was reduced. Apparently before that the high tax on gold made the pens prohibitively expensive and I'm sure with the rationing and bad economy the pens didn't sell too well either.

 

To the OP, both pens are lovely.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Florida Blue

[nickant]

Thank you both for the additional information.

The Vac cap is 1/10 14ct R.Gold with straight lines in group of 4, down to a speration and a ring

The Aero cap is 1/10 12ct R.Gold with arrowed (single point at top) lines in group of 5, down to beyond the "Parker" inscription.

Love these 51's!

[Beechwood]

You did very well with these two pens, exceptional bargains and look to be in very good condition.