Strange Parkette pen

[ElaineB]

I picked up this strange fountain pen from Nathan Tardiff at the Boston Pen Show a couple of weekends ago. On the outside, it looks like a zillion other green marbled pens from the 1930s-40s:

 

http://www.urbanspinner.com/images/misc/parkette1.jpg

 

But take a closer look. It's a lever-fill, right? But what's under that black blind cap at the end of the barrel?

 

http://www.urbanspinner.com/images/misc/parkette2.jpg

 

A button? This is a button- and lever-fill pen? Why the heck did they do that? It was curiosity, but I wasn't particularly interested in buying it until I took a look at the nib:

 

http://www.urbanspinner.com/images/misc/parkette3.jpg http://www.urbanspinner.com/images/misc/parkette4.jpg

 

Parker Lucky Curve? But this wasn't a Lucky Curve feed. What was this pen? Then I tested the tines on my thumbnail and this nib was majorly flexy, approaching true wet noodledom.

 

I asked Nathan what this pen was and he just looked at it and said, "Oh. That's weird. It's some kind of Parkette. You don't see them very often. Pretty rare."

 

"Button and lever fill?"

 

"Yeah, weird, huh?"

 

So we negotiated a price, and I brought it home. The innards weren't all that happy -- the button/lever mechanism isn't very well designed. The way the J-bar sits in there, if you used the button too much, you'd probably push the section right out of the barrel. But the lever works fine. And the nib is unbelievably flexy, thought it needs a bit of loving attention from a nibmeister.

 

Anyway, does anyone know anything about this pen? Ever heard of one of these before? I tried doing some research on the Net, but couldn't find anything similar anywhere.

 

Thanks,

ElaineB

[zxc]

Very weird. Sounds like something out of the X-Files

[Gerry]

Well, I have a Parkette too - a cracked ice blue (lovely colour), but it's just a button filler. The nib is super flexy too, but doesn't say Lucky Curve - just Parker Fountain Pen, 14K Canada.

 

The button fill doesn't take up much ink - perhaps it was later they modified them, or else someone other than Parker did the mod.

 

Hope you get other responses with more data in them, I don't know much about them either unfortunately.

 

Gerry

 

[Edit - actually, I take that back - I believe that mine is really a Challenger because of the clip, and those are listed as button fillers - the same reference lists the Parkette as a lever filler]

Edited June 4, 2005 by Gerry