Ike Pen

[T1Love]

Something you may not see often.....I don't know the model of this cap actuated ballpoint, but it has "IKE" on the barrel. I've been told these were issued to Eisenhower during his presidency and were sent back to Parker when he went out of office. Any info on this pen would be greatly appreciated!

[ANM]

Anyone with an imprinter could put anything on a pen. You'd need more provenance that "I've been told" to convince people that the pen is from Eisenhower, let alone expect someone to pay more for it. Eisenhower is known to have used Parker 51 fountain pens. I have seen a parker ballpoint marked DDE and some marked with his full name but I have never heard of an Eisenhower pen printed "Ike". IKE could be an acronym for some company for all we know.

Edited October 5, 2015 by ANM

[T1Love]

Thanks for the pessimism....I received the pen from my grandpa who was Vice President of marketing for Parker.... he got it from John Gibb, the salesman who sold pens directly to the Whitehouse and met many Presidents over the years. It's not for sale and therefore I would have no reason to try and imprint this in the barrel. Is that enough provenance for you?

[Rockyrod]

if you already had all this information, why would you be asking others for more?

[T1Love]

I was hoping to see if there were more out there in existence to judge rarity. I also didn't know what model ballpoint pen it was. For all I know, this pen could have been purchased in the gift shop at the White House by John Gibb.

[Freddy]

Interesting ballpoint....IKE....I Know Everything....

{feakin'happysmileyfacetimethingie}

 

 

Fred

....when economic pressure is applied to

privacy decisions is it really a choice....

~ Bob Sullivan

[Schadenfreude]

It looks like parker jotter. But take a look at http://www.vintagepens.com/catill_ballpoints.shtml. Might be parker 75 ballpoint.

 

The engraving is doubtful, though.

 

If your grandpa was vice president of marketing for parker, you might have contacted his retired coworkers (if they're still alive) or just contacted Parker company.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Schadenfreude

[T1Love]

I'll contact Geoff Parker.

[ANM]

I was hoping to see if there were more out there in existence to judge rarity. I also didn't know what model ballpoint pen it was. For all I know, this pen could have been purchased in the gift shop at the White House by John Gibb.

 

If John Gibb sold Parker pens to the White House, why would he buy a Parker from the gift shop?

[T1Love]

I don't know, you seem to be questioning the validity and provenance of the pen, so I offered other reasonable explanations. I know the pen is from the Eisenhower administration. There are people out there that have close Parker ties. Don't rain on my parade because you don't have those ties....and for your gift shop comment, he could have supplied the gift shop with pens to sell to the public.....

Edited October 5, 2015 by T1Love

[ANM]

Forgive me if I seem hard on you. I have skepticism when someone states claims of validity with words like: "I've been told""for all I know" "he could have" Every time I have a question, you respond with sarcasm. I very much hope the pen is all you say it is and I wait with bated breath to hear from anyone who can provide more concrete information. It's just that what you say is 'what you say' and so far have nothing to back it up. Please contact whoever you can and get more convincing associations with this pen and the White House. Parker and Eisenhower met and became friends before WWII when Eisenhower was a Lt. Col. Parker gifted the General with several Parkers over the years.

Edited October 6, 2015 by ANM

[pajaro]

I don't know, you seem to be questioning the validity and provenance of the pen, so I offered other reasonable explanations. I know the pen is from the Eisenhower administration. There are people out there that have close Parker ties. Don't rain on my parade because you don't have those ties....and for your gift shop comment, he could have supplied the gift shop with pens to sell to the public.....

 

 

Forgive me if I seem hard on you. I have skepticism when someone states claims of validity with words like: "I've been told""for all I know" "he could have" Every time I have a question, you respond with sarcasm. I very much hope the pen is all you say it is and I wait with bated breath to hear from anyone who can provide more concrete information. It's just that what you say is 'what you say' and so far have nothing to back it up. Please contact whoever you can and get more convincing associations with this pen and the White House. Parker and Eisenhower met and became friends before WWII when Eisenhower was a Lt. Col. Parker gifted the General with several Parkers over the years.

 

If you think ANM was hard on you, what do you think anyone examining your claims will think. Claims that a pen is from a group from a celebrity are bound to meet skepticism. You would need written documentation to substantiate a claim that this pen was one from a group made for Eisenhower. If you have all this, you might have mentioned it.

 

The ballpoint looks like a Parker 45 ballpoint.

[FarmBoy]

"Ike" was POTUS from 1953 to 1961.

 

What range of dates was that particular Jotter model produced and for sale?

 

When was your grandparent vice president of marketing?

 

When did Mr. Gibb work for Parker?

[Sasha Royale]

The Parker Jotter, if this is, in fact, a Jotter, dates to the Eisenhower years. The early ones did not have the "Arrow"

clip. (My Dad had one such.) I wonder when the "cap-actuated" model came out.

[ANM]

There is a treatise about presidential pens that mentions several kinds of writing instruments with imprints. It is not complete but is informative. It shows pictures and talks about two BPs with the imprint DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. One is a PaperMate and one is BB Bel-Air. Nothing Eisenhower related about gift or presentation bps from the presidential or post presidential years that mentions a Parker. Nothing about pens simply stamped IKE. Not saying there were none, it just means the person who wrote the article was not aware of one.

 

Source: The Presidential Pens: The First 50 years, ©1999 John C. Loring

Edited October 6, 2015 by ANM

[ANM]

I found this which lends some credibility to T1Love's assertions.

JANESVILLE---John W. Gibb, 89, of High Point Court, Janesville, died Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at home after a brief illness. Born in Yonkers, NY, John was raised there and in Glasgow, Scotland. After various jobs, he found his professional calling " as a sales executive for Parker Pen. He worked for Parker from 1946 until he reached retirement age in 1978. … At Parker, his area of expertise was U.S. military sales, and he traveled the world beginning just after World War II. … He was for many years Parkers representative with the Federal government, and provided pens to the President, Vice President, First Lady, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Army, the State Department and other high level government entities and officials. …He worked with every U.S. administration from Eisenhower through George W. Bush. Among other achievements, John provided Parker pens for the signing of the 1987 nuclear arms treaty between President Ronald Reagan and Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, and for the historic Israel-Palestine peace accord signed during the Clinton administration….

[jar]

There is a treatise about presidential pens that mentions several kinds of writing instruments with imprints. It is not complete but is informative. It shows pictures and talks about two BPs with the imprint DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. One is a PaperMate and one is BB Bel-Air. Nothing Eisenhower related about gift or presentation bps from the presidential or post presidential years that mentions a Parker. Nothing about pens simply stamped IKE. Not saying there were none, it just means the person who wrote the article was not aware of one.

 

Source: The Presidential Pens: The First 50 years, ©1999 John C. Loring

 

I was lucky enough to have worked a various levels in presidential campaigns (actually my first such foray was as the Campaign Manager for Ike in a mock political convention back in 1957) and we made buttons and posters and cupcakes and all kinds of stuff with "Ike" prominently displayed. I have a nice Sheaffer "Win with Wilkie" pencil. When somewhat older if not wiser I passed out many such giveaways, ball points, buttons, stickers, caps, all with AuH₂O that had been purchased, paid for and designed by sponsor companies.

 

Extraordinary claims that something was owned or used by a prominent individual require extraordinary levels of support. I'm pretty sure that neither Ike or Goldwater were aware of the objects we were handing out bearing their imprint.

[Amberjack]

I found this which lends some credibility to T1Love's assertions.

 

JANESVILLE---John W. Gibb, 89, of High Point Court, Janesville, died Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at home after a brief illness. Born in Yonkers, NY, John was raised there and in Glasgow, Scotland. After various jobs, he found his professional calling " as a sales executive for Parker Pen. He worked for Parker from 1946 until he reached retirement age in 1978. … At Parker, his area of expertise was U.S. military sales, and he traveled the world beginning just after World War II. … He was for many years Parkers representative with the Federal government, and provided pens to the President, Vice President, First Lady, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Army, the State Department and other high level government entities and officials. …He worked with every U.S. administration from Eisenhower through George W. Bush. Among other achievements, John provided Parker pens for the signing of the 1987 nuclear arms treaty between President Ronald Reagan and Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, and for the historic Israel-Palestine peace accord signed during the Clinton administration….

Very interesting. Thanks for digging this up!

 

Jack

[T1Love]

Guys and gals, I've got a message into Geoff Parker inquiring about this pen. I'll post back with his knowledge and/or findings. Thanks ANM for the research.

[ANM]

While waiting for the repy, now it's my turn to speculate: My guess is this pen may have been one of one, or one of a few specimens offered for consideration to the White House. For whatever reason, the pen was not accepted and didn't go into a wider production. That is why it was given away to a person or persons within the company.

Edited October 6, 2015 by ANM