Is A Vacumatic Parker 51 In Aerometric Grey More Rare Than A Nassau Green?

[KZ900]

Good question.

I was originally told they were Nassau by another Parker collector. It is really green not grey. I would say it is Sage Green. But remember that is my opinion. I have been told they were Battle Ship Grey, Dove Grey, Nassau, Sage and Navy Grey. I was given all of those responses at the Columbus Pen Show from different vendors. As you could see in the description when I sold it I was very clear that if the purchaser was not 100% happy I would return their money no risk. Which I did. The buyer was very helpful and understood going in that it might not be the color he was looking for. After that transaction I sent one to a true 51 collector and he said it was a Vacumatic in the Aerometric color. He was also very helpful. For those of you whom have looked at Nassau Green. It has a very wide range of darkness, color, and variation in the same pen and pencil, and the actual green coloring. Blind caps can be way off as well as hoods. 20 years ago when I sold a couple of them the people who bought them told me they were Nassau also. It is a very difficult color to photograph. I would not want to sell another one until I can get a clear answer or acceptance from the 51 collecting world. I will say that in the last 25 years of looking at Parker 51's I personally have never actually seen another one in person. I have seen a couple on Ebay and those were in the past year or so. I have seen many double jewel Nassau Greens. Never a single jewel Nassau Green.

 

Also these parts have been packed away in a repairman's storage chest of drawers and have never seen the light of day so no fading has taken place. Navy Grey Aerometrics also have a wide range of colors. I actually think I have two blind caps for a double jewel version in this color but I cant remember where I put them.

Edited January 26, 2016 by KZ900

[Ron Z]

 

 

Navy Grey Aerometrics also have a wide range of colors.

 

Navy Gray and Dove Gray, and Blue Cedar. Sometimes trying to get the colors to match can be "entertaining."

[pajaro]

 

Navy Gray and Dove Gray, and Blue Cedar. Sometimes trying to get the colors to match can be "entertaining."

 

I enjoyed reading this post.

 

---------------------------

 

I have seen pens I believe to have been made as Aerometric Navy Gray that looked green, more or less sage green. I recall some writings somewhere about these pens being color changelings. I have had at least one of these. It was rather disgusting looking. Sold it on ebay years ago. With Parker there are so many stories about variant pens that I don't think you can consider them rarities, and cataloging them would make a manpower sump.

[FarmBoy]

I was originally told they were Nassau by another Parker collector. It is really green not grey. I would say it is Sage Green. But remember that is my opinion. I have been told they were Battle Ship Grey, Dove Grey, Nassau, Sage and Navy Grey. I was given all of those responses at the Columbus Pen Show from different vendors. As you could see in the description when I sold it I was very clear that if the purchaser was not 100% happy I would return their money no risk. Which I did. The buyer was very helpful and understood going in that it might not be the color he was looking for. After that transaction I sent one to a true 51 collector and he said it was a Vacumatic in the Aerometric color. He was also very helpful. For those of you whom have looked at Nassau Green. It has a very wide range of darkness, color, and variation in the same pen and pencil, and the actual green coloring. Blind caps can be way off as well as hoods. 20 years ago when I sold a couple of them the people who bought them told me they were Nassau also. It is a very difficult color to photograph. I would not want to sell another one until I can get a clear answer or acceptance from the 51 collecting world. I will say that in the last 25 years of looking at Parker 51's I personally have never actually seen another one in person. I have seen a couple on Ebay and those were in the past year or so. I have seen many double jewel Nassau Greens. Never a single jewel Nassau Green.

 

Also these parts have been packed away in a repairman's storage chest of drawers and have never seen the light of day so no fading has taken place. Navy Grey Aerometrics also have a wide range of colors. I actually think I have two blind caps for a double jewel version in this color but I cant remember where I put them.

I had numerous contacts about the auction from potential buyers. I do not know if you and I had contact. I did not bid on the pen in question. That it generated so much interest was why I remembered the listing. I know at least one 51 person that tried to see the pen at the show, we did not discuss it after. Had it of been a SJ Nassau I would have been a bidder--I currently own and have sold SJ Nassau pens.

 

It will be interesting to see if any of those that told me I was incorrect and that the pen was indeed Nassau will read this discussion and comment.

 

As for the color match on pens and pencils, the early pencils were not made from the same material as the matching pen and as a result didn't age with respect to color well at all. The Dove, Nassau, Buckskin, and Mustard materials all seem to have had color lot problems in that they were not at all consistent. Easily noticed when you have 10 or so of them in a row. There is a tendency to call these prototype colors, they are not, they are just variations. The same happens with Esterbrook J series pens.

 

It is true that Parker offered the Navy parts as replacements for the Dove pen repairs. There is no evidence that Parker intended to make a switch to these colors and then suddenly switched to the Aero fill pens. Quite the opposite, Parker switched to the Aero (lets also not forget the Red-Band fillers) and then made replacement parts as best they could. The archive is full of pens with documentation of the colors that didn't make it to market. One of the most often seen XM pens (Parker labeled them XM-XXX) is the experimental aerometric filler. Imagine a bright orange or blue 51 from Parker, they exist fully documented but largely unknown. Unfortunately the Archive is not public and those pens that escaped are tightly held in collections and generally not available for public viewing.

 

One could have an entire book chapter on 0th year and 1st year 51 colors that didn't turn into production models, they died at the test market stage. Another chapter or two could be written on the different filing systems that graced 51s over the years. Same goes for caps. Fun if you like weird 51s.

 

There is a large amount of 'lore' about pens in general. 51s are no exception.

 

Regards

 

Todd

[pajaro]

That's a very informative post. Thanks.

 

Light is only one thing that can change plastics. They age.

[sherbie]

Another documented varient is a English SJ vac made in aero Navy grey

 

- its actually stamped

 

Parker "51"

Reg TM 640244

 

England only made a few vac colours, all SJ and they started production late in summer/autumn 1947 and only ran for 2 years. I latest I have seen one stamped is Q4 1949

 

From top to bottom

 

English navy grey aero

English navy grey SJ vac

USA Dove gray SJ vac

[sherbie]

By the way, one colour I do think is less common is midnight blue aero.

 

I have never seen one in the Uk, and have only found 1 in the usa in 8 years of hunting.

 

Is someone sitting on a stack of these?

 

Cheers, paul

[KZ900]

By the way, one colour I do think is less common is midnight blue aero.

 

I have never seen one in the Uk, and have only found 1 in the usa in 8 years of hunting.

 

Is someone sitting on a stack of these?

 

Cheers, paul

 

Here are two slightly different blues in Aero.

 

 

 

 

 

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr1/RussJackson/midnight_zpsr9nmhz5z.jpg

Edited January 31, 2016 by KZ900

[mitto]

What about dove grey aerometric 51? I have one aero 51 that looks exactly like a dove grey vacumatic 51 pencil that I have. I don't have a dove grey vac 51 FP though.

[PenBuyer1796]

To add to this thread, does a vacumatic dove grey aerometric 51 have a certain date code to follow similar to plum? Or were they not date stamped since it was the 50's and the 51's were no longer being dated?