What Is/was Your Family?

[Wolverine1]

Both my parents were educated in the USA and in England. My Father has 2 Parker Vacumatic Maximas, and my Mom used Parker Vacumatic in what she used to call in a Laddies size, which was the demi size. Also both had vac-filled Parker 51's. I was not allowed to touch their pen, I was given so el-cheapo Indian made fountain pens. So, after I came to the US for college, I saved up and bought a Parker Duofold Centennial.

[Miaxina]

My mom is Japanese and dad is Sri Lankan. Neither of them used fountain pens, sadly D: While my grandpa was alive he gave me his old notebooks and stuff, but never did he mention anything about fountain pens. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know an instrument called fountain pens existed until few months ago.

[ParkerDuofold]

I was a Parker kid from the start. There were always Parker jotters around the house. My first fountain pen was a Parker 21 with peacock blue ink,(not sure the brand). I had permanent inky fingers.

<snip>

Hi Old Salt,

 

Yes. Another owner of the storied and ubiquitous Jotter.

 

With over 750 million sold... it's got to be good. My ma still uses a Jotter; although I am trying to convert her to fp's.

 

How did you like your 21? I know PSP sells NOS 21 Supers for $67, IIRC. I'm seriously thinking I should give the 51 a second chance and I've been thinking an NOS 21 Super might be a good way of doing it without throwing my money out the window... if it proves I still don't like it.

 

But I'm wondering if... based on my one experience with one pen... if I've been too rough on it, here.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED: I forgot to sign it.

Edited June 28, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[ParkerDuofold]

My paternal grandfather was a dedicated Sheaffer man. I have his Sentinel Deluxe set, his EDC, and the Sentinal Deluxe set that was my father's HS graduation gift in 1947.

Hi Kelly,

 

That's fantastic. It's a wonderful thing when you can retain family "heirlooms" like that... I know all of the fp's my parents and related ancestors used were all lost or discarded through the years.

 

I've been talking with my mom lately, asking for descriptions of the pens she remembers from her youth and early married life, (she married my dad in '56). I've been thinking that if I could get her the pens she and my dad used in their youth... I may be able to convert her to fp's... which I think would be a lot better for her RA.

 

I'm pretty sure my dad used the universal and ever-present 51, but I'm still trying to deduce which Sheaffer(s) my mom used...

 

 

- Anthony

Edited June 28, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[Lexus77]

Well, my dad was a sewing machine, and my mom was a sewing machine, so I became a singer.

[corgicoupe]

My dad always used his 1946 Parker 51 to write checks, and always with green ink. When I use that pen I fill it with green ink. I remember having an Esterbrook when in grammar school, and perhaps a P21 at some time. My acquiring began when I found two Esties in an antique store on Cape Cod about 3 years ago for $15 each. That was the beginning of the "slippery slope". I bought a carmine red Sheaffer pen & pencil for my daughter in a local B&M, and while I wasn't looking she bought me a green striped Sheaffer with a military clip. I finally found a carmine red Sheaffer for myself this year. So we are a Parker, Esterbrook, and Sheaffer family. Although my wife uses a Pelikan because that's what she remembers her mom using back in Croatia.

[MercianScribe]

Hi M.S.,

 

I admire your originality.

(I had never heard of Osmi until I came here)...

 

Thanks, I think...! But it wasn't so. I am English, and I am from Birmingham, which at the time, early 80s, would've still been kicking out in its final claims as the world's pen centre. I think Perry still produced Osmiroid for Berol, and they may have still had a factory in the Pen Quarter. And they'd have just released their penultimate (bwuuuuuhahahahahahaaaaa! ) line. I got a cheap red thing which cracked within a year, but I kept using it, probably for another four, very impressed with its spade nib and the gold!

 

I just remembered, my Dad said he had been Watermans, but being an avid collector of liquid hops he lost more pens than you can imagine, and as I remember, as a teacher in the age of red biros, he switched to those.

[raigne]

Mom had a Parker when I was a kid. She gave it to me when I was a teenager, but when I really got into the hobby I decided I loved Esterbrooks. We were at my step-dad's mother's for Christmas one year in my mid 20s and after chatting about my collection with her she went to her desk and produced a red SJ and gave it to me. So while biologically we're Parkers, we married into Esterbrooks.

[inkstainedruth]

Dunno. (Maybe I'm a changeling? ) All I know is that my mom once said that fountain pens were messy (she did NOT understand my fascination with my grandfather's lever filler pen -- admittedly mostly because it had been my grandfather's -- which in retrospect was probably a pen/pencil combo) and the only thing I remember either of my parents ever using were BPs, or typewriters (my mother was a writer so I mostly remember her using that old Royal mechanical one, and then later -- about the time I was in middle school -- upgrading to an IBM Electric).

But then my mother never understood my fascination with paint, charcoal pencils, oil pastels, etc, either. Any "artistic" stuff skipped a generation (my grandmother did all sorts of crafts stuff, but my mom was all thumbs).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Fuzzy_Bear]

Gates belts.

Fram oil filter.

Standard ignition.

 

I'm a car guy.

[ParkerDuofold]

Well, my grandfather on my mother's side had and used a Parker Vacumatic and all of the pens he gave me that had been given to him by one of his business associates were Parkers, starting with a Parker Lucky Curve. I have them all restored and use them each occasionally. Most of his business associates gave him liqueur, turkeys, hams, etc. He was in the newspaper business from 1934 till 1983, except for service during WW2 in the Marines. Only one business associate providied Fountain Pens, and only the early years apparently. I suspect either the gifts stopped due to concerns of his employer, or more than likely they switched to cash. One business associate kept him supplied with theater tickets however, but I never knew which one. Another provided him with a pass which allowed me (& the rest of the family) to seldom pay to see a movie. The first one I paid to see was Star Wars in 1977 at the age of 16 as it was initially no passes and I went with some friends to see it when it first came out. I work in Government and so I can't except any gifts, except for nominally valuable ones such as an occasional tomato or zucchini, cup of tea, bottle of water or fruit juice; whatever my clients cultural traditions prescribe providing to a visitor as long as it is truely only a courtesy.

Back to pens.

My Father had a Sheaffer Snorkel, which I had restored and use occasionally as well.

So, I would say my family was mixed Parker and Sheaffer as far as pens, but in the vain of automobiles, my mother's side starting with her father were Chrysler people, my father's cars were varied initially and included a Porsche and a Studebaker, followed by switching to Chevrolet during hard financial times. My Stepfather has always bought Fords and except for a Jeep, my wife's' family have always bought GM products, typically Pontiacs, but also Oldsmobile an Buicks. My father in law worked for GM most of his life and retired from there.

Me, my first car was a Renault, my wife's a Pontiac. My second was an Opel. Our first car together was a Peugeot. This was followed by a variety of GM products of different badges, plus a Volvo, and a VW.

Today we share a Buick and our daughter drives a Fiat.

In regard to pens, I try to get as many different brands of high quality pens I can afford. Sometimes only one example, due to price, or obscurity.

So, brand loyalty, little I would say.

But, then what is a brand? The Buick I drive is sold in some markets as an Opal , some a Vauxhall and has a more Spartan twin as a Chevrolet.

Sheaffer is no longer Sheaffer and almost dead. Parker, while a bit more alive, is no longer Parker, but a Waterman product in Parker livery.

Pelikan diversified and has an unusual ownership situation and Montblanc is now a Luxury Brand, not simply a Pen maker.

What really is a brand anymore, but a name, a design, a bit of history and an owner. Venerable Brands can go from high quality to near nothing with the change of owner, and/or marketing strategy.

And, sometimes up and coming Brands, such as Tesla, when you look real close, you find they are built using the same parts suppliers that the established car makers have used for a long time and the cars are actually being produced in an old GM plant that used to make Pontiac Vibes, Toyota Corollas and Toyota Tacomas less than a decade ago.

Hi P51,

 

Wow. You've given me a lot to respond to. But I'll try to hit on the highlights.

 

 

It's always nice when you can land a job that let's you get greased. The Vacumatics were/are beautiful pens and I have my sights set on a Golden Pearl one from a fellow FPN'er

 

But I've been buying a lot of pens, (two of which are vintage/antique), this month; so it'll probably have to wait until next month... or my accountant is going to bounce her portable calculator off the back of my head... it kinda hurt the last time... so I just as soon not go thru it again.

 

 

Star Wars was a great movie. I remember going with my older brother, Carmine; unfortunately, I was only nine, so there were a lot of things I didn't quite get... I remember driving the poor guy nuts with 20 Questions.

 

 

With cars, we were fairly staid and steady. My dad liked Mercury Grand Marquis', (he could have afforded Lincoln's, but he used to say a Lincoln is just a Mercury "putting on the dog" - unfortunately, I did not inherit his good sense ), and my mom favored Caprice Classics. Although she had her fill of those after a complete lemon '86 model crossed her path.

 

She switched to a Mercury Cougar XR-7 in '88,... we were all grown-up by then, so she didn't have to be so practical. She stuck with Cougars for a little while, but somewhere along the line, she switched back to GM; today, she drives a Buick.

 

But I also recall the economic crash and subsequent malaise in the '70s when we only had one car... that was well-used. My dad couldn't find work as a civil engineer and a friend got him a job at city hall as a payroll clerk... earning about 60% less than what he was making a couple years before. The brand new house with four and a half bathes became the very old house with one bath... that didn't work too well half the time. Fortunately, by the Grace of God, the reversal of fortunes reversed again in the late '70s and boomed in the '80s.

 

 

I have a '98 Lexus LS400 with almost 300,000 miles on it, that I bought back in '01... but I've retained my childhood love for American land yachts... particularly Imperials, Coupe de Villes, Eldorados and the Marks by Lincoln... and I've had my encounters with them through the years, (plus a Town Car or two). But always clean, pre-owned, (or vintage... some were just old wrecks I tried to save ), you lose your shirt buying those cars brand new.

 

 

But you're right, brands are not what they once were. Loyalties from both sides have faded a lot through the past 30 years or so... I think that, plus globalization has pretty much eradicated the concept of brand loyalty.

 

Thank you for your contribution to this thread and I'm glad you're still talking to me.

 

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDIT: Missed a point and added info.

Edited June 29, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[Runnin_Ute]

Hi Ute,

 

Actually, its very telling how the first pens you remember using were Parker's.

 

 

 

 

Hi CherylMarie,

 

I try to be frugal, but fortunately, I usually fail.

 

 

 

 

Hi Phillies,

 

Don't sweat it... and don't let it haunt you... we all have skeletons in our closet that we have to overcome.

 

I have to admit... that while we were a Parker family; they were Parker ball points and fiber-tips... no fountain pens... we also had some of those "unmentionables" by Bic and PaperMate flying about the house as well.

 

We all have these tragic little secrets in common. The thing to do is put it all in the past and rise above it.

 

 

- Anthony

 

EDITED to fix typos and add quotes.

But they were ballpoint. Jotters, then a variety of models but all Flighters after about 1979. Earlier some BIC pens. (Jr high maybe) The only fountain pen I remember gaving personally was a SheafferI bought at 7-11. It was on a hang tag blister pack. Yellow card with blue printing. That lasted a couple of days before being confiscated by my parents. It was probably mid to late 1960's.

 

Cars?

Let's see .... a 1960 Galaxie, a trio of Mustang's dark blue, white GTA, green fastback with 390, 66 Olds, 73 Buick, 69 Camaro Z28, 70 Camaro Z28, 67 GTO, Toranado.

I inherited the Olds while in high school.Dad sold the 70 Z28 to a kid at my school before I got to drive it. (I was a sophomore he was a senior) He also blew 3 motors in it.... Then I got a 70 Torino GT after graduation... fun car 😉😁😎

Edited June 29, 2017 by Runnin_Ute

[eharriett]

Hmmm, ok. This is gonna be an interesting conversation next time I talk with my parents. I shall have to ask them this very question. Never have thought to ask before.

 

But regarding cars: I know my father was a Studebaker man to the end and my mother was an AMC woman, also to the end.

 

They certainly passed that trait off on me: got my license in 1992 and learned to drive on a 1962 Studebaker Hawk (nut fell close to the tree on that one). Even in 92 no one has seen a Studebaker for 20 years until I came along.

[sidthecat]

Let's see...my dad was a pencil-and-Bic Pen guy and my mother drove an IBM Selectric. She did Gregg Shorthand in pencil, if memory serves.

I was taught to draw with a stick, and now my boss wants me to learn Manga Studio.

Make of this what you will.

[ParkerDuofold]

...my parents are Korean and I'm pretty sure they never used fountain pens. My grandfather on my mother's side did brush calligraphy, which he learned in university in Japan during the occupation, and which he continued to practice for years after.

 

Hi Requiescat,

 

This is a very interesting post; I've heard these remarks from other Korean members here... that brush calligraphy remained the standard in Korea, (unlike Japan and China), and that the fountain pen was not really adopted there until recently.

 

 

I am fond of Waterman and Wahl-Eversharp in vintage pens. I tried to get my sister into fountain pens with a Lamy Safari, but I think the few dozen ink samples I sent with it overwhelmed her and I should have stuck with cartridges. She currently uses these particular pens that she buys during her yearly visits to Korea.

 

Yeah, overwhelming is an easy trap to fall into when you're trying to convert an outsider.

 

 

My daughter owns two Pilot Metropolitans because she thought the designs were pretty, but doesn't actually use them. I told her that if she ever starts using fountain pens seriously, we can discuss getting her something more expensive, but until then, she can enjoy looking at the Metropolitans.

 

Yes. No point in getting a Cadillac when they don't even drive the Chevy.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Anthony

[ac12]

He he . . .

I got the desk pen bug from my mother, and now I collect desk pens. The problem is desk bases take up WAY more space than a clip pen.

The old accountants had at least 2 desk pens; black ink and red ink. Black for debit entries and red for credit entries.

I never though to ask her what the other 2 desk pens were for or from.

 

And since we hit on that subject of ink color.

In the old day, accountants entered the journal entry in either black or red ink, depending if it was a debit or credit entry. Hence the 2 pens.

That was all find and good . . . until . . .

. . . the photo copier came along.

 

The auditors made a copy of the accounting ledger page, went back to their office, and discovered a problem.

They could not tell the debit entries from the credit entries.

The black and red ink photo copied the same . . . black.

 

That is why the switch to using <brackets> around the credit entries, that is done to this day.

 

The adding machines added in black ink and subtracted in red ink. Black and red ribbon. Same problem if you made a photo copy of the adding machine tape. Everything was black.

Thus the use of - or <brackets> for negative number or subtraction on an adding machine.

Edited June 29, 2017 by ac12

[ParkerDuofold]

As far as I can recall, my father most likely used a Parker 51.

 

My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer school pen in high school @ 1965, then a Targa @ 1980, which I still have, and a bunch of others starting around 2013. It seems to be sticking this time.

 

My wife's father used a Sheaffer Triumph, and a Wahl-Eversharp Skyline, both of which I still have, and both write very nicely.

Hi WO,

 

From the conversations I've had with my mom, using a Hero 616 Doctor as a prop, the 51 was my dad's pen, too.

 

My first fp didn't come until around November/December of 2015... an Ocean Blue Al-Star... of course, it's been kind of a rainbow colored blur ever since.

 

Congratulations on the Targa. I like them, too. Wahl-Eversharp Skyline... isn't that the one shaped like a golf tee with the cap finial that resembles a streamlined steam locomotive?

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

 

Like my father before me, I like my midnight blue Parker 51. After that, a riotous excess of trying different pens, but always coming back to that first Parker 51 There's really nothing like it.

Hi Pajaro,

 

I think I'm gonna have to give the 51 a second chance.

 

- Anthony

Edited June 29, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[mitto]

Parkers and Sheaffers.

[ParkerDuofold]

Oh as to my parents.

 

Dad had at least 2 fountain pens, which I saw in the house before we moved. I don't know the brand Sheaffer or Parker, but I think at least one was a Sheaffer Then I never saw them again. It was likely thrown out during the cleaning before the move

 

Mom who was an accountant, had at least 4 desk pens (different brands), and likely a clip/purse pen also.

I have 3 of her desk pens and bases; Parker 51 (I used this one in college), Sheaffer Dolphin, Wahl/Eversharp (man talk about a SHARP nib). She also had an Esterbrook desk pen, cuz I had the 8-ball stand, which unfortunately one of the relations threw out when cleaning the house

Hi AC,

 

I'm sorry to hear about all the discards... but as you know, that was the common practice then. My family tossed a lot of great stuff moving or spring cleaning.

 

But back then, throwing out fps was like throwing out a bridle and harness... after all, who rode a horse to town anymore?

 

We never saw the day coming when we'd want this stuff back.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

My father used a Sheaffer as did I at school and Uni. None of those survive and I have not felt the slightest inclination to buy another; nor a Parker for that matter.

Hi Praxim,

 

Oh no! What a terrible thing to say to a guy who's I.D. is Parker Duofold. I might cry a little.

 

But I understand... when you've come across a great pen like the L2K, it kind of spoils you for anything else.

 

 

- Anthony

Edited June 29, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[jmcollis]

My Mum and a Parker 51 - always used for letters to relatives.

 

My Dad had a Conway Stewart that he used very infrequently.

 

I picked up the Parker habit first but have moved on to other things since! :-)