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Parker 51 Aerometric -- Burgundy Vs. Dark Burgundy Vs. Blood Red


Paul-in-SF

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Here I go again: I received a pen today that was advertised as Blood Red; the listing included a photo comparing it with a Burgundy pen, but that could have been manipulated. There is no readable inscription on the barrel of this pen so I can make sure it was made in England. This pen was advertised as a Mark I, which I'm not sure how to tell, but it does have a longer arrow clip. Seller also mentioned it's immediately previous home was Australia. Not sure if any of these points has any bearing.

 

The color of the barrel matches to my eye another P51 Aerometric I have which was made in England and which I have assumed was Burgundy. However, that pen has a darker hood shell, which I only noticed today. That hood could be another color (i.e. Dark Burgundy from a later US pen) or it could just be a variation -- the difference is noticeable but not convincing to me that it is an actual different identified color.

 

I have three resources that I have been looking at, the Parker 51 book by the Shepherds, Richard Binder's page on Parker 51, and Parkercollector.com's page with photos of actual pens. The book doesn't mention Blood Red at all but does mention Dark Burgundy as a color used in later US pens (Mark III's or Specials?). The two web pages both show Blood Red but neither shows Dark Burgundy.

 

So one question that none of these sources seems to answer is whether regular Burgundy Aerometrics were ever made in England.

 

Was there such a color produced as "Dark Burgundy" and would a shell from such a pen fit an older Mark II (probably) pen?

 

Is there anywhere else on this new pen that I might look for clues (or clews) as to where it was made? The nib? The sac protector?

 

I read somewhere, probably here on FPN, that the Blood Red color was so blood-like that the company president's wife (or someone) asked them to stop making them, which is why they are pretty rare. If they are that rare It's unlikely that I would have two of them. So my current assumption is that both my pens are Burgundy and the darker hood is just a color variation. However, just to pique your interest (I know, too late) here is a photo of my older pen with the two shades of whatever color it is, lit with an LED light.

 

fpn_1597110943__parker_51_burgundy_maybe

 

To recap: the photo is my older pen, barrel marked Made in England, where the barrel and hood are different shades; the new pen is the same color as the barrel of the older pen, but has no useful barrel marking. The new pen was sold as a Mark I in Blood Red, and has a longer arrow clip.

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The story about one of the Parker elders not liking the Cole is just a story...I’ve asked one of the Parkers on several occasions.

 

The English pens all differed in color to some degree. The filler, nib, and barrel may all be marked as to origin.

 

Note that there is a lot of ‘drift’ in some of the colors so just because two pens are a little different doesn’t make them different colors. I’d say the pen you show is two different colors.

 

Some day we can arrange to discuss 51s at a pen meeting. I have a few interesting ones.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

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Could it be possible that the color of your section was Cordovan?

 

...the fact that the seal (O-ring) is still visible makes me think that the section could belong to a Vacumatic.

 

37200804252_f1327e56b5_k.jpgParker 51 red tones von -C.M.Z-

 

Just a thought...

 

C.

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Dear OP, you do seem to have many poor buying experiences......LOL!! I wish you well going forward. :)

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

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Could it be possible that the color of your section was Cordovan?

 

...the fact that the seal (O-ring) is still visible makes me think that the section could belong to a Vacumatic.

 

37200804252_f1327e56b5_k.jpgParker 51 red tones von -C.M.Z-

 

Just a thought...

 

C.

 

No, I have a Cordovan pen and that color is definitely more brown than burgundy. Thanks for the different color samples though, and the link to some other color groups.

 

Dear OP, you do seem to have many poor buying experiences......LOL!! I wish you well going forward. :)

 

Thank you, but I don't regard this is a poor buying experience, I went into it knowing that I was taking a chance on the color. Apparently I may be vindicated after all (see below)

 

Last evening I wrote to an eBay seller from UK who has a listing for a Blood Red, 51, and asked him how he could be sure. He claims that there were no Burgundy 51s made in England, and that if it's made in England and in this color range, it's Blood Red. Also that it's a noticeably redder color than the US Burgundy. This sort of makes sense of the various things I've learned recently.

 

I did open up the new pen for cleaning (the hood wasn't shellacked) and the nib does say Made in England. So now I am working under the fairly confident assumption that I have two Blood Red barrels and one hood, the other hood being US Burgundy (and possibly from a vacumatic as Christof suggests). I decided to swap the hoods, because I prefer the nib on my older pen, and the barrel is in better shape. The new pen with the wrong color hood will go into the for sale pile.

 

Farm Boy, I look forward to the opportunity. To better days!

Edited by Paul-in-SF
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Pix when you get the pen! (I'll admit that I also, like christof, considered the possibility that one of your pens was really Cordovan).

I would love to have a British Bloody Burgundy 51 -- but the ones I've seen have all been at nosebleed prices (prices which make my Plum Demi a veritable bargain in comparison).

Fingers crossed for you that it is what the seller says.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Thanks, I'm afraid my phone camera and the available light will not show the true differences, especially the cordovan, which is very much reddish brown, and while it might be mistaken for burgundy by itself, when they are together the human eye can certainly tell which one is which. I think Christof's photo really shows the similarities and differences of the colors; it's too bad those two colors aren't side by side.

 

The new pen matches exactly the redder color of the pen barrel in my photo in my first post, which you can also see here (partially lit with LED). The barrel is my older pen, the whole pen is the new one.

 

fpn_1597180345__blood_red_barrels.jpg

 

So now I don't have a burgundy P51, only a mis-matched hood (also seen in my earlier photo). I guess I'll have to start looking.

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  • 5 months later...

If someone can clarify, please, the following issue:

is it normal that burgundy P51 Aero (Made in England) has got slightly darker burgundy nib/hood section than its barrel? 

Or does it mean that the barrel swap happened?

All the best is only beginning now...

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My question is about a bit different shades of burgundy on the parts of the same pen: nib section and barrel.

All the best is only beginning now...

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I will post a picture of US burgundy, Bloody British Burgundy and Cordovan Vac side by side whenever I get back to my pens. 

Khan M. Ilyas

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2 hours ago, mitto said:

I will post a picture of US burgundy, Bloody British Burgundy and Cordovan Vac side by side whenever I get back to my pens. 

Thanks, Mitto. Much appreciated.

All the best is only beginning now...

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