Cartridge Parker 51?

[stuplarosa]

My wife is from Argentina and used fountain pens in school during the 60s and 70s. I have been looking at buying a Parker "51". Looking over my shoulder at one picture she said, "That's exactly what I used in school." HOWEVER, she said that her pens used cartridges. So, I thought, I'll show her a Parker "45". No, she says, not what she used!

 

Question 1: Were there later model Parker "51" cartridge models made in Argentina in quantities that would not make them rare?

 

Question 2: If so, where can I get one in Midnight Blue for my wife?

 

Question 3: Do any of the Chinese "51" knock-offs use cartridges?

 

Thank you,

mike.

 

 

[SquelchB]

I'm not aware of any..

[alfredop]

Recently I have seen an Argentinian Parker 61 converted to be a cartridge filler, but I never seen a converted P51.

 

Ciao

Genny

Edited April 26, 2008 by genny

[andyk]

Recently I have seen an Argentinian Parker 61 converted to be a cartridge filler, but I never seen a converted P51.

 

Ciao

Genny

 

The later 61s were C/C, I'm not sure but seem to recall seeing mention of a C/C 51 somewhere, but may of course have been dreaming. Could the pen your wife was using been a late 61?

 

I wasn't dreaming, there is a mention about halfway don this page.

 

http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/parker.51.html

 

Andy

Edited April 26, 2008 by andyk

[KingJoe]

There were indeed some C/C 51's made in the Aero timeframe. They're pretty scarce now. I did get to see one at a show awhile back (not a Special Edition, but an actual 60's C/C). I didn't take up the owner's offer to try it, though, as it should have written like any other 51 of the era.

[stuplarosa]

Could the pen your wife was using been a late 61?

 

I asked her about the "61" as well. She says it didn't have the little arrow inlaid in the shell behind the nib. It could have been the rare "51" model if they made lots more of them for the Argentine market. She says everyone had them and everyone used cartridges.

 

mike.

 

[Barry Gabay]

Hi Mike, There were indeed some 51s produced as cartridge fillers. In the comprehensive Shepperd-Zazove history of the Parker 51 several are mentioned. They were late models, variants of the aerometric. I believe they were produced in the US and UK, as well as in Argentina. I've seen a midnight blue one, mint in the box, which a friend picked up at the Ohio pen show several years ago. A while back, Howard Levy (founder of Bexley Pens, 51 guru, and all-around nice guy) was selling conversion kits for turning aerometrics into cartridge fillers. I bought one of Howard's kits, and Roger Cromwell of Penopoly did the work on a cocoa with wet F nib and lustraloy cap. It's a great writer. Quite a while ago, Mike Fultz, the true King of Pens, wrote an illustrated article for Pennant about converting a 51 or 61 to cartridge filler. There were, by the way, many 61 c/c pens produced in the UK. Good luck in your hunt.

[randyholhut]

According to Ernesto at parker51.com, the C/C fill "51s" were made from 1961 to 1963 and were a commercial flop. The following is from his website:

 

"In 1961, Parker tried to capitalize on the success of their new converter Parker 45 introduced the previous year. Essentially a "51" in most respects, with the exception that instead of a built-in filler, it now had the capability of using either a converter or cartridges and for the first time its famed finned collector was changed, as illustrated in the picture. It was no longer finned and seemed not to serve any purpose other than holding the redesigned feed. The pen had a unique connector ring/nipple, sometimes confused by the inexperienced collector for a broken aerometric filler. The barrel is also unique, in that it has no breather holes and is cut shallower and narrower inside and will not fill a regular full-sized aerometric pen. Although advertised as more convenient, the success of this pen was limited, and it was discontinued late in 1963. The reason for the limited success has been speculated to be that the cartridge gave the new "51" an image of being disposable, something that had not been part of the "51" positioning over the previous 20 years of production or maybe the redesigned collector affected performance more than expected. Examples have been found in black, gray, navy blue, teal and forest green."

[PointyThings]

Cartridge 51s definitely exist. I own one. I picked it up on eBay years ago, thinking I was buying a regular aero-fill 51.

 

I remember unwrapping it, popping the cap, unscrewing the barrel, and finding a Parker Quink cartridge in place of the aero filler. Really made my week!

 

Mine was made in the USA, not Argentina.

 

If I can dig it out, I'll shoot some pics.

 

--Karl

Edited May 27, 2008 by KarlBarndt

[johnee]

Cartridge 51s definitely exist. I own one....

 

If I can dig it out, I'll shoot some pics.

 

--Karl

 

:o :o :o

 

"dig it out"? You should have it encased in a crystal palace worthy of superman.

 

[skybird]

I also have one and I'm sure it was an after market thing...... but I'm not going to dig!

[chibu]

Dear Mike,

 

My name is Martin I´m from Argentina and I can tell you that there weren´t 51s with cartridge in argentina, they are all aero-51s. in the 60s and 70s at school was very common to use 45s or sheaffers.

 

Best regards

 

Martin

[JimStrutton]

If you go to here Parker51.com you can find one that Ernesto had for sale recently

 

This was a US/UK one I guess, but very desirable. In Argentina I believe that they made a sort of cross-over pen, sort of 61/51 mix, had two dots rather than the arrow and the section looked more 51 than 61. Only ever seen a photo, never had my grubby hands on one.

 

Jim

[Johnny Appleseed]

According to Ernesto at parker51.com, the C/C fill "51s" were made from 1961 to 1963 and were a commercial flop. The following is from his website:

 

". . . The barrel is also unique, in that it has no breather holes and is cut shallower and narrower inside and will not fill a regular full-sized aerometric pen. . .

 

No breather hole. . . I am suddenly having an ED-filler 51 image. . .

 

John

[rizo]

How is working the Cartridge 51? Is a good writer? Is a good deal? I would like to read a review

[FarmBoy]

How is working the Cartridge 51? Is a good writer? Is a good deal? I would like to read a review

Writes like any other 51, it just fills differently.

[Sasha Royale]

The attractions I find in the Parker 51 are the hooded nib and the Aerometric filling / feeding system. NO, "Aerometric" is more than just the visible squeeze filler, which anyone can use. "Aerometric" denotes the squeeze filler, and patented internal design, including a specific breather tube. (That's what "Sensai", restorer of many Parker 51's told me.)

 

Converting a Parker 51 to cartridge must start with omitting/removing/destroying the Aerometric system that makes the pen a Parker 51. Personally, if the Parker 51 does not have the Aerometric system, I am not interested. Without it, you have a grossly expensive HERO 616.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Sasha Royale

[rizo]

The attractions I find in the Parker 51 are the hooded nib and the Aerometric filling / feeding system. NO, "Aerometric" is more than just the visible squeeze filler, which anyone can use. "Aerometric" denotes the squeeze filler, and patented internal design, including a specific breather tube. (That's what "Sensai", restorer of many Parker 51's told me.)

 

Converting a Parker 51 to cartridge must start with omitting/removing/destroying the Aerometric system that makes the pen a Parker 51. Personally, if the Parker 51 does not have the Aerometric system, I am not interested. Without it, you have a grossly expensive HERO 616.

 

The Hero 616 is Aerometric, the comparation is nos good.

 

The quality writing is the same? Is the Cartridge 51 more expensive (by rare) than the Aerometric?

[icardoth]

I have two cartridge/converter Parker 51 from the '50s, plus a 2002 LE. By far I prefer the aerometric or vacumatic versions. Some people say the C/C writes equally well, but that's not my experience. And there is another fact: The balance is really different, as the C/C is much lighter than the others.

[FarmBoy]

 

The Hero 616 is Aerometric, the comparation is nos good.

 

The quality writing is the same? Is the Cartridge 51 more expensive (by rare) than the Aerometric?

Not correct, the Hero 616 is not an Aerometric. It lacks a hole in the breather tube.

 

Cartridge 51s are less common and have a collector appeal.

The nib and collector are the same in all the filling styles of 51s. Off hand I can think of at least 7 different configurations though some are extremely rare experimental pens.

 

The nib/feed configuration of a 2002 LE 51 bears no resemblance to that in a 51 beyond they both usually say Parker.