Early Parker "51"- Imperial Vacumatic

[RonB]

Very interesting Parker "51", which has a barrel that looks like a striated Vacumatic with the Gold Blue Diamond Parker "51" cap:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/PARKER-IMPERIAL-VACUMA...1QQcmdZViewItem

[jpolaski]

That's not a "51", it Is a Vacumatic. There was a variety that had the metal caps, and a threaded end to the section, to keep up with Sheaffer and their Crest series. very nice pens...if only I could afford one

 

http://www.vintagepens.com/images/cat/5243.jpg

 

(image borrowed from vintagepens.com)

[John Danza]

A dealer at the Chicago show this year had an Imperial set in the original box that he had purchased from the original owner! She had received it for her high school graduation in 1940 and had used it very little. If I recall, he wanted about $1000 for the set. It looked great and was an exciting story also.

 

John

[RonB]

That's not a "51", it Is a Vacumatic. There was a variety that had the metal caps, and a threaded end to the section, to keep up with Sheaffer and their Crest series. very nice pens...if only I could afford one

 

http://www.vintagepens.com/images/cat/5243.jpg

 

(image borrowed from vintagepens.com)

Thanks for the correction.

[david i]

A little more info for those who care :-)

 

Two series of Parker Vacumatic pens embraced the world "Imperial". They were shown int he 1940 and 1941 catalog, toward the end of what i tend to call the 2nd generation of Vacs, featuring metal non-locking pumps (often called Speedline Filler by collectors) and packing the appearance of a double jewel pen, though by 1940 the bottom jewel was not a true jewel (story for another day). It is my belief that Canada (at least) produced the Imp into the 3rd Gen, single jewel era. Indeed some (all?) of the Canadian Imps have a different pattern to the cap.

 

The basic Imperial indeed might seem to be packing "51" caps but as noted elsewhere, the caps are threaded, are (iirc) more narrow than "51" and obviously cannot be swapped onto a 51 barrel.

 

The Imperial was introduced in the USA before the introduction here of the "51" but one might suspect that Parker had "51" on the brain- as well as "Sheaffer Crest" on the brain- when issuing this series :-)

 

Vacs can be found in an Imperial series and in an Imperial Signet series.

 

We will touch but briefly on the Imperial Signet, as its looks more like conventional vacs than like metal-capped Imperials, proper. Basically, the Imp Signet range included typical Vacs of Major/Slender Max size and of Debutante Size, but featuring solid gold trim at clip, cap-band and tassie. They cost around $25 (at a time when a regular Maxima was $10!). They are more scarce today than are the metal-capped Imperials. I've only seen a couple. They should not be confused with Canadian vacs from perhaps 1935-1941 which pack 9k or 14k solid trim rings but usually not solid gold end-trim

 

Anyhoo, back to the Imperial, proper.

 

Most can be found in two sizes. One is catalogued in only the larger size, though i've heard stories of little ones cropping up. Some details:

 

Imperial (larger) and Imperial Debutante (smaller): GF Caps, Black or Brown-Striped Barrels.

 

Imperial Ensign (larger) and Imperial Princess (smaller). Solid Gold two tone caps similar pattern to "Empire" cap "51's". Black only.

 

Imperial Coronet: Sold Gold Cap, Barrel and Gripping Section. The ultimate Vac. Two tone with yellow color alternating with panels of pink color gold, the latter featuring raised clusters of dots.

 

I've actually shot the Imp Coronet Pen, and it is the only one i've seen, handled or photographed. I've not seen a picture of the Coronet anywhere else, though no doubt someone has one somewhere :-)

 

The Imps are quite collectable.

 

regards

 

davidhttp://removed.xyz/websitesalespics/pen1049VacImperiaDSC02369sm.jpg

Edited August 20, 2006 by david i

[RonB]

Thanks, David!