Early Parker Rare!

[Ricky2011]

Hi,

 

over time as my collection of pens grows, so is my learning.

 

However if you search in ebay you may find a variety of 51's, 75's 50's , duofolds& vacumatics.

 

Yet you search for lucky curve in general and inc pastels & true blues. or earlier such as raven's, DQ's & jack knife.

 

Have many survived and if so in what numbers? Clip versions and ring?

 

kind regards

 

Rick

[OldGriz]

I don't know what kind of numbers remain and I really doubt anyone does...

But take a look at my Miscellaneous Parker Page and you will see some nice ones for sale..

[Sasha Royale]

The Parker 51 is an excellent fountain pen. It was possibly the most desirable pen of all time.

It's popularity spurred Parker to manufacture twenty million Parker 51's. I suspect millions have

survived to be restored by dedicated craftsmen, with tender loving care Although not inexpensive,

they are probably widely available.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I think it matters more if you intend on using them as daily writers too.

 

This is just my understanding, certainly could be wrngh understanding. Yes the Big Red and Mandarin Duofolds are certainly iconic pens. Even putting the fragility of some of them aside, I'm more concerned with the Feeds. I'm sure they are "adequate" but from what I've read, the 20's were when they were just starting to get a handle on ink flow and nibs. I don't think even the Big 3 really came into their own until near the mid 30's in nib and feed design. IMO, even that technology died with the feeds and collectors for the P-51, 61 and 75. I'd argue at least for Parker there's been no advancement after that.

 

I just don't think I myself would be surprised if a 20's pen wasn't near as nice a writer as a 30's pen. (For the sake of discussion a Big Red compared to a Striped Duofold or Vac.)

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Ernst Bitterman]

My '27 Duofold is a very nice writer... unless something upsets the feed. It's a "christmas tree" Lucky Curve, and despite what the ads of the day suggested, it really isn't up to serious differentials of interior and exterior pressure/temperature (so when it gets low on ink it announces the event by dribbling madly) and the draining-back powers are pretty theoretical; a flooded feed STAYS flooded until shown a tissue. I really like the way the point puts ink on the page, but I have reservations about the way the feed puts ink on the point.

[Paul80]

According to parker the habit of the pen starting to flood ink was a design feature, it is supposed to do that as an indicator the pen needs refilling.

 

paul

[risingsun]

I agree 100% with what Ernst says... My streamlined Duofold with an older-style christmas tree feed works great when you fill it, but it invariably makes a mess further on in time. I tend to fill it, use it, empty the excess, and stick with later Parkers for longer-term use. But that's just me.

 

[Ernst Bitterman]

According to parker the habit of the pen starting to flood ink was a design feature, it is supposed to do that as an indicator the pen needs refilling.

 

paul

That would be making a virtue out of a vice-- there's a Monty Python sketch in which an ad man is asked to sell tiny bits of string--

Ad man: They're... waterproof!

Guy with string: No, not at all.

AM: They're water resistant!

GWS: No!

AM: They're water absorbent! New Absorbitex Stringettes! Abolish floods! Away, work-a-day tidal waves!

[OcalaFlGuy]

Ernst reminds me of BMW motorcycles. The Mothership in Das Faderland is notorious for failing to admit problems with the bikes.

The running joke with them is in fact, "THAT'S not a Fault, That's a FEATURE!".

 

(The official answer re; their fuel injection surging, their owners being probably the most experienced riders of any marque was,

Our owners are not riding the bike correctly.)

 

The Flying Circus would have a good time with Beemer.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Paul80]

That would be making a virtue out of a vice--

 

And what's wrong with that, as pen collectors we do that all the time to justify our peculiar buying habits to our better half's and friends.

 

Paul

[Vintagepens]

Getting back to the original question:

While no one can provide exact numbers, the earlier Parker models you mentioned are indeed much less common than Parker's later flagship pens. The latter were produced in the millions, and in most cases with commendable economy of variations (commendable from the point of view of business, not for collector interest). The earlier models were produced in much, much smaller numbers; their loss rate is, I believe, significantly greater, and they were made in a huge variety of sizes, variants, and subvariants.

[Ricky2011]

many thanks for your replies.

 

all this makes me want to aquire them for my collection.

 

anyone looking to downsize thier collection and thinking of disposing of a raven; pastel (Clip) & true blue (Clip)

 

please get in touch

 

best wishes

 

Rick