Old Parker Quink Bottle?

[The Old Pen Shop]

Hi FPN,

I am new to this network, but it looks to be the centre of Fountain Pen expertese, so thank you for the opportunity to be a member.

I am a collector of Parker Pens and Ink

I recently purchased this bottle from an Ebay member who found it in an old barn (lucky him). It was particularly dirty, but has cleaned up well. I have seen many bottles with the same label, but not a bottle like this one. Because of the long and thin neck, it must have been only used to refill other bottles.

I estimate a production date of around 1935 and made in England. Approximately holds 20oz.

Have any of you seen a similar bottle?

Kind regards,

Hugo at The Old Pen Shop

 

 

 

 

[Dione]

They turn up on ebay fairly frequently in several different colors and came with a special adapter cap for refilling other bottles.

[Kenlowe]

Bottles of this type were standard equipment in schools and offices, this is in the days of inkwells were a standard fitment in the top right hand corner of every school desk. There would also be an ink monitor who had the job of filling each inkwell before school began for the day.

 

Red ink is less common than blue/black and your bottle is earlier than most that you see. Note the strong ribbing which might have prevented a slip of the bottle in a schoolboys small hands on a cold day.

 

The fact that it is red ink is probably the clue why it has lasted so long, I can only think of accountants and bank clerks that might have had a use for red ink.

 

It was also common to have a rubber spout pushed into the top of the neck to make the pouring a little more accurate, slowing down the pour rate as you can imagine and preventing the glugging of the ink.

 

If you manage to use the word glugging in your daily life today then you will have done very well. For me it was probably the first time and probably the last.

 

 

[The Old Pen Shop]

Hi,

 

Thank you for the info on Schools. I hadn't thought of those little inkwells on school desks and the ribs to prevent slippage on a cold day. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, leaving the filling of inkwells to children.

I have a few of the 1950-70s version of these bottles, which came in 4 sizes dependent on where you lived. In mainland Europe and USA they appear to come in 16oz and 32oz whereas in the UK they were 20oz and 40oz. These came with the little rubber pourig spout.

Here's a couple of photos, of the USA and French examples.

Kind regards,

Hugo at The old Pen Shop.

[The Old Pen Shop]

I have found a picture of one of my early 32oz USA Bottles. These had a special pourer that was integrally fitted to the cork, as these bottles had no threads for a cap. These too are ribbed for easier holding. I have a slightly earlier red ink version somewhere. I have also attached a photo of my collection of 40oz bottles. These were supplied with extra rubber-bung to make pouring slower and easier.

 

[Kenlowe]

Thanks for posting. It would be good to make a historical record of these bottles through the ages, perhaps people can take pics of their own bottles and post on here, would you agree?

[The Old Pen Shop]

Sounds like a great idea. Do we start with the first bottle or the first bottle of a particular type.

I could start it with a 1904 Bottle, which is the oldest Parker Bottle I have. So wish I had one with a label, but it is embossed with Parker Janesville Wis. on the bottom and is identical to the bottle used in the 1904 catalogue, although it is a drawing.

[FlighterGuy]

I have just this one old bottle.  The tall 'k' may help to date it.  It's Bakelite in near mint condition with no chips. The unevenness and bubbles in the glass makes me think that was also hand blown in a mold.

[Vintage_BE]

My brother in law was a (grade) school principal for many years. He recently cleared out his cupboards in preparation for a move and asked me whether I was interested in some old ink bottles .. turns out one of them is a Parker permanent black 32 ounce bottle which is still half full. The black has faded to grey with some greenish tones. So I am fortunate to discover Solv-x ink many years after its disappearance.