Vintage Parker Duofold Mandarin Yellow

[Maxbliss888]

Hope you like my vintage Parker Duofold Mandarin Yellow

 

[Maxbliss888]

First saw the ink well at an old fountain pen shop in Bras Basah Singapore in 1988 but the owner of the shop said it's for display only. Took me 35 years to find the Parker Super Quink ink well.

 

 

 

[jchch1950]

The Yellow Duofold and the Ink Well are outstanding pieces of writing instrument history.

[Maxbliss888]

1 hour ago, jchch1950 said:

The Yellow Duofold and the Ink Well are outstanding pieces of writing instrument history.

 Thanks!

[hermesrouge]

Both are so gorgeous! Thank you for sharing them!

[Paul-in-SF]

That is what I would call an aspirational pen. It seems to be very well preserved, rather than over-restored. There are just a few minor signs of age and/or wear, which serve to underline the otherwise excellent condition. Thanks for the photos. 

[Wahl]

Very nice !

 

[KAC]

Duofold "Lucky Curve" Mandarins are my absolute favorite pen.  I especially like the "streamline" variation. I own a smaller "flat-top" with a nibmeister adjusted nib. 

 

Your pen is really nice. It's unusual for the barrels of these to not be obviously discolored and (supposedly) the plastic used to construct these suffered from an unusual propensity for staining and malformation. Yours looks unscathed.

 

Congratulations especially on the inkwell. That is a real museum piece and in super-fine condition, too.

 

[Maxbliss888]

Thanks for all your kind words!

 

The Mandarin yellow Duofold tended to be discolored and stained (please see below photo of one of my earlier collections). It has taken me a long time and some luck in order to find one with little discoloration..

 

[KAC]

Barrel staining on that model is a notorious problem and it can't be fixed once it's happened...as far as I know. Mine has minimal discoloration, but I always use yellow-green Pilot ink to avert more problems. 

 

I can't offhand recall specifics, but Parker re-issued a Mandarin-yellow Duofold about 20 years ago. I should have purchased one at the time but I was concerned about the discoloration issue extending to that model so i didn't. I have no idea whether or not that assumption about susceptibility to staining on the newer version is correct or not.

[Maxbliss888]

Following the Parker Duofold Mandarin Yellow Foutain pen, I am currently waiting for the Yellow desk set to arrive. I think the desk set will match the pen nicely...

 

 

[senzen]

Very nice looking pen.

[Maxbliss888]

Carltonware Parker desk set in Mandarin Yellow 

 

[KAC]

Wow! Gorgeous pen base. Is that modern or a vintage unit? Was it made by Parker? How did you find it? Congratulations...it's stunning and integrates beautifully with your pen.

 

[joss]

11 hours ago, KAC said:

Is that modern or a vintage unit? Was it made by Parker?

 

That is an attractive desk base indeed. These ceramic bases are late 1920s and they were made for the Parker Pen Company England by Carlton Ware, a pottery manufacture from Stoke-on-Trent, England. They can be found in various versions and colours but the yellow one really pops out.

[shalitha33]

With all the discussion around parker mandarin yellow duofolds, I badly wanted one , but couldn't find one for an acceptable / affordable price :(. So decided to assemble one from parts. Its not really a proper pen but all the parts in it (except the sac) currently are parker parts.



Still need to source a cap for it :(. I have all the fittings etc. just need the yellow cylinder.

[Maxbliss888]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:46 AM, shalitha33 said:

With all the discussion around parker mandarin yellow duofolds, I badly wanted one , but couldn't find one for an acceptable / affordable price :(. So decided to assemble one from parts. Its not really a proper pen but all the parts in it (except the sac) currently are parker parts.



Still need to source a cap for it :(. I have all the fittings etc. just need the yellow cylinder.

 

Great! I think slowly you should be able to find the cap and fully revive a vintage Mandarin Yellow pen